It is expected that not every Oracle PCA system is updated with each minor release. Updates are often selected because they fulfill certain requirements of the environment where the appliance is deployed. However, certain updates bring such significant changes to the product that they must be applied if they are on the path between a system's current software and the intended newer version. This section describes the mandatory updates and the impact they have on the Oracle PCA going forward. A more detailed description of each release can be found in the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release Notes.
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 1.0.2, please upgrade to Release 1.1.3 first. Critical changes include:
Oracle VM performance tuning
storage connectivity improvements
support for a new generation of hardware: Sun Server X4-2 and Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance ZS3-ES
OpenSSL upgrade to eliminate the 'heartbleed bug' (CVE-2014-0160)
If you are using a VLAN for your management network and you are upgrading from a previous release where you manually configured your environment, these network changes can adversely affect the upgrade process. Any manual configuration to allow the management network to run on a VLAN must be reverted on both management nodes, before the software process is started.
To update the appliance software to Release 1.1.3 you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.4, “Updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software Through the Oracle PCA CLI”. After successful completion, perform the additional steps described in these Troubleshooting sections:
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 1.1.3, please upgrade to Release 2.0.1 first. Critical changes include:
external storage support
appliance management over a VLAN
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.2.8
If you are using a VLAN for your management network and you are upgrading from a previous release where you manually configured your environment, these network changes can adversely affect the upgrade process. Any manual configuration to allow the management network to run on a VLAN must be reverted on both management nodes, before the software process is started.
As of Release 2.0.1, the Oracle PCA Dashboard provides an option to automatically configure the management network for a VLAN. After the upgrade is completed, you need to set this configuration option to enable VLAN support for the management network. See Section 2.5, “Network Settings” for more information on setting this configuration option.
To update the appliance software to Release 2.0.1 you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.4, “Updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software Through the Oracle PCA CLI”. After successful completion, perform the additional procedure described in Section 3.5.2, “Oracle PCA 2.2 and Earlier – Upgrading Oracle VM Release 3.2”.
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 2.0.1-2.0.4, please upgrade to Release 2.0.5 first. Critical changes include:
product name change from Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance (VCA) to Oracle Private Cloud Appliance (PCA)
Oracle Linux kernel upgrade
support for a new generation of hardware: Oracle Server X5-2 (expansion compute nodes and base racks)
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.2.9
To update the appliance software to Release 2.0.5 you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.4, “Updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software Through the Oracle PCA CLI”. After successful completion, perform the additional procedure described in Section 3.5.2, “Oracle PCA 2.2 and Earlier – Upgrading Oracle VM Release 3.2”.
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 2.0.5, you can upgrade to Release 2.1.1 or Release 2.2.x. Critical changes include:
In Release 2.1.1:
new network customization and monitoring functionality
firmware upgrades for network components
automated ZFS storage appliance firmware upgrade, including network access to both controllers for easier maintenance
support for compute node memory extension kits
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.2.10
In Release 2.2.x:
support for multiple server pools (tenant groups)
support for expansion racks
extended network customization functionality
support for a new generation of hardware: Oracle Server X6-2 (compute node only)
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.2.11
To update the appliance software to Release 2.2.1 you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.4, “Updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software Through the Oracle PCA CLI”. After successful completion, perform the additional procedure described in Section 3.5.2, “Oracle PCA 2.2 and Earlier – Upgrading Oracle VM Release 3.2”.
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 2.1.1, 2.2.1 or 2.2.2, you can upgrade to Release 2.3.1, 2.3.2 or 2.3.3. As described later in this section, use the pre-upgrade script provided with the software update to detect and resolve potential issues.
You must NEVER attempt to run the UPDATE TO RELEASE 2.3.x if the currently installed controller software is Release 2.0.5 or earlier.
These earlier releases do not have the necessary mechanisms to verify that the update path is valid. Consequently, the update process will start, and make both management nodes inaccessible. There may be significant downtime and data loss or corruption.
This controller software update includes a new major release of Oracle VM: Release 3.4. Therefore the compute nodes must be running Oracle VM Server Release 3.2.10 or 3.2.11. The Oracle PCA Controller Software update will fail if any compute nodes are running an older version of Oracle VM Server.
Critical changes include:
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.4:
Oracle PCA 2.3.1 includes Oracle VM 3.4.2
Oracle PCA 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 include Oracle VM 3.4.4
Enhanced pre-upgrade validation logic and exception handling
compute node deprovisioning (Release 2.3.2)
support for 256 VLANs (Release 2.3.2)
support for a new generation of hardware:
Oracle PCA 2.3.2 adds support for Oracle Server X7-2 compute nodes
Oracle PCA 2.3.3 adds support for Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance ZS5-ES
To update the appliance software to Release 2.3.1, 2.3.2 or 2.3.3, you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.4, “Updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software Through the Oracle PCA CLI”. Pay special attention to the Prerequisites for Release 2.3.x. After successful completion, perform the additional procedure described in Section 3.5.1, “Oracle PCA 2.3 – Upgrading Oracle VM to Release 3.4”.
If your Oracle PCA is currently running Controller Software Release 2.3.1, 2.3.2 or 2.3.3, you can upgrade to Release 2.3.4. As described below, use the Oracle PCA Upgrader to navigate through the pre-upgrade checks and management node upgrade process.
With Controller Software Release 2.3.4, the upgrade of the management nodes must be executed with the Oracle PCA Upgrader. Do not use the pca-admin update appliance CLI command.
Since Oracle PCA must already be running Controller Software Release 2.3.1, 2.3.2 or 2.3.3 to qualify for the Release 2.3.4 update, all compute nodes should be running Oracle VM Server Release 3.4.2 or newer. Make sure that all compute nodes meet this requirement before you proceed with the management node upgrade.
Critical changes include:
Oracle VM upgrade to Release 3.4.5
Oracle PCA Upgrader for independent and modular upgrade process management
firmware upgrades for several components
To update the appliance software to Release 2.3.4, you must first execute the procedure in Section 3.3, “Oracle PCA 2.3 – Using the Oracle PCA Upgrader”. After successful completion, perform the additional procedure described in Section 3.5.1, “Oracle PCA 2.3 – Upgrading Oracle VM to Release 3.4”.