Question:

Our DBA group has a debate going on about whether or not Oracle Grid Control should be placed in the Oracle RAC environment, or should it be on it’s own standalone server exclusive of the RAC.  Is Grid always the best choice for a RAC architecture?  What do you think about using RAC with a small number of large servers instead?  Do you recommend using a RAC and Grid expert for advice?

Answer:  Donald K. Burleson

Are you using RAC for scalability, failover, or disaster recovery?  Your choice of RAC and Grid architecture depends on your goals.

Many shops that I work with use just a few large SMP servers, instead of dozens of server blades.  Sometimes it's far easier to provision computing resources within a large scalable Oracle SMP server (by simply adding more RAM of CPU's) than it is to take the server blade approach and the associated complexity of setup and grid management.  Some large RAC data warehouses bypass Grid Control with server blades

I also recommend that your DBA team get Mike Ault's Oracle 10g Grid and RAC book.

I recommend getting a real-deal Grid expert on-site for a few days?  Implementing Grid control is VERY complex and tricky, and you must have exactly the recommended hardware and software.

I don't recommend that any shop try it without advice from someone who has done it before.  BC consulting has RAC and Grid experts available to guarantee your success.  Don't take chances.