2.3 Changes and Improvements in Release 2.3.1

This section describes functional changes, improvements and bug fixes compared to the previous release.

New Update Process with Proactive Support Integration

A critical objective of Oracle Private Cloud Appliance is to make the controller software update and subsequent upgrades a straightforward and smooth process, despite its inherent complexity. How an Oracle PCA is configured and evolves over time, is impossible to predict, which means the list of upgrade scenarios imaginable is almost endless.

Oracle strongly recommends that you seek assistance in advance, by logging a service request. This allows you to run the pre-upgrade validation script and follow the guidelines in the dedicated support article (Doc ID 2242177.1), and then submit logs for review. Oracle suggests that you initiate the service request 4-5 weeks prior to the intended date to execute the software update. See Table 2.3 for details.

In summary, the end-to-end update process consists of these steps:

  1. File a service request to obtain support throughout the software update.

  2. Download the software update files, including the README, from My Oracle Support, and then unzip the files.

  3. Execute the RUN_ME_FIRST script to assemble the software image file and verify its integrity.

  4. Copy the image file to the active management node, and then mount it as a loopback device, so that its content can be accessed.

  5. Execute the pre-upgrade validation script and eliminate any failures it reports. Provide the script output to Oracle Support for further guidance.

  6. Follow the guidelines in support article 2242177.1 and send the requested information to Oracle Support.

  7. When Oracle Support instructs you to proceed, execute the software update as documented in the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Administrator's Guide.

    Note

    In large environments, the management node update can take 16 hours or longer. Please plan accordingly.

  8. If any of the prerequisite checks built into the update code, or any of the scripted or manual pre-upgrade checks, should fail, stop the procedure and contact Oracle Support.

Table 2.3 Update Process Timing

Stage

Timing

File a proactive service request.

30 minutes

(4-5 weeks in advance)

Update Controller Software to Release 2.1.1 or newer.

Upgrade compute nodes to Oracle VM Server 3.2.10 or 3.2.11.

approximately 2 days

(4-5 weeks in advance)

Check the system for faulty hardware.

Resolve any detected hardware issues.

depends on type of failure

(4-5 weeks in advance)

Run manual pre-upgrade checks from support article.

Report results through service request.

1-5 hours

plus time to resolve failures

(2 weeks in advance)

Download patch files from My Oracle Support. Assemble the image files.

approximately 1 hour

Move image file to active management node.

Mount image and execute pre-upgrade validation script.

Report results through service request.

approximately 1 hour

plus time to resolve failures

Load software update image files onto system with get_image command.

approximately 1 hour

(day of update)

Run controller software update using install_image command.

for both management nodes:

minimum 3-5 hours

large environment 16-32 hours

Upgrade compute nodes to Oracle VM 3.4.2.

If necessary, wait for next maintenance window.

per compute node:

up to 8 hours


Oracle VM Upgrade

Oracle VM Manager and Oracle VM Server have been upgraded to Release 3.4.2. As a result the management nodes and compute nodes now all run Oracle Linux 6 with UEK R4. To manage the added complexity of the Oracle VM Upgrade, the pre-upgrade validation logic has also been enhanced, and includes improved exception handling.

Oracle VM 3.4.2 adds several functional enhancements, such as the new virtual machine console, the new network model with support for bridges and virtual switches, and more flexible virtual disk management including storage live migration. The upgrade also brings many improvements to the virtualized environment in terms of performance, scalability, reliability, usability and security. For a detailed description of what has changed between Oracle VM Release 3.2.x and Release 3.4.2, refer to the Oracle VM Release Notes in the Oracle VM 3.4 documentation library.

Pre-Upgrade Validation

Since no two Oracle PCA environments are identical, the upgrade code cannot cover every single potential failure. The new pre-upgrade script was designed to verify a number of key configuration aspects in advance, so that many potential problems are already eliminated before the actual upgrade. Combined with a number of documented manual checks, this approach significantly increases the chances of a problem-free software update.

The pre-upgrade script is provided as part of the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.3.1 ISO file. It may be necessary to run it several times until it reports that all checks complete successfully. Only when the script reports that all prerequisites are met should you proceed with the upgrade of the complete environment. For details, refer to the section Environment Pre-Upgrade Validation and Software Update to Release 2.3.1 in the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Administrator's Guide.

New Server Firmware

There are multiple versions available of the service processor that provides the servers' ILOM functionality. For full compliance, Oracle specifies new minimum firmware levels for these generations of server hardware:

  • Oracle Server X5-2: software 1.8.0, ILOM firmware 3.2.8.24, BIOS 30.10.04.00

  • Oracle Server X6-2: software 1.3.0, ILOM firmware 3.2.8.24, BIOS 38.07.00.00

All the relevant files are included in the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.3.1 ISO file.

Bugs Fixed in Release 2.3.1

The following table lists bugs that have been fixed in Oracle PCA Release 2.3.1.

Table 2.4 List of Fixed Bugs

Bug ID

Description

20746536

The ovca-diag Command Needs to Include OVN and OFM

The diagnostic collection has been improved and now includes logs from the Fabric Interconnect chassis and Oracle Fabric Manager software.

21791632

Secure Migration of a VM with 100 GB RAM and 32vCPUs Too Slow

Thanks to the Oracle VM upgrade the virtual machine migration over SSL can now take advantage of hardware acceleration. Migration time for very large VMs is up to 4 times faster than in previous releases.

22085580

Oracle VM Manager Becomes Very Slow with Many VMs and VLANs

With Oracle VM 3.4 the system handles a large number of objects significantly better, which results in an overall performance improvement.

24393648

Scheduled Backup Jobs Could Run During Upgrade, Causing It to Fail

The upgrade of the ZFS Storage Appliance has been known to fail when it is busy due to a scheduled backup operation. The crontab for scheduled backups is now temporarily disabled on both management nodes during software updates.

24826597

Controller Software Accepts No More than 8 Fabric Interconnect I/O Modules

The I/O module restriction has been removed. The appliance can now take advantage of the full bandwidth of the Fabric Interconnects.

25456207

Tenant Group Creation Time-Out During Storage Refresh

Performance in this area has been improved significantly so that these time-outs are much less likely to occur.