1 Introduction to Upgrading Oracle Business Intelligence to 12c

When you are considering a new release of Oracle Business Intelligence, the tools and documentation required vary, depending on whether you are performing an upgrade or applying a patchset, a bundle patch, or a one-off patch. Upgrading an Oracle Business Intelligence system to 12c  requires careful preparation, planning, and testing. Oracle provides tools and technology to automate much of the upgrade process.

Upgrading Oracle Business Intelligence from a previous 12c release to 12.2.1.2 is an in-place upgrade performed by Upgrade Assistant. You install the 12.2.1.2 product distribution in a new Oracle home and then use the Upgrade Assistant to upgrade the existing 12c schemas and domain configuration. You also use the Reconfiguration Wizard to reconfigure the existing 12c domain.

Note:

For general information about Fusion Middleware upgrade planning and other upgrade concepts and resources, see the following sections in Oracle Fusion Middleware Planning an Upgrade of Oracle Fusion Middleware:
The following topics describe the concepts related to upgrading Oracle Business Intelligence:

1.1 About the Starting Points for Oracle Business Intelligence Upgrade

The supported starting point for upgrading to Oracle Business Intelligence Release 12.2.1.2 is Oracle Business Intelligence Release 12.2.1.0 or higher.

If you are a 11g user (Release 11.1.1.7.0 and above), follow the procedure described in Migrating from Oracle BI 11g to 12c in Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle Business Intelligence Migration Guide to migrate your 11g metadata and configuration to the 12.2.1.2 system.

1.2 About the Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Topology

The steps to upgrade Oracle Business Intelligence to 12c (12.2.1.2) depend on your existing production topology.

As a result, it is difficult to provide exact upgrade instructions for every possible Oracle Business Intelligence installation. This upgrade documentation provides detailed instructions for upgrading BI and is referred to as standard upgrade topology.

Your actual topology may vary, but the topology described in this guide provide an example that can be used as a guide to upgrade BI.

Figure 1-1 shows the standard upgrade topology forOracle Business Intelligence.

Note:

Because you are upgrading from a previous 12c release, the standard topology remains unchanged.

Figure 1-1 Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Upgrade Topology

Description of Figure 1-1 follows
Description of "Figure 1-1 Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Upgrade Topology"

1.3 About Upgrade Restrictions

If you are using two or more Oracle Fusion Middleware products of the same or different versions in a single, supported, Oracle Fusion Middleware configuration, you must consider the interoperability and compatibility factors before planning the upgrade.

Interoperability

In the context of Oracle Fusion Middleware products, Interoperability is defined as the ability of two Oracle Fusion Middleware products or components of the same version (or release) to work together (interoperate) in a supported Oracle Fusion Middleware configuration. Specifically, interoperability applies when the first 4 digits of the release or version number are the same. For example, Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c (12.2.1.0) components are generally interoperable with other 12c (12.2.1.2) components.

Compatibility

In the context of Oracle Fusion Middleware products, Compatibility is defined as the ability of two Oracle Fusion Middleware components of different versions (or releases) to interoperate.

For a list of products and features available in Oracle Fusion Middleware Release 12.2.1.2, see Products and Features Available in Oracle Fusion Middleware in Oracle Fusion Middleware Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility.

When performing the upgrade of your hardware or software, verify that your Oracle Fusion Middleware software is certified to support the new operating system or computer hardware. For more information, refer to the following resources: