Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Backing Up the Software Library
Until now, we have spent a lot of time defining the Software Library, what it is used for, and how to add entities to it.
Since we have spent a lot time setting up the Software Library, the last thing we want to do is back it up. However, just
like any other Oracle product, backups are critical to ensure recoverability in the event of a disaster.
Backing up the Software Library is actually done when you back up the Oracle Enterprise Manager itself. Backing
up the Oracle Enterprise Manager is covered in detail in Chapter 13.
Patching
Patching is one of the most important phases in the lifecycle of a product. It enables us to keep our software products
updated with bug and security fixes. Throughout the year, Oracle releases several types of patches to help maintain
our products. However, patching also has always been the most challenging lifecycle phase, because it often is
complex, risky, time-consuming, and requires downtime for applications. Although we can use several approaches to
patching our databases, the challenge of minimizing downtime or outages unfortunately remains the same.
In this section, you will learn how patches should be managed within EM12c. Additionally, you will look at
configuring Enterprise Manager to use My Oracle Support and review the overall process of patching within the
Enterprise Manager environment.
Patch Management
Before diving into the new features of patch management within EM12c, you need to understand the challenges that
were faced before. Table
6-2
lists the patching approaches and their associated challenges.
Table 6-2.
Current Patching Tools and Challenges
Approach
Description
Challenges
OPatch
Oracle proprietary tool that is installed
with Oracle products such as the Oracle
Database, Oracle Management Agent,
SOA, and so on
• Difficulttoidentifythepatchestoberolledout
• PatchesonlyoneOracleinventory-backed
product at a time
• Offerslimitedsupporttohandlepre-and
post-patching scripts
Custom scripts
User-created scripts developed around
OPatch, SQL*Plus, and so on
• Difficulttoidentifythepatchestoberolledout
• Canbeusedonlyonasingleserver
• Requiressignificantmaintenanceoverheadto
meet the new version and configuration needs
Deployment
procedures
Default procedures for automating
patching operations
• Confusionoverwhichdeploymentprocedure
to select
• Limitedscopeofvalidatingthepatchesand
targets selected in a deployment procedure
• Separatedeploymentproceduresforpatching
in rolling and parallel mode
• Difficulttohandlepatchconflicts
