A Cluster Verification Utility Reference

Using CVU Help

The cluvfy commands have context sensitive help that shows their usage based on the command-line arguments that you enter. For example, if you enter cluvfy, then the CVU displays high-level generic usage text describing the stage and component syntax. If you enter cluvfy comp -list, then the CVU shows the valid components with brief descriptions about each of them. If you enter cluvfy comp -help, then the CVU shows detailed syntax for each of the valid component checks. Similarly, cluvfy stage -list and cluvfy stage -help display valid stages and their syntax for their checks respectively. If you enter an invalid CVU command, then the CVU shows the correct usage for that command. For example, if you type cluvfy stage -pre dbinst, then CVU shows the correct syntax for the precheck commands for the dbinst stage. Enter the cluvfy -help command to see detailed CVU command information.

Verbose Mode and UNKNOWN Output

Although by default the CVU reports in nonverbose mode by only reporting the summary of a test, you can obtain detailed output by using the -verbose argument. The -verbose argument produces detailed output of individual checks and where applicable shows results for each node in a tabular layout.

If a cluvfy command responds with UNKNOWN for a particular node, then this is because the CVU cannot determine whether a check passed or failed. The cause of this could be a loss of reachability or the failure of user equivalence to that node. The cause could also be any system problem that was occurring on that node at the time that CVU was performing a check.

If you run the CVU using the -verbose argument and the CVU responds with UNKNOWN for a particular node, then this is because the CVU cannot determine whether a check passed or failed. The following is a list of possible causes for an UNKNOWN response:

• The node is down

• Executables that the CVU requires are missing in CRS_home/bin or the Oracle home directory

• The user account that ran the CVU does not have privileges to run common operating system executables on the node

• The node is missing an operating system patch or a required package

• The node has exceeded the maximum number of processes or maximum number of open files, or there is a problem with IPC segments, such as shared memory or semaphores

Cluster Verification Utility Nodelist Shortcuts

You can use the following nodelist shortcuts:

To provide the CVU a list of all of the nodes of a cluster, enter -n all. CVU attempts to obtain the node list in the following order:

1. If vendor clusterware is available, then the CVU selects all of the configured nodes from the vendor clusterware using the lsnodes utility.

2. If Oracle Clusterware is installed, then the CVU selects all of the configured nodes from Oracle Clusterware using the olsnodes utility.

3. If neither the vendor nor Oracle Clusterware is installed, then the CVU searches for a value for the CV_NODE_ALL key in the configuration file.

4. If vendor and Oracle Clusterware are not installed and no key named CV_NODE_ALL exists in the configuration file, then the CVU searches for a value for the CV_NODE_ALL environmental variable.

If you have not set this variable, then the CVU reports an error.

To provide a partial node list, you can set an environmental variable and use it in the CVU command. For example, on Linux or UNIX systems you can enter:

setenv MYNODES node1,node3,node5
cluvfy comp nodecon -n $MYNODES [-verbose]

Cluster Verification Utility Configuration File

You can use the CVU configuration file to define specific inputs for the execution of the CVU. The path for the configuration file is CV_HOME/cv/admin/cvu_config. You can modify this using a text editor. The inputs to the tool are defined in the form of key entries. You must follow these rules when modifying the CVU configuration file:

• Key entries have the syntax name=value

• Each key entry and the value assigned to the key only defines one property

• Lines beginning with the number sign (#) are comment lines and are ignored

• Lines that do not follow the syntax name=value are ignored

The following is the list of keys supported by CVU:

• CV_NODE_ALL—If set, it specifies the list of nodes that should be picked up when Oracle Clusterware is not installed and a -n all option has been used in the command line. By default, this entry is commented out.

• CV_RAW_CHECK_ENABLED—If set to TRUE, it enables the check for accessibility of shared disks on RedHat release 3.0. This shared disk accessibility check requires that you install a cvuqdisk rpm on all of the nodes. By default, this key is set to TRUE and shared disk check is enabled.

• CV_XCHK_FOR_SSH_ENABLED—If set to TRUE, it enables the X-Windows check for verifying user equivalence with ssh. By default, this entry is commented out and X-Windows check is disabled.

• ORACLE_SRVM_REMOTESHELL—If set, it specifies the location for ssh/rsh command to override the CVU default value. By default, this entry is commented out and the tool uses /usr/sbin/ssh and /usr/sbin/rsh.

• ORACLE_SRVM_REMOTECOPY—If set, it specifies the location for the scp or rcp command to override the CVU default value. By default, this entry is commented out and CVU uses /usr/bin/scp and /usr/sbin/rcp.

If CVU does not find a key entry defined in the configuration file, then the CVU searches for the environment variable that matches the name of the key. If the environment variable is set, then the CVU uses its value, otherwise the CVU uses a default value for that entity.

Cluster Verification Utility System Requirements Verifications

To verify the minimal system requirements on the nodes prior to installing Oracle Clusterware or Oracle RAC, use the sys component verification command as follows:

cluvfy comp sys [ -n node_list ] -p { crs | database } }  [-r { 10gR1 | 10gR2 |
 11gR1} ] [ -osdba osdba_group ] [ -orainv orainventory_group ] [-verbose]

To check the system requirements for installing Oracle RAC, use the -p database argument, and to check the system requirements for installing Oracle Clusterware, use the -p crs argument. To check the system requirements for installing Oracle Clusterware or Oracle RAC from Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1), use the -r 11gR1 argument. For example, verify the system requirements for installing Oracle Clusterware on the cluster nodes known as node1,node2 and node3 by running the following command:

cluvfy comp sys -n node1,node2,node3 -p crs -verbose

Cluster Verification Utility Storage Verifications

To verify whether storage is shared among the nodes in your cluster database or to identify all of the storage that is available on the system and can be shared across the cluster nodes, use the component verification command ssa as follows:

cluvfy comp ssa [ -n node_list ] [ -s storageID_list ] [-verbose]

For example, discover all of the shared storage systems available on your system by running the following command:

cluvfy comp ssa  -n all -verbose

You can verify the accessibility of a specific storage location, such as /dev/sda, across the cluster nodes by running the following command:

cluvfy comp ssa  -n all -s /dev/sda 

To verify whether a certain amount of free space is available on a specific location in the nodes of your cluster database, use the component verification command space.

cluvfy comp space  [ -n node_list ] -l storage_location -z disk_space {B|K|M|G} 
 [-verbose]

For example, you can verify the availability of at least 2 GB of free space at the location /home/dbadmin/products on all of the cluster nodes by running the following command:

cluvfy comp space  -n all -l  / home/dbadmin/products  –z 2G -verbose

To verify the integrity of your Oracle Cluster File System (OCFS) on platforms on which OCFS is available, use the component verification command cfs as follows:

cluvfy comp cfs  [ -n node_list ] -f file_system [-verbose]

For example, you can verify the integrity of the cluster file system /oradbshare on all of the nodes by running the following command:

cluvfy comp cfs -f /oradbshare –n all -verbose

Cluster Verification Utility Connectivity Verifications

To verify the cluster nodes can be reached from the local node or from any other cluster node, use the component verification command nodereach as follows:

cluvfy comp nodereach -n node_list [ -srcnode node ]  [-verbose]

To verify the connectivity between the cluster nodes through all of the available network interfaces or through specific network interfaces, use the component verification command nodecon as follows:

cluvfy comp nodecon -n node_list [ -i interface_list ]  [-verbose]

Use the nodecon command without the -i option as follows to use CVU to:

• Discover all of the network interfaces that are available on the cluster nodes

• Review the interfaces' corresponding IP addresses and subnets

• Obtain the list of interfaces that are suitable for use as VIPs and the list of interfaces to private interconnects

• Verify the connectivity between all of the nodes through those interfaces

cluvfy comp nodecon -n all [-verbose]

You can run this command in verbose mode to identify the mappings between the interfaces, IP addresses, and subnets. To verify the connectivity between all of the nodes through specific network interfaces, use the comp nodecon command with the -i option. For example, you can verify the connectivity between the nodes node1,node2, and node3, through interface eth0 by running the following command:

cluvfy comp nodecon -n node1,node2,node3 –i eth0 -verbose

Cluster Verification Utility User and Permissions Verifications

To verify user accounts and administrative permissions-related issues, use the component verification command admprv as follows:

cluvfy comp admprv  [ -n node_list ]  [-verbose]
                | -o user_equiv [-sshonly]
                | -o crs_inst  [-orainv orainventory_group ] 
                | -o db_inst  [-orainv orainventory_group ] [-osdba osdba_group ]
                | -o db_config  -d oracle_home

To verify whether user equivalence exists on specific nodes, use the -o user_equiv argument. On Linux and UNIX platforms, this command verifies user equivalence first using ssh and then using rsh, if the ssh check fails. To verify the equivalence only through ssh, use the -sshonly option. By default, the equivalence check does not verify X-Windows configurations, such as whether you have disabled X-forwarding, whether you have the proper setting for the DISPLAY environment variable, and so on.

To verify X-Windows aspects during user equivalence checks, set the CV_XCHK_FOR_SSH_ENABLED key to TRUE in the configuration file that resides in the path CV_HOME/cv/admin/cvu_config before you run the admprv -o user_equiv command. Use the -o crs_inst argument to verify whether you have permissions to install Oracle Clusterware.

You can use the -o db_inst argument to verify the permissions that are required for installing Oracle RAC and the -o db_config argument to verify the permissions that are required for creating an Oracle RAC database or for modifying an Oracle RAC database's configuration. For example, you can verify user equivalence for all of the nodes by running the following command:

cluvfy comp admprv  -n all -o user_equiv -verbose

On Linux and UNIX platforms, this command verifies user equivalence by first using ssh and then using rsh if the ssh check fails. To verify the equivalence only through ssh, use the -sshonly option. By default, the equivalence check does not verify X-Windows configurations, such as when you have disabled X-forwarding with the setting of the DISPLAY environment variable. To verify X-Windows aspects during user equivalence checks, set the CV_XCHK_FOR_SSH_ENABLED key to TRUE in the configuration file CV_HOME/cv/admin/cvu_config before you run the admprv -o user_equiv command.

To verify the existence of node applications, namely VIP, ONS and GSD, on all of the nodes, use the component nodeapp command:

cluvfy comp nodeapp  [ -n node_list ]  [-verbose]

Cluster Verification Utility Node Comparisons and Verifications

Use the component verification peer command to compare the nodes as follows:

cluvfy comp peer [ -refnode node ] -n node_list [-r { 10gR1 | 10gR2 | 11gR1} ]
 [ -orainv orainventory_group ] [ -osdba osdba_group ]  [-verbose]

The following command lists the values of several preselected properties on different nodes from Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1):

cluvfy comp peer -n node_list [-r 11gR1] [-verbose]

You can also use the comp peer command with the -refnode argument to compare the properties of other nodes against the reference node.

Cluster Verification Utility Installation Verifications

To verify whether your system meets all of the criteria for an Oracle Clusterware installation, use the -pre crsinst command for the Oracle Clusterware installation stage as follows:

cluvfy stage -pre crsinst -n node_list
 [ -c ocr_location ] [-r { 10gR1 | 10gR2 | 11gR1} ][ -q voting_disk ] 
 [ -osdba osdba_group ] 
 [ -orainv orainventory_group ]  [-verbose]

After you have completed phase one, verify that Oracle Clusterware is functioning properly before proceeding with phase two of your Oracle RAC installation by running the -post crsinst command for the Oracle Clusterware installation stage:

cluvfy stage -post crsinst -n node_list [-verbose]

To verify whether your system meets all of the criteria for an Oracle RAC installation, use the pre dbinst command for the Database Installation stage:

cluvfy stage -pre dbinst -n node_list [-r { 10gR1 | 10gR2 | 11gR1} ]
 [ -osdba osdba_group ] 
 [ -orainv orainventory_group ]  [-verbose]

To verify whether your system meets all of the criteria for creating a database or for making a database configuration change, use the pre dbcfg command for the Database Configuration stage:

cluvfy stage -pre dbcfg -n node_list -d oracle_home [-verbose]

Cluster Verification Utility Cluster Integrity Verifications

To check the integrity of your entire cluster, which means to verify that all of the nodes in the cluster have the same view of the cluster configuration, use the component verification command comp clu, as follows:

cluvfy comp clu

Cluster Verification Utility Oracle Clusterware Component Verifications

To verify the integrity of all of the Oracle Clusterware components, use the component verification comp crs command:

cluvfy comp crs  [ -n node_list ]  [-verbose]

To verify the integrity of each individual Cluster Manager subcomponent, use the component verification command comp clumgr:

cluvfy comp clumgr  [ -n node_list ]  [-verbose]

To verify the integrity of the Oracle Cluster Registry, use the component verification command comp ocr:

cluvfy comp ocr  [ -n node_list ] [-verbose]

Cluster Verification Utility Argument and Option Definitions

Table A-1 describes the CVU arguments and options used in the previous examples:

Database Versions Supported by Cluster Verification Utility

The current CVU release supports only Oracle Database 10g or higher, Oracle RAC, and Oracle Clusterware and CVU is not backward compatible. In other words, CVU cannot check or verify Oracle Database products prior to Oracle Database 10g.

Linux Shared Storage Accessibility (ssa) Check Reports Limitations

The current release of cluvfy has the following limitations on Linux regarding shared storage accessibility check.

• Currently NAS storage (r/w, no attribute caching) and OCFS (version 1.0.14 or higher) are supported.

• For sharedness checks on NAS, cluvfy commands require you to have write permission on the specified path. If the cluvfy user does not have write permission, cluvfy reports the path as not shared.

Shared Disk Discovery on Red Hat Linux

To perform discovery and shared storage accessibility checks for SCSI disks on Red Hat Linux 3.0 (or higher) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, CVU requires the CVUQDISK package. If you attempt to use CVU and the CVUQDISK package is not installed on all of the nodes in your Oracle RAC environment, then CVU responds with an error.

Perform the following procedure to install the CVUQDISK package:

1. Login as the root user.

2. Copy the rpm, cvuqdisk-1.0.1-1.rpm, to a local directory. You can find this rpm in the rpm subdirectory of the top-most directory in the Oracle Clusterware installation media. For example, you can find cvuqdisk-1.0.1-1.rpm in the directory /mountpoint/clusterware/rpm/ where mountpoint is the mounting point for the disk on which the directory is located.

3. Set the environment variable to a group that should own the CVUQDISK package binaries. If CVUQDISK_GRP is not set, then by default the oinstall group is the owner's group.

4. Determine whether previous versions of the CVUQDISK package are installed by running the command rpm -q cvuqdisk. If you find previous versions of the CVUQDISK package, then remove them by running the command rpm -e cvuqdisk previous_version where previous_version is the identifier of the previous CVUQDISK version.

5. Install the latest CVUQDISK package by running the command rpm -iv cvuqdisk-1.0.1-1.rpm.