56 DBMS_DG

The DBMS_DG package allows applications to notify the primary database in an Oracle Data Guard broker environment to initiate a fast-start failover when the application encounters a condition that warrants a failover.

Using DBMS_DG

There are conditions detectable by applications running outside of the Oracle database that may warrant the Oracle Data Guard broker to perform a fast-start failover. Because the range of possible conditions is virtually unlimited, it is left to the applications to determine which conditions warrant a fast-start failover.

When such conditions occur, the application calls the DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER procedure to alert the primary database that the application wants a fast-start failover to occur immediately. The primary database then notifies the observer, which immediately initiates a fast-start failover as long as the standby database is in a valid fast-start failover state ("observed" and either "synchronized" or "within lag") to accept a failover.If the configuration is not in a valid fast-start failover state, the INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER subprogram returns an ORA error message (it will not signal an exception) to inform the calling application that a fast-start failover could not be performed.

Summary of the DBMS_DG Subprogram

Table 56-1 DBMS_DG Package Subprogram

Subprogram	Description
INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER Procedure	Enables an application to notify the primary database that a fast-start failover is necessary when the application encounters conditions that warrant a failover.

INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER Procedure

Use this procedure to specify a condition string that, when encountered by an application, allows the application to request the primary database to immediately invoke a fast-start failover.

Syntax

DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER (
     condstr          IN VARCHAR2)
RETURN BINARY_INTEGER;

Parameters

Table 56-2 INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
condstr	Specifies the condition string for which a fast-start failover should be requested. If no condition string argument is supplied, the default string of "Application Failover Requested" will be logged in the broker log file and in the database alert log of the primary database.

Usage Notes

Requires SYSDBA privilege and must be defined as an invoker's rights package.
This procedure returns a binary integer.
Query the V$FS_FAILOVER_STATS view to see the time of the last fast-start failover and the reason it was performed.

Errors

Table 56-3 INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER Procedure Errors

Error	Description
`ORA-00000: normal, successful completion`	The request to initiate a fast-start failover has been posted to the observer.
`ORA-16646: fast-start failover is disabled`	Either a broker configuration does not exist or fast-start failover has not been enabled.
`ORA-16666: unable to initiate fast-start failover on a standby database`	`DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER` was invoked on a standby site.
`ORA-16817: unsynchronized fast-start failover configuration`	`DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER` was invoked in a maximum available fast-start failover configuration when the configuration was not synchronized.
`ORA-16819: fast-start failover observer not started`	`DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER` was invoked but an observer had not yet been started.
`ORA-16820: fast-start failover observer is no longer observing this database`	`DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER` was invoked but the configuration detects that the observer may not be running.
`ORA-16829: lagging fast-start failover configuration`	`DBMS_DG.INITIATE_FS_FAILOVER` was invoked in a maximum performance fast-start failover configuration when the configuration was not in the user-specified redo lag limit.

Example

In this example, the program attempts to initiate a fast-start failover when fast-start failover is disabled. To use this example, connect as user SYS with SYDDBA privileges.

set serveroutput on

declare
status integer;

begin
status := dbms_dg.initiate_fs_failover(''Failover Requested'');

dbms_output.put_line(''Fast-Start Failover is disabled: Expected status = ORA-16646'');
dbms_output.put_line(''                  Actual Status = ORA-'' || status);

end;
/
exit;