Upgrading a Georedundant Cluster

Before upgrading a cluster, see Preparing for an Upgrade.

If you are adding a patch or patch set, see Preparing to Install a Patch or Patch Set.

If you are upgrading an entire Policy Management network, you must upgrade the primary-site CMP cluster first, then the secondary-site CMP cluster (if present).

The required sequence followed by the Upgrade Manager to upgrade a two-server cluster (including a CMP cluster) is as follows:
  1. Upgrade the standby server.
  2. Fail over to the standby server.
  3. Reapply the configuration to the cluster.
  4. Upgrade the remaining server.
The default, preferred sequence followed by the Upgrade Manager to upgrade a georedundant (three-server) cluster is as follows:
  1. Upgrade the standby server.
  2. Fail over to the standby server.
  3. Reapply the configuration to the cluster.
  4. Upgrade the remaining server in the primary site.
  5. Upgrade the spare server.

An optional action lets you change this order if required. You can also upgrade the second and third server in the cluster simultaneously.

You can upgrade up to four MPE or MRA clusters in parallel. (This is the best practice.) You must manually start the process for each cluster.

You can roll back from an upgrade from any point of operator intervention. Whenever the action Continue Upgrade is available, the action Start Rollback is also available.

CAUTION: Use only the upgrade procedure provided by the Oracle Customer Care Center. Before upgrading any system, please go to the Oracle Customer Support website and review any Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) that relate to this upgrade. After you begin an upgrade, any changes to the configuration (such as creating or editing network elements or policies) may be lost.
To upgrade a georedundant cluster:
  1. From the Upgrade section of the navigation pane, select Upgrade Manager.

    The Upgrade Manager page opens.

  2. Select the cluster to be upgraded and click Start Upgrade.

    You are prompted: Are you sure that you want to perform this action? Initiate upgrade server_name (next)

  3. Click OK to continue.

    The confirmation window closes and the Upgrade Manager performs pre-upgrade checks and then upgrades the standby server, in the primary site. The Upgrade Operation column displays the progress of the action; for example:

    Note: The number of steps in any given action is determined outside of the Upgrade Manager and may vary from release to release.

    When the standby server is upgraded, the Upgrade Operation column displays the message Initiate upgrade Completed Successfully at date_time and Alarm 70501 (CLUSTER_MIXED_VERSION) is asserted.
    Tip: Review alarms associated with each action before proceeding with the next action.

  4. Select the cluster again and click Continue Upgrade.

    You are prompted: Are you sure that you want to perform this action? Failover to new version cluster_name (next).

  5. Click OK to continue.

    If you stop an upgrade at a point of operator intervention, you can resume it later, or roll it back from there.

    The confirmation window closes and the cluster fails over to the standby server, which becomes the active server.

  6. Reapply the configuration to the cluster:
    • (For an MPE cluster) From the Policy Server section of the navigation pane, select Configuration, select the cluster, and in the Policy Server Administration page, click Reapply Configuration.
    • (For an MRA cluster) From the MRA section of the navigation pane, select Configuration, select the cluster, and in the MRA Administration page, click Reapply Configuration.

    The configuration information is synchronized.

  7. From the Upgrade section of the navigation pane, select Upgrade Manager.

    The Upgrade Manager page opens.

  8. Select the cluster again and click Continue Upgrade.

    You are prompted: Are you sure that you want to perform this action? Initiate upgrade server_name (next).

  9. Click OK to continue.

    The confirmation window closes and the Upgrade Manager performs pre-upgrade checks and then upgrades the second server in the primary site. The Upgrade Operation column displays the progress of the current action.

    When the second server is upgraded, the Upgrade Operation column displays the message: Initiate upgrade Completed Successfully at date_time.

  10. Select the cluster again and click Continue Upgrade.

    You are prompted: Are you sure that you want to perform this action? Initiate upgrade server_name (next).

  11. Click OK to continue.

    The confirmation window closes and the Upgrade Manager performs pre-upgrade checks and then upgrades the spare server, in the secondary site. The Upgrade Operation column displays the progress of the current action.

    When the spare server is upgraded, the Upgrade Operation column displays the message: Initiate upgrade Completed Successfully at date_time and Alarm 70501 is cleared.

The georedundant cluster is upgraded. For each server, the Prev Release column displays the release installed before the upgrade, and the Up to Date column displays Y (yes).

If the upgrade fails, a diagnostic message describes the problem. Try the upgrade again; if it fails again, contact My Oracle Support.

Note: If the upgrade fails and also leaves the server in an unrecoverable state (designated Zombie in the Upgrade Operation column, plus Alarm 70508), the Upgrade Manager cannot resolve the issue. Contact My Oracle Support immediately.
Parent topic: About Performing an Upgrade