Expert Oracle Exadata - Parent Directory

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS EXADATA?StorageServersDatabaseServersInfinibandLeafSwitchesCisco NetworkSwitch, ILOM,and KVMDatabaseServersStorageServersInfinibandSpineSwitchFigure 1-2. An Exadata Full RackAs you can see, most of the networking components, including an Ethernet switch and two redundantInfiniBand switches, are located in the middle of the rack. This makes sense as it makes the cabling alittle simpler. There is also a Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) module and KVM in the centersection. The surrounding eight slots are reserved for database servers, and the rest of the rack is used forstorage servers, with one exception. The very bottom slot is used for an additional InfiniBand “spine”switch that can be used to connect additional racks if so desired. It is located in the bottom of the rack,based on the expectation that your Exadata will be in a data center with a raised floor, allowing cablingto be run from the bottom of the rack.Operating SystemsThe current generation X2 hardware configurations use Intel-based Sun servers. As of this writing all theservers come preinstalled with Oracle Linux 5. Oracle has announced that they intend to support twoversions of the Linux kernel—the standard Redhat-compatible version and an enhanced version called10