To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest release of the software, check for and apply patches when they are released. As well as offering new features, patches may improve the functionality of existing features.
These three sections explain the patch process as well as how to find and apply patches:
All patching of Oracle Database Appliance is done with the regular Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle. The Patch Bundle provides all relevant patches for the entire system, including:
Hardware drivers
Oracle Linux
Oracle Database clone binaries
Oracle Grid Infrastructure clone binaries
When the regular Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle is available, log on to My Oracle Support as the registered Oracle Database Appliance software owner. Follow the instructions in My Oracle Support note 888888.1 as well as the instructions in the patch README file for information about patching the system.
Infrastructure patches (OS, Firmware, Oracle ILOM, and so on) will require a short downtime of Oracle Database Appliance while the patch is being applied. Oracle Appliance Manager verifies that a patch meets all prerequisite requirements to prevent you from installing patches in the wrong order. For example, you cannot just patch the GI without first updating the infrastructure.
Caution:
You must use an Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle or SAP patch bundle (downloaded from the SAP Service Marketplace) to patch Oracle Database Appliance. Do not use individual patches for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Database patches, or Linux. 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.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.
To check for patches that apply to your system:
Log on to My Oracle Support at:
https://support.oracle.com
Search for note 888888.1.
If patches are available for your software, follow the directions in note 888888.1 to download and apply them.
The following steps and example outline the general procedure to patch the software on Oracle Database Appliance. Read the specific patch Readme and any help information for details on how to apply each particular patch.
Log in to My Oracle Support using the Support Identifier of the registered software owner of Oracle Database Appliance.
https://support.oracle.com
Check the information in My Oracle Support note 888888.1 to identify, download, and apply the patch on your system. The patching procedure for a given patch bundle might differ from the standard procedure.
Under Patch Search, select Oracle Database Appliance from the Product list and the patch release number from the Release list. Click Search. Then select the patch or patches and click Download.
Log in as root.
Move the patch to a temporary directory (for example, to /tmp) on each node of Oracle Database Appliance.
To prepare the patch for installation, unpack the patch files on each node with the oakcli unpack -package command. Use the following command syntax, where path is the absolute path to the patch file:
# oakcli unpack -package path
For example, to prepare the patch files for Oracle Database Appliance release 12.1.2.2.0, after copying the patch files (p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip and p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip) into the /tmp, directory on each node, run the following oakcli unpack -package commands:
On Node 0:
# oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip
On Node 1:
# oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p20340774_121220_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip
Before installing the patch, Oracle recommends that you run the oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver patch_version command on Node 0. For example, you would use the following command to check for possible problems with the 12.1.2.2.0 patch:
# oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver 12.1.2.2.0
The output will inform you whether the patch will succeed. If the output indicates a possible problem, for example, an unpacked version of the patch is not available on the system, you may wish to defer applying the patch until you have downtime to fix the expected problem.
To install the patch, run the oakcli update -patch command on Node 0. Use the following command syntax, where version is the patch update version number:
# oakcli update -patch version
For example, to update to patch 12.1.2.2.0, run the oakcli update -patch command on Node 0 as follows:
# oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.2.0
Most new patches, particularly Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure patches, will install themselves on both nodes automatically. The output displayed by the patch process advises you if the patch is being installed on one of both nodes. For older patches that only install on a single node, repeat the oakcli update -patch command on the second node.