This book can easily be used as a college textbook on Oracle RAC. I am studying for the Oracle Certified Master exam and this is possibly the most high level book on Oracle I have read.

It has 3 major strengths which I found to be superior to any Oracle RAC books I have read (including the manual from Oracle).

1)Technical Depth
2)Comprehensive Overview and instructions
3)Quality of writing


1)Technical Depth
The authors write about Linux and Oracle and are high level experts in the subjects. For example, the authors have a very detailed description of how Oracle Cache Fusion handles locking across all the nodes in a RAC environment (probably the crown jewel of RAC technology). They also discuss, in detail, different types of CPU, memory, and storage and contains detailed description of each architecture. Lastly, it contains vast number of "how to" install, configure, change, analyze, backup/restore, and utilize Oracle RAC and Linux.

2)Comprehensive Coverage and Instructions
No small amount of detail has been skipped. The book contains every utility (there are many) provided by Oracle to implement RAC. It provides a good step-by-step coverage of Linux and Oracle RAC installation as well what each step is adding to the RAC environment. To top it off, it adds how to performance tune, administer, troubleshoot, backup/restore, and use Dataguard in a RAC environment. I can't think of a subject on RAC which the authors did not cover.

3)Quality of Writing
I was pleasantly surprised how well written this book is. Although far from a Pulitzer Prize material, it certainly belongs in that category amongst the Oracle books. Every praragraph has been well organized and written. The proofreader of this book deserves major praise for their work.

Many books around Oracle's advanced topics simply parrot the manuals. Julian avoids that. Instead, he describes Real Application Cluster technology from the ground concepts up to full implementation, with practical notes and tips. He gets into topics that the manuals never touch, and much of what he writes can be useful in any RAC environment, not just Linux.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book and own both the paper and eBook version which I often reference.

This book delivers what it promises. It contains a great balance of technical detail,examples and theory. It encompasses all aspects of implementing/maintaing 10g RAC on Linux.

Very well written. No mater you are a Pro or a newbie, it will be helpful. A very well written book.


Highly recommended.

This is a very hands on command line oriented book. Good understanding of RAC concepts. I found it extremly useful in my day-to-day work.

Highly recommended.

Thanks!

I was reviewing information about Julian Dyke, his presentations and publications are very good in general. This book in particular has interesting chapters like "Trace and Diagnostics" and "RAC Internals". It's not easy to find books with internals because this information in general is restricted. In my opinion is not for beginners, you need to have an Oracle background. I would highly recommend this book if you are an Oracle DBA working or starting with Oracle Clusters & Linux

Jose Valerio

I am not a DBA, but I support several systems with various databases. I picked this book because I needed to get up to speed on Oracle RAC in a hurry. Even though I'm working with it under AIX, all of the concepts and core components are the same. This book was filled with the information that I needed and did so in a logical fashion. I was mainly interested in the clustering components and the book gave good descriptions and examples. This book enabled me to look at the systems in my environment and quickly figure out how it was configured and what state the various clustering components were in. I think the book is very readable and also makes an excellent reference. Again, I primarily do system administartion and clustering, but this book gave me a solid understanding of how RAC works which enables me to better understand the DBA's requirements and what the system requirements are for a RAC environment. It also helped me in determining proper kernel tuning parameters.

This is really a nice book to have.
Contents are solid and clear.
The best RAC book so far.

Any programmer or designer who wants a step-by-step tutorial to Pro Oracle Database 10gRAC on Linux must have this book: it surveys all details from installation to advanced administration and optimization, with chapters covering installations across multiple servers for all Oracle users. The book delivers RAC on Linux solutions through a series of explanations on configuration, tips on techniques, and more: it's eye to improving processes and manageability can't be beat.



Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

Any programmer or designer who wants a step-by-step tutorial to Pro Oracle Database 10gRAC on Linux must have this book: it surveys all details from installation to advanced administration and optimization, with chapters covering installations across multiple servers for all Oracle users. The book delivers RAC on Linux solutions through a series of explanations on configuration, tips on techniques, and more: it's eye to improving processes and manageability can't be beat.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Eager for this new Oracle 10g RAC book, I waited since I already am a big fan of both Julian Dyke's website for RAC implementations. Awesome job guys!!!! I have all the other RAC books and most of them stink. The insight and pleasant tips and reading style made it worth the wait. I am only on page 90 and so far really learn a lot. Even after several RAC projects over last couple years. I really like the coverage on how storage and Linux administration are treated with respect to implementing RAC for Oracle 10g. The treatment of other Oracle 10g topics such as ASM and OCFS also is quite excellent. I think that your RAC book for Linux along with Murali Vallath's Oracle 10g RAC book are best ones around. Period. If you are an Oracle DBA who needs a real hands on architecture guide to RAC for Linux, this is the book to get.

Cheers,
Ben Prusinski, Oracle DBA