Skip to content

OCI Installation

This topic covers the virtual machine requirements for deploying the Delphix Masking Engine on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

Supported Databases

Oracle databases up to version 19c are supported. Please reference the Oracle Support Matrix for the detailed list.

Compute Image Types

Delphix distributes product images, for OCI, using the QCOW2 image type. Compute Images must be imported into OCI using the Paravirtualized launch mode; currently, images using the Emulated launch mode are not supported.

Supported Shapes

The following is a list of shapes that are supported to deploy Delphix on OCI.

Requirements Notes
Large Memory Instances (perferred) VM.Standard2.8
VM_Standard2.16
VM_Standard2.24
The Delphix Engine most closely resembles a storage appliance and performs best when provisioned using a storage-optimized shape.
Larger shapes provide more CPU, which can prevent resource shortfalls under high I/O throughput conditions.
Larger shapes also provide more memory, which the Delphix Engine uses to cache database blocks. More memory will provide better read performance.

Network Configuration

Requirements Notes
Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) You must deploy the Delphix Engine and all of the source and target environments in a VCN to ensure that private IP addresses are static and do not change when you restart instances.
By default, OCI subnets are considered public. When defining a subnet, we encourage configuring it as private. Unless required by your environment, your VCN should not include a Public Subnet.
When adding environments to the Delphix Engine, you must use the host's VCN (static private) IP addresses.
Static Private IP The Delphix instance should be launched with a static private IP address. For security reasons, it is encouraged to avoid configuring your engine with a Public IP address; but, in some cases, it may be ok to use a dynamic Public IP address in addition to a static Private IP address if your environment requires such access. 
Security Rules Configuration OCI allows two firewall features: Network Security Groups (NSGs) and Security Lists. Oracle recommends the use of NSGs over Security Lists because “NSGs let you separate the VCN's subnet architecture from your application security requirements.”
However, a VCN will use a Security List to define default rules. By default, the security list will only open port 22 for SSH access. You must modify the security list, or create NSGs, to allow access to all of the networking ports used by the Delphix Engine and the various source and target engines.
This dual implementation of firewall, or security, rules may be different from other clouds. Please see OCI documentation for best practices.
See Network Connectivity Requirements for information about specific port configurations.

Storage Configuration

Note

You must always attach a minimum of 2 storage pools to the Delphix Engine; one for rpool and other for domain0 pool.

Requirements Notes
Allocate initial storage equal to the size of the physical source database storage.

Attach a minimum of four (4), equally sized, storage devices to the Delphix Engine.

Add storage when storage capacity approaches 30% free.

Must use Block Volume for data storage.

Block Volumes must be attached using Paravirtualized mode.

Currently supported Instance Types, or Shapes, only support Block Volumes; File Storage is not supported.

Paravirtualized block devices are required; currently, iSCSI devices are not supported.

Elastic Performance Configuration Options (aka Volume Performance Policy): use Higher Performance.
For high redo rates and/or high DB change rates, allocate an additional 10-20 %.

Add new storage by provisioning new volumes of the same size. This enables the Delphix Engine to achieve higher I/O rates by distributing load among devices and queueing more I/O operations to its storage.

Additional OCI Configuration Notes

  • When running low on storage space, Delphix recommends adding additional equivalently sized block storage volumes, or devices, instead of resizing existing volumes.
  • If you must expand existing storage volumes, then this must be done using the “online” resizing strategy specified in OCI documentation; “offline” storage resizing is not supported and may lead to unexpected downtime. If an existing storage volume is expanded, then use the Setup, or sysadmin, interface to expand each storage “device,” or volume. The additional storage, as a result of a resize, will not be available for use until the storage devices are explicitly instructed to make use of the additional space.
  • If expanding storage volumes, it is recommended that all volumes are expanded to the same size. When storage volumes, or devices, are the same size the Delphix product is able to balance I/O distribution among the disks for optimal performance.
  • Hot removal of storage volumes is not supported.

Installing OCI

Download and Verify the Delphix Engine Image

  1. Contact your account manager to request access to the OCI variant of the Delphix product.
  2. Follow the link given by your Delphix solutions architect. Download the Delphix_6.x.x.x_….Standard_OCI.qcow2 file and the SHA256SUMS file.
  3. Once both files have finished downloading and assuming both files were downloaded to the same directory, you can run the following command to verify the download: $ grep -i OCI.qcow2 ./SHA256SUMS | sed -E 's,Appliance_Images/(Controlled_Availability/)?,,g' | sha256sum --check

Upload the Delphix Engine Image as an Object

  1. Authenticate with OCI and navigate to the Infrastructure Console.
  2. Use the navigation menu to reach the Object Storage Buckets, Core Infrastructure, page (Hamburger Menu > Object Storage > Object Storage).
  3. Remember to set your List Scope Compartment. This will depend on your organization’s strategy for managing OCI resources.
  4. Create a storage bucket or select an existing bucket.
  5. Click the blue Upload button.
  6. In the Upload Objects modal window, specify an optional prefix and choose the OCI specific QCOW2 file that was previously downloaded.
  7. Click the blue Upload button.

Creating a Custom Compute Image from an Object

  1. Authenticate with OCI and navigate to the Infrastructure Console.
  2. Use the navigation menu to reach the Compute Custom Images, Core Infrastructure, page (Hamburger Menu > Compute > Custom Images).
  3. Remember to set your List Scope Compartment. This will depend on your organization’s strategy for managing OCI resources.
  4. Click the blue Image Import button.
  5. In the Import Image modal window, select a suitable compartment in the Create In Compartment field that conforms to your organization’s strategy on managing OCI resources.
  6. In the Name field enter a unique name to identify the Custom Compute Image. You may want to use the same, resulting name of the image object from the previous step, Upload the Delphix Engine Image as an Object.
  7. For Operating System select Linux.
  8. Next, identify an object by specifying its Compartment, Bucket, and Object Name. Or, specify an Object Storage URL.  Note: The Object Details will identify this value as URL Path (URI).
  9. For Image Type select QCOW2.
  10. For Launch Mode select Paravirtualized Mode.
  11. For organizations that have a tagging policy for cloud-based resources, expand the Tagging Options section, and define tags.
  12. Click the blue Import Image button.

Launching the Delphix Engine

  1. Authenticate with OCI and navigate to the Infrastructure Console.
  2. Use the navigation menu to reach the Compute Instances, Core Infrastructure, page (Hamburger Menu > Compute > Instances).
  3. Remember to set your List Scope Compartment. This will depend on your organization’s strategy for managing OCI resources.
  4. Click the blue Create Instance button.
  5. In the Create Compute Instance window pane, specify a unique name for the VM.
  6. For the Create In Compartment field, select a suitable compartment that conforms to your organization’s strategy on managing OCI resources.
  7. In the Image or operating system section, click the Change Image button. Switch to the Custom Images tab. Find the Delphix image that corresponds to the instance you wish to deploy. Click the blue Select Image button. Note: If the Delphix Custom Image is not visible, look for the Change Compartment option near the top of the current window pane.
  8. Each Availability Domain has its own quota, it is ok to use AD-1, AD-2, or AD-3 - but, be sure to make note of which Availability Domain you are using. Note: Compute Instances and attached Storage will need to be in the same Availability Domain.
  9. In the Shape section click the Change Shape button. For Instance type specify Virtual Machine and for Shape series use Intel Skylake. Then select an OCI Shape that is supported by Delphix.
  10. Continue on to the Configure networking section. This part is critical, if the network isn’t specified correctly, you are likely to run into firewall issues; please consult your IT or DevOps teams. If your organization is using Network Security Groups (NSGs), mark the Use Network Security Groups to Control Traffic checkbox; again, please consult your IT or DevOps teams. Lastly, select the Do Not Assign a Public IP Address radio button; if you must deviate from this guidance then you are highly encouraged to engage your IT or DevOps teams.
  11. You may skip the Boot Volume section.
  12. In the Add SSH Keys select the No SSH Keys radio option. The Delphix product is a closed appliance and manages users independently.
  13. In general, you can skip all of the Advanced Options. For organizations that have a tagging policy for cloud-based resources, expand into the Advanced Management section, and look for the Tagging sub-section to define tags.
  14. Click the blue Create button - wait about 2-5 minutes for the Delphix Engine instance to boot.

Create Block Storage Volumes

  1. Authenticate with OCI and navigate to the Infrastructure Console.
  2. Use the navigation menu to reach the Block Volumes, Core Infrastructure, page (Hamburger Menu > Block Storage > Block Volumes).
  3. Remember to set your List Scope Compartment. This will depend on your organization’s strategy for managing OCI resources.
  4. Click the blue Create Block Volume button.
  5. In the Create Block Volumemodal window, specify a unique name for this Block Volume. It can be helpful if this name is descriptive or identifies the VM it is intended to be attached to and ends in a sequence number.
  6. For the Availability Domain, this value MUST be the same Availability Domain used for the Delphix Engine instance, otherwise, this volume will not be available for use.
  7. In the Volume Size and Performance section, select the Custom option. Set the size of the volume to be sufficiently large, with room for growth, to support the databases that will be virtualized, or masked, by this Delphix Engine. And, set the Default Volume Performance to the Higher Performance setting.
  8. A Backup Policy is not required and can be left blank or No Backup Policy Selected. However, depending on your organization’s needs, you may consider selecting a Backup Policy.
  9. For Encryption, it is ok to use the default option, Encrypt Using Oracle-Managed Keys. Optionally, if you want, or need, to manage encryption keys independently then use the Encrypt Using Customer-Managed Keys option.
  10. For organizations that have a tagging policy for cloud-based resources, expand the Tagging Options section, and define tags.
  11. Uncheck the checkbox that says View Detail Page After This Block Volume is Created. This will prevent you from navigating away from the Block Volumes page, because, more often than not, you will need to create multiple Block Volumes at the same time.
  12. Click the blue Create Block Volume button.
  13. A Delphix Engine requires a minimum of four (4) equally sized Block Volumes. Repeat Steps 4-12 as many times as necessary.

Attach Block Storage Volumes

  1. Authenticate with OCI and navigate to the Infrastructure Console.
  2. Use the navigation menu to reach the Block Volumes, Core Infrastructure, page (Hamburger Menu > Block Storage > Block Volumes).
  3. Remember to set your List Scope Compartment. This will depend on your organization’s strategy for managing OCI resources.
  4. From the list of pre-existing Block Volumes, identify the resources you wish to attach to a Delphix Engine and wait until the volume’s state becomes Available.
  5. Select one of the Block Volumes to enter the Block Volume Details page.
  6. On the left-hand side, locate the Resources menu and select Attached Instances.
  7. If the Block Volume has not been previously attached to another VM, then you will be able to click the blue Attach to Instance button.
  8. In the Attach to Instance modal window, specify the Attachment Type as Paravirtualized. Currently, iSCSI is not supported.
  9. For Access Type use the READ/WRITE option.
  10. Next, identify a Delphix Engine by selecting an instance, or by specifying an instance OCID. If you don’t see the Delphix Engine instance in the Select an Instance drop-down menu, you may need to use the Change Compartment option. Block Volumes can only be attached to VM instances that were created in the same Availability Domain - if these values do not match, you will need to either re-provision Block Volumes or the Delphix Engine, in the correct Availability Domain.
  11. Click the blue Attach button.
  12. Repeat Steps 4-11 until all associated Block Volume resources have been attached to the Delphix Engine instance.

Configuring Masking

Once deployed, go to First Time Setup section to learn how to activate the masking service now that you have the software installed.