Customer Reviews

Oracle 10g RAC Grid, Services & Clustering

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Really good book. I found it very useful as it covers almost all topics from DBA prospective. Information is technical enough for an experienced DBA or Developer. Book is well structured and it is easy to follow the material cover to cover. Up to date information in all aspects (Oracle binary set up, OS , networking and development).
Very useful appendix, which guides you through various tasks.
Easy to find information you require.
One of the best (if not the best) Oracle 10g RAC books on the market.
Of course, it cannot cover literally all topics, but it is definitely a great effort.
Thank you Murali!

Ivaylo Lissev
Database Consultant

As compared to the 370 pages provided by Oracle as docu for RAC, this book with its nearly 700 pages and lots of info and examples is brilliant.
I have two years Oracle 10g RAC experience, but I have found in this book very valuable information about how RAC works, what is behind all components and all kind of "inside information" one could not find in Oracle documentation.
Except some typos (understandable, given the rush to print a good book about RAC) this book is clearly a BUY.

Cristian
OCP 8i,9i,10g.

The grammar is terrible, it's filled with bad analogies and information that should have been assumed (e.g., RAID - how long has this technology been around?). There's a couple good nuggets but overall, it's like bad reality TV, %5 content surrounded by 95% filler.

This is a good reference for Oracle RAC. The author makes a mistake, however, of treating the core 20% of RAC like rest of the 80%. For example, the book's details on Oracle RAC installation was about the same as its explanation of OCFS 1.0.

I think 3 things about ORACLE RAC are essential and perhaps the most important part of RAC knowledge. They are the architecture, the installation (not that simple), and the administration. Approximately 20% of the book is dedicated to the 3 core topics.

To his credit, the author does provide some fine examples and detailed knowledge on many esotoric aspects of RAC. For example, I have found his insights into DBMS and DGMRL packages related to RAC very helpful.

Nice coverage of various components of RAC technology on all platforms. My favorite part was the appendix that covers some good workshop exercises and ways to use Data Guard and RAC.

This book has proven to be an excellent guide for graduating my team on to 10g RAC. It has become a must-read for all our existing DBAs/new hires. The details that Murali lends to any topic allow us to understand the topic best. His narration is matched with his technicalese.
We are eagerly looking foward to his and Nitin's next book on ASM.

This book will guide you not just through what matters in RAC but also on Linux as well.
If you're not so familiar with Linux environment, this is the book you gotta read.
For instance: the most difficult part of implementing RAC is the installation of the clusterware due to several requirements before the installation actually happens. This book will guide you through the basic steps of:
setting up public network cards,
private networks cards,
creating VIP addresses,
bonding two or more network cards,
testing them,
verify with cluvfy if there is anything else to be done and just then, actually install clusterware software.

In other books, all these steps i just mentioned are simply skipped. They just mention what you have to do. This book shows you step by step.

These basic steps i just mentioned are linux steps, not oracle for the sake of oracle software. That's why this book is great. You don't have to have the linux bible handy because he tells you step by step what to do.
The steps related to oracle are very detailed. He uses very rich pictures to better understand the concepts as well.

There are some grammar errors in the text but it's nothing compared to how clear and simple this authors teaches the concepts of RAC. Step by step is very detailed.

If you really want something simple, easy, with rich concepts and with step by step for beginner or intermediate skills with Oracle RAC stick with Oracle 10g RAC from Murali Vallath.

I think it's important to read more than one book about the same subject so you can compare them.

I read another book as well 'Oracle Database 10g Real Application Clusters Handbook' by K GOPALAKRISHNAN. I had the impression that this book would be very good specially because it's from Oracle Press. It's a waste of time and money. Just deep concepts. Read my review before buying it.

So, if you're still in doubt, go for Murali Vallath with 10G Grid, Services and Clustering. It's worth it.

For me as an intermediate DBA who had to do a project on 10gRAC with no real training, I found this book a great help. It gives me enough technical background without becoming to theoretical as I find is often the case in other books I have seen. With this technical info on all the processes which take place in clusterware and ASM, hands-on info is given to guide you building the RAC. The information is given in a logical order.
Also, scripts are provided to monitor your RAC and ASM and dataguard, the last being covered a bit too little for me for an HA environment. But there Oracle's OTN manual which is very good on its own.

Although this book has a lot of technical detail, it is not well organized - as a result, learn RAC concepts, installation, technology is difficult.

This book covers both Oracle RAC and Grid Technology with great examples. I recommend this book to all DBA's who want to implement 10g RAC. This book is big asset to people who are already using Oracle 10g RAC.