Contents

Title and Copyright Information

Preface

• Documentation Accessibility
• Conventions

1 Introduction

• Products Supported by Smart Update Version 3.2.1
• Quick Reference Information
• How Smart Update Simplifies Patch and Maintenance Pack Management
  • Features for Downloading and Applying Patches
    • Direct Connection to My Oracle Support
    • Patch Validation and Conflict Checking
    • Command-Line Interface
    • Support for Distributed Patching
    • Support for Patching Machines That Cannot Connect to My Oracle Support
    • Simplified Maintenance Rollback
    • Scoping a Patch to Specific Applications, Domains, or Servers
  • Features for Installing Maintenance Pack Updates
    • Easy-to-Use Graphical Interface
    • Listing of Available Maintenance Packs
    • Downgrade Capability
• Register for Security Updates
• Resources Available from My Oracle Support
• Overview of Applying Maintenance Patches
  • Providing Maintenance to Distributed Machines
  • Maintaining Machines that are not Connected to My Oracle Support
    • Patching New Versions of Smart Update Manually
• Overview of Installing Maintenance Pack Updates

2 Starting Smart Update

• Before You Start
  • Designating the Patch Download Directory
  • Obtaining Required Access
• How to Start Smart Update
• Logging In to Smart Update
  • Related Topics
  • Obtaining a My Oracle Support Account
  • Working Offline
• Setting Preferences
  • Choosing a Patch Download Directory
  • Displaying Patch Sets in the Downloaded Patches Panel
  • Setting HTTP Proxy Information
    • Related Topics

3 Downloading and Applying Patches

• Choosing a Target Installation
  • Specifying Other Middleware Home Directories
• Downloading Private Patches
• Downloading Publicly Available Patches
  • Validating Patches Before Downloading
    • When Validation Before Downloading is Recommended
    • Validation Process
    • Using the Patch Download Validation Dialog Box
  • Refreshing the View of Patches and Patch Sets
• Viewing Patch Information
  • How to Display Patches
    • Displaying a List of Publicly Available Patches
    • Displaying the Contents of the Patch Download Directory
  • About Patches Displayed in the Get Patches Tab
  • Viewing Patch and Patch Set Details
    • Viewing Details about Patches
    • Viewing Details About Patch Sets
  • Viewing Currently Downloaded Patches
• Applying and Managing Patches
  • About the Manage Patches Tab
  • About Patch Profiles
  • Applying a Patch to the Target Installation
  • Removing a Patch or Patch Set from the Target Installation
• Resolving Patch Conflicts
  • Validation When Downloading Patches
  • Validation When Applying Patches
  • Validation When Removing Patches
• Creating and Using Maintenance Snapshots
• Applying a Patch to the Client

4 Downloading and Installing Maintenance Packs

• Overview
  • Using the Node Manager in a Clustered Environment
  • Removing Pointers to Custom Patch Profiles
• Viewing Available Maintenance Packs
• Applying the Selected Maintenance Pack
• Upgrading Web Server Plug-Ins

5 Activating Applied Patches in Your Installations and Applications

• Overview
  • Patches That Must Be Referenced By Start Scripts
  • Patches That Replace Resources For All Applications, Domains, and Servers
  • Patches That Must Be Deployed and Referenced By Applications
  • How Patch Files Are Stored on Your System By Smart Update
  • Structure of the Installation-Level Patch Directories
    • Patch Manifest JAR Files
    • Native Library Files
    • Module Patch Files
• Classpath, Extended Classpath, and Native Library Patches
  • About Pointing Start Scripts at Patches
    • Default Script that Defines Class and Library Paths for All WebLogic Domains and Servers
    • Default Patch Path Environment Variables
    • How Patch Path Variables Are Inserted into Class and Library Paths
    • About Setting a Patch Path Variable in a Server Start Script
• Modifying a Start Script
• Using the Start Script Editor
  • Script Snippet for Windows
  • Script Snippet for UNIX
  • Opening a Start Script
    • Modifying the Domain Start Script
    • Modifying the Start Script for All Managed Servers or a Cluster
    • Modifying the Start Script for a Specific Server
• Pointing All Domains and Servers at Patches Through Custom Scripts
  • Pointing Domains and Servers at Patch JARs in the Default Patch Profile for the WebLogic System Classpath
  • Pointing Domains and Servers at Library Patches in the Default Patch Profile
    • For UNIX Systems
    • For Windows Systems
• Module Patching
  • Module Patching in WebLogic Server
  • Module Patching in OSGi-Based Products
• Native Binaries and Other Artifacts Patches
• Shared Archive Patches
  • Overview
    • Archive Replacement Compared with Insertion
    • Patch Removal
    • For More Information
  • Default Application of Shared Archive Patches
  • Activating Shared Archive Patches in Custom Profiles with Application Scope
    • Updating Application Descriptors

6 Patching Individual Applications, Domains, or Servers

• About Patching Domains or Servers
• About Patching Applications, Domains, or Servers
  • How Custom Profiles Can Patch Individual Domains, Servers, and Applications
  • How a Domain or Server Can Point to a Patch in a Custom Profile
    • Example Use of PATCH_CLASSPATH to Point a Server at Patch Classes
    • Pointing to Custom Patch Profiles in OSGi-based Products
  • Best Practices for Using Custom Patch Profiles
    • Avoiding Proliferation of Custom Profiles
    • Modifying Domain and Server Start Scripts
    • Removing Patches That Affect Installation-Wide Resources
• Creating a Custom Patch Profile
  • Related Topics
  • Initial Contents of a Custom Patch Profile
  • Cloning a Patch Profile
  • Adding Patches to a Custom Patch Profile
  • Deleting a Custom Patch Profile
• Pointing Domains and Servers at a Custom Patch Profile
  • Important Note if You Use Custom Scripts
    • Related Topics
• Managing Custom Patch Profiles in a Node Manager Environment

7 Uninstalling Maintenance Packs and Patches

• Important Note about Uninstalling Products
• Removing a Patch or Patch Set
  • To remove a patch or patch set, complete the following steps:
• Uninstalling a Maintenance Pack
  • Updating the Embedded LDAP Schema

8 Using the Command-Line Interface

• About the bsu Command
• bsu Command Reference
• Command-Line Interface Examples
  • Installation Example
  • View Patches Example
  • Another View Patches Example
  • Display Maintenance Snapshot
  • Report of Applied Patches

9 Best Practices for Distributing Maintenance Updates

• Distributing Maintenance Patches to a Production Environment
  • Using Smart Update Scripts to Promote a Standard Maintenance Level to a Production Environment
  • Creating and Distributing an Archive of the Product Installation
• Providing Patches to Systems that Cannot Connect to My Oracle Support
  • Patching an Offline System Through a Shared Patch Download Directory
    • Requirements
    • Steps
  • Patching an Offline System Through Removable Media
    • Requirements
    • Steps
  • Additional Means for Patching an Offline System

10 Known Limitations in Smart Update

• General Issues and Workarounds
  • Smart Update 3.1 Exits with an Error if Version Strings of Products that are Not Supported by Smart Update are Present in the Registry
  • Smart Update Does Not Run on Apple Macintosh Machine
  • Exceptions are Thrown When You Use Smart Update with Node Manager Running
  • Patch Application Does Not Enforce Product Check in Command-line Mode
  • Invalidated Patches List Other Invalidated Patches as Their Replacement
  • The Patch Profile Maintenance Snapshot Is Poorly Formatted When Viewed in Notepad
  • Smart Update Graphical User Interface Displays an Exception in Rare Cases
  • Uninstall Component Does Not Remove Component Patches Automatically
  • GUI Cannot Refresh Patches Installed from Command Line Without Restart
  • Issues with Domains Created After Rollback from WebLogic Server 10.3.2 to 10.3.1
  • Downgrade Option is Unavailable in Smart Update After Upgrade to WebLogic Server 10.3.2

11 Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I get a Support ID?
• What is a Bug or CR?
• How can I get a fix to a bug? Can I get a patch for a bug?
• How do I obtain security advisory notifications?
• What is a private patch?
• How do I get the ID for a private patch?
• How do I download just a maintenance pack?
• What products can I patch using the Smart Update tool?
• Do I need a support contract to download patches from My Oracle Support?

A Smart Update Quick Reference

• How to Download and Apply a Private Patch
• How to Generate a Maintenance Snapshot
• How to Create a Custom Patch Profile
• Smart Update GUI Glossary

Glossary