Capacity planning and Operational Size of Oracle Database Environment (OSODE)

Capacity planning and Operational Size of Oracle Database Environment (OSODE)

In this article we'll go over real life scenario of operational size of Oracle 
database environment and how it affects capacity planning (storage requirements).

Lets get the definition out of the way first.  When referring to Operational 
Size of Oracle Database Environment (OSODE) we'll consider the following 
Baseline components:

  - database files (dbf, log)
  - daily archive logs
  - database backup set (rman)
  - ORACLE_HOME
  - APPLICATION HOME (APPL_TOP in APPS environment)
  - Operational log and output files

To properly develop a capacity plan we must also define a topology of our 
operational environment which consists of the source and copy systems:

   Source System Topology:
    
     Store the latest backup set right on the file system so that recovery 
     could be performed without going to tape.
     
     Keep 3 sets of archive logs:
        - 14 days of archive log copies on the file system
        - archive logs of the latest RMAN backup set
        - day's worth of archive files in the original log_archive_dest
     NOTE: all sets are backed up to tape but left on the file system
     
     Keep 7 days of log and output files.
     
     Keep unzipped sets of all production patches and the backup files they 
     have modified for at least 1 year or the longest functional cycle of the 
     accounting system.

   Copy System Topology:
        
     Maintain a copy of production servers to test recovery operation on the 
     daily basis and to provide a reporting environment for long running 
     reports plus test bed for hot fixes.  This environment will retain the 
     latest backup set on the file system.
    
Lets derive an OSODE for an Oracle APPS installation that is 10 years old and 
which consists of the following components (using definitions we outlined 
above):

Source Baseline:

  180 Gb - database files (dbf, log)
   10 Gb - daily archive logs
  150 Gb - database backup set (rman)
   10 Gb - ORACLE_HOME
   26 Gb - APPLICATION HOME (APPL_TOP in APPS environment)
    1 Gb - Operational log and output files
  
  Total Source (baseline): 377 Gb

Source Topology:
  
     140 Gb of archive logs (14 days)
       7 Gb of Operational log and output files (7 days)
      13 Gb of applied patches (1 year)
  
  Total Source (topology): 160 Gb

Copy Topology:
  
     180 Gb - database files (dbf, log)
     150 Gb - database backup set (rman)
      10 Gb - ORACLE_HOME
      26 Gb - APPLICATION HOME (APPL_TOP in APPS environment)
       1 Gb - Operational log and output files
  
  Total Copy (topology): 367 Gb


Lets tally up the results:

  Total Source (baseline): 377 Gb
  Total Source (topology): 160 Gb
  Total Copy (topology):   367 Gb
  -------------------------------
  Grand Total (OSODE):     904 Gb


CONCLUSION

   Operational Size of Oracle Database Environment (OSODE) coupled with the 
   yearly growth ratio of a database can be used to provide a realistic 
   capacity plan.