Installation and Availability

Installation Overview

If you have a subscription to Oracle Unbreakable Linux support, you can obtain the packages for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 4 by registering your system with the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and subscribing it to additional channels. See Subscribing to ULN Channels.

If your system is not registered with ULN, you can obtain most of the packages from the Oracle Linux yum server. See Enabling Access to Oracle Yum Channels.

Having subscribed your system to the appropriate channels on ULN or the Oracle Linux yum server, upgrade your system. See Upgrading Your System.

After upgrading to UEK R4, you can replace any existing OFED packages with the Oracle-supported OFED packages, see Installing the Oracle-Supported OFED Packages.

Subscribing to ULN Channels

The kernel image and user-space packages are available on the following ULN channels for Oracle Linux 6:

ol6_x86_64_latest (latest user-space packages for Oracle Linux 6 other than DTrace, OFED, and DRBD packages)
ol6_x86_64_UEKR4 (kernel-uek*, dtrace-modules-*, and libdtrace-*)
ol6_x86_64_UEKR4_DTrace_userspace (dtrace-utils*)
ol6_x86_64_UEKR4_OFED (latest OFED tools packages)
ol6_x86_64_mysql-ha-utils (drbd84-utils)

The kernel image and user-space packages are available on the following ULN channels for Oracle Linux 7:

ol7_x86_64_latest (all of the latest user-space packages for Oracle Linux 7 other than DTrace, OFED, and DRBD packages)
ol7_x86_64_latest_optional (the latest optional user-space packages for Oracle Linux 7 other than DTrace, OFED, and DRBD packages)
ol7_x86_64_UEKR4 (kernel-uek*, dtrace-modules-*, and libdtrace-*)
ol7_x86_64_UEKR4_DTrace_userspace (dtrace-utils*)
ol7_x86_64_UEKR4_OFED (latest OFED tools packages)
ol7_x86_64_mysql-ha-utils (drbd84-utils)

The following procedure assumes that you have already registered your system with ULN.

To subscribe your system to a channel on ULN:

Log in to https://linux.oracle.com with your ULN user name and password.
On the Systems tab, click the link named for the system in the list of registered machines.
On the System Details page, click Manage Subscriptions.
On the System Summary page, select each required channel from the list of available channels and click the right arrow to move the channel to the list of subscribed channels.

For Oracle Linux 6, subscribe the system to the ol6_x86_64_latest and ol6_x86_64_UEKR4 channels. If required, you can also add the channels for the DTrace, OFED, and DRBD packages. You do not need to subscribe the system to the ol6_x86_64_UEK_latest or ol6_x86_64_UEKR3_latest channels.

For Oracle Linux 7, subscribe the system to the ol7_x86_64_latest and ol7_x86_64_UEKR4 channels. If required, you can also add the channels for the DTrace, OFED, and DRBD packages. You do not need to subscribe the system to the ol7_x86_64_UEKR3 channel.
Click Save Subscriptions.

For information about using ULN, see Oracle Linux: Unbreakable Linux Network User's Guide for Oracle Linux 6 and Oracle Linux 7.

Enabling Access to Oracle Yum Channels

On the Oracle Linux yum server at https://yum.oracle.com/, the kernel image and user-space packages are available on the following channels.

For Oracle Linux 6:

ol6_latest (latest user-space packages for Oracle Linux 6 other than the OFED tool packages)
ol6_UEKR4 (kernel-uek*, dtrace-modules-*, and libdtrace-*)
ol6_UEKR4_OFED (latest OFED tools packages)

For Oracle Linux 7:

ol7_latest (latest user-space packages for Oracle Linux 7 other than the OFED tool packages)
ol7_UEKR4 (kernel-uek*, dtrace-modules-*, and libdtrace-*)
ol7_UEKR4_OFED (latest OFED tools packages)

Note:

To be able to install UEK R4, enable the appropriate ol6_UEKR4 or ol7_UEKR4 channel and disable the ol6_UEKR3_latest or ol7_UEKR3 channel.

The DTrace utility and DRBD (Distributed Replicated Block Device) packages are not available on the Oracle Linux Yum Server.

To enable access to the Oracle Linux 6 channels on the Oracle Linux Yum Server, create entries such as the following in /etc/yum.conf or in a repository file in the /etc/yum.repos.d directory:

[ol6_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[ol6_UEK_latest]
name=Latest Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEK/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0

[ol6_UEKR4]
name=Latest Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 4 for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEKR4/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[ol6_playground_latest]
name=Latest mainline stable kernel for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch) - Unsupported 
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/playground/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0

[ol6_UEKR4_OFED]
name=OFED supporting tool packages for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 4 on Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEKR4/OFED/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
priority=20

To enable a channel, set the value of the enabled parameter for the channel to 1.

To disable a channel, set the value of the enabled parameter for the channel to 0.

In the previous example, access is enabled to the ol6_latest and ol6_UEKR4 channels but not to the ol6_UEK_latest, ol6_playground_latest and ol6_UEKR4_OFED channels.

To enable access to the Oracle Linux 7 channels, create entries such as the following:

[ol7_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[ol7_UEKR4]
name=Latest Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 4 for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/UEKR4/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[ol7_UEKR4_OFED]
name=OFED supporting tool packages for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 4 on Oracle Linux 7 ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/UEKR4/OFED/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
priority=20

In this example, access is enabled to the ol7_latest and ol7_UEKR4 channels, but not to the ol7_UEKR4_OFED channel.

You can find more information about installing the software at https://yum.oracle.com/, from where you can download a copy of a suitable repository file (https://yum.oracle.com/public-yum-ol6.repo or https://yum.oracle.com/public-yum-ol7.repo).

Upgrading Your System

To upgrade your system to UEK R4:

After enabling access to the appropriate channels, including ol6_UEKR4 or ol7_UEKR4, on the Oracle Linux yum server or ol6_x86_64_UEKR4 or ol7_x86_64_UEKR4 on ULN, run the following command:
```
# yum update
```
After upgrading the system, reboot it, selecting the UEK R4 kernel (version 4.1.12) if this is not the default boot kernel.

See the Boot and Service Configuration chapter of Oracle Linux 7: Administrator's Guide for more information on updating the default boot kernel on Oracle Linux 7.

See https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/6/admin/ol_bootconf.html for more information on updating the default boot kernel on Oracle Linux 6.

For instructions on how to install the Oracle-supported OFED packages after upgrading to UEK R4, see Installing the Oracle-Supported OFED Packages.

If you are upgrading from Oracle Linux 7 Update 3 to Oracle Linux 7 Update 4 and you already have Oracle-supported OFED packages for UEK R4 installed on your system, follow the upgrade procedures that are described in Oracle^® Linux 7: Release Notes for Oracle Linux 7.4.

If you have questions regarding configuring or using yum to install updates, refer to Oracle Linux: Unbreakable Linux Network User's Guide for Oracle Linux 6 and Oracle Linux 7.

The kernel's source code is available via a public git source code repository at https://oss.oracle.com/git/?p=linux-uek.git;a=summary.

Installing the Oracle-Supported OFED Packages

The following procedure describes how to install the OFED packages that are provided by Oracle, including how to remove any existing OFED packages.

To install the OFED packages that are provided by Oracle:

If your system is registered with ULN, subscribe the system to the ol6_x86_64_UEKR4_OFED or ol7_x86_64_UEKR4_OFED channel on ULN as appropriate.

By default, the ol7_x86_64_UEKR4 and ol7_x86_64_latest channels are enabled when you register an Oracle Linux 7 system with ULN; and the ol6_x86_64_UEKR4 and ol6_x86_64_latest channels are enabled when you register an Oracle Linux 6 system with ULN. Check that these channels are still enabled before you begin installing the OFED packages provided by Oracle.

If you want to install the packages from the Oracle Linux Yum Server, edit the yum repository file at /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-olN.repo and enable the ol6_UEKR4_OFED or ol7_UEKR4_OFED repository as appropriate. If there is no ol6_UEKR4_OFED or ol7_UEKR4_OFED repository in the yum repository file, do the following:
1. Move the existing yum repository file to a backup file, for example:
```
# mv /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-olN.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-olN.repo.bck
```
2. Download the latest yum repository file for Oracle Linux 6 or Oracle Linux 7 from the Oracle Linux yum server.
```
# wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-olN.repo https://yum.oracle.com/public-yum-olN.repo
```
3. Edit the downloaded yum repository file and enable the ol6_UEKR4_OFED or ol7_UEKR4_OFED repository as appropriate.
If you are running Oracle Linux 7, stop and disable the rdma.service service.
```
# systemctl stop rdma.service
# systemctl disable rdma.service
```

Remove any existing OFED packages:

# yum remove 'ibacm*'
# yum remove 'ib-bonding*'
# yum remove 'ibutils*'
# yum remove 'infiniband-diags*'
# yum remove 'libibcm*'
# yum remove 'libibmad*'
# yum remove 'libibumad*'
# yum remove 'libibverbs*'
# yum remove 'libmlx4*'
# yum remove 'librdmacm*'
# yum remove 'libsdp*'
# yum remove 'mstflint*'
# yum remove 'ofed-docs*'
# yum remove 'ofed-scripts*'
# yum remove 'opensm*'
# yum remove 'perftest*'
# yum remove 'qperf*'
# yum remove 'sdpnetstat*'
# yum remove 'rdma-*'
# yum remove 'rds-tools*'

Clean all yum cached files from all enabled repositories:
```
# yum clean all
```
Run one of the following commands, based on server type:
- For a bare metal server, install the OFED packages for UEK R4 as follows:
```
# yum install oracle-ofed-release
```
- For a server that will function as a guest, install the OFED packages for UEK R4 as follows:
```
# yum install oracle-ofed-release-guest
```
Enable the RDMA service by entering the following command:
```
# chkconfig rdma on
```

Each UEK release requires a different set of OFED packages. If you change the kernel on your system to a UEK release earlier than UEK R4, remove the existing UEK R4-based OFED packages before installing the correct packages for the new kernel by running the following command:

# yum remove --setopt=clean_requirements_on_remove=1 oracle-ofed-release

Caution:

Downgrading UEK versions is not advisable, except for testing purposes.

To update OFED packages that are already installed for UEK R4, run this command:

# yum update oracle-ofed-release