Recent Change History

I Recent Change History

This appendix describes changes in Releases 5.1 and 4.14. If you are upgrading from an older version of Oracle Big Data Appliance, then it may be informative to read this change summary.

I.1 Changes in Oracle Big Data Appliance Release 5.1

Release 5.1 includes the following new features, software revisions, and other changes.

Cloudera 6.2.1 Support

Oracle Big Data Appliance 5.1 is based on Cloudera Enterprise 6.2.1. See the Cloudera web site for details about release 6.2.1.

Supported Upgrades

You can upgrade to Oracle Big Data Appliance Release 5.1 directly from Releases 4.12, 14.13, and 4.14.

There are important prerequisites to fulfill before you can do the upgrade. See Upgrading the Software on Oracle Big Data Appliance in this guide for the prerequisites, the upgrade procedure, and some known issues.

Upgrade is supported for existing Oracle Linux 6 clusters to Big Data Appliance 5.1, but there is no option to create new Oracle Linux 6 clusters.

Support for Migration from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7

Oracle Big Data Appliance 5.1 includes support for migrating cluster nodes from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7.

See:

Migrating from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7 in this guide.

New Mammoth Options for Upgrade and Cluster Extension

Mammoth is the utility that you run in order to perform full installations of the Big Data Appliance software on a new rack as well as upgrades, cluster extensions, and patch installation. The -s (single step) and -r (range of steps) Mammoth options that were previously available only for full installation are now available for both upgrades and cluster extensions.

This example uses -s to run only Step 1 of the upgrade. Step 1 is a set of pre-checks and pre-configuration operations.
```
# ./mammoth -s 1 -p
```
This example uses -r to run a range of the cluster extension steps. It runs all steps up to Step 4 (PrepareBaseImage) on each of the new nodes, but does not proceed further.
```
# ./mammoth -r 1-4 -e  node13 node14 node15
```

Uniform Service Layout for Multirack Clusters

In earlier releases, there are difference in the distribution of services among the nodes of a multirack cluster, depending upon whether the cluster was originally configured as multirack or was a single-rack cluster extended to additional racks. In both cases, prior to Release 5.1, the services layout in the first rack is different from that of a single rack cluster.

In Oracle Big Data Appliace 5.1 the distribution of services in a single-rack cluster and in the first rack of a multirack cluster are the same. The services on the second and subsequent racks are now consistent regardless of whether the cluster started out as a single-rack or multirack cluster.

CPU Core Capping

Core capping lets you disable or enable physical cores within the two CPUs on the appliance. One of the potential uses for this capability is to bring servers into licensing compliance. Cores can be enabled or disabled via the bdacli utility.

See Capping CPU Cores on Servers.

Automated Configuration of Replacements for Failed Operating System Disks and Data Disks

The bdaconfiguredisk utility now enables you to configure replacement disks or reconfigure disks with no manual intervention after executing the script. The script supports both OS and data disks.

About Big Data SQL 4.0

Oracle Big Data SQL supports queries against non-relational data stored in multiple big data sources, including Apache Hive, HDFS, Oracle NoSQL Database, Apache Kafka, Apache HBase, and other NoSQL databases, as well as the Amazon S3 and Oracle Object Store.

In addition to ORACLE_HIVE and ORACLE_HDFS, Release 4.0 also includes the new ORACLE_BIGDATA driver. This is the driver that enables you to create external tables over data within object stores in the cloud.

Another feature introduced in Release 4.0 is Query Server, a lightweight, zero-maintenance Oracle Database that runs locally on an edge node within Big Data Appliance clusters. It gives you an easy way to query data in Hadoop without the need for a full Oracle Database installation. Query Server provides no persistent storage except for certain categories of metadata that are useful to retain across sessions.

Big Data SQL 4.0 is primarily intended for use with Oracle Database 18c or later. Oracle Database 12.1 and 12.2 are also fully supported (although you cannot leverage the new Big Data SQL 4.0 capabilities with these database versions).

Big Data SQL components must be installed on both Hadoop and Oracle Database. The Oracle Big Data SQL Installation Guide provides instructions for both parts of the installation, including generic instructions for installing the product on several supported Hadoop frameworks. However, on Oracle Big Data Appliance, most of the Hadoop-side installation is integrated with Mammoth, the Big Data Appliance installer. Installing Oracle Big Data SQL in this guide explains what is different about the Hadoop-side installation of Big Data SQL on Big Data Appliance.

I.2 Changes in Oracle Big Data Appliance Release 4.14

Release 4.14 includes the following new features, software revisions, and other changes.

Release 4.14 is primarily a maintenance release that includes software version upgrades and defect fixes. In addition, there are changes in the distribution of services among the nodes of multirack clusters. Release 4.14 also includes support for Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7 migration, which was a post-release add-on to Oracle Big Data Appliance 4.13.

Software Versions in This Release

Cloudera Enterprise 5.16.1, including CDH, Cloudera Manager, and Key Trustee, Sentry, Impala, Cloudera Search, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Spark 1.6.

Note that Apache Spark 1.6 is deployed as shipped with CDH, but Mammoth also deploys Apache Spark 2.4.0 automatically. The Cloudera parcels for Kudu, Kafka, and Key Trustee Server are included for your convenience, but are not deployed or configured by default.
Oracle Big Data Connectors 5.0
ODI Agent 12.2.1.3
Cloudera CDK Powered By Apache Kafka 4.0
Oracle NoSQL Database Enterprise Edition 19.1.6
Oracle NoSQL Community Edition 18.1.19
Oracle Big Data SQL 3.2.1.2
MySQL Enterprise Edition 5.7.25
Oracle R Advanced Analytics for Hadoop (ORAAH) 2.8.1
Oracle's R Distribution (ORD) 3.3.0
Oracle Big Data Spatial & Graph 2.5.1
Java JDK 8u211
Oracle Linux 7 with UEK4 for new clusters. (New Oracle Big Data Appliance racks are delivered with Oracle Linux 7.) Oracle Linux 6 with UEK4 for Oracle Linux 6 cluster upgrades.

About Oracle Big Data SQL 3.2.1.2

Release 3.2.1.2 supports Oracle Database 12.2.0.1 with the October 2018 DBRU (Database Release Update), as well as Oracle Database 12.1.

About Oracle Big Data Discovery

Big Data Discovery 1.6 supports Oracle Big Data Appliance 4.14. You can download the installation files from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (also known as eDelivery).

The procedures for installing and upgrading Big Data Discovery on Oracle Big Data Appliance have not changed with release 1.6. This procedure differs from the one described in the Oracle Big Data Discovery Installation Guide.

For upgrades, follow the instructions in the Oracle Big Data Discovery Upgrade Guide

About Perfect Balance

Perfect Balance was removed from Oracle Big Data Appliance as of Release 4.13.

In-Place Procedure for Migrating Big Data Appliance Oracle Linux 6 Clusters to Oracle Linux 7

See Migrating from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7 in this guide.

Uniform Service Layout for Multirack Clusters

In earlier releases, there are difference in the distribution of services among the nodes of a multirack cluster, depending upon whether the cluster was originally configured as multirack or was a single-rack cluster extended to additional racks. In both cases, prior to this release, the services layout in the first rack is different from that of a single rack cluster.

In Oracle Big Data Appliace 4.14, the distribution of services in a single-rack cluster and in the first rack of a multirack cluster are the same. The services on the second and subsequent racks are now consistent regardless of whether the cluster started out as a single-rack or multirack cluster.

Automated Configuration of Replacements for Failed Operating System Disks and Data Disks

The bdaconfiguredisk utility now enables you to configure replacement disks or reconfigure disks with no manual intervention after executing the script. The script supports both OS and data disks.

The Oracle Big Data Appliance Deployment Bundle no Longer Includes the Base Image

The bundle now includes Oracle Big Data Appliance components as RPMs only. The base image is no longer included. There are no changes in the steps you follow to unpack and deploy the bundle.

If you need the base image to bring existing servers up to the minimum release 4.10 base level, see Oracle Big Data Appliance Patch Set Master Note (Doc ID 1485745.1) in My Oracle Support.