1. Using Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI
  2. Patches
  3. Patch Management Using the Patching Utility Tool

Patch Management Using the Patching Utility Tool

Use the patching utility tool in Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI to list, download, apply, and roll back patches. You can also view the patching tool version and upgrade the patching tool.

Note:

Using this utility, you cannot apply the patch for a bastion instance.
You can perform the following tasks using the patching utility tool:

Note:

If you want to use some of the new features, which were added to the patching utility tool in December 15, 2022, for your existing Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI instances (created before December 15, 2022), then ensure that you upgrade the patching tool. See Upgrade Patching Tool.

View Patching Tool Version

Use the patching tool to view the build version along with the Oracle license and copyright information.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Print the build version.
    patch-utils -v
    Sample output: 
    Weblogic Cloud Patch-Utils <Patch version number>)
Copyright (c) 2020, Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.Licensed under the Universal Permissive License v 1.0 as shown at
https://oss.oracle.com/licenses/upl.

Configure Initial Setup

Use the patching tool to configure the region from where to download the patches and create the configuration file in the specified Middleware Home.

The patches are hosted on the object storage locations in the regions supported by the patching tool. Currently, the regions: us-phoenix-1, us-ashburn-1, eu-frankfurt-1, ap-mumbai-1, ap-tokyo-1, and sa-saopaulo-1 are supported.

Ensure that you establish a connection from the WebLogic compute instance where you are running patch-utils to the object storage endpoints for the regions that are listed in the following table.

Table 8-3 Object Storage Endpoints for the Supported Regions

Region Object Storage Endpoint

us-phoenix-1

https://objectstorage.us-phoenix-1.oci.oraclecloud.com

us-ashburn-1

https://objectstorage.us-ashburn-1.oraclecloud.com

eu-frankfurt-1

https://objectstorage.eu-frankfurt-1.oraclecloud.com

ap-mumbai-1

https://objectstorage.ap-mumbai-1.oraclecloud.com

ap-tokyo-1

https://objectstorage.ap-tokyo-1.oraclecloud.com

sa-saopaulo-1

https://objectstorage.sa-saopaulo-1.oraclecloud.com

Note:

You must configure a NAT gateway to use the patching tool functionality if:
  • Your WebLogic compute instance is deployed in a region different from those listed in the Table 8-3.
  • Your WebLogic compute instance is deployed in a region different than the region where you set up the patching tool configuration.
  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Set up the configuration.
    patch-utils setup
    Sample output: 
    Enter middleware home (default: /u01/app/oracle/middleware):
Choose oci region for patch download
['us-ashburn-1', 'eu-frankfurt-1', 'ap-mumbai-1', 'ap-tokyo-1', 'us-phoenix-1', 'sa-saopaulo-1']: us-phoenix-1
Created config file [/home/opc/.patchutils/config]

List Patches

Use the patching tool to list all the available patches in the object storage. You can also list current patches and latest patches that are available in the patching tool repository.

Note:

You must set up the configuration file before running the patch-utils list command. See Configure Initial Setup.
  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Run the following commands to list patches:
    • List all patches in the object storage for the applicable WebLogic Server version.
      patch-utils list

      Sample output:

      <Patch number> ADF Bundle Patch for Bug: <Bug number>, WLS version: <WLS version number>
<Patch number> OPSS Patch Bundle Patch for Bug:<Bug number>, WLS version: <WLS version number>
<Patch number> PATCH <Patch number>- OPATCH <OPatch version number>FOR FMW/WLS <WLS version number>AND <WLS version number>
<Patch number> Oracle Coherence Patch Bundle Patch for Bug:<Bug number>, WLS version: <WLS version number>
<Patch number>Weblogic Service Patch Bundle Patch for Bug:<Bug number>, WLS version: <WLS version number>
    • List all the current patches based on OPatch utility for 12c and BSU (BEA Smart Update) for 11g.
      patch-utils list -a

      Sample output:

      Listing current patches
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version <Patch version number>)
Copyright (c) 2020, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved
Oracle Home : /u01/app/oracle/middleware 
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory from : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : <OPatch Version number>
OUI version : <OUI Version number>
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/<opatchtimestamp>.log 
OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware" 
Lsinventory Output file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/lsinv/<lsinventoryopatchtimestamp>.txt
Local Machine Information:
Hostname: testwls-wls-0.wlssubnet.subnet1.oraclevcn.com
ARU platform id: <ID number>
ARU platform description:: Linux x86-64
Interim patches (1):
Patch <WebLogic 12c version number>: applied on <day month date time>
Unique Patch ID: <Patch ID number>
Patch description: "Bundle patch for Oracle Coherence Version <WebLogic 12c version number>"
Created on <date month year time>
Bugs fixed:<Bug number>
OPatch succeeded.
    • List the latest patches and other component patches for the relevant WebLogic Server version, from the available patches in catalog.

      For WebLogic Server compute instances, the latest patches are listed for a given Middleware Home. In case of multiple Middleware Homes, you must use the patch-utils setup command to change the Middleware Home. 

      patch-utils list -L

      Sample output on the WebLogic Server compute instance: 

      Patch Id           Description
----------         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Patch number>    FMW Thirdparty Bundle Patch 12.2.1.4.220915
<Patch number>    Opatch 13.9.4.2.11 for EM 13.4, 13.5 and FMW/WLS 12.2.1.3.0, 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.1.0.0
<Patch number>    WLS Patch Set Update 12.2.1.4.220929
<Patch number>    Merge Request on Top of 12.2.1.4.0 for Bugs <Bug number> <Bug number> <Bug number>  <Bug number>
<Patch number>    Coherence 12.2.1.4 Cumulative Patch 15 (12.2.1.4.15)

      Sample output on the bastion instance:

      Choose wls type ['WLS', 'FusionMiddleware', 'Coherence', 'Forms', 'Database'] (default: ALL): 
	  
Patch Id           Description
----------         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Patch number>    FMW Thirdparty Bundle Patch 12.2.1.4.220915
<Patch number>    Opatch 13.9.4.2.11 for EM 13.4, 13.5 and FMW/WLS 12.2.1.3.0, 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.1.0.0
<Patch number>    WLS Patch Set Update 12.2.1.4.220929
<Patch number>    Merge Request on Top of 12.2.1.4.0 for Bugs <Bug number> <Bug number> <Bug number> <Bug number>
<Patch number>    Coherence 12.2.1.4 Cumulative Patch 15 (12.2.1.4.15)

List Pending Patches

Use the patching tool to list the pending patches in the patching tool repository that need to be applied on a Middleware Home.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Run the following command:
    patch-utils diff
    Sample output: 
    
Patch Id         Patch Components     Description
----------       ------------------   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Patch number>     WLS, FMW          Opatch 13.9.4.2.11 for EM 13.4, 13.5 and FMW/WLS 12.2.1.3.0, 12.2.1.4.0 and
                                      14.1.1.0.0
<Patch number>     WLS, FMW          Merge Request on Top of 12.2.1.4.0 for Bugs 34280277 26354548 26629487
                                      29762601
<Patch number>     WLS, FMW          Coherence 12.2.1.4 Cumulative Patch 15 (12.2.1.4.15)
    To list the pending patches for a given Middleware Home, use the following command:
    patch-utils diff -m <MW_HOME>

    If you don't use -m option, you must first set up the configuration using the provided Middleware Home. See Configure Initial Setup.

    When you apply the latest patches, if the Middleware Home is not present, you receive the following error message:

    Unable to find middleware home [<MW_HOME>]. Please run on node with Middleware home present or to update the middleware home, run - patch-utils setup.

View Patch Details

Use the patching tool to view information of the specified patch.

The WebLogic Server patches include the readme file that provides the patch details and other useful information about patching.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. View the information for the selected patch.
    patch-utils info -i <Patch ID>

    By default, the first ten lines of the readme.txt file is displayed.

    Sample output: 
    Patch Set Update (PSU) for Bug: <Bug number>
Date: Fri Feb 28 17:33:37 2020
Platform Patch for : Generic
Product Patched : ORACLE WEBLOGIC SERVER
Product Version : <WLS version number>
This document describes how to install patch for bug # 31985811.It includes the following sections:
Section 1: Known Issues
.......
more
....

    You can define the number of lines to be displayed using the -l parameter.

    For example, to print 25 lines, run the following command:
    patch-utils info -i <Patch ID> -n 25

Download Patches

Use the patching tool to download the patches to the /tmp directory.

If your WebLogic compute instance does not have connectivity to the object storage endpoints for the regions that you configured in the initial setup, you must download the patches on the bastion host that you created with Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI and then copy the zip files to the WebLogic VM.

For the list of regions, see Configure Initial Setup.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Run the following commands to download the patches:
    • Download latest patches.
      patch-utils download -L -p /tmp/<Location to download>
      Sample output: 
      Successfully downloaded following patches.
Please copy them to weblogic hosts and apply them locally.['<Patch ID_Generic.zip']
    • Download the patches using the patch ID. 
      patch-utils download -l <Patch ID> -p /tmp/<Location to download>

      Note:

      To download multiple patches, specify the patch IDs as comma separated values. Ensure that you download the patches to an accessible location.
      Sample output: 
      Successfully downloaded following patches.
Please copy them to weblogic hosts and apply them locally.['<Patch ID_Generic.zip']

Apply Patches

Use the patching tool to apply the latest patches on a given Middleware Home.

The patch utils apply command downloads the patches from the object storage and then applies the patches to the Middleware Home. The patches that are already installed in the Middleware Home are not applied. You can apply multiple patches by specifying the patch numbers as comma separated lists. The patches are applied in the order they are specified.

If your WebLogic compute instance does not have connectivity to the object storage endpoints for the regions that you configured in the initial set up, you must first download the patches on the bastion host that you created with Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI and then copy the zip files to the WebLogic VM. After download of patches is complete, run patch-utils apply -f <downloaded zip path> to apply the patch.

For the list of regions, see Configure Initial Setup.

When you run the apply command, if you receive an error that the Weblogic servers are running on the host, you must stop the servers. See. Start and Stop a Domain.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Run the following commands to apply patches:
    • Apply latest patches.
      patch-utils apply -L
      Sample output:
      Applying latest patches ['<Patch number1>', '<Patch number2>']
---------------------------------------------------------

Thu Nov 25 11:56:25 GMT 2022 - Applying OPATCH upgrade p<Patch number1>_122140_1394211_Generic
---------------------------------------------------------

Latest OPATCH version p28186730_122140_1394211_Generic is applied on the middleware home

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thu Nov 25 11:56:26 GMT 2022 - Applying OPATCH patch p<Patch number2>_122140_Generic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 13.9.4.2.11
Copyright (c) 2022, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Oracle Home       : /u01/app/oracle/middleware
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from           : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version    : 13.9.4.2.11
OUI version       : 13.9.4.0.0
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-56-26AM_1.log


OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware"

Verifying environment and performing prerequisite checks...
OPatch continues with these patches:   <Patch number2>

Do you want to proceed? [y|n]
Y (auto-answered by -silent)
User Responded with: Y
All checks passed.

Please shutdown Oracle instances running out of this ORACLE_HOME on the local system.
(Oracle Home = '/u01/app/oracle/middleware')


Is the local system ready for patching? [y|n]
Y (auto-answered by -silent)
User Responded with: Y
Backing up files...
Applying interim patch '<Patch number2>' to OH '/u01/app/oracle/middleware'
ApplySession: Optional component(s) [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.soa, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.wc, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.wc, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.beam, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.idm, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.idm, 12.2.1.4.0 ] , [ oracle.sysman.fmw.plugin.webtier.otd, 12.2.1.4.0 ]  not present in the Oracle Home or a higher version is found.

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.as, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.as, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.agent, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.core, 12.2.1.4.0...
Patch <Patch number2> successfully applied.
Log file location: /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-56-26AM_1.log

OPatch succeeded.
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 13.9.4.2.11
Copyright (c) 2022, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Oracle Home       : /u01/app/oracle/middleware
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from           : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version    : 13.9.4.2.11
OUI version       : 13.9.4.0.0
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-57-30AM_1.log


OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware"

Invoking utility "cleanup"
OPatch will clean up 'restore.sh,make.txt' files and 'scratch,backup' directories.
You will be still able to rollback patches after this cleanup.
Do you want to proceed? [y|n]
Y (auto-answered by -silent)
User Responded with: Y

Backup area for restore has been cleaned up. For a complete list of files/directories
deleted, Please refer log file.

OPatch succeeded.

Successfully applied patch p<Patch number2>_122140_Generic

      To apply the patches for a given Middleware Home, use the following command:

      patch-utils apply -L -m <MW_HOME>

      If you don't use -m option, you must first set up the configuration using the provided Middleware Home. See Configure Initial Setup.

      When you apply the latest patches, if the Middleware Home is not present, you receive the following error message:

      Unable to find middleware home [<MW_HOME>]. Please run on node with Middleware home present or to update the middleware home, run - patch-utils setup.
    • Apply OPatch.

      This command leverages the OPATCH utility found in the Middleware Home to apply individual patches.

      patch-utils apply -l <Patch ID>

      Sample output:

      Applying OPATCH patch <OPatch ID>
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version <OPatch Version number>
Copyright (c) 2020, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. 
Oracle Home : /u01/app/oracle/middleware 
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : <OPatch Version number>
OUI version : <OUI Version number>
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/<opatchtimestamp>.log
OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware" 
Verifying environment and performing prerequisite checks... 
OPatch succeeded.
    • Apply local patch.
      This command applies the patch using the local zip file.

      Note:

      In case of private subnets without a NAT gateway, you must first download the patches on the bastion host that you created with Oracle WebLogic Server for OCI, copy the zip files to the WebLogic VM, and then run the following command. 
      patch-utils apply -f /tmp/<Patch ID>.zip

      Sample output:

      Listing opatch inventory before applying new patches
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version <OPatch Version number>
Copyright (c) 2020, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Oracle Home : /u01/app/oracle/middleware 
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : <OPatch Version number>
OUI version : <OUI Version number>
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/<opatchtimestamp>.log
OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware" 
Local Machine Information:
Hostname: testwls-wls-0.wlssubnet.subnet1.oraclevcn.com
ARU platform id: <ID number>
ARU platform description:: Linux x86-64
Interim patches (1):
Patch <WebLogic 12c version number>: applied on <day month date time>
Unique Patch ID: <Patch ID number>
Patch description: "Bundle patch for Oracle Coherence Version <WebLogic 12c version number>"
Created on <date month year time>
Bugs fixed:<Bug number>
OPatch succeeded
Applying OPATCH patch <_ OPatch ID.zip>
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version <OPatch Version number>
Copyright (c) 2020, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. 
Oracle Home : /u01/app/oracle/middleware 
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : <OPatch Version number>
OUI version : <OUI Version number>
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/<opatchtimestamp>.log
OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware" 
Verifying environment and performing prerequisite checks... 
OPatch succeeded.

Roll Back Patches

Use the patching tool to roll back the latest applied patches.

The patch-utils rollback -L command rolls back all patches that are applied using the patch-utils apply -L command.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Run the following command to roll back the applied patches:
    patch-utils rollback -L
    Sample output:
    Rolling back last applied patches <Patch number1>,<Patch number2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thu Nov 25 11:35:55 GMT 2022 - Rollback OPATCH patch <Patch number1>,<Patch number2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 13.9.4.2.11
Copyright (c) 2022, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Oracle Home       : /u01/app/oracle/middleware
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from           : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version    : 13.9.4.2.11
OUI version       : 13.9.4.0.0
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-35-55AM_1.log


OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware"

Following patches are not present in the Oracle Home.
<Patch number2>

Patches will be rolled back in the following order:
<Patch number1>
The following patch(es) will be rolled back: <Patch number1>

Please shutdown Oracle instances running out of this ORACLE_HOME on the local system.
(Oracle Home = '/u01/app/oracle/middleware')


Is the local system ready for patching? [y|n]
Y (auto-answered by -silent)
User Responded with: Y

Rolling back patch <Patch number>...

RollbackSession rolling back interim patch '<Patch number1>' from OH '/u01/app/oracle/middleware'

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.as, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.as, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.agent, 12.2.1.4.0...

Patching component oracle.sysman.fmw.core, 12.2.1.4.0...
RollbackSession removing interim patch '<Patch number1>' from inventory
Log file location: /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-35-55AM_1.log

OPatch succeeded.
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 13.9.4.2.11
Copyright (c) 2022, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Oracle Home       : /u01/app/oracle/middleware
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from           : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/oraInst.loc
OPatch version    : 13.9.4.2.11
OUI version       : 13.9.4.0.0
Log file location : /u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2022-11-25_11-36-44AM_1.log


OPatch detects the Middleware Home as "/u01/app/oracle/middleware"

Invoking utility "cleanup"
OPatch will clean up 'restore.sh,make.txt' files and 'scratch,backup' directories.
You will be still able to rollback patches after this cleanup.
Do you want to proceed? [y|n]
Y (auto-answered by -silent)
User Responded with: Y

Backup area for restore has been cleaned up. For a complete list of files/directories
deleted, Please refer log file.

OPatch succeeded.

    If the roll back command fails for a particular patch rollback, the original state is restored and a message stating the reason for failure is displayed.

    To roll back the patches for a given Middleware Home, use the following command:

    patch-utils rollback -L -m <MW_HOME>

    If you don't use -m option, you must first set up the configuration using the provided Middleware Home. See Configure Initial Setup.

    When you roll back the latest applied patches, if the Middleware Home is not present, you receive the following error message:

    Unable to find middleware home [<MW_HOME>]. Please run on node with Middleware home present or to update the middleware home, run - patch-utils setup.

Upgrade Patching Tool

Use the patching tool to upgrade the patching tool to the latest version.

  1. Connect to the compute instance or the bastion instance as the opc user.
    ssh -i path_to_private_key opc@node_public_ip

    Or,

    ssh -i path_to_private_key -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p -i path_to_private_key opc@bastion_public_ip" opc@node_private_ip
  2. Upgrade patch-utils to the latest version.
    patch-utils upgrade

    Note:

    This command is used to upgrade VMs if the NAT Gateway is enabled on the WebLogic Server subnet.
    Sample output:
    Successfully updated patch-utils to [<Patch Utils version number>]. Please rerun patch-utils.