Really? Exadata, ACFS and 10gR2?

If you work with Exadata you are probably aware that ACFS has not been supported - until now!

ACFS is now supported on Exadata if you are running Grid Infrastructure version 12.1.0.2 or later. This new support is described in MOS note 1326938.1. Also Exadata support for ACFS is mentioned in MOS note 888828.1, which is the king of all Exadata notes on MOS.

The upshot is that you can now run Oracle Database 10gR2 on Exadata using ACFS as the storage for the Oracle Database.

Don’t Over React and just Throw Everything on ACFS!
First, let’s be clear that ACFS is not an alternative for running your Exadata databases on ASM. If you are running any production or non-production performance sensitive Oracle databases on 11.2 or 12.1, then you should be running them on ASM disks that are associated with the storage cells. The use case for ACFS is generally limited to the following:

• Running any Oracle 10gR2 databases on Exadata.
• Running Oracle 11gR2 development or test databases that require rapid cloning, and that do not require the performance benefits of the Exadata storage cells.

If you are running Oracle Database 12c and you need snapshot/clone kinds of capabilities, then you should be using Oracle MultiTennant and the features present in that option (remember though that MultiTennant is a licensed option).

The Fine Print
There are some requirements that you will need to meet If you are going to run ACFS on Exadata. These are:

• You have to use Oracle Linux
• You must use GI 12.1.0.2 or later
• If you wish to use HCC then you must apply the fix for bug 19136936 to your system. This bug, and it’s associated patch do not appear on MOS (as of the time that I wrote this) so you will need to open an SR and get support to provide the patch for you.

The Best Use Case for ACFS
Even though Oracle Database 10gR2 is at end of life, it remains in use in a large number of places. This has caused problems when choosing to implement Exadata as a consolidation platform, or when choosing it during a hardware refresh process. Now that ACFS is supported, Exadata has become even more flexible and affords customers greater flexibility when migrating to Exadata and Engineered Systems. While all of the features of Exadata might not be available to a 10.2.0.4 database, certainly just the improved processing capabilities of Exadata with its fast as heck infiniband network fabric, additional memory, reduced power requirements and a whole host of other features, justifies moving these databases to Exadata now. This will also make it easier to upgrade these databases when the time comes!