1 Updating Oracle Database Appliance Software

To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles when they are released.

Patches can include new features and bug fixes, and 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.

Topics:

About the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle

All patching of Oracle Database Appliance is done using the quarterly Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle.

The patch bundle provides all relevant patches for the entire system, including the following:

  • BIOS

  • Hardware drivers, Hardware Management Pack (HWM), and firmware drivers for various components

  • Oracle Appliance Manager

  • Oracle Linux

  • Oracle VM

  • Java Development Kit (JDK)

  • Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (Oracle ILOM)

  • Oracle Database Patch Set Update (PSU)

  • Oracle Auto Service Request (Oracle ASR)

  • Oracle Grid Infrastructure

  • Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)

The patch bundle consists of three logical groups of patches:

Table 1-1 Patch Components and Purposes

Patch Component Objects Patched

SERVER (server)

Server components: Linux Operating System, Oracle ILOM, BIOS, Hardware Management Pack, IPMI, OAKCLI, Oracle ASR. For the virtualized platform, this component also includes Dom0 updates. The Server patch also includes Oracle Grid Infrastructure stack.

STORAGE (storage)

Shared storage: Disk firmware, Controller Firmware.

DB (database)

Oracle Database RDBMS stack.

Note:

You must apply patch bundle components in this order:

  1. SERVER (server)

  2. STORAGE (storage)

  3. DB (database)

Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.7 Patch Set Guidelines

If you have Oracle Database running using High Availability options such as Oracle Real Application Clusters, then there is no downtime required while the patches are being installed. Oracle Appliance Manager verifies that the host meets all prerequisites to prevent you from installing patches in the wrong order. For example, you cannot install the database patch before you install the server patch. When applied, 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 must run the command oakcli update -patch on the second node.

About Installing the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Set Bundle 12.1.2.8.0

Understand how to patch an existing Oracle Database Appliance to version 12.1.2.8.0.

Oracle Database Appliance patch set release 12.1.2.8.0 includes software and firmware updates for Oracle Database Appliance.

Note:

You must be on Patch Set Release 12.1.2.6.0 before you can upgrade to 12.1.2.8.0.

About Oracle Database Appliance Software Updates

To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles 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.

Caution:

Do not patch Oracle Database Appliance using individual patches for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Database, or Oracle Linux. Also do not use individual infrastructure patches, such as firmware patches. You must only use Oracle Database Appliance patches.

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.

Overview of the 12.1.2.8.0 Patch Upgrade

If you have Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.7.0, but have not deployed the appliance, or you have Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.7.0 or 12.1.2.6.0, then perform the following steps to upgrade to 12.1.2.8.0:

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance patch set bundle.

  2. Copy the patch to your server, and use the oakcli unpack -package command to unpack the patch bundle.

  3. Verify the components that require patching by using the oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver 12.1.2.8.0 command before you start the patch upgrade.

  4. Patch the server by using the oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.8.0 --server --local command to upgrade the server to 12.1.2.8.0.

  5. (Optional) Patch the shared storage now or during a maintenance window.

  6. Apply the Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.

  7. Run the oakcli show version -detail command to verify that all components of the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation are updated.

Note:

Before updating the repository, agent, server, or database, ensure that you do not have any jobs running or pending during the update window.

Related Topics

About Installing the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Set Bundle 12.1.2.7

Review this topic to understand changes in the patching process for 12.1.2.7, and to understand new patching options available to you in this patch set release.

Oracle Database Appliance patch set release 12.1.2.7 includes new enhancements, while continuing to provide a comprehensive patching solution for Oracle Database Appliance.

Note:

You must be on Patch Set Release 12.1.2.6 before you can upgrade to 12.1.2.7.

Changes in the Patch Set Update Process for Patch Set Release 12.1.2.7

To simplify the patching process and improve system availability, 12.1.2.7 Oracle Database Appliance patching supports the following patch options:

  • Automatic rolling patching

  • Manual rolling patching

The 12.1.2.7 release also introduces the following new patch options:

  • SERVER: This patch contains the patches previously obtained in earlier releases from the Infrastructure (infra) and Grid Infrastructure (gi) patch updates.

  • STORAGE: This patch contains only patches for shared storage components.

  • DB: This patch contains Oracle Database patches.

These new patch options replace the previous release patch options infra (infrastructure patches), gi (Grid infrastructure patches), and databases (Oracle Database patches).

You can carry out rolling upgrades with both the server and DB patches.

Apply the server patch first. You must apply the storage patch andDB patch after completing a server patch. The DB patch can be deferred and does not require system downtime. You must schedule downtime and restart the system for the storage patch. However, you can usually defer running the storage patch until a scheduled maintenance window.

Overview of the 12.1.2.7 Patch Upgrade

The patch set upgrade consists of the following steps:

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support.

  2. Copy and unpack the patch bundle.

  3. Verify components that require patching.

  4. Patch the server.

  5. (Optional) Patch the shared storage.

  6. Patch Oracle Database.

  7. Validate the patch update.

About Oracle Database Appliance Software Updates

To keep Oracle Database Appliance running with the latest software, check for and apply Oracle Database Appliance patch bundles 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.

Patch Set Component Bundles

The patch bundle is comprised of three logical parts or groups of patches

Table 1-2 12.1.2.7 Patch Set Component Names and Components Patched for Oracle Database Appliance

Patch Component Components Patched

SERVER (Server)

Patches for the Linux Operating System, Oracle ILOM, BIOS, Hardware Management Pack, IPMI, OAKCLI, local disk firmware, and Oracle ASR.

For the virtualized platforms, this component also includes Dom0 updates. The Server patch also includes patches for the Oracle Grid Infrastructure stack.

STORAGE (Storage)

Patches for shared disk firmware, storage controller and expander firmware.

DB (Database)

Patches for the Oracle Database RDBMS stack.

Caution:

Apply the server patch before you apply the storage patch. You must patch the server patch before you apply any other patches. You must restart each server node after it is patched. The server patch restarts a server node. The storage patch restarts both nodes.

Patching Updates and Known Issues

My Oracle Support note 888888.1 to obtain the must current updates and known issues for this Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle installation:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=888888.1

Installing the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Set Bundle

Review these topics to prepare for and to carry out the patch set bundle installation.

Topics:

Preparing to Install Oracle Database Appliance 12.1.2.7 Patch Set Bundles

Decide how you want to patch Oracle Database Appliance. With Patch Set Bundle 12.1.2.7, you have two options.

You can patch Oracle Database Appliance using either automatic rolling patching, or manual rolling patching. Review the steps for each procedure, and decide which option you want to use. For each option, the steps are the same, except for the server patch (step 4).

For both options, the storage patch requires a system restart of Oracle Database Appliance after completing the storage patch update. However, you can defer the update to a maintenance window.

Note:

You must be on Patch Set Release 12.1.2.6 before you can upgrade to 12.1.2.7.

In 12.1.2.7, you must patch the server before you patch the storage. See My Oracle Support note 888888.1 for information about the latest Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle.

Automatic Rolling Patching Option

The advantage of automatic rolling patching is that it is simple to do, in that you start the patch, and the patch process completes automatically. However, services and clients may experience delays during node restarts.

Automatic rolling patching consists of the following steps:

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support.

  2. Copy and unpack the patch bundle to both Oracle Database Appliance nodes.

  3. Verify the components that require patching.

  4. From node 0, start the patch. The automatic patch option performs the server patch update on Node 1, and restarts node 1. It then patches the server on Node 0, and restarts node 0.

  5. (optional) Patch the shared storage components. This patch requires a system restart, but you can usually defer the restart.

  6. Patch Oracle Databases. No restart is required.

  7. Validate the Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure patch installation.

Manual Rolling Patching Option

The advantage of manual rolling patching is that you can first migrate the services and clients from one node to another before the node restarts, and then manually patch the second node. This migration can be more graceful than a failover, so it can minimize interruptions to ongoing transactions.

Manual rolling patching consists of the following steps:

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support.

  2. Copy and unpack the patch bundle to both Oracle Database Appliance nodes.

  3. Verify the components that require patching.

  4. Complete the patch manually in a two-step process.

    1. Log in to Node 0, and patch the server on Node 0 by running the oakcli patch command using the --local option.

    2. Wait until the patch operation completes, and Node 0 is available.

    3. Log in to Node 1, and patch the server on Node 1 by running the oakcli patch command using the --local option.

  5. (optional) Patch the shared storage. This patch requires a system restart, but you can usually defer the restart.

  6. Patch Oracle Databases. No restart is required.

  7. Validate the Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure patch installation.

Step 1: Download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support

Use this procedure to download the Oracle Database Appliance patch set bundle.

  1. From an external client machine, open My Oracle Support note 888888.1:
  2. Under Patch Search, select Oracle Database Appliance from the Product list.
  3. Select the patch release number from the Select a Release list.
  4. Click Search.
  5. Select the patch or patches that you want to download, and click Download.

Caution:

Only use either an Oracle Database Appliance patch bundle, or if you are an SAP customer, an SAP patch bundle downloaded from the SAP Service Marketplace. Do not patch Oracle Database Appliance using individual patches for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Database, or Oracle Linux. Also do not use individual infrastructure patches, such as firmware patches. You must only use Oracle Database Appliance patches.

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.

Step 2: Copy and Unpack the Patch Bundle

Copy the patch to your server, and use oakcli unpack -package to unpack the patch bundle.

On Oracle Database Appliance systems, you must log in as root, and copy the patch bundle to the path /tmp.

On Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platforms, you must log in as root, and copy the patch bundle to ODA_BASE (Dom1).

After you copy the patch to the required location, run the command oakcli unpack -package. This command extracts (unzips) the patch bundle, and copies the patch bundle contents 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 absolute_package_name

Note:

You must have root access for Oracle Database Appliance to perform this task.

  1. Copy the patch files (p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip and p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip) into the /tmp directory on each node.
  2. Run the following oakcli unpack -package commands on Node 0 and Node 1:

    Node 0:

    # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip
    # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip

    Node 1:

    # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_1of2.zip
    # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/p22896543_121270_Linux-x86-64_2of2.zip

Step 3: Verify Components that Require Patching

Use oakcli to check for any problems before you start the patch upgrade.

Before installing the patch, use the oakcli validate command on Node 0 to identify any possible problems in your environment, such as missing dependencies or other conflicts that can cause issues with patch installation. Conflicts can be introduced if you customize the standard configuration. The oakcli validate command shows a report that lists the components that require patching. If a component is listed as Up-to-date for the supported version that you indicate with the -ver flag, then that component does not require patching.

Run the oakcli validate command using the following syntax to validate your system, where patch_version is the patch version for which you want to validate your system:

oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver patch_version

Example 1-1 Validating Readiness for Oracle Database Appliance Patch Set 12.1.2.7

Use the following commands to check for any problems on your system before installing the 12.1.2.7 patch bundle:

Run the patch validation check for the 12.1.2.7 patch set:

# oakcli validate -c ospatch -ver 12.1.2.7.0

The output of these commands inform you if the patch can be installed on your environment. If the output from the command indicates that there is a problem (for example, if there are missing RPM dependencies on the server), then address the issue, and run oakcli validate again.

Note:

These commands run only on the local node. run the commands on both nodes to check both Oracle Database Appliance nodes.

Step 4: Patch the Server

Use Oracle Appliance Manager (oakcli) to patch the server. You can use automatic patching, or manual patching.

To patch the servers, select the automatic patching procedure, or select the manual patching procedure.

You must download the Oracle Database Appliance Patch Bundle from My Oracle Support. Either download it directly, or download it to a thumb drive, and copy the file to server nodes using the thumb drive.

Automatic Server Patch Procedure

The automatic server patching process is a rolling upgrade that automatically patches Node 0 after patching Node 1. This automatic procedure enables Oracle Grid Infrastructure to continue to be up and running on one of the nodes during patching.

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance server patch bundle from My Oracle Support to Node 0.

  2. Log in to Node 0 as the root user.

  3. Run the command oakcli update -patch version --server, where version is the patch set bundle version.

    For example:

    #/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.7.0 --server

    This command patches the server on Node 1. After that patch update is complete, it then automatically patches Node 0

  4. Observe the patch status reports.

    As the patch runs, it displays output that advises you of the installation progress. Part of the server patch update requires node 1 to be restarted, then node 0 to be restarted. Wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting before proceeding to the next step.

Manual Server Patch Procedure

The manual server patching process requires you to log in to a node, and run Oracle Appliance Manager (oakcli) using a local node server patch update. After you complete the patch procedure on the first node, log into the second node, and patch the second node.

  1. Download the Oracle Database Appliance server patch bundle from My Oracle Support to node 0.

  2. Log in to Node 0 as the root user.

  3. Run the Oracle Appliance Manager command oakcli update -patch version --server --local, where version is the patch set bundle version.

    For example:

    #/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.7.0 --server --local

    The Oracle Appliance Manager command carries out the patch on Node 0. As the patch runs, it displays output that advises you of the installation progress.

  4. Oracle Appliance Manager prompts you to restart the node. Restart the node, and wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting before proceeding to the next step.

  5. Log out of Node 0, and log in to Node 1 as the root user.

  6. Run Oracle Appliance Manager on Node 1 using the --local flag to patch the server.

    For example:

    #/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.7.0 --server --local

  7. Oracle Appliance Manager prompts you to restart the node. Restart the node, and wait until Node 0 shuts down and completes restarting.

When both servers are patched and restarted, proceed to the next step.

Step 5: Patch the Shared Storage (Optional)

Use this procedure to patch the shared storage now, or to patch the shared storage during a maintenance window.

Patching the storage requires downtime when shared components are being patched. If a failure occurs, then you can restart the patching process by reissuing the same command.

Start the storage patching command only on one node (Node 0). The command patches storage for both nodes at the same time.

  1. Log into Node 0 as the root user.
  2. Run the command oakcli update -patch version --storage, where version is the patch set bundle version.

    For example:

    #/opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.7.0 --storage

The storage patch runs, and automatically installs itself on both nodes. The output displayed by the patch process advises you of the installation progress. If you are running this step in sequence, then wait for the patch to complete before proceeding to the next step.

Step 6: Patch Oracle Database

Apply the Oracle Database Appliance patch set to update Oracle Database on Node 0 and Node 1.

  1. Run the command oakcli show databases on Node 0.
    For example: 
    #oakcli show databases

Name Type     Storage  HomeName         HomeLocation                               Version
---- ----     -------  --------         ------------                               -------
db1 RAC        ACFS    OraDb12102_home1 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_1  12.1.0.5.0(20831110,20831110)
db2 SINGLE     ACFS    OraDb12102_home2 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_2  12.1.0.2.160119(21948354,21948344)
db3 RACOneNode ACFS    OraDb12102_home3 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_3  12.1.0.5.0(20831110,20831110)
db4 RAC        ACFS    OraDb12102_home4 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_4  12.1.0.2.160119(21948354,21948344)

    Note:

    You cannot perform individual database updates for databases running in the same home. All databases running in the homes that you update are patched to the Oracle Database 12c release 1 patch for Oracle Database Appliance (12.1.0.2.160419).

  2. Run the oakcli update -patch version --database command, on Node 0 only. The command automatically patches both nodes. If you have more than one database home that can be patched, then the software provides a selection list. You can select, one, a set, or all of the Oracle Database homes to upgrade.
    oakcli update -patch 12.1.2.7.0 --database
  3. After the command completes on both nodes, use the following command on Node 0 to check your database version:

    oakcli show databases

    For example:

    #oakcli show databases
 
Name Type     Storage  HomeName         HomeLocation                               Version
---- ----     -------  --------         ------------                               -------
db1 RAC        ACFS    OraDb12102_home1 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_1  12.1.0.2.160419(22291127,22502555)
db2 SINGLE     ACFS    OraDb12102_home2 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_2  12.1.0.2.160419(22291127,22502555)
db3 RACOneNode ACFS    OraDb12102_home3 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_3  12.1.0.2.160419(22291127,22502555)
db4 RAC        ACFS    OraDb12102_home4 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0.2/dbhome_4  12.1.0.2.160419(22291127,22502555)

Step 7: Validate the Patch Update

Run the command oakcli show version -detail to verify that all components of the Oracle Database Appliance patch installation are updated.

To confirm that your Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database software components are updated, run the following command:

# /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli show version -detail

Reimaging Oracle Database Appliance

Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a default ISO image preinstalled.

To use Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform, you must reimage Oracle Database Appliance.

To reimage Oracle Database Appliance:

  1. Go to My Oracle Support note 888888.1:

    https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=888888.1

  2. Download the required ISO image.

  3. Refer to the readme file for detailed installation instructions.