Exadata

Just a quick note about change in the way the compute nodes are patched starting from version 11.2.3.1.1. For earlier versions Oracle provided the minimal pack for patching the compute nodes. Starting with version 11.2.3.1.1 Oracle has discontinued the minimal pack and the updates to compute nodes are done via Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN). Now there are three ways to update the compute nodes: You have internet access on the Compute nodes. In this case you can download patch 13741363, complete the one time setup and start the update. ...

Hybrid Columnar Compression (HCC) is a new awesome feature in Exadata that helps in saving a lot of storage space in your environment. This whitepaper on Oracle website explains this feature in detail. Also Uwe Hesse has an excellent how to use all this post on his blog. You can see the compression levels one can achive by making use of HCC. It is very simple to use feature but one needs to be aware of few things before using HCC extensively as otherwise all your storage calculations may go weird. Here are few of the things to keep in mind: ...