8.3.1 Actions to Perform Before Any Software Maintenance

Perform you update any software on your Exadata Database Machine, you should perform these actions.

• Identify the target release

  The target release can be determined by one of the following:

  • Recommendations in My Oracle Support Document 888828.1.

  • Version recommendations in the MAA Scorecard section of the Exachk report.

• Run Exachk

  Ensure software maintenance readiness of the system by running the latest version of Exachk (see My Oracle Support Document  1070954.1).  Review the report for the following:

  1. Correct any FAIL or WARNING checks that deviate from your baseline.

  2. Review the MAA Scorecard section for version recommendations. Exachk evaluates current software versions for consistency, compatibility, and whether or not it is current.

  3. Review the MAA Scorecard section for exposure to critical issues.  Target version choice should resolve any critical issue exposure.

  It is recommended to run the latest version of Exachk as follows:

  • Every month to maintain a system that continues to adhere to Exadata best practices

  • The week before the software update to ensure maintenance readiness

  • The day before the software update to ensure maintenance readiness

  • Immediately after completing the software update

• Run prerequisite checks

  1. Download the target software release(s) and the latest versions of the software update utilities (patchmgr, OPatch, and so on) from My Oracle Support.

  2. Run the prerequisite checks and correct any issues. The initial prerequisite check run should be performed days or weeks in advance of the maintenance window to allow time to correct issues. Run prerequisite checks again immediately before the update.

• Review the latest documentation

  1. Review My Oracle Support Document 1270094.1 for recently published critical issues that are not yet automatically checked by Exachk.

  2. Review the Supplemental README in My Oracle Support for the target software version for known issues discovered after the software was released.