Oracle 10g dbconsole configuration error

I noticed lately when I install Oracle 10g on Windows or Linux, when I try to install/configure Enterprise Manager Database Control (DBConsole), it errors out and will not complete. No matter what I tried, dropping & creating the repository over and over, still didn't work.

I stumbled across Oracle Metalink Patch 8350262, which supposedly fixes the issue. The issue is that the self-generated certificate expired on 12-31-2010. After installing 10g, apply Patch 8350262 (it is an opatch patch), everything went fine as usual. I hope this saves you some headache and time.

SSD in the Enterprise

I recently wrote a high-level article focusing on SSD use in an Enterprise environment for my friend Les at TheSSDReview. It has some great info in it including use case scenarios. The article can be found here:

http://thessdreview.com/latest-buzz/ssd-migration-in-the-enterprise-environment/

The goal is to alleviate concerns with using SSD in an enterprise environment. Far too many companies could tremendously benefit from SSD use in many cases with the right planning, preparation, and expectations. I plan to write many more for him, so stay tuned.

Fusion-io vs. OCZ

I've seen a lot of interest in my past posts regarding the testing of the Fusion-io ioDrive and the OCZ Z-Drive. I felt that I needed to clarify my position and opinions on the two products a bit.

If you are an end-user or enthusiast and your livelihood doesn't depend on the data stored by the product, the OCZ Z-Drive would probably be the better product for you because of the cost difference between the two.

If you are a business user using the products in servers where critical data is stored, your ONLY option at that point is the Fusion-io products, no question. DO NOT trust your critical business data to the OCZ-ZDrive, do not even think about it. I experienced a failure firsthand within 3 days of receiving the one I ordered, and I returned it. Fusion-io has well engineered and backed products. They perform extremely well, and are not "built upon another product" like the OCZ product is.

Let me clarify that, the OCZ product is simply an LSI RAID controller with MLC or SLC NAND memory modules. The RAID controller BIOS only allows RAID0 and RAID1. With 8 banks of memory, that means with RAID0, ONE big drive with no redundancy in the event of failure. With RAID1, that means 4 logical drives in which to store your data. One NAND bank can fail and you're still in business. With RAID0, how it is out of the box, one failure = TOTAL data loss. You're out of business if that was critical data.

Fusion-io has consumer-level products for the enthusiast users. I'd tend to recommend it to those types whom doesn't need large high performance storage needs. If you need 200+gb, then the OCZ Z-Drive would make sense if the data stored isn't critical. If so, reconfigure the RAID BIOS to use RAID1 and divide your data across the 4 logical drives. You'll still get great performance, but not as much as it would be with 8-way RAID0 with the threat of data loss present.

If you are a business needing high performance data storage,  I urge you to look into Fusion-io and their products. I can think of no better performing and robust product on the market that the Fusion-io ioDrive, ioDrive Duo, or ioDrive Octal.

For shops whom need the absolute highest level of performance for their SQL Server, Oracle Database environments, or any other I/O intensive workloads, nothing can beat the Fusion-io Octal drive for the money. Yes, it is VERY expensive, but not to those companies whom need that level of performance. If it is too much for you, the ioDrive and ioDrive Duo is your best bang-for-the-buck choice. Hands-down, you will not be disappointed with the level of performance or support that you get from Fusion-io.

Tools of the trade

I just have to plug two of my favorite products here. They are absolutely great at what they do and make my life a LOT easier.

Confluence: This is an enterprise-grade Wiki for storing, categorizing, and searching documentation as well as collaboration. It is EASY to deploy, manage, and upgrade. Take a test drive of it.

Jira: This is a workflow tool allowing you to enter tasks & issues, track progress, and time spent on those. Our development team uses it for issue tracking and other things, but it is absolutely GREAT just like Confluence.

Google Enterprise Services

FYI: Do not buy ANY Google Enterprise Services. When you call for support, you get punted to their support forums, and the call handler will drop you after stating there is nothing they can do for you.

I was simply trying to ask how do I go about purchasing MORE seats for Postini, but with that attitude, and case-ownership attitude, I believe I will spend my company's money elsewhere.

Arista Networks Host-Link Aggregation

Setup your server side (I use Broadcom Advanced Control Suite) as you normally would.

On your new shiny Arista 7120T, this is what you need to do:

7120t enable
config t
int et1-4
channel-group 1 mode on

Then run: show int po1
Port-Channel1 is up, line protocol is up
Hardware is Port-Channel, address is xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
MTU is 9212 bytes, BW 40000000 Kbit
Full-Duplex, 40Gb/s
Active Members in this channel: 4
...Ethernet1 , Full-duplex, 10Gb/s
...Ethernet2 , Full-duplex, 10Gb/s
...Ethernet3 , Full-duplex, 10Gb/s
...Ethernet4 , Full-duplex, 10Gb/s
5 minutes input rate 0 bits/sec (0%), 0 packets/sec
5 minutes output rate 0 bits/sec (0%), 0 packets/sec
   0 packets input, 0 bytes
   Received 0 broadcasts, 0 multicast
   0 input errors
   0 packets output, 0 bytes
   Sent 0 broadcasts




Now you're cooking with gas :)


For switch to switch LACP: 


7124-SWB(config)#int et1-4
7124-SWB(config-if-Et1-4)#channel-group 1 mode passive
7148-SWA(config)#int et1-4
7148-SWA(config-if-Et1-4)#channel-group 1 mode active

Once the above sequence is entered and synchronization is complete, the ethernet interfaces 1-4 on each switch are bound to the port-channel.

If you're using another switch with your Arista, the config might be a bit different and you may need to try a few different configs to get it to work correctly.

SSD Goodness

JACKPOT!