Patching and Upgrades - Oracle Exadata Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach - page 337

11-4. Patching Your Exadata Compute Nodes and Databases
Problem
You wish to apply Exadata Storage Server patches to your compute nodes, apply a Quarterly Database Patch for
Exadata (QDPE), and apply the latest PSU patches to your Oracle software homes on the compute nodes.

Solution
In this recipe, you will learn how to install the latest operating system patches and images on your compute nodes
using yum and Oracle's ULN, how to apply the QDPE patches on your Exadata Compute Nodes using OPatch, how to
apply the latest PSU patches to your Oracle databases, and how to validate the patch installation.

■ in this recipe, as well as recipes 11-3, 11-5, and 11-6, we will be showing examples for applying the July
2012 QFsdp, patch 14207418. the steps in this recipe are specific to the patch contents and README instructions of this
patch, but they should provide an overview of a typical exadata patching. Where possible, we will attempt to only present
“common” storage server patching activities and leave it to the exadata dMa to confirm specific patch steps required for
specific exadata software versions.

Note

Registering with ULN and Setting Up a yum Repository
The first step required to update your compute node image, kernel, and RPMs is to register your compute nodes with
Oracle's ULN and set up a yum repository. Follow the instructions in www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/linux/
yum-repository-setup-085606.html to register your compute nodes with ULN. Detailed instructions for how to
configure a yum repository and register your systems with ULN are provided both in the previous link as well as the
README file with patch 13741363.

■ as the specific instructions, patch numbers, and configuration details are subject to change, we will omit the
steps required to register your systems with ULn and configure a yum repository; refer to the patch instructions in your
QFsdp or storage server patch README files for recent, version-specific information.

Note

Once your compute nodes are registered with ULN, you need to define which channels you wish to subscribe to
using the Manage Subscriptions link on the ULN web site. The storage server patch README will instruct you which
channels to subscribe to; in Figure 11-2 , we are subscribing to the Enterprise Linux 5 Add ons (x86_64), Exadata
release 11.2 Latest (x86_64), and Oracle Linux 5 Latest (x86_64) channels based on instructions in the QFSDP storage
server README file.