Customer Focused Testing: Five steps to improved Oracle array-based replication with Continuous Access EVA (5697-7433, March 2008)

• Ensure that the intersite link is adequate for the workload being replicated.
Server administrator best practices
• Use multiple HBAs for path availability and optimal performance. Previous recommendations for
a 2-Gb infrastructure (a minimum of four ports for most workloads and, as highly recommended
by HP, eight ports for decision support system (DSS)/data warehouses) can be reduced in a
4-Gb infrastructure. In the faster environment, HP recommends a minimum of two ports for OLTP
and four port
sforDSS.
• Use multipathing software to balance the workload across paths, such as Microsoft Multipath I/O
(MPIO), Secure Path, or embedded Linux drivers. Typically, least service time or some similar
multipathi
ng algorithm gives optimal performance over basic round robin.
• Manage host access to the virtual disk by paths to the mastering controller, especially with
read operations, such as a data warehouse application. This can be done using the new
automated l
oad balancing (ALB) method with MPIO on Windows. This access method can also
be accompl
ished with strict zoning, although that could prevent path failovers.
• If replicating RAC to a single instance, do not replicate OCR and the voting disk.
Database administrators best practices
• Create at least two ASM disk groups.
• Use external redundancy on the ASM disk groups. Normal or high mirroring with ASM software
mirroring is not necessary with high-end storage arrays. EVA RAID1 redundancy, with its
virtualization striping, supports Oracle’s best practice of Stripe and Mirror Everything (SAME).
• Present multiple LUNs, as needed, to each of the ASM disk groups. General ASM best practices
are to have a minimum of four LUNs for each ASM disk group to stripe across.
• Place online redo logs and database files into the first ASM disk group.
• Place backup files and archive logs into the second ASM disk group.
• Size online redo logs for optimal performance in synchronous replication. The frequency and
length of these switches can decrease the application’s performance.
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