To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles when they are released.
Topics:
All patching of Oracle Database Appliance is done using the quarterly Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle.
The patch bundle provides all relevant patches for the entire system, including the following:
BIOS
Hardware drivers, Hardware Management Pack (HWM), and firmware drivers for various components
Oracle Appliance Manager
Oracle Linux
Oracle VM
Java Development Kit (JDK)
Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (Oracle ILOM)
Oracle Database Patch Set Update (PSU)
Oracle Auto Service Request (Oracle ASR)
Oracle Grid Infrastructure
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
The patch bundle consists of three logical groups of patches:
Table 6-1 Patch Components and Purposes
| Patch Component | Objects Patched |
|---|---|
|
SERVER ( |
Server components: Linux Operating System, Oracle ILOM, BIOS, Hardware Management Pack, IPMI, OAKCLI, Oracle ASR. For the virtualized platform, this component also includes |
|
STORAGE ( |
Shared storage: Disk firmware, Controller Firmware. |
|
DB ( |
Oracle Database RDBMS stack. |
Note:
You must apply patch bundle components in this order:
SERVER (server)
STORAGE (storage)
DB (database)
Understand how to patch an existing Oracle Database Appliance to the latest version.
To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles when they are released. As well as offering new features, patches may improve the functionality of existing features.
Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles are released on a quarterly schedule. My Oracle Support note 888888.1 provides information about the latest Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle.
Caution:
Do not patch Oracle Database Appliance using individual patches for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Database, or Oracle Linux. Also do not use individual infrastructure patches, such as firmware patches. You must only use Oracle Database Appliance patches.
If you use patches that are not intended for Oracle Database Appliance, or if you use Opatch, or a similar patching tool, then Oracle Database Appliance inventory is not updated, and you cannot complete future patch updates.
Overview of the Steps to Apply a Patch Upgrade
Step 1: Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support
Download the Oracle Database Appliance patch set bundle.
Step 2: Copy and Unpack the Patch Bundle
Copy the patch to your server, and use the oakcli unpack -package command to unpack the patch bundle.
Step 3: Verify Components that Require Patching
Use the validate command to validate your system before you start the patch upgrade.
Step 4: Patch the Server
Use the oakcli update command to upgrade the server to the latest version.
Step 5: Patch the Shared Storage (Optional)
Patch the shared storage now, or to patch the shared storage during a maintenance window.
Step 6: Patch Oracle Database
Apply the Oracle Database Appliance patch set to update Oracle Database on Node 0 and Node 1.
Step 7: Validate the Patch Update
Run the oakcli show version -detail command to verify that all components of the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation are updated.
Review these topics to prepare for and to carry out the patch set bundle installation.
Topics:
oakcli unpack -package to unpack the patch bundle.oakcli) to patch the server. You can use automatic patching, or manual patching.oakcli show version -detail to verify that all components of the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation are updated.Decide how you want to patch Oracle Database Appliance.
You can patch Oracle Database Appliance using either automatic rolling patching, or manual rolling patching. Review the steps for each procedure, and decide which option you want to use. For each option, the steps are the same, except for the server patch (step 4).
For both options, the storage patch requires a system restart of Oracle Database Appliance after completing the storage patch update. However, you can defer the update to a maintenance window.
Note:
You must patch the server before you patch the storage. See My Oracle Support note 888888.1 for information about the latest Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle.
Automatic Rolling Patching Option
The advantage of automatic rolling patching is that it is simple to do, in that you start the patch, and the patch process completes automatically. However, services and clients may experience delays during node restarts.
Automatic rolling patching consists of the following steps:
Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support.
Copy and unpack the patch bundle to Oracle Database Appliance.
Verify the components that require patching.
Patch the server.
(optional) Patch the shared storage components. This patch requires a system restart, but you can usually defer the restart.
Patch Oracle Databases. No restart is required.
Validate the Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure patch installation.
Manual Rolling Patching Option
The advantage of manual rolling patching is that you can first migrate the services and clients from one node to another before the node restarts, and then manually patch the second node. This migration can be more graceful than a failover, so it can minimize interruptions to ongoing transactions.
Manual rolling patching consists of the following steps:
Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support.
Copy and unpack the patch bundle to both Oracle Database Appliance nodes.
Verify the components that require patching.
Patch the server. Complete the patch manually in a two-step process.
Log in to Node 0, and patch the server on Node 0 by running the oakcli patch command using the --local option.
Wait until the patch operation completes, and Node 0 is available.
Log in to Node 1, and patch the server on Node 1 by running the oakcli patch command using the --local option.
(optional) Patch the shared storage. This patch requires a system restart, but you can usually defer the restart.
Patch Oracle Databases. No restart is required.
Validate the Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure patch installation.
Use this procedure to download the Oracle Database Appliance patch set bundle.
Caution:
Only use either an Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle, or if you are an SAP customer, an SAP patch bundle downloaded from the SAP Service Marketplace. Do not patch Oracle Database Appliance using individual patches for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Database, or Oracle Linux. Also do not use individual infrastructure patches, such as firmware patches. You must only use Oracle Database Appliance patches.
If you use patches that are not intended for Oracle Database Appliance, or if you use Opatch, or a similar patching tool, then Oracle Database Appliance inventory is not updated, and you cannot complete future patch updates.
Copy the patch to your server, and use oakcli unpack -package to unpack the patch bundle.
On Oracle Database Appliance systems, you must log in as root, and copy the patch bundle to the path /tmp.
On Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platforms, you must log in as root, and copy the patch bundle to ODA_BASE (Dom1).
After you copy the patch to the required location, run the command oakcli unpack -package. This command extracts (unzips) the patch bundle, and copies the patch bundle contents into the patch repository. Use the following syntax to specify the complete path to the patch bundle file, where path is the absolute path to the patch file:
# oakcli unpack -package absolute_package_name
Note:
You must have root access for Oracle Database Appliance to perform this task.
Use command-line interface commands to check for any problems before you start the patch upgrade.
Before installing the patch, use the oakcli validate command on Node 0 to identify any possible problems in your environment, such as missing dependencies or other conflicts that can cause issues with patch installation. Conflicts can be introduced if you customize the standard configuration. The oakcli validate command shows a report that lists the components that require patching. If a component is listed as Up-to-date for the supported version that you indicate with the -ver flag, then that component does not require patching.
Run the oakcli validate command using the following syntax to validate your system, where patch_version is the patch version for which you want to validate your system:
oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver patch_version
Example 6-1 Validating Readiness for Oracle Database Appliance Patch Set
Use the following commands to check for any problems on your system before installing the patch bundle:
Run the patch validation check for the patch set:
# oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver patch version
The output of these commands inform you if the patch can be installed on your environment. If the output from the command indicates that there is a problem (for example, if there are missing RPM dependencies on the server), then address the issue, and run oakcli validate again.
Note:
These commands run only on the local node. Run the commands on both nodes to check both Oracle Database Appliance nodes.
Use Oracle Appliance Manager (oakcli) to patch the server. You can use automatic patching, or manual patching.
To patch the servers, select the automatic patching procedure, or select the manual patching procedure.
You must download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support. Either download it directly, or download it to a thumb drive, and copy the file to server nodes using the thumb drive.
Automatic Server Patch Procedure
The automatic server patching process is a rolling upgrade that automatically patches Node 0 after patching Node 1. This automatic procedure enables Oracle Grid Infrastructure to continue to be up and running on one of the nodes during patching.
Download the Oracle Database Appliance server patch bundle from My Oracle Support to Node 0.
Log in to Node 0 as the root user.
Run the command oakcli update -patch version --server, where version is the patch set bundle version.
For example:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.10.0 --server
This command patches the server on Node 1. After that patch update is complete, it then automatically patches Node 0
Observe the patch status reports.
As the patch runs, it displays output that advises you of the installation progress. Part of the server patch update requires node 1 to be restarted, then node 0 to be restarted. Wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting before proceeding to the next step.
Manual Server Patch Procedure
You can manually control patching the nodes. The manual server patching process requires you to log in to a node and run Oracle Appliance Manager (oakcli) using a local node server patch update. After you complete the patch procedure on the first node, log into the second node, and patch the second node.
Download the Oracle Database Appliance server patch bundle from My Oracle Support to node 0.
Log in to Node 0 as the root user.
Run the Oracle Appliance Manager command oakcli update -patch version --server --local, where version is the patch set bundle version.
For example:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.10.0 --server --local
The Oracle Appliance Manager command carries out the patch on Node 0. As the patch runs, it displays output that advises you of the installation progress.
Oracle Appliance Manager prompts you to restart the node. Restart the node, and wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting before proceeding to the next step.
Log out of Node 0, and log in to Node 1 as the root user.
Run Oracle Appliance Manager on Node 1 using the --local flag to patch the server.
For example:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.10.0 --server --local
Oracle Appliance Manager prompts you to restart the node. Restart the node, and wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting.
When both servers are patched and restarted, proceed to the next step.
Use this procedure to patch the shared storage now, or to patch the shared storage during a maintenance window.
Patching the storage requires downtime when shared components are being patched. If a failure occurs, then you can restart the patching process by reissuing the same command.
Start the storage patching command only on one node (Node 0). The command patches storage for both nodes at the same time.
The storage patch runs, and automatically installs itself on both nodes. The output displayed by the patch process advises you of the installation progress. If you are running this step in sequence, then wait for the patch to complete before proceeding to the next step.
Apply the Oracle Database Appliance patch set to update Oracle Database on Node 0 and Node 1.
Run the command oakcli show version -detail to verify that all components of the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation are updated.
oakcli show version -detail, the output shows the installed version and that the supported versions are Up-to-date. If you unpack the patch bundle (oakcli unpack -pack) and then run the command oakcli show version -detail before applying the patch, the output shows that the supported versions are No-update.To confirm that your Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database software components are updated, run the following command:
# /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli show version -detail
Mon Feb 13 03:31:48 PST 2017
Reading the metadata. It takes a while...
System Version Component Name Installed Version Supported Version
-------------- --------------- ------------------ -----------------
12.1.2.10.0
Controller_INT 4.230.40-3739 Up-to-date
Controller_EXT 09.00.00.00 Up-to-date
Expander 0291 Up-to-date
SSD_SHARED {
[ c2d20,c2d21,c2d22, A29A Up-to-date
c2d23 ]
[ c2d0,c2d1,c2d2,c2d A29A Up-to-date
3,c2d4,c2d5,c2d6,c2d
7,c2d8,c2d9,c2d10,c2
d11,c2d12,c2d13,c2d1
4,c2d15,c2d16,c2d17,
c2d18,c2d19 ]
}
SSD_LOCAL 0R3Q Up-to-date
ILOM 3.2.7.26.a r112632 Up-to-date
BIOS 38050100 Up-to-date
IPMI 1.8.12.4 Up-to-date
HMP 2.3.5.2.5 Up-to-date
OAK 12.1.2.9.0 Up-to-date
OL 6.8 Up-to-date
GI_HOME 12.1.0.2.161018(2400 Up-to-date
6101,23854735)
DB_HOME 12.1.0.2.160719(2305 Up-to-date
4246,23054327)
Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a default ISO image preinstalled.
To use Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform, you must reimage Oracle Database Appliance.
Go to My Oracle Support note 888888.1:
https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=888888.1
Download the required ISO image.
Refer to the readme file for detailed installation instructions.