Installation guide

3
Target audience: This white paper is intended for system architects and decision makers who have responsibility for
evaluating, purchasing, recommending and/or implementing database applications based on Oracle databases. Previous
knowledge of Linux, Oracle database software, HP ProLiant servers, and HP VMA-series Memory Array products would
be advantageous but is not required.
This white paper describes testing performed in October 2010 and May 2011.
Introduction
The recommended configurations are based on an online transaction processing (OLTP) workload. The set of
transactions used in the workload is representative of a web-based application.
These transactions allow users to check product availability, place an order for products, pay for their order, view the
status of their order, and schedule delivery of their order. The most common transactions are placing and paying for an
order; these two transactions occur with similar frequency and occur approximately ten times as frequently as other
transactions. Checking for product availability and the status of an order are simple, read-only transactions. Placing an
order for products, paying for an order, and scheduling delivery of an order include read and write (Insert, Select, and
Update) operations. Placing an order is the most complex transaction, involving multiple tables. The recommendations
provided are most accurate for applications with transactions similar to those described above. Also these solutions will
perform very well for packaged solutions such as Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel, and SAP. We strongly
recommend that you work with your local HP Reseller or HP Sales Representative to determine the best solution for you.
Solution criteria
Table 1 below shows details of the three workloads in terms of the maximum user count, database size, business
transactions/hour, and storage type. These values are the estimated maximum values for the recommended
configurations listed in this document. The maximum values are not listed for all possible server configurations. A
business transaction has to do with a business function, for example, check status of an order or view an invoice. It is not
possible to make a direct comparison between a sustained business transaction volume and transactions per minute
(TPM). Business transactions are made up of several individual SQL transactions required to satisfy the business request
rather than a total of the individual SQL transactions. Some batch and reporting requirements are essential elements of
most OLTP environments. If your environment has extensive batch processing and/or reporting requirements, then HP
recommends starting with a proof of concept to test your specific workload before the final configuration is defined.
Many other configurations can be created that use additional hardware and support a greater number of transactions.
If you need help with a specific Oracle solution or prefer a solution design or sizing based on your requirements please
contact your local HP reseller, HP sales representative, or the HP Oracle Solution Center in your region.
Table 1. Recommended Configuration metrics and storage type options
Number
HP ProLiant
Server Model
User Count
Database Size
TB
Business
OLTP Transactions
per Hour
Storage
Type
1
DL980 G7 (4p/32c)
6,000
8
35,000,000
Flash
2
DL980 G7 (4p/40c)
13,000
15
70,000,000
Flash
3
DL980 G7 (8p/80c)
26,000
25
150,000,000
Flash
The first configuration using four Intel® Xeon® E7-2830 processors utilizes direct attached storage (DAS) with two HP
VMA controllers and Memory Arrays. The second configuration using four Intel Xeon E7-4870 processors utilizes DAS
with four HP VMA Memory Arrays and the third configuration uses eight Intel Xeon E7-4870 processors with eight HP
VMA Memory Arrays. Additional information on these VMA products can be found in the Storage configuration details
section.