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Oracle Applications 12.2 upgrade – challenges and solutions of

implementing the online patching

Lóránt Miklós, National Instruments, Oracle DBA

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National Instruments

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Agenda

• Oracle EBS Support Timeline - why should we upgrade?

• Architecture Changes

• Online Patching Cycle Overview

• Challenges with the upgrade

• Pre Upgrade Steps

• Q&A

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Oracle EBS Support Timeline - why should we upgrade?• Premier/Extended Support ending for older releases

• Difficulty going forward with OS/HW releases

Source: Oracle Lifetime Support Policy

http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/lifetime-support-applications-069216.pdf

** For more detailed information on EBS 12.0 and 12.1 bug fixing and for Extended Support minimum patch pre-requisites, please refer to the

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Oracle EBS Support Timeline - why should we upgrade?

• Sustaining Support does not include

• New updates, fixes, security alerts, data fixes, critical patch updates

• New tax, legal and regulatory updates

• New upgrade scipts

• Certification with new third-party products

• Certification with new Oracle products

Source: E-Business Suite Releases - Support Policy FAQ (Doc ID 1494891.1)

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Architecture Changes

• EBS Release 12.2 Technology Stack• Better GUI

• Weblogic Server (replaces Fusion Middleware 10g Oracle Containers for Java (OC4J) )

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Architecture Changes

• Edition-Based Redefinition

• Dual File System

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Architecture Changes

• Run file system• Used by online users

• Stores a complete copy of all Application and Middle Tier code

• Logically mapped to either fs1 or fs2

• Patch file system• Used by patching tools

• Stores a complete copy of all Application and Middle Tier code

• Logically mapped to either fs1 or fs2

• Non-Editioned file system• Used for data files, eg.: import/export files, log files, report

output files

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Online Patching Cycle Overview

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Getting Started With Your Install or Upgrade

Source: Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2: Technical Planning, Getting Started, and Go-Live Checklist (Doc ID 1585857.1)

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Getting Started With Your Install or Upgrade

Source: Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2: Technical Planning, Getting Started, and Go-Live Checklist (Doc ID 1585857.1)

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Challenges with the upgrade

• Online patching readiness report “failed” on many objects

• 12c database and Rapid Install StartCD 49/50 never worked

• Rapid Install StartCD 50 for EBS 12.2 comes with a 11.2.0.3 database

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Challenges with the upgrade

• Since Feb. 22, 2016, Rapid Install StartCD 51 is available. It comes with 12.1.0.2 DB. You can download as Patch

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• Different OS on DB/apps tier level

• Rapid Install is not user friendly• Progress bar of the installer is not informative

• You have add ebs_patch to your service_names parameter

• db_domain parameter have to be set to null

• You have to resolve every issue detected by the installer

• RDA - Health Check / Validation Engine Guide (Doc ID 250262.1)

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Challenges with the upgrade

• When Rapid Install performs the installation of the database software its cluster verification utility can result in an error on Oracle Linux / Red Hat Linux 6.3 or higher

Workaround from Checks and Potential Issues Installing EBS R12.2 on RAC Cluster using Rapid Install (Doc ID 1595139.1)

mv /usr/sbin/nslookup /usr/sbin/nslookup.orig

echo '#!/bin/bash

/usr/sbin/nslookup.orig $*

exit 0' > /usr/sbin/nslookup

chmod a+x /usr/sbin/nslookup

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Challenges with the upgrade

• Configuration issues with the apps tiers• Missing rpms

• Kernel parameter changes

• Swap space was not set to 16 GB

See Oracle E-Business Suite Installation and Upgrade Notes Release 12 (12.2) for Linux x86-64 (Doc ID 1330701.1)

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Challenges with the upgrade

• Cleaning Up A Failed Install Attempt

There is no rapidwiz -restart option available with R12.2, you have to clean up the failed install manually

a) Restart the server or make sure to kill ALL oracle and applmgrprocesses.

b) Delete the install directory, oraInventory and /tmp.

c) Run rapidwiz to start installation again.

(based on R12.2: How To Create the Stage In Preparation For Installation (Doc ID 1596433.1))

• Vision Install’s weblogic pwd was different from the one, that the doc. mentioned

See page 3-36 within the Oracle E-Business Suite Setup Guide >> http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26401_01/doc.122/e22953.pdf

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Challenges with the upgrade

• AD_ZD_PREP is Invalid after R12.2 Upgrade

Solution (based on Online Patch Enabling Patch Is Failing on ADZDPREP.sql (Doc ID 1606431.1))

1. Check whether adgrants.sql is run.

2. Check whether all patches are applied as per below document along with post install steps: Database Preparation Guidelines for an E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Upgrade (Doc ID 1349240.1)

3. GRANT SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT on sys.xdb$moveSchemaTab to apps;

4. Restart the worker.

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Challenges with the upgrade

• Full Compliance• Development meets all

standards to support runtime and online patching operations

• Specialized deploy methodology to implement changes in the patch edition/file system

o See Doc ID 1577661.1 for all online patching compliance standards

• All Oracle eBusiness Suite products meet full compliance

• Runtime Compliance• A subset of the full

compliance standards that allow a product to operate correctly in R12.2

• Customizations and third-party tools may only meet runtime compliance

• Full Compliance vs Runtime Compliance

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Challenges with the upgrade

• A minimal set of standards must be followed for custom code

• All code must access the data model through the APPS synonym

• Table names must be unique at 29 bytes

• Column names must be 28 characters or fewer

• Column names must not use the # as the last character

• Third party products and integrations must be validated as well

• Online Patching Readiness Reports

• Online Patching Standards Checkers

• See EBS Developer's Guide Release 12.2, Chapter 7 for full standards list Planning and Preparing for Your Upgrade to Oracle E-Business Suite 12.2

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Challenges with the upgrade

• FS1 vs FS2 • Unix level: use environment variables rather than fully qualified

filepathsDON’T: /opt/apps/r12/d1ebiz/apps/fs1/EBSapps/appl/nimfg/12.0.0/

DO: $NIMFG_TOP/

• Application level: use environment variables for PROFILE OPTIONS values

• FS2 is not a rollback plan• Patch Edition is not a testing environment

• Application tiers cannot be run against the PATCH edition

• Patches must be tested on a test instance with a complete Online Patching cycle

• Risk of Editioning• If an edition object is created, replaced or dropped while a patch

edition exists, then the action must be replicated in the patch edition

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Pre Upgrade Steps

• Run Online patching readiness report - available for all releases prior to 12.2. These highlight all cases in Oracle E-Business Suite code or custom code where a non-editioned object references an editionedobject.

(See details at Oracle E-Business Suite Concepts Release 12.2 Part Number E22949-11)

• Adopt the new 12.2 development standards• Deploying Customizations in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 (Doc ID

1577661.1)

• Upgrade to the latest supported database versions• 11gR2: 11.2.0.4• 12c: 12.1.0.2 database

• Upgrade the Oracle Single Sign-On component to Oracle Access Manager

(See details at Overview of Single Sign-On Integration Options for Oracle E-Business Suite (Doc ID 1388152.1))

• Upgrade desktop OS to Win 7 or 8.1 ad browser to IE 11

• Upgrade to the latest JAVA

• Move to FNDLOAD

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Questions