1 Introduction to Patching Oracle Fusion Applications

This Patching Guide is intended to be a detailed and helpful tool for understanding the patching environment regardless of the user's level of knowledge.

In order to understand better what section to consult according to your expertise in patching, see the decision tree below:

Figure 1-1 Decision Tree according to your expertise


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Description of "Figure 1-1 Decision Tree according to your expertise "

Introduction to Patching

Patching is the process of applying modifications to the Oracle Fusion Applications environment. Patching is required to close security vulnerabilities, fix bugs, improve performance, and add new features. Continuous patch application minimizes incidents where bugs are encountered, improves security and ensures the instance of Oracle Fusion Applications is performing efficiently.

Tech Stack View and Interdependencies

Oracle Fusion Applications is a layered architecture that comprises development tools, distributed applications, middleware, databases, among other infrastructure components, all included in a standards-based platform. As shown in the diagram below, since the systems are integrated with complex interdependencies and linked through WebLogic Servers, deploying bundle patches to one product family can impact other tech stack components. For example, applying a patch to Oracle Fusion Supply Chain Management may affect a component within Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management. Further explain the types of product families and that there are, in fact, interdependencies:

Figure 1-2 Oracle Fusion Application Product Families


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Description of "Figure 1-2 Oracle Fusion Application Product Families"

Patch Categories

The two categories of patches for Fusion Applications is as follows:

  • Functional patches deliver new or fix existing functional capabilities within Fusion Applications. Functional patches are delivered in the following three formats:

    • One-Off Patch

    • Aggregated One-Off Patches (AOO) and

    • Patch Bundle (BP)

  • Technical Patches deliver new or fix existing technical capabilities in the underlying Fusion Middleware Components upon which Fusion Applications exists. The Technical patches are delivered in three formats are as follows:

    • One-Off Patch,

    • Critical Patch Update (CPU)

    • Patch Bundle (P4FA)

Figure 1-3 Oracle Fusion Application Patch Categories Types


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Description of "Figure 1-3 Oracle Fusion Application Patch Categories Types"

Planning

The planning section has been added to organize the patching strategies for the Oracle Fusion Applications environment in a more logical way.

See the Plan for Patching section to understand the types of patches and their release schedules, asses the effect for each deployment, create a tracking sheet to document the plan and outcomes, coordinate people, back up databases and file systems, and estimate schedules and down times.

Key Roles and Expertise

The patching team must have technical and organizational knowledge and typically includes both administrators and regular team members. See the Patch Plan: Skills and Knowledge Required section to know more about the skills and knowledge required to complete the patching progress.

Patch Time

The patching team is in charge of scheduling a downtime time to maximize the uptake of the patch bundles. Multiple patch bundles for both technical and functional side are published periodically for each release. The best practice for scheduling the uptake for these patches is to establish a schedule that minimizes the downtime while maximizing the uptake of key patches for the organization. See the Time of Patch Bundles Releases section to determine the best frequency to install the patches.

Find Patches

Patches can be found and downloaded from My Oracle Support. For specific instructions related to finding Technical Patch Bundles, see the Download a Technical Patch Bundle (P4FA) section. For information about Functional Patch Bundles, see the Download the Latest Patch Bundle and Its Prerequisites section.

Patching Tools

MANDATORY: Ensure that the framework is up to date. Tools themselves have to be patched as described in the Ensure The Patching Tools are Up-to-Date section.

The tools used to apply patches depend on what type of patch is being applied. Tables 1–1 and 1–2 show the tools used for each type of patch, as follows:

Table 1-1 Technical Patching Tools

TECHNICAL PATCHES TOOL
Technical One-Off OPatch
Critical Patch Updates (CPU) OPatch
Technical Patch Bundle (P4FA) FASPOT as described in the Apply Technical Patch Bundles: P4FA section

Table 1-2 Functional Patching Tools

FUNCTIONAL PATCHES TOOL
Functional One-Off Fusion Applications Patch Manager as described in the Apply One-Off Patches section
Functional Patch Bundle (BP) Fusion Applications Patch Manager as described in the Apply a Functional Patch Bundle section
Aggregated One-Off Fusion Applications Patch Manager as described in the Apply a Functional Patch Bundle section