Delphix Products

  • 1.  provision asm to non-asm

    Posted 09-23-2016 04:23:00 PM
    Hello all,
    I am already using delphix express to successfully provision VDBS from a small dsource to developers. This successful test is based on a source env with ASM instance to another ASM target instance. I understand that the VBD datafiles are not stored in the target host ASM, but inside delphix engine itself.

    Still studying the capabilities of Delphix, now I am trying to provision a VDB from a source that is hosted on ASM to a target environment that does not have an ASM instance installed. During the provision operation, the process freezes at delphix interface and hangs there at "Recovering Oracle database.". When I log into the target environment (all seens to be ok: the delphix mount point is correctly mounted ) and see the alert log for the VDB being provisioned I have a bunch of:

    Starting background process ASMB
    Fri Sep 23 14:15:09 2016
    ASMB started with pid=23, OS id=19417
    WARNING: failed to start ASMB (connection failed) state=0x1 sid=''
    WARNING: ASMB exiting with error

    (while the VBD creation process will be hanging until I halt it manually, there is no error catch on the delphix interface)

    Ok, I understand that it is asking for a ASM instance because all datafiles from original DB are stored in my source's ASM instance. But what to do if my target does not have an ASM instance?

    I already tried to:
    Put this parameters in the VBD configuration
    db_file_name_convert=('+DATA', '/var/oracle/oradata')
    log_file_name_convert=('+DATA', '/var/oracle/online')
    db_create_file_dest='/var/oracle/oradata'
    log_file_name_convert='/var/oracle/online'
    db_create_online_log_dest_n='/var/oracle/fra'

    I also tried to put the FILE MAPPING rule:
    \+DATA --> /var/oracle/
    (it was validated)

    And several combination of both.

    I had a similar problem with this during the deployment of DBVISIT Standby from primary on ASM to standby NON-ASM, but I could get over it using db_file_name_convert.

    What can I do to overcome this situation in Delphix?


    Thank you!

    Guilherme Campos
    Escola Superior do Ministério Público da União
    Brasil










  • 2.  RE: provision asm to non-asm

    Posted 09-23-2016 05:56:00 PM
    Actually, when I try to use db_file_name_convert='+DATA', '/var/oracle/oradata' delphix says it is a reserved parameter and does not allow me to continuing the provisioning. I have to remove it and rely on the file mapping, and this also doesn't resolves my problem.


  • 3.  RE: provision asm to non-asm
    Best Answer

    Posted 09-23-2016 06:21:00 PM
    Hi Guilherme-

    The behavior you encounter when provisioning from an ASM source is expected, depending on the version of Delphix and the version of Oracle.  

    Oracle 12c introduced a new behavior which automatically attempts to start ASM when certain queries or commands are executed against objects with an ASM file path.  When this occurs, you will still eventually have a successful provision, but it may be significantly delayed (depending on the number of datafiles in your source database).  There are a few options to work around this delay.

    1.  You can upgrade to Delphix 5.0.2.0 or later.  This version introduces some changes to our logic for renaming of datafiles to avoid this undesirable behavior and accelerate provision time.
    2.  You can start an ASM instance on the target host with a minimal configuration.  This avoids the attempted start and crash of ASMB processes.

    In either workaround, or even when simply dealing with the delayed provision, you don't have to perform any advanced VDB configuration, as Delphix automatically renames datafiles to a new path as part of the provision operation.  You can choose to leave the default options and the provision should still be successful, but slower than normally expected.

    If you consider an upgrade to Delphix, I would strongly encourage you to consider the latest revision (5.0.5.1) to receive the benefits of additional bug fixes and enhancements.  Details of the current release can be found at https://docs.delphix.com/display/DOCS50/What%27s+New+for+Delphix+Engine.

    Please let us know if we can provide any other detail!


  • 4.  RE: provision asm to non-asm

    Posted 09-26-2016 02:44:00 PM
    Ok, just to check if I got it right:

    I need an ASM instance running just to make the database think it's going to store the datafiles in the ASM DG, but actually delphix will handle the file conversion and store inside it's magical data storage.

    Is this correct? I mean, there will be no real usage of my target's ASM DG.

    Thanks again,
    Guilherme