Update the Grid Infrastructure of a VM Cluster

This topic provides the details and procedure for updating the Grid Infrastructure of a VM Cluster.

Before you begin, review the following:

During an update, lifecycle operations on the VM Cluster and its resources are temporarily unavailable.
The precheck does not affect the availability of the VM Cluster, and all resources remain operational.
Oracle recommends that you run the precheck operation for an update before applying it.
Grid Infrastructure updates are performed in a rolling manner, one node at a time, and the VM Cluster resources are stopped and restarted on each node.
For Grid Infrastructure, updates are available for the two most recent versions, N and N-1. For example, if an instance uses 26ai and the latest available 26ai version is 23.26.3.0.0, then 23.26.3.0.0 and 23.26.2.0.0 are available for Grid Infrastructure updates. You can use either update, but Oracle recommends that you use the latest update.

Prerequisites

The /u01 directory on the database host file system has at least 15 GB of free space for update processes.
Oracle Clusterware is up and running on the VM Cluster.
All nodes of the VM Cluster are up and running.

You can update the Grid Infrastructure:

Using the Console
Using dbaascli Utility

Using the Console

Perform the following steps in the Console.

On the Data Infrastructures list page, select the Data Infrastructure that you want to work with. If you need help finding the list page or the Data Infrastructure, see List Data Infrastructures.
On the Data Infrastructure details page, select the VM Clusters tab to view the list of all VM Clusters.
On the VM Clusters tab, select the VM Cluster that you want to work with.
On the VM Clusters details page, select the Updates tab.
Review the list of available updates for the VM Cluster.
- Use the Compartment filter to specify the compartment that contains the Software Image.
- Use the Type filter to specify the type of Software Image.
  - Oracle-published images are generally available Oracle Software Images that you can use to update the VM Cluster.
  - Custom images are Grid Infrastructure Software Images that you created in advance.
- Use the Region filter to access the Software Images created in a different region.
From the Actions menu for the update you are interested in, select one of the following actions:
- Precheck: Checks for any prerequisites to ensure that the update can be applied successfully.
- Apply Grid Infrastructure update: Applies the selected update.
- Copy OCID: Copies the OCID to the clipboard.

The list of available updates displays the state of the operation. While the precheck is running, the update status shows Checking. While an update is being applied, the update status shows Applying and the VM Cluster status shows Updating. If the update completes successfully, the update status changes to Applied and the VM Cluster status changes to Available. You can view more details about an individual update operation in the Update History.

Using `dbaascli` Utility

To apply a patch to Oracle Grid Infrastructure using the dbaascli Utility, use the grid patch command.

Connect to the virtual machine as the opc user.

For detailed instructions, see Connecting to a Virtual Machine with SSH.
Start a root user command shell:
```
sudo -s
```
Run the following command:
```
dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion target_software_version_number
```
Where --targetVersion identifies target software version that the Oracle Grid Infrastructure will be patched to.

For example:
```
dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion 19.11.0.0.0
```
Exit the root user command shell:
```
exit
```
For more details on advanced supported options, see dbaascli grid patch.

Patching Oracle Grid Infrastructure (GI) Using GI Software Image

To patch Oracle Grid Infrastructure (GI) using GI software image, use this procedure.

Oracle Grid Infrastructure can also be patched by first creating a patched software image, and then using that image to perform the patching operation. This provides the advantage that an image can be created ahead of time outside of the patching window. It also helps in conflict resolution as any conflicts among the patches are highlighted during the image creation process without impacting the patching window.

Create a patched software image.
```
dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion <target_software_version_number> --createImage
```
Once the patched software image creation is completed, the image can then be used for performing the patching operation.

Perform the patching operation.

dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion <target_software_version_number> --imageLocation <location_of_patched_software_image>

Performing a Precheck Before Patching Grid Infrastructure

You can perform a prerequisites-checking operation (also called a “precheck”) for the commands in this topic using the applicable precheck flag.

Running prechecks allows you to run only the precheck portion of the patching operation without performing actual patching. Oracle recommends running prechecks to discover software issues that could prevent successful patching.

To perform patching prechecks, first, connect to a virtual machine in your Oracle Base Database Cloud@Customer instance as the root user.

Precheck for Oracle Grid Infrastructure Patching

Use the --executePrereqs flag with the dbaascli grid patch command.

Connect to the virtual machine as the opc user.

For detailed instructions, see Connecting to a Virtual Machine with SSH.
Start a root user command shell:
```
sudo -s
```
Run the following command:
```
dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion target_software_version_number --executePrereqs
```
Where --targetVersion identifies target software version that the Oracle Grid Infrastructure will be patched to, specified as five numeric segments separated by periods, for example, 19.12.0.0.0
Exit the root user command shell:
```
exit
```

Resuming or Rolling Back a Patching Operation

You can resume or revert a failed patching operation. Reverting a patch is known as a rollback.

Resuming a Patch Operation

To resume a patching operation, use the --resume flag with the original patching command.

Connect to the virtual machine as the opc user.

For detailed instructions, see Connecting to a Virtual Machine with SSH.
Start a root user command shell:
```
sudo -s
```

Run the original patching command to resume a patching operation:

For example:

dbaascli dbhome patch --oracleHome /u02/app/oracle/product/19.0.0.0/dbhome_2 --targetVersion 19.9.0.0.0 --resume

Exit the root user command shell:
```
exit
```

Rolling Back a Patch Operation

Use the --rollback flag with the original patching command to roll back (revert) a patching operation.

Connect to the virtual machine as the opc user.

For detailed instructions, see Connecting to a Virtual Machine with SSH.
Start a root user command shell:
```
sudo -s
```
Run the original patching command to roll back (revert) a patching operation:

For example:
```
dbaascli grid patch --targetVersion 19.11.0.0.0 --rollback
```
Note:
- Resume and Rollback operations are supported for Oracle home patching, Oracle Grid Infrastructure patching, and database move operations.
- When resuming or rolling back a patching operation, you must run the resume or rollback command from the same node that was used to run the original patching command, and you must run the original command with the addition of the --resume or --rollback flag.
Exit the root user command shell:
```
exit
```