This section describes software updates to versions earlier than Release 2.3.4. Although the general process remains similar, the tools and commands for Release 2.3.4 are different. If you are updating the Oracle PCA Controller Software to Release 2.3.4 or newer, you must use the Oracle PCA Upgrader. Please refer to Section 1.8, “Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Upgrader”.
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance includes the tools required to perform a full software update of the appliance. On the master management node command line, commands are issued to download a new version of the software stack from a specified URI and update all components to the latest version. For step-by-step instructions, see Chapter 3, Updating Oracle Private Cloud Appliance.
An Oracle PCA software stack image is provided in the form of a zip file, which is several gigabytes in size. The zip file contains an automatically built ISO with the latest software updates from Oracle.
The software image can be downloaded using the FTP, HTTP or HTTPS
protocols
[2]
or from a local file location on the management node. Once the
image has been downloaded it is extracted into the
mgmt_image, hmp_image
and ovm_image subdirectories of
/nfs/shared_storage, which resides in the
MGMT_ROOT file system on the ZFS storage
appliance.
From the command line, you are able to activate a downloaded software image. Activation starts a coordinated process on the management nodes that relies on management node failover to succeed.
The activation process can be summarized as follows:
The current master begins the process by creating a database entry to include a message containing the version number of the software that you are updating to; a time stamp and the node name of the inactive management node.
The current master reboots the inactive management node and provisions it with the new software image in the same way that a compute node is provisioned at start-up. The current software on the inactive management node is wiped and the new software is installed directly from the ISO stored in
/nfs/shared_storage/mgmt_imageon the storage appliance.After the install, the management node is rebooted and starts its ovca service. This causes it to re-enter the remaster code and it finalizes its own database entry.
The current master detects the database update indicating that the installation has completed and the newly installed management node is ready to resume service as the new master. It creates its own database entry to indicate that it is now being updated, and then reboots.
The newly installed management node is promoted to the cluster master and then proceeds to perform the provisioning required to install the new software image on the rebooting management node.
When installation is complete, the management node is rebooted and comes up in standby mode.
[2] It may be necessary to edit the Oracle PCA system properties, using the CLI on each management node, to ensure that the correct proxy settings are specified for a download to succeed. See Section 8.1, “Adding Proxy Settings for Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Updates” for more information.