Re: 10g ASM Pros and Cons

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_psoug.org>
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:38:07 -0700
Message-ID: <1144093088.429883@yasure.drizzle.com>

JEDIDIAH wrote:

> On 2006-04-03, DA Morgan <damorgan_at_psoug.org> wrote:

>> Laurenz Albe wrote:
>>> Michael42 <melliott42_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> If ASM is a trend of the future I'd like to understand what it's
>>>> benefits are.
>>> It gives Oracle Corporation control over your storage system, which makes
>>> them happy, so they promote it.
>>>
>>> Yours,
>>> Laurenz Albe
>> On the positive side:
>>
>> 1. It provides a single point of support so there is no finger-pointing.
>> 2. It provides easy management of block devices (raw partitions).
>> 3. It automatically moves hot blocks to the outside of the disk.
>> 4. It is vendor and operating system neutral.
>> 5. It, additionally, provides all of the features of an LVM.
>> 6. It is included in your license so no additional cost for the software
>> or its support.
>>
>> But does Oracle gain control over the storage system? I don't see how
>> this is any different from letting any other vendor supply an LVM.

> 
> 	That statement simply boggles the mind.
> 
> 	The typical LVM doesn't cut you off from standard filesystem
> level tools like ASM does. The typical LVM doesn't attempt to replace
> the fileystem layer of an OS entirely. They just present a complex
> disk device to the system as a simple one.
> 
> 	This makes your points 4 & 5 untrue in practice.
> 
> 	ASM is basically a replacement for Oracle raw disks.

Why and how can it boggle the mind? ASM is for use on block devices. There is no file system. There is no file system to cut you off from. One of us is missing something here and I'm not sure which of us it is. What you referring to with ASM that has anything to do with files?

You state: "ASM is basically a replacement for Oracle raw disks." Oracle has never had raw disks ... operating systems have disks without file systems. Again I am confused as to what you are thinking.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
http://www.psoug.org
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace x with u to respond)

Received on Mon Apr 03 2006 - 14:38:07 CDT