Optimizing Solaris for Oracle 8.x

Leonardo Orellano and Timothy Young

Systems administrators are often called upon to configure or "optimize" an operating system for a given application. Although often unfamiliar with the application itself, administrators are challenged to ensure the optimal performance of the product that is implemented on the platform constituting the area of their expertise. Although much documentation may have been written to assist in the configuration and maintenance of the application from within its own interface and configuration files, clear, concise information for tuning OS-specific variables is often needed. One common example of this scenario is the optimization of Sun Solaris for Oracle 8.x.

About 70% of all Solaris environments contain Oracle implementations; not surprisingly, the majority of Oracle installations occur on the Sun platform. The systems administrator plays an integral role in the implementation process, and is ultimately responsible for the assurance that the database administrator has delivered a finely-tuned environment with which to work. The initial achievement as well as the continuing success of the implementation depend upon effective teamwork and informed communication between the Solaris systems administrator and the Oracle DBA. The sharing of information and understanding of the needs of this closely related (and often symbiotic) area of expertise also provide the systems administrator with an easily accessible path toward the augmentation of skills and increased experience.

As she works with developers and DBAs, the systems administrator will attempt to identify quantifiable architectural and performance-related issues, as well as the methods by which such concepts as high-availability and fault-tolerance can be realized. The general strategy is to facilitate the tuning process by focusing on four major areas: operating system, application, database, and network.<>