As Published In Special Edition for Linux 2006

There's a New Validator in Town: Deploy Linux Faster
By David A. Kelly

Oracle and ITS partners deliver pretested, validated configurations for better performance, scalability, and reliability of Linux solutions.

Moving to Linux but not sure what to buy? Trying to deploy Oracle Database 10g Release 2 on the latest version of Linux but encountering a problem with a network driver? Or trying to refurbish an existing server to run Linux and Oracle? These are just some of the Linux-related challenges that Oracle helps users address with a newly released set of validated Linux configurations.

Introduced in June 2006, Oracle Validated Configurations provide best practices and recommendations of pretested, validated, and supported architectures that contain specific configurations of software and hardware for deployment on Linux.

"Oracle has been very active in promoting, adopting, enhancing, and supporting Linux for many years," says Monica Kumar, director of product marketing, Oracle. "In fact, since 1998, when we released the first commercial database for Linux, we've actively worked toward providing enterprise-class Linux capabilities and technical support. Over the years, we've certainly helped to prove that Linux has become a valuable platform for the enterprise data center."

Configuration Magic The Oracle Validated Configurations program covers a wide range of hardware, software, and operating systems. For the most current configurations validated, visit oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/validated-configurations. Currently, the Oracle Validated Configurations program includes Hardware Dell HP IBM Linux operating system Novell Red Hat Storage EMC NetApp Technology platform AMD Intel Host bus adapter drivers Emulex QLogic

Now, Oracle moves beyond the discussion of whether Linux is ready for the enterprise and on to helping customers define best practices for Linux deployments. "The Oracle Validated Configurations process enables Oracle to act as a trusted advisor and work with customers and partners to define and share best practices for secure, reliable, and efficient Linux production deployments," says Kumar. "The focus has moved from generating proof points that Linux works in the enterprise to faster deployment and better supportability of Oracle on Linux for all types of organizations."

A key goal of Oracle is to help organizations streamline the process of selecting, configuring, and deploying pretested Linux-based solutions. "Oracle Validated Configurations help our end users achieve standardization, scalability, and reliability in their environment, which leads to lower costs," says Kumar. "In addition, the program helps organizations accelerate and simplify the deployment of Linux, reducing the need for expensive testing and shortening the time to market."

Making Choices with Confidence

Selecting the right technology components has never been more complex, and just because things are supposed to work together doesn't always mean they do. Different revisions of software, different versions of specific drivers, and different internal hardware components in servers can all spell integration headaches for IT departments attempting to get an application or database up and running on a new server.

Consider the range of challenges: driver issues for storage and networking, tuning operating system parameters for optimal efficiency, or recommendations on which software patches are needed. And Linux offers its own set of challenges. "For traditional enterprise servers, the operating system and the server hardware are from the same vendor, but with Linux there are multiple distributions and a lot more combinations that can be put together," says Van Okamura, senior director, Linux engineering team, Oracle.

According to Okamura, Oracle Validated Configurations provides customers with the assurance that their choices will work together smoothly when they select from the validated options.

"We're trying to help customers avoid hitting all the problems you can encounter when assembling hardware and software from different vendors," says Okamura. "Through our testing and validation process we find the issues and give our customers recommendations that will save them time during deployment by preventing them from rediscovering the same issues and incompatibilities. We've already figured it out."

A Linux Menu

Getting It Right Making sure that configurations work correctly takes more than just installing and running the software—as HP knows. "One of the main aspects that attracted HP to the Oracle Validated Configurations program was the test suite that Oracle had developed that really attempted to simulate real-world conditions rather than artificial benchmark criteria," says Douglas Small, vice president of marketing, Open Source and Linux Organization, HP. Oracle's test kit moves beyond basic install testing to ensure that a validated configuration of mixed hardware and software will not only install properly but will run correctly and behave with expected deployment characteristics. Typical tests include Install-related tests to make sure that the components all install properly and that any patches are working as intended Functionality-related testing that makes sure that features Oracle needs or uses in the operating system are available and working correctly Stress and load testing to verify that the systems will hold up under extreme conditions Destructive tests, such as pulling the cable on the server or storage, to verify that components can handle failures gracefully

Oracle Validated Configurations is exactly that—validated configurations of servers, storage, database software, and operating systems. It's not a prepackaged or preinstalled Linux configuration (although select Oracle partners such as Dell Inc. offer that service as well), but the resources for organizations to use while making a purchasing decision or during deployment.

"The configuration list is a starting point for determining what hardware is appropriate and the best versions of software to go along with it," says Okamura. "But it's really to help in the deployment process by cutting down the time it takes to get everything together. We believe the program will make customers more efficient because they won't have to discover potential incompatibilities or problems that are already known."

The program, according to Kumar, builds on Oracle's commitment to its Unbreakable Linux program, which has provided Linux operating system support and technology leadership since June 2002. Traditionally, Oracle had certified the Oracle database on specific versions of the Linux operating system, but it did not validate specific hardware configurations running with the OS. "Now we're providing integration testing of the complete Oracle Linux stack," says Kumar. "We're helping customers to get the most out of their systems—the best performance, the most users, the best way to make it reliable and available."

Oracle tests various configurations—based on customer input—in its own labs, a process that takes about two to three weeks. In addition to verifying that basic configurations work, Oracle also runs workloads that push systems to their limits.

Partner Testing

In addition to testing solution stacks in house, Oracle is making the test kit available to partners, so they can run the same tests that Oracle does (on their own hardware in their own lab) to validate new configurations. The partners then report back the results, and Oracle validates them and makes them available through the program. Two of the many partners participating in the program include Dell and HP.

"The Oracle Validated Configurations program complements an initiative that Dell undertook to answer the call of customers who wanted to take the complexity out of deploying mission-critical business intelligence solutions," says Paul Gottsegen, vice president, Dell's Product Group. "Customers have taken advantage of our scale-out enterprise strategy by combining Dell engineering expertise with Oracle software for extensively tested and validated solutions."

"Since we're sharing the complete test kit with our partners, they'll be able to choose any components they like, run the tests, and send the results back to us for validation," says Oracle's Kumar. "That way the partners can choose the components that customers are most interested in and if there's new hardware coming out, they can run the validation kit and publish [one of the] Oracle Validated Configurations."

"As Linux is a key strategic platform for both HP and Oracle, we are very much aligned in our commitment to offer our joint customers choice and confidence when it comes to robust database environments," says Douglas Small, vice president of marketing, Open Source and Linux Organization, HP. "The Oracle Validated Configurations program deploys high-availability Oracle RAC [Real Application Clusters] clusters on HP ProLiant and HP Integrity servers using HP StorageWorks arrays and network-attached storage—a combination that provides customers with seamless quality and reliability."

Of course, this type of program is only useful if the information is kept current, and that's exactly what Oracle is doing, according to Oracle's Okamura. "We will be updating existing configurations as components change, such as new server models or storage components or operating system versions. Naturally, we'll also update for new Oracle releases."

Validate Your Linux To find out more about Oracle Validated Configurations and access best practices and lists of available configurations, visit oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/validated-configurations

Vendors Working Together

Creating the validated configurations required intense cooperation among a large group of vendors, but the payoff, according to Oracle's Kumar, is the flexibility afforded end users.

"This program provides flexibility and choice for end users to choose what they want to deploy," she says. "We're giving them lots of options because we're working with many different partners, including HP, Dell, IBM, EMC, NetApp, AMD, Novell, Red Hat, and more."

For example, a validated configuration will typically include multiple choices for each of the components of the Oracle Linux stack, so that users can choose different servers or storage components and still be assured their configuration is validated. "It's somewhat like a menu where they can pick and choose components based on their needs," says Kumar.

Of course, the program also helps companies address bottom-line issues. "IT managers are living within fixed or flat budgets so they're looking to reduce costs whenever possible," says John McAbel, worldwide product marketing manager, System x, at IBM. "And one of the means [to that end] is to replace older proprietary servers with low-cost alternatives like System x running Linux that can provide a lower total cost of ownership and yet drive the level of performance that customers are looking for here in the marketplace."

Oracle Validated Configurations tests were designed to mimic real workloads that are running in customer environments. "We've gathered a lot of experience by working with customers in deploying the Oracle database on Linux," says Kumar. "So we've created tests that simulate the types of workloads and issues that occur in real customer environments, as well as leveraging our experience running internal Oracle workloads such as Oracle On Demand, with its global IT workloads."

Next Steps LEARN more about Oracle Validated Configurations DOWNLOAD Oracle Validated Configurations

The program also tests a variety of configurations, including different test scenarios for two- and four-node Oracle RAC.

"Oracle Validated Configurations are not just about the tests and enabling customers to save testing time," says Kumar. "More important, it is about organizations getting the confidence from Oracle and its partners that components from four or five different vendors will work together seamlessly and there won't be finger-pointing if there's a problem. That's a huge value for our enterprise customers and an exciting opportunity for Oracle."