To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply patches 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.
Here are the basic steps for patching Oracle Database Appliance Software
Step 1: Select and Download Patches on My Oracle Support
Step 2: Copy and Unpack the Patch Bundle
Step 3: Verify Components to be Updated
Step 4: Patch the Infrastructure (INFRA)
Step 5: Apply the Patch to the Grid Infrastructure (GI) Components
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:
BIOS
Hardware drivers and management pack and firmware drivers for various components
Oracle Appliance Manager Software
Oracle Linux
Oracle VM
Java Development Kit (JDK)
Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (Oracle ILOM)
Oracle Database Patch Set Update (PSU)
Oracle Automated Service Request (ASR)
Oracle Grid Infrastructure
Oracle Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
The patch bundle is divided into three logical groups:
| Patch Component | Components to be Patched |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure (INFRA) | Disk firmware, Controller Firmware, Linux Operating System, ILOM, BIOS, Hardware Management Pack, IPMI, OAKCLI, ASRFor the virtualized platform, this component also includes Dom0 updates |
| Oracle Grid Infrastructure (GI) | Oracle Grid Infrastructure stack |
| Database | RDBMS Stack |
Important:
The patch bundle must be applied to the Infrastructure components first, followed by the Oracle Grid Infrastructure stack and then the Oracle Database.This section outlines the general procedure, with examples, for patching the software on Oracle Database Appliance. Read the specific patch Readme file and any help information for details on how to apply each particular patch.
Note:
Read the MOS doc 888888.1 for more information on patching and bugs. To find information specific to a given patch, read the Readme for the patch.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 prerequisites to prevent you from installing patches in the wrong order. For example, you cannot patch the Oracle Grid Infrastructure without first updating the Infrastructure.
Most new patches will automatically install themselves on both nodes. The output displayed by the patch process advises you if the patch is being installed on one or both nodes. For older patches that only install on a single node, you will need to run the oakcli update -patch command on the second node.
From an external client machine, log on to My Oracle Support and access note 888888.1 at
>https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=888888.1
Under Patch Search, select Oracle Database Appliance from the Product list.
Select the patch release number from the Select a Release list.
Click Search.
Select the patch or patches and click Download.
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 Oracle 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.Log in to Oracle Database Appliance as root.
Move the patch to a temporary directory (for example /tmp) on each node of Oracle Database Appliance.
Note:
On the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform, copy the patch bundle to the ODA_BASE (Dom1).To prepare the patch for installation, use the oakcli unpack -package command to unpack the patch files on each node. This command will unzip/extract the patch bundle and copy the contents of the patch bundle 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 path
To prepare the patch files for Oracle Database Appliance release 12.1.2.4.0:
Copy the patch files (p21204676_121240_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip and p21204676_121240_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/p21204676_121240_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p21204676_121240_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip
On Node 1:
# oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p21204676_121240_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p21204676_121240_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip
Before installing the patch, run the oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver patch_version command on Node 0 to verify the components to be patched and identify any possible problems. This command shows a report which lists the components that require patching. If a component is listed as "Up-to-date" for the Supported Version, then the component will not be patched.
For example, use the following command to check for possible problems with the 12.1.2.4.0 patch:
# oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver 12.1.2.4.0
The command output will inform you whether the patch will succeed. If the output indicates a possible problem, for example, if there are RPM dependency deficiencies, you may want to defer applying the patch until you have downtime to fix the expected problem.
When you are upgrading to a newer patch version than what is currently installed on Oracle Database Appliance, then you need to patch the Infrastructure (INFRA) to the version level you are deploying in order to get the correct version of the Oracle Appliance Manager.
Patching the Infrastructure requires downtime when shared components are being patched. Should there be a failure, you can restart the patching process by re-issuing the same command.
To patch the Infrastructure:
To start the patching process, run the following command on Node 0 ONLY. It will patch both nodes at the same time:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch <version> --infra
version is the patch update version number. For example:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.4.0 --infra
The Infrastructure patch will install itself on both nodes automatically. The output displayed by the patch process advises you if the patch is being installed on one of both nodes.
Important:
You must patch the Infrastructure before you attempt to patch the Grid Infrastructure.The Grid Infrastructure patching process is a rolling upgrade that automatically patches Node 1 after patching Node 0. This allows the Grid Infrastructure stack to be up and running on one of the nodes during patching.
To start the Grid Infrastructure patching process, run the oakcli update -patch <version> --gi command:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch <version> --gi
version is the patch update version number. For example:
#/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.4.0 --gi
Refer to"Updating and Upgrading the Oracle Database on Oracle Database Appliance" and follow the steps for patching your specific deployment:
"Example 1 Updating to Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.4 from Previous Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.x Releases"
"Example 2 Upgrading to Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.4 from Oracle Database 11.2.0.4.x Releases"
Important:
You must patch the Infrastructure and Grid Infrastructure before you attempt to patch the Oracle Database.Run the oakcli validate -d command to validate the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation. This command runs all system checks, including Disk Calibration.
# /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli validate -d
Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a default iso image pre-installed. This iso image can be used to re-image the Oracle Database Appliance for Bare Metal Restore.
To re-image Oracle Database Appliance, download the following file: p12999313_121240_Linux-x86-64.zip and refer to My Oracle Support Note 1373599.1 for detailed installation instructions.