A reference for RAC and TAF technology, this book demonstrates how to optimize Oracle clustered server environments for optimal performance and flexibility. Covering all areas of RAC continuous availability and transparent application failover, this book is indispensable for Oracle DBAs who are responsible for configuring and implementing RAC clusters databases. The secrets for successful design of RAC clusters and the expert internals of shared disk technology, raw devices, and RAID with RAC are described. The internal concurrency and PCM locking mechanisms within RAC are exposed, and the configuration of Transparent Application Failover is explained. Also provided are tips for monitoring and tuning RAC applications and tricks for using Oracle9i RAC Cluster Guard.