Oracle RAC on VMware Q&A Part 2

I will also post regular questions that I get every now and then from users all over the world. here's an excerpt on one typical Q&A run.

Q1. I have VMware GSX Server 3.2.0. Can I use that?

Sure why not! Instead try VMware Server. its free. By the way have you also tried Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 Release 2. It works the same way. I will (if we get that far with our talks) be working with Microsoft on this and we will try to generate awareness and even go ahead and train people (aspiring DBAs and seasoned Unix/Linux DBAs or any one who is enthusiastic about it for that matter) on the web regarding running Oracle on Windows OS. Microsoft has recently launched their Microsoft-Oracle site http://microsoft-oracle.com/

Q2. Will I able to install in Windows 2000 following the document?

Yes.

Q3. If so, which should I choose - W2K Professional, Server or Advanced Server?

Go with the Advanced Server

Q4. During DBCA installation, you asked me to choose a disk that was formatted with OCFS. As you said I had formatted 3 disks:
* OCR Primary, Voting Disk (B:)
* OCR Mirror, Voting Disk (J:)
* Voting Disk (K:)
For DBCA for Server Parameter Filename, I chose K: Is that OK?

That will be OK. ASM you mean, yes it must be on the shared disk.

Q5. Can you tell me what exactly happens in Step 56 of DBCA installation of your document?

Here if you go back to step 39, you see that I create a "service" as well, that way you register your RAC service (I will talk about it in detail in an article later) and monitor it with tools such as grid control , or spotlight on RAC by Quests Software.

Q6. What is the difference between VMware workstation GSX and ESX Server?

GSX Server runs on top of an OS like Windows or Linux where ESX Server runs on bare metal. ESX is deployed in productions and a lot of mission critical applications are capable of running on ESX. I also believe (very strongly and will surely test it out as well) with ESX 3.0 one will see the rise of even Oracle RAC on ESX in production environments.