1. Oracle Fleet Patching and Provisioning Administrator's Guide
  2. Provisioning Copies of Gold Images

Provisioning Copies of Gold Images

Use RHPCTL to provision copies of gold images to Fleet Patching and Provisioning Servers, Clients, and rhpclient-less targets.

After you create and import a gold image, you can provision software by adding a copy of the gold image (called a working copy) on the Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server, on a Fleet Patching and Provisioning Client, or an rhpclient-less target. You can run the software provisioning command on either the Server or a Client.

Note:

You can add working copy as Zip files by using the -location parameter and make the zip files available either on a local or a shared storage at the specified location on all the Oracle FPP Clients and rhpclient-less targets. You must specify the -localmount parameter to avoid transferring the image and to decompress the zip file on the local storage.

  • To create a working copy on the Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server:

    $ rhpctl add workingcopy -workingcopy working_copy_name -softwareonly -image image_name

  • To create a working copy in a local file system on a Fleet Patching and Provisioning Client:

    $ rhpctl add workingcopy -workingcopy working_copy_name -image image_name
   -storagetype LOCAL -path path_to_software_home -softwareonly

  • To create a working copy on a Fleet Patching and Provisioning Client from the Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server:

    $ rhpctl add workingcopy -workingcopy working_copy_name -image image_name
   -client client_cluster_name -softwareonly
  • To create a working copy on the Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server using the image file that you imported with the -zip option: 
    $ rhpctl add workingcopy -image image_name -workingcopy working_copy_name -user oracle 
-oraclebase Oracle_base -targetnode target_node_name -path path_to_software_home 
-sudouser opc -sudopath /bin/sudo -storagetype LOCAL -softwareonly

    The -localmount option instructs the Oracle FPP server to skip the copy operation. The -location option specifies where the zip image is available on the destination host. By default, Oracle FPP uses the location used to import the image.

Note:

The directory you specify in the -path parameter must be empty.

You can re-run the provisioning command in case of an interruption or failure due to system or user errors. After you fix the reported errors, re-run the command and it will resume from the point of failure.

Storage Options for Provisioned Software

Choose one of two storage options where Fleet Patching and Provisioning stores working copies of gold images.

When you provision software using the rhpctl add workingcopy command, you can choose from two storage options where Fleet Patching and Provisioning places that software:

  • In an Oracle ACFS shared file system managed by Fleet Patching and Provisioning (for database homes only)
  • In a local file system not managed by Fleet Patching and Provisioning

Note:

Starting with Oracle Grid Infrastructure 26ai, you can transfer working copies as zip files using SSH and store imported gold images as zip files. If the image is not in the zip format, then the Oracle FPP Server will automatically create a zip file and transfer.

Using the rhpctl add workingcopy command with the -storagetype and -path parameters, you can choose where you store provisioned working copies. The applicability of the parameters depends on whether the node (or nodes) to which you are provisioning the working copy is a Fleet Patching and Provisioning Server, Fleet Patching and Provisioning Client, or a non-Fleet Patching and Provisioning client. You can choose from the following values for the -stroragetype parameter:

  • RHP_MANAGED: Choosing this value, which is available for Fleet Patching and Provisioning Servers and Fleet Patching and Provisioning Clients, stores working copies in an Oracle ACFS shared file system. The -path parameter is not used with this option because Fleet Patching and Provisioning manages the storage option.

    Notes:

    • You cannot store Oracle Grid Infrastructure homes in RHP_MANAGED storage.
    • Oracle recommends using the LOCAL storage type.
    • If you choose to provision working copies on a Fleet Patching and Provisioning Client, and you do not specify the -path parameter, then the storage type defaults to LOCAL only if there is an Oracle ASM disk group on the client. Otherwise the command will fail. If you specify a location on the client for the -path parameter, then the storage type defaults to LOCAL with or without an Oracle ASM disk group.
  • LOCAL: Choosing this value stores working copies in a local file system that is not managed by Fleet Patching and Provisioning.

    When adding a database working copy, specifying a path is optional. If a path is not specified, then a path under ORACLE_BASE is automatically chosen. This path is displayed on the terminal.

In cases where you specify the -path parameter, if the file system is shared among all of the nodes in the cluster, then the working copy gets created on this shared storage. If the file system is not shared, then the working copy gets created in the location of the given path on every node in the cluster.

Note:

The directory you specify in the -path parameter must be empty.

Related Topics

Provisioning for a Different User

If you want a different user to provision software other than the user running the command, then use the -user parameter of the rhpctl add workingcopy command.

Note:

The default user is the user as which the RHPCTL command is being run.

When the provisioning is completed, all files and directories of the provisioned software are owned by the user you specified. Permissions on files on the remotely provisioned software are the same as the permissions that existed on the gold image from where you provisioned the application software.

User Group Management in Fleet Patching and Provisioning

When you create a working copy of a gold image as part of a move or upgrade operation, Fleet Patching and Provisioning configures the operating system groups in the new working copy to match those of the source software home.

These operating system groups are used for operating system authentication, such as OSDBA and OSOPER. Oracle FPP configures operating system groups for both unmanaged and managed software homes from which you move or upgrade.

The rhpctl move database, rhpctl move gihome, rhpctl upgrade database, and rhpctl upgrade gihome commands all require you to specify a source home (either an unmanaged home or a managed home (working copy) that you provisioned using Fleet Patching and Provisioning), and a destination home (which must be a working copy).

When you have provisioned the destination home using the rhpctl add workingcopy command, prior to performing a move or upgrade operation, you must ensure that the groups configured in the source home match those in the destination home. Fleet Patching and Provisioning configures the groups as part of the add operation.

When you create a gold image of either the ORACLEGISOFTWARE or the ORACLEDBSOFTWARE image type from a source software home (using the rhpctl import image command) or from a working copy (using the rhpctl add image command), the gold image inherits the Oracle user groups that were configured in the source. You cannot override this feature.

You can define user groups for ORACLEGISOFTWARE and ORACLEDBSOFTWARE working copies using the rhpctl add workingcopy command, depending on the image type and user group, as discussed in the subsequent sections.

This section describes how Fleet Patching and Provisioning manages user group configuration, and how the -groups command-line option of rhpctl add workingcopy functions.

ORACLEGISOFTWARE (Oracle Grid Infrastructure)

When you provision an Oracle Grid Infrastructure working copy of a gold image, the groups are set in the working copy according to the type of provisioning (whether configuring a new server or performing a software only setup), and whether you specify the -groups parameter with rhpctl add workingcopy. You can define OSDBA and OSASM user groups in Oracle Grid Infrastructure software with either the -softwareonly command parameter or by using a response file with the rhpctl add workingcopy command.

If you are provisioning only the Oracle Grid Infrastructure software using the -softwareonly command parameter, then you cannot use the -groups parameter, and Fleet Patching and Provisioning obtains OSDBA and OSASM user group information from the active Grid home.

If none of the preceding applies, then Fleet Patching and Provisioning uses the installer default user group.

If you are provisioning and configuring a working copy using information from a response file, then Fleet Patching and Provisioning:

  1. Uses the value of the user group from the command line, if provided, for OSDBA or OSASM, or both.
  2. If you provide no value on the command line, then Fleet Patching and Provisioning retrieves the user group information defined in the response file.

If you are defining the OSOPER Oracle group, then, again, you can either use the -softwareonly command parameter or use a response file with the rhpctl add workingcopy command.

If you use the -softwareonly command parameter, then you can provide the value on the command line (using the -groups parameter) or leave the user group undefined.

If you are provisioning and configuring a working copy of a gold image using information from a response file, then you can provide the value on the command line, use the information contained in the response file, or leave the OSOPER Oracle group undefined.

ORACLEDBSOFTWARE (Oracle AI Database)

If you are provisioning a working copy of Oracle AI Database software and you want to define Oracle groups, then use the -groups command parameter with the rhpctl add workingcopy command. Oracle groups available in the various Oracle AI Database releases are as follows:

  • Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2)

    • OSDBA
    • OSOPER

  • Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1)

    • OSDBA
    • OSOPER
    • OSBACKUP
    • OSDG
    • OSKM

  • Oracle Database 12c release 2 (12.2) and later

    • OSDBA
    • OSOPER
    • OSBACKUP
    • OSDG
    • OSKM
    • OSRAC

Regardless of which of the preceding groups you are defining (except for OSOPER), Fleet Patching and Provisioning takes the values of the groups from the command line (using the -groups parameter) or uses the default values, which Fleet Patching and Provisioning obtains from the osdbagrp binary of the gold image.

If any group picked up from the osdbagrp binary is not in the list of groups to which the database user belongs (listed by the id operating system command), then Fleet Patching and Provisioning uses the installer default user group. Otherwise, the database user is the user running the rhpctl add workingcopy command.