Oracle ASMLIB configuration on RHEL 9: io_uring support starting with RHEL 9.8

Environment

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9
• Oracle Database
  • kmod-oracleasm (no longer supplied in RHEL 9)
  • io_uring (support starting on RHEL 9.8)

Issue

• Will the kmod-oracleasm package be available for RHEL 9?
• Will Oracle ASMLIB be available for RHEL 9?
• Is io_uring supported for Oracle ASMLIB prior to RHEL 9.8?

Resolution

Since the release of Oracle ASMLib V3, Red Hat no longer provides the kmod-oracleasm kernel drivers for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.

The recommended method for configuring Oracle ASM on RHEL 9 depends on the RHEL 9 minor release:

• RHEL 9.8 and later: io_uring is supported and recommended starting with kernel-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8. Refer to: Is io_uring supported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

• RHEL 9 releases prior to 9.8: io_uring is not supported for production use. Configure Oracle ASM devices using persistent udev rules instead. Refer to:

  • How are custom persistent names assigned for SCSI devices using udev in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and later kernels?
  • How to create Oracle ASM disks using disk or multipath devices in Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Note: For RHEL 9.8 and later the udev rules can still be used to provide persistent device names, but io_uring is the recommended I/O interface for Oracle ASMLIB V3.

Root Cause

• io_uring offers powerful, high-performance I/O capabilities that make it very appealing for modern workloads. However, its complexity significantly increases the kernel's attack surface, which has led to multiple security vulnerabilities over time.
• Although kernel developers continue to improve its security and stability, issues can still occur. As a result, io_uring remains under close scrutiny by security researchers and exploit developers alike.
• On RHEL 9, io_uring is now supported starting with kernel 5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8 or higher, enabling confident use of io_uring for Oracle workloads on RHEL 9.8 and future versions.

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