Updating to Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.160119 from Oracle Database 11.2.0.4.x Releases

Use this example to understand steps required to update Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2) releases on Oracle Database Appliance.

You use Oracle Appliance Manager (OAKCLI) to update Oracle Database installations. In this scenario, you have upgraded the Oracle Database Appliance infrastructure and Oracle Grid Infrastructure to Oracle Database Appliance patch set 12.1.2.6, but you have not upgraded Oracle Database installations. This procedure describes how to upgrade Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2) databases.

The Oracle Database Appliance patch set update for Oracle Database uses a new numbering sequence. The Oracle Database update for Oracle Database Appliance patch set 12.1.2.6 is 12.1.0.2.160119.

Before you start this procedure, you must complete the following tasks:

Completed running the Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.6 patch set update for server infrastructure and Oracle Grid Infrastructure.
Configured at least one Oracle Database Appliance database home for release 12.1.0.2.160119.

You configure an Oracle Database home using Oracle Appliance Manager, either as part of your patch set update initially, or as a manual procedure using the command oakcli create dbhome. You can place all of your Oracle Database homes in one Oracle Database home, to save storage space and obtain greater ease of management, or you can place individual Oracle Database instances in individual Oracle Database homes, for greater flexibility.

You must always have an Oracle Database Appliance database home for the database release to which you want to upgrade. When you run the command oakcli update to run the patch set update, and you update one or more databases using the --database option, a new 12.1.0.2.160119 Oracle Database home is set up for you automatically. If you do not update databases when you update the infrastructure and Oracle Grid Infrastructure software, then you must create at least one Oracle Database home manually using oakcli create dbhome.

If necessary, download the 12.1.0.2.160119 RDBMS Clone Patch from My Oracle Support, and create an Oracle Database home on Node 0 for Oracle Database release 12.1.0.2.160119.

For example:

# /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli create dbhome -version 12.1.0.2.160119

Run the command oakcli show dbhomes.

The output appears similar to the following example:

Oracle HomeName  Oracle Home Version                Oracle HomeLocation                       Database Name    Database Type
---------------  -------------------                -------------                             -------------    -------------
OraDb11204_home1 11.2.0.4.7(20760997,17592127)      /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.4/dbhome_1 db1                    RAC
OraDb12102_home1 12.1.0.2.160119(21948354,21948344) /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_1 no DB available

Run the command oakcli show databases on Node 0 only. Review the output of this command to confirm that you have databases with the appropriate release number for this upgrade.
The following example shows that there is one database,db1, which is a database that is not an upgraded from release 11.2.0.4, and that is patched to a level from which you can upgrade (11.2.0.4.7):
```
# oakcli show databases

Name Type     Storage  HomeName         HomeLocation                               Version
---- ----     -------  --------         ------------                               -------
db1 RAC        ACFS    OraDb11204_home1 /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.4/dbhome_1  11.2.0.4.7(20760997,17592127)
```
Upgrade databases by running the command oakcli upgrade database on Node 0.

Run the command on Node 0 only. Provide names of databases that you want to upgrade, and provide names of database homes where you want the upgraded databases placed. Run the command with the following options, where database is the name of the database that you want to upgrade, and dbhome is the name of the Oracle home where you want the upgraded database to be placed:

oakcli upgrade database -db database -to dbhome

The following example shows how to upgrade the database db1 identified in step 3 as an upgrade candidate, and how to place the upgraded database in the new database home, OraDb12102_home2, which is also identified in step 3:

# oakcli upgrade database -db db1 -to dbhome12102_home2.
After the upgrade command completes running, run the command oakcli show databases on Node 0 again.
The command and output should now look similar to the following example:
```
Name Type     Storage  HomeName         HomeLocation                               Version
---- ----     -------  --------         ------------                               -------
db1 RAC        ACFS    OraDb12102_home1 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_1  12.1.0.2.160119(21948354,21948344)  
```
The database db1 is now in release 12.1.0.2, and the database home name is now OraDB12102_home2, which is in the path /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_2 The databases db1, and db4 share the same Oracle Database home.