Managing Gold Images and Working Copies

Adding Gold Images to the Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server

Oracle Fleet Patching and Provisioning stores read-only gold images that must be converted into working copies before use as software homes. Images can be imported from installed homes on the server or client, or from zip files with optional zipcopy support to avoid transferring files to destinations. Image states such as TESTABLE, RESTRICTED, and PUBLISHED control provisioning access; image series organize images in ordered logical groups; and image types identify software categories, including built-in and custom types based on Oracle-supported types.

Provisioning Copies of Gold Images

RHPCTL provisions gold-image working copies to Fleet Patching and Provisioning Servers, Clients, and rhpclient-less targets, either from repository images or locally available zip files. Working copies can be stored on managed Oracle ACFS or local file systems, with local mounting and location options avoiding unnecessary transfers. Destination paths must be empty, and interrupted provisioning operations can be rerun to resume after errors.

Provisioning Oracle Grid Infrastructure Homes

Fleet Patching and Provisioning distributes Oracle Grid Infrastructure homes as working copies and can optionally configure new installations, including single-node, clustered, and Oracle Restart deployments. It supports provisioning software-only homes to systems with existing managed or unmanaged Grid homes, enabling later activation, patching, upgrading, switching, reverting, and node-management operations. Response files define target nodes and configuration details, while targetnode is used for rhpclient-less systems and client identifies supported FPP Clients.

Provisioning Oracle AI Database Homes

The rhpctl add workingcopy command provisions Oracle AI Database software working copies to FPP Servers, Clients, or rhpclient-less targets. The command specifies the source gold image, working-copy name, destination path, Oracle base, and target client or nodes; all specified destination directories must be empty.

Creating an Oracle AI Database

Oracle Fleet Patching and Provisioning can create Oracle AI Database instances on provisioned working copies located on the Server, a Client, or a rhpclient-less target. The rhpctl add database command supports administrator-managed RAC, RAC One Node, and noncluster databases, with data files placed in a prepared destination such as an Oracle ASM disk group. SYS and SYSTEM passwords are generated randomly and cannot be retrieved, so they must be reset locally by an appropriately privileged user.

Archiving and Unarchiving Gold Images

Oracle Grid Infrastructure 26ai allows gold images to be archived as zip files to reclaim disk space without deleting them and later restored when needed. An image can be archived only when it has no working copies, archived images cannot create working copies, and archiving changes the image state to ARCHIVED. The rhpctl archive image and rhpctl unarchive image commands perform these operations.
Read More: Archiving and Unarchiving Gold Images