FAQ on Oracle 11gR2 Database and RHEL 6 Certification

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Q: What is the status of the certification of the Oracle 11gR2 Database with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6?

A: As of 12 April 2012, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 x86_64 is listed as a certified platform for Oracle 11gR2 single-instance and Real Application Clusters in Oracle's certification matrix, following an announcement by Oracle on 22 March 2012 and Red Hat's submission of certification test results in August 2011.

Q: What file systems are supported as part of the certification?

A: The Oracle certification does not list specific file systems. If Red Hat supports a file system as part of base Red Hat Enterprise Linux, then this support will persist into the certification. Therefore, for example, both ext4 and xfs file systems are supported for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 root file systems. Please refer to Oracle Doc ID 750215.1 (requires MyOracle login) for more information.

Q: How long has Red Hat been working with the Oracle database, including internal certification testing and test result submission to Oracle?

A: Red Hat has extensive experience certifying Oracle databases on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For many years, Oracle has certified its databases on Red Hat Enterprise Linux by reviewing and approving the certification test results that we submit to them. And the certification testing process we conducted with Oracle 11gR2 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is the same successfully completed process used a number of times with earlier Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases. Furthermore, we’ve been testing the Oracle 11gR2 Database with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 since we began development in 2009.

Q: What other certification work does Red Hat do with Oracle?

A: The “test and submit results” process that Oracle uses to certify its database software is similar to the process that Red Hat uses to certify Red Hat Enterprise Linux with hardware from its OEM partners. Currently, Oracle/Sun has certified 10 x86 server systems on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6: Oracle completed the testing and submitted results to Red Hat for our verification and approval.

In addition to these hardware certifications, Oracle has certified Java SE 6 and 7 for 32- and 64-bit on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Oracle has posted the Java SE certification on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 at the following locations:

Q: Wasn’t there a recent change to the Red Enterprise Linux 5 life cycle?

A: Yes. Red Hat recently extended the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 life cycle from seven years to 10 years. Although the product life cycle was extended to satisfy a wide variety of customer requirements, customers can confidently remain on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and continue to incorporate the latest hardware into their environments.

Q: Can customers or partners contact Oracle about the status of the 11gR2 Database certification on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6?

A: Yes. Customers may contact Oracle directly regarding certification using either of the following methods:

Similarly, Red Hat partners can contact Oracle directly using these methods:

Q: Where can I get more information about this certification?

A: See the following blog post for additional information about the certification and other recent Red Hat Enterprise Linux announcements: http://www.redhat.com/about/news/archive/2012/2/updated-red-hat-enterprise-linux-leadership.

You can also find Oracle's press release here.

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