TITLE:
Copyright (c) Compaq Computer Corporation 2001. All rights reserved.
PRODUCT: Tru64 [R] 5.0A
SOURCE: Compaq Computer Corporation
Oracle Corporation
ECO INFORMATION:
ECO Name: QAR84601_v50a_bl16.tar.Z
ECO Kit Approximate Size: 1.3 MB
Kit Applies To: Tru64 5.0A Patch Kit 2 (BL16)
ECO KIT SUMMARY:
This ECO kit contains a solution, in the form of a patch, for the following
issue:
In laboratory testing, Compaq has observed that under certain circumstances, a
possibility exists that inconsistent data may be written to disk on some
Tru64 UNIX V5.0A and V5.1 systems running AdvFS and direct I/O.
Compaq became aware of this possibility only during laboratory testing. To our
knowledge, no customer has experienced this problem. Compaq is alerting
customers to this potential problem as a precautionary measure.
The conditions under which this potential problem may occur are as follows:
- An application writes to a file using AdvFS direct I/O and the file had
previously been opened for normal I/O (which by default is cached); AND
- Some but not all of the pages are still resident in Unified Buffer Cache
(UBC) memory.
Invalid data could occur when a single direct I/O write spans multiple AdvFS
pages, and some, but not all, of the pages are still in the UBC. If the file
has been opened only for direct I/O and remains open for direct I/O, the
problem does not exist.
Applications that use direct I/O, such as Oracle, could be affected.
CONFIGURATIONS AFFECTED:
The potential problem may affect the following systems:
- Tru64 UNIX V5.0A clustered and nonclustered systems
- Tru64 UNIX V5.1 nonclustered systems only
Only V5.0A and V5.1 systems running an application that uses direct I/O could
experience this potential problem. Any application using direct I/O must request
this feature explicitly.
The following Oracle versions use direct I/O and may therefore be affected:
- Oracle 8.1.7
- Oracle 8.1.6.3
- Oracle 8.1.6.2 with patch 1527141
- Oracle 8.0.6.2 with patch 1523186
- Oracle 7.3.4.5 with patch 1523179
AND
the AdvFS filesystem is used for any of the following Oracle files:
- control file
- data file
- log file
An Oracle environment meeting the above criteria could experience this potential
problem.
Oracle running on raw partitions exclusively or running LSM on raw partitions
exclusively are not affected.
Some customers write their own applications that use direct I/O. These
customers should be aware of the detailed circumstances under which this
problem could occur. The problem could occur when:
- The write spans multiple AdvFS 8K pages;
- The last page to be written is in the UBC;
- One or more of the preceding pages are not in the UBC; and
- The write to the last page is less than a full page size (8K).
Under these circumstances, the data written at the start of the total write is
the original data, offset by the amount of data written to the last page.
PROBLEM SYMPTOM:
If Oracle customers are running one of the affected Oracle configurations,
Oracle may have already detected an inconsistency in the database and reported
errors similar to the following in the alert log and trace file:
ORA-01578: ORACLE data block corrupted (file # 1, block # 100)
ORA-01119: data file 1: '/scratch/820/qa/dbs/t_db1.f'
or
ORA-00368: checksum error in redo block
ORA-00354: Log corruption near block #231
Oracle customers that have run the dbverify (dbv) utility may have encountered
an error message similar to the following:
***
Corrupt block relative dba: 0x0040900b (file 0, block 36875)
Bad header found during dbv:
Data in bad block -
type: 27 format: 2 rdba: 0x0040900d
last change scn: 0x0000.0001349a seq: 0x2 flg: 0x04
consistency value in tail: 0x349a1b02
check value in block header: 0xa377, computed block checksum: 0x0
spare1: 0x0, spare2: 0x0, spare3: 0x0
***
INSTALLATION NOTES:
Copy the ECO kit to the target system. Unzip the file using gunzip.
The patch is installed manually using the installation instructions included
in the README contained in the ECO kit. Please read through the instructions
prior to installing patches on your system.
Installation of this ECO kit requires Tru64 UNIX 5.0A and Tru64 UNIX Patch
Kit 2 (BL16) be installed.
SUPERSEDED PATCH LIST:
None.
KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH THE PATCH KIT:
None.
[R] UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries
licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited.
Copyright Compaq Computer Corporation 2001. All Rights reserved.
The Tru64 UNIX software is proprietary to and embodies the confidential
technology of Compaq Computer Corporation. Possession, use, or copying of this
software and media is authorized only pursuant to a valid written license
from Compaq or an authorized sublicensor.
The odbflchk software is proprietary to and embodies confidential technology
of Oracle Corporation.
This ECO has not been through an exhaustive field test process.
Due to the experimental stage of this ECO/workaround, Compaq
makes no representations regarding its use or performance. The
customer shall have the sole responsibility for adequate protection
and back-up data used in conjunction with this ECO/workaround.
This patch can be found at any of these sites:
Colorado Site
Georgia Site
Files on this server are as follows:
qar84601_v50a_bl16.README
qar84601_v50a_bl16.CHKSUM
qar84601_v50a_bl16.tar.gz
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