SF Oracle RAC uses CFS to manage a file system in a large database environment. Since CFS is an extension of VxFS, it operates in a similar fashion and caches metadata and data in memory (typically called buffer cache or vnode cache). CFS uses a distributed locking mechanism called Global Lock Manager (GLM) to ensure all nodes have a consistent view of the file system. GLM provides metadata and cache coherency across multiple nodes by coordinating access to file system metadata, such as inodes and free lists. The role of GLM is set on a per-file system basis to enable load balancing.

CFS involves a primary/secondary architecture. One of the nodes in the cluster is the primary node for a file system. Though any node can initiate an operation to create, delete, or resize data, the GLM master node carries out the actual operation. After creating a file, the GLM master node grants locks for data coherency across nodes. For example, if a node tries to modify a block in a file, it must obtain an exclusive lock to ensure other nodes that may have the same file cached have this cached copy invalidated.

SF Oracle RAC configurations minimize the use of GLM locking. Oracle RAC accesses the file system through the ODM interface and handles its own locking; only Oracle (and not GLM) buffers data and coordinates write operations to files. A single point of locking and buffering ensures maximum performance. GLM locking is only involved when metadata for a file changes, such as during create and resize operations.