Database Reference
In-Depth Information
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The other option is to use the Oracle Database Appliance's Bare Metal Restore option as
described the My Oracle Support note titled “Oracle Database Appliance Bare Metal Restore
Procedure” (Doc ID 1373599.1).
The first option takes care of all system infrastructure components. In the Bare Metal Restore case, you should
implicitly update system infrastructure components such as BIOS and firmware after you unpack the bundle on the
Oracle Database Appliance. The instructions for updating system infrastructure are provided later in this chapter in
the “Executing Patching” section. You can also find them in the README file.
The Oracle Database Appliance comes with a bare metal system infrastructure version preinstalled
by default. Through a reimaging process, you can convert to a virtual setup. If you intended to use
the virtual option, you must reimage the Oracle Database Appliance using instructions provided
in the following My Oracle Support note: “Step by Step Instructions on Installing Virtualized Image
on Oracle Database Appliance” (Article ID 1520579.1).
Default Patching Option
The default patching option is a straightforward process that can be executed in approximately two hours. It assumes
that you have a standard Oracle Database Appliance configuration, with minimal deviation from the recommended
configuration and less restrictive downtime requirements. This option is to be taken as the base option for the more
fixable options described in the next sections.
Steps Separated in Time
To minimize the length of a downtime interval, and to allow yourself a clear focus and a more granular control over the
patching process, you may wish to separate the three steps of patching the System Infrastructure, Grid Infrastructure,
and the RDBMS. Each step can be executed separately, and with several weeks between them if that's what you need.
This approach of separating the steps requires more planning and more implementation effort. The only step
that requires complete system downtime, however, is the System Infrastructure patching. The other two steps (Grid
Infrastructure and RDBMS) can be executed in rolling fashion by running services on one of the two nodes while the
second node is being patched.
By separating steps in time, you can make sure that a previous step is completed successfully before going on to
the next. The time needed per step is shorter than the time needed for the default approach of doing all steps in one
go. However, the tradeoff is that the process becomes more complicated.
Delayed RDBMS Update
Based on the circumstances and business requirements, you may decide to update some databases while leaving
others on the same appliance running at a prior version.
The standard ODA upgrade option works on a
per Oracle Home
basis. All databases that belong to a particular
Oracle Home are upgraded at the same time. The Oracle Database Appliance also supports multiple Oracle Homes—
you can have as many Oracle Homes as you want or have resources for. The Oracle Database Appliance currently
supports 11.2.0.2 and 11.2.0.3 Oracle Home versions. Each Oracle Database Appliance bundle patch upgrades the
fifth version number of the Oracle Database version. For example, upgrading from Oracle Database Appliance bundle
patch 2.6 to bundle patch 2.7 upgrades from Oracle Database version 11.2.0.3.6 to 11.2.0.3.7.
There are two options available if you would like to patch databases one by one. The first option is to configure
each database to be run from a separate Oracle Home. This way, during the patching process you can specify what
Oracle Home and associated database you would like to patch. If there are several databases running from the same
