2 Feature Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the key features of Oracle Private Cloud Appliance.
Changes and Improvements in Release 2.4.4
This section describes functional changes, improvements and bug fixes compared to the previous release.
Oracle Server X9-2 Compute Nodes
This release introduces support for the Oracle Server X9-2 as a compute node for Oracle Private Cloud Appliance.
Software Updates
This release introduces support for Oracle Linux 7 UEK5 and Oracle VM 3.4.7. When you upgrade to Software Controller release 2.4.4, compute nodes and management nodes are reprovisioned with these software updates. For more information about the update procedure, see Updating Oracle Private Cloud Appliance in Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Administration Guide. Release 2.4.4 is currently supported on Ethernet-based racks only.
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Cloud Native Environment Release 1.2
Caution:
This feature is no longer supported. Kubernetes functions are now available through Oracle Cloud Native Environment.
This release introduces support for the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance
Cloud Native Environment Release 1.2 (formerly Kubernetes Engine). The new OVA template
(pca-k8s-1-2-0.ova) is now the default template for
the create kube-cluster command.
Ksplice Support
For Ksplice Support on Oracle Private Cloud Appliance 2.4.4 (or later) compute nodes, contact Oracle Support.
Bugs Fixed in Release 2.4.4
The following table lists notable bugs that have been fixed in Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.4.4.
Table 2-1 List of Fixed Bugs
| Bug ID | Description |
|---|---|
|
31811656 |
"PCA 2.4.3 upgrader fails on storage-network update" |
|
32717711 |
"pca-admin show a network which doesn't exist in CN node" |
|
32710264 |
"Changing switch password via dashboard is not persistent on X8-2 systems" |
|
31518408 |
"Compute node crashes when generating an sos report." |
|
32780994 |
"PCA upgrade fails to detect running OVMM when JAVA_HOME is declared pointing to incorrect location" |
|
31798407 |
"PCA 2.4.3 upgrader fails on Cisco steps" |
|
30451985 |
"Remove obsolete checks from PCA Healthcheck tool" |
|
32356688 |
"Upgrade cisco switches to add guestshell destroy" |
|
32739839 |
"Upgrader iscsi precheck should check for unsupported iscsi target" |
|
32047039 |
"VM Internal Storage networking causes errors during compute node reboot" |
Changes and Improvements in Release 2.4.3
This section describes functional changes, improvements and bug fixes compared to the previous release.
Kubernetes as a Service
Caution:
This feature is no longer supported. Kubernetes functions are now available through Oracle Cloud Native Environment.
The Oracle Private Cloud Appliance now supports Kubernetes as a Service. Kubernetes as a Service automates the provisioning of Oracle VM infrastructure and Kubernetes components to provide an integrated solution for Oracle Private Cloud Appliance.
Enhanced Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Fault Monitoring
The new fault monitoring architecture brings together the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance health check, the Oracle VM health check, and the PCA pre-upgrade checks under one service. In addition, you can configure health checking to integrate with ZFS Phone Home service to send reports on a weekly basis to Oracle Service for monitoring, using Oracle's Automated Service Request (ASR) infrastructure.
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Cloud Backup
The Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Cloud Backup service automates the backup of critical components and configuration data to your customer tenancy in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). This feature is designed to recover an Oracle Private Cloud Appliance to a running state after a catastrophic event. It is not designed to backup virtual machines, guest operating systems, or applications and data hosted on virtual machines.
Support for Oracle VM Exporter Appliance on Oracle Private Cloud Appliance
An Oracle VM Exporter Appliance is a special type of virtual machine used to export another virtual machine from the Oracle VM environment to a tenancy account in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Storage Network Provides Internal Access to ZFS Storage Appliance
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance administrators can now create custom networks that enable users to access iSCSI and NFS shares on the internal ZFS storage appliance from within their individual Oracle VM guests hosted on the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance. Ensure you have 60 TB of free space on the ZFS storage appliance to use this feature.
Bugs Fixed in Release 2.4.3
The following table lists notable bugs that have been fixed in Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.4.3.
Table 2-2 List of Fixed Bugs
| Bug ID | Description |
|---|---|
|
31683379 |
"PCA health check failed "Multicast Route Check" from one spine switch " |
|
31133075 |
"check_storage_space always fails after a given failure scenario" |
|
30594475 |
"PCA 2.4.2 pca_upgrader fails ERROR (precheck:148) [OVMM Default Network Check (Checking default OVMM networks exist on the management nodes)] Failed " Additional checks have been added to verify the system network configuration. |
|
31176592 |
"MySql lock issues on the active management node" |
|
31157042 |
"Timezone: Incorrect java version in /usr/bin/java for PCA 2.4.3" |
|
31607588 |
"Pick up the July CPU for JRE 8 on PCA MN" The latest component firmware is incorporated. |
|
30982691 |
"UI:Dashboard javascript library requires update" The latest UI update is incorporated. |
|
31629904 |
"Tracking - Pick up OVM Manager build 3.4.6.2684" The latest component firmware is incorporated. |
|
31350870 |
"Deprecated SSH settings" |
Changes and Improvements in Release 2.4.2
This section describes functional changes, improvements and bug fixes compared to the previous release.
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.4.2 Software Supports Both Platform Architectures
Controller Software Release 2.4.2 supports both Ethernet-based and InfiniBand-based Oracle Private Cloud Appliances, which includes these enhancements:
-
Oracle Private Cloud ApplianceThe Command Line Interface supports both architectures and displays only the applicable commands based on the system in question.
-
The Upgrader has been improved to include more automated checks and works on both architectures by determining the rack type.
-
A version of the Oracle Server X8-2 expansion node is available for each architecture.
Optional Fibre Channel Cards Available
Oracle Server X8-2 compute nodes can be ordered with optional physical FC cards with dual 32Gbit HBAs. This option is available for both architectures. Note that Fibre Channel HBAs can be installed in existing compute nodes. One or two HBAs are supported per Oracle Server X8-2 compute node. If adding Fibre Channel HBAs to Oracle Server X7-2 or older compute nodes, do not use Fibre Channel connections from the Infiniband hardware to those compute nodes.
Oracle JET User Interface
The Oracle JavaScript Extension Toolkit (JET) user interface leverages popular open-source technologies, and features a rich set of modern UI components with built-in accessibility and mobile support.
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Health Check Utility
The Health Check utility is built on the framework of the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Upgrader, and is included in the Upgrader package. It detects the appliance network architecture and runs the sets of health checks defined for the system in question.
Bugs Fixed in Release 2.4.2
The following table lists bugs that have been fixed in Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.4.2.
Table 2-3 List of Fixed Bugs
| Bug ID | Description |
|---|---|
|
26679231 |
"Error running chgnetid "ImportError: cannot import name disable_warnings"" An issue preventing the changing of network IDs has been fixed. |
|
29681802 |
"Pickup AK8.8.6 to prevent discovery issue with SI plugin" An issue was fixed that prevented the discovery of Oracle Private Cloud Appliance from Oracle Enterprise Manager, which results in the failures on both the internal and externally attached ZFS storage appliances. |
|
26784732 |
"PCA 2.3.1 upgrade fails due to bond0 not configured" Additional checks have been added to verify the system configuration on management nodes and compute nodes before upgrade. |
|
29437665 |
"The PCA 2.3.4 upgrade process breaks ASR if it is installed." A fix is provided that maintains the ASR installation through the upgrade process. |
|
22720391 |
"Support listing backups in CLI" |
|
29585636 |
"Unable to Use Uplink to Communicate With Server Out of Rack After Restarting Network" The Cisco switches shipped with Oracle Private Cloud Appliance Release 2.4.2 (Ethernet-based systems) include the latest NX-OS I7(7) firmware, which fixes this connectivity issue. For more information about this bug fix (CSCvj65578) and others, see the Cisco 9000 Series NX-OS Release Notes, Release 7.0(3)I7(7): https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus9000/sw/7-x/release/notes/70377_nxos_rn.html |
Earlier Releases
For an overview of features, functional changes and bug fixes in earlier releases of Oracle Private Cloud Appliance, please refer to the release notes for the version in question. You can access the documentation libraries for all releases from the Documentation Overview page.