instance structure

Database Instance Structure

 

When an instance is started, Oracle Database allocates a memory area called the system global area (SGA) and starts one or more background processes. The SGA serves various purposes, including the following:

 

    Maintaining internal data structures that are accessed by many processes and threads concurrently

 

    Caching data blocks read from disk

 

    Buffering redo data before writing it to the online redo log files

 

    Storing SQL execution plans

 

The SGA is shared by the Oracle processes, which include server processes and background processes, running on a single computer. The way in which Oracle processes are associated with the SGA varies according to operating system.

 

A database instance includes background processes. Server processes, and the process memory allocated in these processes, also exist in the instance. The instance continues to function when server processes terminate.

 

Figure 13-1 shows the main components of an Oracle database instance.

 

Database Instance Configurations

 

You can run Oracle Database in either of the following mutually exclusive configurations:

 

    Single-instance configuration

 

    A one-to-one relationship exists between the database and an instance.

 

    Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) configuration

 

    A one-to-many relationship exists between the database and instances.

 

Figure 13-2 shows possible database instance configurations.

 

 

Whether in a single-instance or Oracle RAC configuration, a database instance is associated with only one database at a time. You can start a database instance and mount (associate the instance with) one database, but not mount two databases simultaneously with the same instance.

 

Note:

This chapter discusses a single-instance database configuration unless otherwise noted.

 

Multiple instances can run concurrently on the same computer, each accessing its own database. For example, a computer can host two distinct databases: prod1 and prod2. One database instance manages prod1, while a separate instance manages prod2.

 

 

Overview of Instance Recovery

 

Instance recovery is the process of applying records in the online redo log to data files to reconstruct changes made after the most recent checkpoint. Instance recovery occurs automatically when an administrator attempts to open a database that was previously shut down inconsistently.

 

Importance of Checkpoints for Instance Recovery

 

Instance recovery uses checkpoints to determine which changes must be applied to the data files. The checkpoint position guarantees that every committed change with an SCN lower than the checkpoint SCN is saved to the data files.

 

Figure 13-5 depicts the redo thread in the online redo log.

 

During instance recovery, the database must apply the changes that occur between the checkpoint position and the end of the redo thread. As shown in Figure 13-5, some changes may already have been written to the data files. However, only changes with SCNs lower than the checkpoint position are guaranteed to be on disk.

 

Instance Recovery Phases

 

The first phase of instance recovery is called cache recovery or rolling forward, and involves reapplying all of the changes recorded in the online redo log to the data files. Because rollback data is recorded in the online redo log, rolling forward also regenerates the corresponding undo segments.

 

Rolling forward proceeds through as many online redo log files as necessary to bring the database forward in time. After rolling forward, the data blocks contain all committed changes recorded in the online redo log files. These files could also contain uncommitted changes that were either saved to the data files before the failure, or were recorded in the online redo log and introduced during cache recovery.

 

After the roll forward, any changes that were not committed must be undone. Oracle Database uses the checkpoint position, which guarantees that every committed change with an SCN lower than the checkpoint SCN is saved on disk. Oracle Database applies undo blocks to roll back uncommitted changes in data blocks that were written before the failure or introduced during cache recovery. This phase is called rolling back or transaction recovery.

 

Figure 13-6 illustrates rolling forward and rolling back, the two steps necessary to recover from database instance failure.

 

Description of "Figure 13-6 Basic Instance Recovery Steps: Rolling Forward and Rolling Back"

 

Oracle Database can roll back multiple transactions simultaneously as needed. All transactions that were active at the time of failure are marked as terminated. Instead of waiting for the SMON process to roll back terminated transactions, new transactions can roll back individual blocks themselves to obtain the required data.

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