Oracle 1z0-902 Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Exam Practice Test

Your customer needs to ensure that their data is available on the Exadata machine during updates. The customer wants to be able to update one server at a time but still be protected against single-node server failure. This means that they need a redundancy level that can tolerate at least one disk failure without losing data availability or performance. Therefore, the best option for them is normal redundancy . Normal redundancy provides two-way mirroring by default, which means that each data extent has a primary copy and a mirror copy on different disks in different failure groups1. A failure group is a subset of disks within a disk group that are likely to fail at the same time due to common dependencies2. On Exadata Database Machine , each Storage Server is considered as a failure group by default2. This means that if one Storage Server fails or needs to be updated , the data on its disks can still be accessed from another Storage Server that has the mirror copies of the same data extents2. Therefore, normal redundancy ensures data availability and performance during updates or single-node server failures.

https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/sagug/exadata-administering-asm.html

The statements that are true about the CellCLI command are:

It has command-line history . According to 1, you can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through previous commands that you entered in CellCLI . You can also use Ctrl+R to search for a previous command by entering part of it .

It can be executed on storage servers . According to 1, you can invoke CellCLI by logging in to the Exadata cell as cellmonitor , celladmin , or root user and typing “cellcli” . Within CellCLI , you can perform various management and monitoring tasks for the cell134.

It can be executed using the DCLI utility . According to 5, DCLI (distributed CLI) is another utility that can be used to execute scripts and commands across multiple storage cells from a single interface. You can use DCLI to run CellCLI commands on multiple cells at once54.

In an Exadata environment, the path of communication for SNMP traps involves:

Management Server (MS) Process to EM Agent: Alerts related to the storage server are generated by the MS process, which then forwards SNMP traps directly to the Enterprise Manager agent, allowing centralized monitoring and alert management​.

ILOM to EM Agent: The ILOM on each Exadata storage server can independently send SNMP traps to the EM agent, providing additional hardware-level monitoring and alerting capabilities .

These pathways ensure that alerts from both hardware and software layers reach Enterprise Manager efficiently, supporting proactive management and rapid response to system issues.

Oracle Exadata X9M-2 supports virtualization through Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), enabling multiple virtual machines (VMs) to run on each database server. Specifically:

Each X9M-2 database server can support up to 12 virtual guests. This number provides ample flexibility for running various applications or Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) instances across virtualized environments .

While Exadata X9M-8 supports even more extensive virtualization, this question focuses on the X9M-2 model. The specified limitation of 12 guests per database server considers both system resource allocation and performance optimization .

In the Exadata X9M-2 configuration:

High Capacity (HC) Storage Server: Each HC storage server is equipped with 4 x 6.4 TB NVMe flash cards. These flash cards serve as a cache layer to accelerate I/O performance, especially for read-heavy and mixed workload environments. This configuration combines large storage capacity with NVMe flash for optimal data processing.

Extreme Flash (EF) Storage Server: Each EF storage server contains 8 x 6.4 TB NVMe flash cards, which provides extremely high IOPS and low latency. This configuration is designed for applications demanding high-performance flash storage, making it suitable for intensive OLTP and analytical workloads.

Database Server Flash Storage: The Exadata X9M-2 database servers themselves do not include flash storage as part of their default configuration, which aligns with option D. However, since option E is correct, we do not include D as the other correct answer​​.

https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/dbmmn/maintaining-exadata-storage-servers.html#GUID-AE16A1DA-53C6-4E80-94E5-963AA65373AB

The two commands that must be executed to safely power off the storage server in an Exadata X9M Database Machine are E and F.

Command E, CellCLI alter GRIDDISK all inactive, will deactivate all of the GRIDDISKS on the affected storage server. This will ensure that no data is lost during the power-off process.

Command F, shutdown -h now, will shut down the storage server. This will ensure that the storage server is completely powered off and no data is lost.

For more information on how to properly power off an Exadata Storage Server, refer to the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials official text book and resources [1][2].

https://support.oracle.com/knowledge/Oracle%20Database%20Products/1188080_1.html

For Exadata systems, hardware monitoring for components like the motherboard, memory, power, fans, and network cards on the database nodes is managed through the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM). The ILOM provides built-in thresholds and sensor readings that are automatically recognized by Oracle Enterprise Manager.

These thresholds and alerts are already configured within ILOM for Exadata components, ensuring seamless integration with Enterprise Manager for alerting and monitoring purposes​.

Enterprise Manager uses these pre-set ILOM thresholds and does not require additional configuration for monitoring hardware components. Therefore, administrators benefit from preset alerting mechanisms that are sufficient for comprehensive hardware status visibility​.

According to the Oracle Exadata Database Machine Technical Architecture1, the initial storage configuration after the standard (non-virtualized) deployment of a new Exadata Database Machine with High Capacity storage servers includes two ASM disk groups: DATA_ and RECO_. These disk groups are built on hard disks and flash disks inside the Exadata Storage Servers1.

The correct statements about this configuration are:

Option D: There is free space available on flashdisks inside the Exadata storage servers for possible use for storage indexes. Storage indexes are a feature of Exadata Storage Software that can improve query performance by avoiding unnecessary I/O operations. Storage indexes use a small amount of flash memory to store metadata about data blocks stored on disk1.

Option E: There is free space available on flashdisks inside the Exadata storage servers to configure Exadata Smart Flash Logs. Exadata Smart Flash Logs are another feature of Exadata Storage Software that can improve database performance by using flash memory as an extension of the database redo log buffer. This can reduce latency and increase throughput for redo log writes1.

Exadata Database Machine is a pre-configured and pre-tuned hardware and software system designed to run Oracle Database, it can be installed on raised floor environments, but also on concrete or tile floors

Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials states that Exadata racks are designed to be installed on flat surfaces, not raised floor environments. It is not required to install the rack on raised floor environments. Additionally, the other options listed are all requirements for validating, receiving, unpacking, and planning access route and space requirements for Exadata Database Machine. (Source: Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials, page 41)

https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/dbmin/index.html

This command is based on the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Official Text Book and other resources. This command sets the power state of the system to ON and starts the storage server. It is the only command that is able to start the storage server remotely. All the other commands are incorrect or require the user to be physically present in the data center.

The Exadata X9M-2 Extended (XT) Storage Server does not include any Persistent Memory (PMEM) DIMMs. The XT server configuration primarily serves as a cost-effective archival storage option and lacks the performance features available in the HC (High Capacity) and EF (Extreme Flash) storage servers. This configuration does not include Persistent Memory, which is leveraged in other models for accelerating OLTP workloads and providing extremely low-latency data access​​.

Exadata storage realms using ASM-scoped security mode allows you to control which database can access which griddisks by creating realms at the ASM level, thereby allowing you to limit the access of each database to the griddisks that it needs to access. This is covered in section 3.15.2 of the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Official Text Book and Resources [1].

Exadata storage realms using database-scoped security mode allows you to control which database can access which griddisks by creating realms at the database level [1], thereby allowing you to limit the access of each database to the griddisks that it needs to access. This is covered in section 3.15.3 of the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Official Text Book and Resources [2].

[1] https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/x9m/exad-implementing-database-machine-x9m.pdf  [2] https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/x9m/exad-implementing-database-machine-x9m.pdf

The correct order of steps is 10, 8, 9, 11. The 10th step is to use the drop down to add Exadata X9M Database Servers, the 8th step is to use the drop down to add Exadata X9M EF Storage Servers, the 9th step is to use "Add Equipment" to add the ZFS Storage Controllers, and the 11th step is to use "Add Equipment" to add the ZFS Storage Trays. These steps are referenced in the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Official Textbook, which is available online at https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E80437_01/E80437/html/index.html.

https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/dbmin/configuring-exadata.html

The minimum Exadata System Software version required to support Oracle Exadata X9M is 21.2.0.0.0. This version introduced various enhancements and capabilities tailored for the X9M series, including optimizations for the RoCE network fabric and support for new hardware components .

According to Oracle’s documentation1, the customer options for hosting the Platinum Services Advanced Support Gateway are:

Provide individual x86 64-Bit gateway hardware1

Purchase the recommended x86 64-Bit gateway hardware from Oracle1

Install on Oracle Database Appliance2

According to Oracle.com documents or resources, the three options that are available for database consolidation on Exadata are:

A. Multiple pluggable databases in one or more container databases on a Virtual Machine or Bare Metal cluster123.

C. A single database with one or more schema per application12.

E. Multiple Databases on a cluster12.

https://blogs.oracle.com/exadata/post/database-consolidation-why-and-how

To enable REST access to the MS process, you need to manually enable the REST services on each storage server by running the command cellcli -e "ALTER CELL ENABLE REST" and then configure authentication and authorization to ensure secure access. This is described in detail in the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials Official Text Book (Chapter 8, Securing the Exadata Database Machine).

https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/exadata-cloud/csexa/access-rest-api.html

Oracle Auto Service Request (ASR) on Exadata Database Machines is designed to proactively monitor and detect hardware and software issues. When a problem is detected, ASR Manager automatically opens a service request (SR) with Oracle Support. The primary focus of ASR is on hardware assets, such as storage servers, database servers, and network components, as well as software assets related to Exadata System Software and Oracle Database configurations​​.

In order for an Exadata X9M-2 Elastic Rack to be installed, two power feeds are required for each of the three-phase 24kVA PDUs. A single cable from each PDU will not be enough to power the rack, and neither a splitter cable nor rearrangement of the power cables from the servers to the PDUs will be able to provide sufficient power for the system. Therefore, the installation cannot proceed until two power feeds are available per PDU.

For more information about power requirements for Exadata X9M-2 Elastic Racks, refer to the Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M Implementation Essentials official text book and resources.

Search results: [1] Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M-2 Full Rack Installation - Oracle Docs [2] Exadata Database Machine X8M-2 Mid-Size Rack Installation - Oracle Docs

https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/exadata-database-machine/dbmin/exadata-site-requirements.html

On Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M, the default configuration of the IPTables firewall varies between storage servers and database servers:

Storage Servers: After initial deployment, IPTables is installed but remains in an unconfigured and inactive state. The Exadata storage servers focus on providing high availability and performance for database workloads and thus rely on internal security measures. The external firewall or network security policies typically handle firewall responsibilities, so IPTables is not actively configured on these servers by default​​.

Database Servers: Similar to storage servers, IPTables is also installed but neither configured nor running on the database servers. The Oracle Exadata Database Machine X9M emphasizes security through other means, such as its network isolation and dedicated interconnects. As part of Oracle’s engineered systems design philosophy, the database servers are primarily focused on database performance, offloading much of the security management to other parts of the infrastructure and relying on data center-level firewalls for perimeter security​​.

To summarize, both database and storage servers have IPTables installed and available, but they are not configured or running by default on either server type. This setup allows Exadata environments to focus on optimized database performance while integrating with external network security solutions.

Option 5 stops the clusterware on all database servers as the grid user3.

Option 8 shuts down all Exadata storage servers using their ILOM interfaces1.

Option 7 shuts down all database servers using their ILOM interfaces1.

Option 6 powers off the rack using the power switches on the PDUs2.

According to the Oracle documentation1, two monitoring tools that might be useful in examining I/O performance for the prod database are:

cellcli (or exacli/exadcli) to examine storage server metrics such as database, category, ceiidisk, and griddisk (D). This tool can help you monitor the I/O Resource Management (IORM) metrics and identify any bottlenecks or imbalances in the storage layer.

I/O-specific dynamic performance views such as v$iostat_fiie, v$iostat_function, and v$iostat_consumer_group from the prod database instances using SQL *p1us ©. These views can help you monitor the I/O activity and latency at the file, function, and consumer group level.

According to Oracle’s documentation1, one of the utilities for diagnostics and repair of Oracle Exadata Storage Server is ExaWatcher, which collects operating system and network metrics on database servers and storage servers. The utility is located in the /opt/oracle.ExaWatcher directory1.

To investigate why an Exadata Database Server stopped communicating on the client network for 10 minutes over the past weekend, you can use the GetExaWatcherResults.sh script to collect and analyze ExaWatcher data for a specified time range1.

Therefore, the command that you should use to investigate this is:

/opt/oracle.ExaWatcher/GetExaWatcherResults.sh —from _17:00:00 —to _23:59:00

According to Oracle documentation1, Exadata Storage software has a complete set of automated operations for hard disk maintenance, when a hard disk has failed or has been flagged as a problematic disk. It will initiate a rebalance operation to redistribute data across other disks and mark the failed disk with an amber light.

For a non-virtual deployment of Oracle Exadata with a single cluster:

Single Client Access Name (SCAN) Listeners: By default, three SCAN listeners are configured on the RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) network. This setup allows for load balancing and high availability of incoming client connections across the cluster nodes​.

Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR) Multiplexing: The OCR is typically stored in multiple locations within the disk groups to enhance reliability and fault tolerance. On Exadata, the OCR is multiplexed across the DATA and RECO disk groups for enhanced resilience​.

ora.diskmon Resource: This is an essential component of Oracle Clusterware, responsible for monitoring and managing disk-related cluster resources. It is always enabled and kept online by Oracle Clusterware on Exadata systems​.