Grid Infrastructure Management Repository (GIMR) database now mandatory in Oracle GI 12.1.0.2

During the installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure 12.1.0.1 you’ve had the an option to choose YES/NO to install the Grid Infrastructure Management Repository (GIMR) database MGMTDB – but as of Oracle 12.1.0.2 Grid Infrastructure Management Repository (GIMR) database now mandatory in Oracle GI 12.1.0.2:

GIMR database now mandatory in Oracle GI 12.1.0.2

With Oracle Grid Infrastructure 12.1.0.2 this choice has become obsolete and the above screen does not appear anymore. The GIMR database has become mandatory.

What do we stored in the GIMR?

• You’ll find it in the Oracle 12.1.0.2 documentation via this link.

In addition please see the changes in Oracle Clusterware 12.1.0.2 here:

• Automatic Installation of Grid Infrastructure Management Repository

  The Grid Infrastructure Management Repository is automatically installed with Oracle Grid Infrastructure 12crelease 1 (12.1.0.2). The Grid Infrastructure Management Repository enables such features as Cluster Health Monitor, Oracle Database QoS Management, and Rapid Home Provisioning, and provides a historical metric repository that simplifies viewing of past performance and diagnosis of issues. This capability is fully integrated into Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control for seamless management.

What the documentation isn’t telling you explicitly

• • The -MGMTDB is a single-tenant deployment now having a CDB with one PDB
    • This will allow you the use of a Utility Cluster that can hold the CDB for a collection of GIMR PDBs
  • When you’ve had already an Oracle 12.1.0.1 GIMR this database will be destroyed and recreated
    • You can preserve the CHM/OS data with OCULMON to dump it out into node view
  • The data files associated with it will be created within the same disk group as OCR or VOTING
    •  The OUI will get the disk groups for OCR and Voting and chooses the first one – which usually is the first OCR. This may lead to serious space issues. It is tracked internally as Bug:19661882  In a future release there may be an option offered to put in into a separate disk group (please see: GIMR in Oracle 12.2)
      As a workaround you can move the affected OCR to another disk group (use ocrconfig command for it) – see MOS Note:1589394.1
  • Some additional and important MOS Notes:
    • MOS Note 1568402.1
      FAQ: 12c Grid Infrastructure Management Repository, states there’s no supported procedure to enable Management Database once the GI stack is configured
    • MOS Note: 1921105.1
      Managing the Cluster Health Monitor
      Repository (incl how to resize)  
    • MOS Note 1589394.1
      How to Move GI Management Repository to Different Shared Storage
      (shows how to delete and recreate the MGMTDB)
    • MOS Note 1631336.1
      Cannot delete Management Database (MGMTDB) in 12.1
    • MOS Note: 1945558.1
      _mgmtdb Service registered with all local listeners in GI environment

• • Average growth size per day per node is roughly 650-750 MB. E.g. a 4 node cluster would lead at the default retention of 3 days to an approximate size of  5.9-6.8 GB
  • Change the retention 12.1.0.1:
    $CRS_HOME/bin/oclumon manage -repos changeretentiontime 260000

Furthermore you can change the GIMR DB’s retention in Oracle 12.1.0.2:

$CRS_HOME/bin/oclumon manage -repos checkretentiontime 260000

Update:

Markus Michalewicz, our Senior Director of Product Management, Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC), has published a very interesting and helpful insight article about GIMR on July 30, 2015. Read it here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-handle-oracle-gimr-markus-michalewicz

Additional Information

See also:

• GIMR DB in Oracle Database 12.2
• GIMR DB and “datapatch”

–Mike

PS: Kudos to Sebastian Solbach who updated me on the things to add (retention, average growth, OUI choosing the first disk group displayed for the MGMTDB) – cheers!