Nimble Oracle Integration Without ASM

[brentsalvador]

The Nimble Linux toolkit contains a utility to clone and integrate Oracle databases, however noradatamgr requires Oracle ASM (Automatic Storage Management). So what if your organization uses Oracle but does not utilize Oracle ASM?  According to Nimble, your out of luck.
 
I recently had an opportunity to integrate multiple Oracle Linux servers with a Nimble Filer without utilizing Oracle ASM. Nimble snapshots and clones were then used to support up to 10 test/dev databases.

Included in the integration were processes to automatically clone and refresh Oracle test databases from selected snapshots, a daily snapshot cleanup process, and a daily snapshot and clone report emailed to selected IT staff each morning. All processes are presented to the Linux user via an easy to configure Linux Menu.
 
For smaller shops, the automation may be necessary because many lack the in-house expertise to maintain Oracle systems. Having easy to use integration processes, in-house IT staff can simply select the database they wish to refresh, select the desired Nimble snapshot, and a few minutes later, have a fully functional clone renamed and ready for use.

I have created an integration document to assist organizations with similar implementation requirements. If you are interested in knowing more about this type of integration, please refer to the linked document at the end of this post, It contains examples, code snippet's, and some design strategy. It also contains some Linux integration topics that may be useful even if your organization doen't use Oracle.
 
Audience:

Technical staff whose organization does not utilize Oracle ASM or anybody who wants to know more about Oracle and Linux integration. Although smaller shops not using ASM may benefit more from this document, this information can enhance any existing Oracle or Linux integration.
 
Topics Include::

• Running Nimble commands from Linux Servers within scripts.
• Keeping Linux devices consistent with Nimble devices.
• LVM and XFS Considerations.
• Cloning, mounting, restoring and renaming Oracle databases.
• Nimble CLI reporting challenges.
• Other minor topics

This document provides a high level overview of necessary tasks, as well as some code examples. Familiarity with Oracle, Nimble and Linux will be required. This is also a case study on one possible implementation strategy. All examples, names and structures have been changed.

Hope you find this useful.

Nimble Oracle Integration Without ASM