Managing Serviceguard Extension for SAP Version B.05.10, September 2010

Table 2-7 NLS Files - Default Location
Client NLS LocationKernel Version
$ORACLE_HOME/ocommon/NLS[_<nls_version>]/admin/data
<=4.6
/oracle/<rdbms_version>/ocommon/nls/admin/data
4.6
/oracle/client/<rdbms_version>/ocommon/nls/admin/data
6.x, 7.x
A second type of NLS directory, called the "server" NLS directory. always exists. This directory
is created during database or SAP Central System installations. The location of the server NLS
files is identical for all SAP kernel versions:
$ORACLE_HOME/common/nls/admin/data
The setting of the ORA_NLS[<nls_version>]variable in the environments of <sid>adm and
ora<sid> determines whether the client or the server path to NLS is used. The variable gets
defined in the . dbenv_<hostname>.[c]sh files in the home directories of these users.
During SGeSAP installation, create local copies of the client NLS files on each host where a
failover could take place. SAP Central Instances use the server path to NLS files, while Application
Server Instances use the client path.
Sometimes a single host may have an installation of both a Central Instance and an additional
Application Server of the same SAP System. These instances need to share the same environment
settings. SAP recommends using the server path to NLS files for both instances in this case. This
won't work with SGeSAP since switching the database would leave the application server without
NLS file access.
Oracle 9.x releases no longer maintain NLS compatibility with Oracle 8.x. Also, Oracle 9.x patches
introduce incompatibilities with older Oracle 9.x NLS files. The following constraints need to be
met:
1. The Oracle RDBMS and database tools rely on an ORA_NLS[<nls_version>] setting that
refers to NLS files that are compatible to the version of the RDBMS. Oracle 9.x needs NLS
files as delivered with Oracle 9.x.
2. The SAP executables rely on an ORA_NLS[<nls_version>] setting that refers to NLS files
of the same versions as those that were used during kernel link time by SAP development.
This is not necessarily identical to the installed database release.
The Oracle database server and SAP server might need different types of NLS files. The server
NLS files are part of the database Serviceguard package. The client NLS files are installed locally
on all hosts. Do not mix the access paths for ORACLE server and client processes.
The discussion of NLS files has no impact on the treatment of other parts of the ORACLE client
files. The following directories need to exist locally on all hosts where an Application Server
might run. The directories cannot be relocated to different paths. The content needs to be identical
to the content of the corresponding directories that are shared as part of the database SGeSAP
package. The setup for these directories follows the "on top" mount approach, i.e., the directories
might become hidden beneath identical copies that are part of the package:
$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/mesg
$ORACLE_HOME/oracore/zoneinfo
$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
30 Planning the Storage Layout