Special thanks go to Jonathan Gennick. He skillfully guided and directed every aspect of this book, from its inception to print. This book would not have been possible without him.

We're thankful to Kylie Johnston for being an effective and enthusiastic project manager. We also want to acknowledge the contributions of production editor Elizabeth Berry, the meticulous work of our copy editor Kim Wimpsett, and the entire production and marketing team at Apress for all the effort they put into producing the final book.

Darl Kuhn, Charles Kim, and Bernard Lopuz

A huge thanks goes to Heidi Kuhn who taught me that the short hills build overconfidence; it's the long uphill rides that give character to your lungs, and with effort, today's long hills become tomorrow's short ones. Also, it has been a special pleasure to work with my two coauthors, Charles Kim and Bernard Lopuz, who are both excellent Oracle DBAs and Linux experts.

Thanks to the system administrators who answer my "dumb DBA" questions: Mike Tanaka, Will Thornburg, Khanh Truong, Dona Smith, and Mike O'Neill.

Thanks to John "Chief" Lilly and Dave Wood for providing a challenging work environment. Thanks also to the talented "A" team: Todd Wichers, Joey Canlas, Jeff Shoup, Steve Buckmelter, Casey Costley, John Goggin, Randy Carver, Pascal Ledru, Kevin O'Grady, Peter Schow, Brett Guy, Eric Wendelin, Zack Tillotson, and Jessa Rothenberg. Thanks also to the operations team Kier Gombart, Laurie Bourgeois, Scott Elvington, Jen Simsick, Jeff Markland, Simon Ip, and Joe Foote.

Thanks to Dave Jennings and Kevin Quinlivan for my first DBA job. A huge thanks to Barbara Lewis for having me on her IT team. Also thanks to the numerous DBAs who I've learned from: Sujit Pattanaik, Doug Davis (and his scripts), Shawn Heisdorffer, Janet Bacon, Kevin Bayer, Sam Falkner, Mehran Sowdaey, Gaurav Mehta, Inder Ganesan, Sue Wagner, Ken Roberts, Tim Gorman, Pete Mullineaux, Abid Malik, Margaret Carson, Roger Murphy, Dan Fink, Roy Backstrom, Guido Handley, Tim Colbert, Nehru Kaja, Jon Nordby, John Liu, Lou Ferrante, Bill Padfield, Glenn Balanoff, Brad Blake, Mike Nims, Mark James, Sam Conn, Dan Likarish, Ravi Narayanaswamy, Dave Hathway, Kevin Hoyt, Abdul Ebadi, Trent Sherman, Sandra Montijo, Jim Secor, Sean Best, Krish Hariharan, Theresa Haisley, Stephan Haisley, Patrick Gates, Geoff Strebel, Chris Blais, Sherry Glass, Sloan Stricker, Jan Toom, Frank Bommarito, Maureen Frazzini, Ken Toney, Bob Suehrstedt, Tom Wheltle, Debbie Earman, Greg Roberts, Gabor Gyurovszky, Gary Smith, Michael Del Toro, Mark Lutze, Mark Blair, Dave Bourque, Kevin Powers, James Jackson, Greg Oehmen, and Kathi Gregarek and the CCI team.

Thanks also to supportive colleagues: Tae Kim, Steve Roughton, Ambereen Pasha, Thom Chumley, Jeff Sherard, Lori Isom, Kristi Jackson, Karolyn Vowles, Brad Vowles, Arvin Kuhn, Mohan Koneru, Liz Brill O'Neill, Darcy O'Connor, Kye Bae, Dinesh Neelay, Philippe Nave, Peggy King, John King, and Jim Stark.

Also thanks to previous coauthors who have added encouragement and sage advice: Sam Alapati, Arup Nanda, and Scott Schulze.

Darl Kuhn

I would like to extend my appreciation to Nitin Vengurlekar, a RAC Pack engineer at Oracle Corporation and a member of the technical staff. Nitin is the coauthor of the best-selling Oracle Automatic Storage Management book. Nitin's review of the ASM chapter proved invaluable, provided great insight, and enhanced the overall quality of the chapter.

I would also like to thank a colleague and fellow respected RAC database administrator in the Oracle community, Tom Roach, for reviewing the RAC chapter. Thank you for the valuable time and recommendations.

Charles Kim

Any time I accomplish something, I am always reminded of the words of Dr. José P. Rizal, Philippine national hero: "He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination." I feel it is appropriate that I acknowledge the people who have shared a wonderful 40 years with me and one way or another have greatly influenced who I am today.

First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to our God the Almighty for a beautiful life; for a lovely and faithful wife, Leizle; and for blessing us with two daughters, Juliet and Carol, who are the source of my inspiration. Also, a million thanks to my parents, Jeremias and Salud Lopuz, and Leizle's parents, Virgilio and Felisa Alinas, for their unconditional love and understanding. Without them, my wife and I would never have been in this world. Many thanks also to the enormous support and encouragement of my immediate families, namely, Willy and Flor, Hermie and Raquel, Jay, and Joey, as well as my sister-in-law, Liviliza, and her husband, Frank. Even though they are miles away, they remain always close to my heart.

I would like to thank my (past and present) managers at Oracle Corporation, namely, Mike Craig, Brent Chin, Sue Alsbury, Sharon Yourth, Martin Ingram, Maggie Wells, Sam Riley, Khaled Kassis, Chris Warticki, Katherine Mason, Ana Cristina Nickolayeva, Cathy Scully, John Donlin, Amin Abbas, and Christine Mok. I am also indebted to my mentors at Oracle Support, namely, Matt Arrocha, Matt Hart, Demetre Vlachos, Rodica Mihaila, Bill Loi, and Wes Root, as well as the following (past and present) Oracle engineers/analysts, namely, Fred Wong, Michael Chang, Jason Hsu, Chris Bryczkowski, Sylvia Gaw, Sabrina Hutchison, Sebastian Zinkiewicz, Sam Perciasepe, Harry Joseph, Marc Savereux, Andrew Duffus, Christina Lee-Yow, Marianne de Melo, Julie Dagostino, Anwar Naim, Cindy Johnson, Andrew Soutar, Renu Tikku, Gord Leach, Andy Socha, Yoly Young, Cliff Sowa, Daniel Mateos, Linda Boldt, Michelle Harris, Reem Munakash, Samer Salem, Anca Stevens, Ray Ming, Alysa Leeve, Peter Trent, Patti Trainor, Mark Batchelder, Luz Rodriguez, My-Le Rutledge, Joe Krismer, Frank Sanchez, Robert Kohon, Brian Judd, Susan Wagner, Jose Perez, Kevin Cook, Ken Janiec, Vinson Nichols, Scott Jesse, Derek Callaghan, David Vespa, and Sharmila Kamath. You guys are one of the reasons why Oracle rocks!

For my first job in Canada, I am immensely indebted to Nortak Software under the tutelage of Norio Takemura, Mike Oneil, Gus Rodriguez, and Michael Davidson. Also, I owe a lot to Fred Gallagher, president of TKM Communications, for the opportunity to sharpen my Oracle DBA skills. At TKM, I miss the company of Francois, Rodger Archer, Steve Henderson, Saywack, and Alan Ip.

I also would like to acknowledge my former co-workers at National Steel Corporation, namely, Antonio Besas, Richard Aranas, Robert Ham, Audie Battad, Malou Esmores, Gerry Cruzabra, Jenny Lacar, Rey Orbe, Elmer Gopo, Laureano Pabello, Casilda Sabolboro, Cesar Mozar, Dr. William Torres, Cesar Canlas, Donna Lim, Brenda Gallegos, Robert Caballes, Faith Longakit, Leah Zerna, Eva and Nereus Babiera, Joselito Asibal, Roy Jakosalem, Susan Fortinez, Raul Mercado, Norman Tito Lluisma, Rey Bautista, Joselito Angeles, Abraham Torcende, Alan Lagua, Rex Michael and Mary Leah Hisona, Rey Dalagan, Edgar Moso, Ellen Membreve, Baby Dy, and Daisy Bama. Our learning experience employing Unisys and Oracle technologies has certainly put many of us in different corners of the globe.

My escapades during high school are still fresh in my mind even though I am about to celebrate my silver jubilee next year. For the memorable years I spent at La Salle Academy, I am thankful to my teachers and schoolmates, namely, Mif Obach, Bro. Andrew Jacobson, Martha Giltendez, Mila Manatad, Atty. Rolly Marapao, Johnny Fetalvero, Ricky Jaro, Nico Nabua, Genevieve Cabildo, Lee Quijano, Clifford Tamula, Bong Saroca, Kim Obach-Monterroyo, Ralph Obach, Orwell Obach, Leila Simbajon, Dr. Tonton Eltanal-Pascual, Angeli Echiverri, Mariter Alejo, Mark Siangco, Gina May Adeva, Eric Regala, Eric Capitan, Eric Siao, Eric Sobremisana, Manny Cabili, Bernard Pacaa, Vinci Casas, and Dr. Celina Torres. Likewise, I love to reminisce about my five years at Mapúa Institute of Technology and my college buddies, namely, Medel Macatula, Arnol Magtibay, and Tyrone Florendo.

To my classmates, the staff, and the professors at Regis University, led by my advisor, Daniel Likarish; professors Sam Conn and Donald Archer; and practicum leader, Rossie Trujillo—thank you for your support while I aspire to complete my master's degree in computer information technology.

I am proud to mention the football fanatics in Iligan, led by our football guru Consor Manreza, as well as my teammates, namely, Carlos Buenavista, Jr., Rolly dela Cruz, Monico dela Cruz, Jr., Mateo Oliveros, Nene Arat, and Gifford Balucan. I hope someday we can play football together again.

By the time you read this book, my family and I will have already moved to Canada's capital city. I am delighted to return to Ottawa and see my friends, including Jun and Flor Barbon, Askhan and Desiree Zandi, Mark and Ethel Bergado, Rohnny and Wilma Bayona, Manfred and Jane Cantal, Cesar and Malou Ong, Raffy and Maribel Caday, Al and Lucille Sasedor, Gerry and Myrna Panes, Celso and Vicky Salvatierra, Rey and Edna Noynay, Mac and Ivy Manning, Oni Alday, Alex and Bambeth Fortinez, Melvin and Lolit Milan, Rene and Marilyn Flores, Joey and Joyce Bunagan, and Manny and Jenny Villanueva. Thanks for your outpouring of support and for welcoming us back.

After nine years in Toronto, my family and I have mixed emotions as we depart our friends, Leo Arthur and Marivic Padilla, Gerard and Maricon Nisce, Christian and Cristine Manuel, Roy and Marivic Llanes, Tito and Estrelita Bravo, Gil and Carmencita Caluen, Ervin and Emma Aspiras, Josenilo and Aida dela Cruz, Romy and Lina Yuayan, Jun and Alma Casilang, Benjie and Divine Tabucan, Jimmy and Jette Carillo, Juanito Jumao-as, Dinah Lil Alcoseba, Oliver and Dolly Valera, Ruth Garcia, and Fr. Randy Hendriks.

I also would like to express my profound thanks for the support and prayers of my extended families and friends: Nathan and Araceli Javier, Albert and Honeylet de Pedro, Jojo and Janice Jandayran, Roger and Fina Hidalgo, Tony Obed, Baby Abunda, Ismael Gabriel, Vilma Fortunado, Flor and Lydia Bajo, Deborah Steele, and Dino Awil. I am also grateful for the generosity of the Espenido family, namely, Tiburcio, Visitacion, Merck, Ruperto, Fidel, Flora, Lilia and Aurie; I would never forget the summer vacations at their Quezon City residence. I also appreciate the care provided by Dr. Gary Mok, who makes sure I am alive and kicking.

I am fortunate to have worked with an excellent team, particularly Darl Kuhn and Charles Kim; I have the utmost respect and admiration for their broad IT skillsets and and thank them for generously sharing their ideas. Special thank you to Darl for inviting and trusting me as technical reviewer and coauthor of this book. I also salute the amazing people behind this book: the vision and guidance of Jonathan Gennick, the incredible project management of Kylie Johnston, the careful copy editing of Kim Wimpsett, and the impressive production work led by Elizabeth Berry, as well as the rest of the magnificent Apress team. Also, thanks to Sam Alapati for his encouraging words and pushing me to be an author. Last but not the least, my sincerest thanks to you, our dear readers; I hope you enjoy reading this book.

Bernard Lopuz