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Oracle E-Business Suite Upgrade Guide

Release 12.0 and 12.1 to 12.2
Part Number E48839-16 Contents Previous Next

Oracle E-Business Suite Online Patching

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Overview
• Enabling Online Patching
• Database Initialization Parameters

Overview
Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 introduces Online Patching, a new feature that greatly reduces
the downtime that was needed in previous releases for application of Release Update Packs (RUPs),
Critical Patch Updates (CPUs), and other patches and bug fixes of various kinds.

Key Features

• In Release 12.2, all patching operations are carried out while the applications are in use and
users are online.

• Patching is performed using the new adop (AD Online Patching) utility.

• A short period of downtime is required, but this amounts to little more than a restart of the
services: the time the applications are unavailable is measured in minutes rather than hours,
and this can be specified to be at the most convenient time.

Note: The classic patching model is designed to minimize downtime by running as fast as possible,
using whatever resources are needed. In contrast, the online patching model is designed to minimize
downtime by allowing patching operations to be performed while users remain on the system.

Principles

In essence, online patching is performed as follows:

1. A copy is made of the running system.

2. Patches are applied to the copy while users continue to access the running system.

3. Transparently to users, the copy becomes the new running system.

4. What was the original running system (now obsolete) is deleted.

This introduces the concept of a patching cycle that consists of several phases, in contrast to the
model used in previous releases. These phases are denoted prepare, apply, finalize, cutover, and
cleanup.

Note: For more information about online patching principles, see Oracle E-Business Suite Concepts.

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Implementation

Any mechanism that uses a copy of the running application must take into account that an Oracle
E-Business Suite application comprises both code and data, stored in the file system and database.

The file system is the easier of the two to cater for, simply requiring an additional copy to be created
and maintained. The resulting dual file system consists of one file system that is used by the running
system and another one that is either currently being patched, or (as will be the case for most of the
time) standing ready to be patched. The two file systems swap roles at the end of each patching
cycle, with the transition between them being managed by AutoConfig.

Creating a copy of the database portion of the running applications system is more complex. It has
been accomplished by taking advantage of the Oracle Database 11g R2 Edition-Based Redefinition
(EBR) feature. This allows an application to efficiently store multiple copies (editions) of its
application definition in the same database, and thereby enables online upgrade of the database tier.

The database patch edition only comes into existence during a patching cycle, and becomes the new
run edition at end of the cycle. The former database run edition (the old edition) and the obsolete
objects it contains are discarded at the end of a patching cycle, and the space reclaimed during the
cleanup phase.

Tools

Patching is performed by running the new adop (AD online patching) tool. This tool invokes the
adpatch utility that was run directly in previous releases of Oracle E-Business Suite.

Warning: Running adpatch directly is not supported in an online patching environment, except
under explicit instruction from Oracle.

The adop tool orchestrates the entire patching cycle, and can be used to run individual phases as
required.

Note: For full details of adop features and options, refer to the Patching section of Oracle
E-Business Suite Maintenance Guide.

Enabling Online Patching

Complete the following steps to enable online patching after the upgrade has finished:

1. Verify the database version

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Online Patching requires the database to be upgraded to
version 11.2.0.4 or higher. Ensure that the database upgrade was completed properly and
without errors.

2. Ensure that the required Database patches for Release 12.2 have been applied

Review the Database Preparation Guidelines for Release 12.2 and ensure that all patches listed
are installed in your database. Do not proceed with the enabling online patching process if all
patches have not been installed. Refer to Database Preparation Guidelines for an E-Business
Suite Release 12.2 Upgrade (Doc ID: 1349240.1).

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3. Apply the latest Oracle E-Business Suite Online Patching Readiness and GSCC
Report Patch

Action: Before you proceed with the following steps, you must apply the Oracle E-Business
Suite Online Patching Readiness and GSCC Report Patch (Consolidate Standalone Readiness
Report Patch) applicable for Release 12.2 and higher by referring to Using the Online Patching
Readiness Report in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 (Doc ID: 1531121.1).

Important: As part of planning and preparation, the Oracle E-Business Suite Online Patching
Readiness and GSCC Report patch corresponding to your existing Oracle E-Business suite
instance must be applied using adpatch. For example, if you are at the Oracle E-Business suite
Release 12.1.3 level, then you must apply the patch marked for Release 12.1.

4. Run the Online Patching Enablement - Readiness Reports

Refer to Using the Online Patching Readiness Report in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2
(Doc ID 1531121.1) for instructions on how to download these utilities.

You must run the following utility from the application tier APPL_TOP. It reports EBR violations
that include objects not complying with the EBR rule about Non-Editioned Objects (data
storage objects such as Tables and Materialized Views), and referencing editioned objects
(code objects such as: Packages, Triggers, Object Types, and so on). This report also lists
several naming standard violations that must be fixed prior to applying the online patching
enablement patch.

a. Source the environment file of current APPL_TOP

UNIX
$ . ./<APPL_TOP>/APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env

Windows
C:\><APPL_TOP>\envshell<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd

Note: The subsequent steps assume that you are running in the same session which
was initialized with this environment file. If you need additional operating system level
sessions, ensure that you initialize the environment with this same environment file.

b. Create the online patching log file location and set it as the current directory:
mkdir $LOG_HOME/appl/op
cd $LOG_HOME/appl/op

c. Run the following Readiness reports:

◾ ADZDPSUM.sql - Provides a summary of the schemas that will be editioned and

also schemas with objects that depend on E-Business Suite code that is
recommended to be editioned. You can register these schemas with the
application by running the commands that will be listed in the last section of this
report. Oracle recommends that you run this report again after the custom
schemas are registered with the application. You should run ADZDPSUM.sql
repeatedly to handle dependent schemas until no further EBR violations are
reported.

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Note: Enter the system password when prompted. You can ignore APPS_NE, and
ODM schemas which may appear in section 2 of the report.
sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPSUM.sql

mv adzdpsum.txt adzdpsum_pre_dbprep.txt

◾ ADZDPMAN.sql - Lists objects with different categories of violations to EBR rules

that must be fixed prior to running the enablement process to avoid errors during
this process. Oracle recommends that you run this report after all custom schemas
are registered with the application according to instructions in the above report
ADZDPSUM.sql.

Note: Enter the system password when prompted.

sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPMAN.sql

mv adzdpman.txt adzdpman_pre_dbprep.txt

◾ ADZDPAUT.sql - This report lists all the objects with violations to the EBR rules
that will be fixed automatically from the enablement process. This report is
provided for information purposes and no action should be taken from this report.

Note: Enter the system password when prompted.

sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPAUT.sql

mv adzdpaut.txt adzdpaut_pre_dbprep.txt

5. Fix Violations Listed in the Online Patching Readiness Report that Require Manual
Intervention

The Online Patching Readiness Report contains sections with different violation types.

a. Review all sections listed from the ADZDPMAN.sql report. Follow instructions in each
section to fix violations.

Note: Many violations in the Readiness report can be automatically fixed by registering
your custom schemas. Review the last section of the Summary Readiness Report
(ADZDPSUM.sql) for sample commands on how to register your custom schemas.

The following schema should NOT be registered:

◾ SYS

◾ SYSTEM

◾ CTXSYS

Any dependency between these schemas and Editioned Objects is a coding standards
violation and must be fixed manually.

b. Oracle recommends that you perform the chosen fix by customizing template file
$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPCUST.sql

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c. Repeat the Run the Online Patching Enablement - Readiness Report step above until all
violations have been addressed.

6. Verify database tablespace free space

The Edition-Based Redefinition feature of Oracle Database 11gR2 requires additional space for
the dictionary tables that are used to manage editioned objects.

a. Initialize the Run File System environment:

source <RUN APPL_TOP>/<Instance ID>_<hostname>.env

b. Set the HOSTNAME environment variable before executing the online patching tool
adop.

◾ Check to ensure the environment variable HOSTNAME is set by running the

following:
$ echo $HOSTNAME

◾ If the HOSTNAME environment variable is not set, then run the following:
export HOSTNAME=<your-hostname-without-domain>

Note: Repeat the first step to ensure the environment variable it set to the
correct hostname.

◾ If the hostname is set but has the domain, then reset it without the domain.

For example:
echo $HOSTNAME
apcappsx2.au.oracle.com
export HOSTNAME=apcappsx2

c. Run the following report to retrieve the current tablespace free space:
perl $AD_TOP/bin/adzdreport.pl apps

i. Select option 3 - 'Other Generic Reports'

ii. Select the next option - 'Free Space in Important Tablespaces'

Enter the password when prompted.

d. Ensure the following:

◦ SYSTEM Tablespace: has a minimum of 25 GB of free space

◦ APPS_TS_SEED Tablespace: has a minimum of 5 GB of free space

APPS_TS_SEED is used to host all tables that have been registered as seed tables and
that require seed data storage infrastructure.

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◦ Add necessary space to the tablespaces if they do not contain the required free space.
Refer to Altering and Maintaining Tablespaces in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide
for details.

7. Run the Online Patching Enablement - Status Report

This report provides an overall status of the enabling online patching process. You can run it
before, during, and after the enablement patch is applied. At this stage, you will receive report
results before you enable online patching.

a. Set the current directory to $LOG_HOME/appl/op:

cd $LOG_HOME/appl/op

b. Run the report using the following command. Ensure that you verify any invalid objects
at this stage. Take special note to ensure that all online patching objects (objects that
match the pattern 'AD_ZD%') are valid:
sqlplus <apps username> @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDEXRPT.sql

Note: Enter the apps password when prompted.

c. Save the output as pre_dbprep for future reference, such as:

mv adzdexrpt.txt adzdexrpt_pre_dbprep.txt

8. Ensure that all middle-tier E-Business Suite services are shut down

Verify that all middle-tier E-Business Suite services are shut down prior to applying the Online
Patching Enablement patch.

Caution: None of the application tier services should be up until you upgrade to the latest
Oracle E-Business Suite Release Update Pack for Release 12.2. Refer to the Post-Upgrade
Tasks section in this guide.

9. Download and apply the Online Patching Enablement patch

Download and apply the Online Patching Enablement patch: 13543062:R12.AD.C. Use
Autopatch in hotpatch mode to apply the patch (adpatch options=hotpatch,forceapply).

Important: While applying the Online Enablement patch, you may receive the following
error: 'Attention: Adpatch should no longer be used to apply patches. Please use ADOP tool for
applying patches.' If you receive this error, then you must use adop in hotpatch mode to apply
the enablement patch.

Monitor the Online Patching Enablement patch application.

The enablement patch application may take several hours to finish. You can monitor its
progress at any time by running the DDL Status Report (ADZDSHOWDDLS.sql) as follows:
sqlplus <apps Username> @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDSHOWDDLS.sql

This report lists a count of the DDL statements that are required to EBR enable your
environment. The report is organized by outcome of execution: 'Successfully Executed', 'Not
Executed', and 'Failed Execution'. At the end of the patch application the report should have a

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zero count in the sections: 'Not Executed' and 'Failed Execution'. If the report contains 'Not
Executed' and 'Failed Execution' items, then report these failures to Oracle Support. You will
be asked to provide the output from the report, the patch log and all worker logs, and the
online patching enablement status report output. If there is any worker failure during the
Online Enablement patch, you should not ignore or skip the failed error. The issue should be
addressed before restarting the worker. Ignoring or skipping the error can cause database
corruption.

Note: In addition to the above outcomes, some DDL statements may complete with a
'Warning' status.

10. Compile Invalid Objects (if any)

Connect to sqlplus as 'apps' and run the following:

exec sys.utl_recomp.recomp_parallel

11. Re-run the Online Patching Enablement Status Report after the Online Patching
Enablement patch has been applied

a. Set the current directory to $LOG_HOME/appl/op:

cd $LOG_HOME/appl/op

b. Run the Status Report immediately after the enablement patch completes:
sqlplus <Apps Username> @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDEXRPT.sql

Note: You must provide the APPS schema password when prompted.

The purpose of running this report at this stage is to identify and fix any errors that occurred
during the enablement process.

Important: You must fix errors listed by this report. Failure to comply may result in
unexpected failures during future patching cycles.

12. Re-run the Online Patching Enablement Readiness Report after the Online Patching
Enablement patch has been applied

a. Set the current directory to $LOG_HOME/appl/op:

cd $LOG_HOME/appl/op

b. Run the Readiness Report after the enablement patch completes:

sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPSUM.sql

Note: You must provide the SYSTEM schema password when prompted.
mv adzdpsum.txt adzdpsum_post_dbprep.txt
sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPMAN.sql
mv adzdpman.txt adzdpman_post_dbprep.txt
sqlplus system @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDPAUT.sql
mv adzdpaut.txt adzdpaut_post_dbprep.txt

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The purpose of running this report at this stage is to ensure that all EBR violations that
could have appeared before enabling the online patching feature are fixed.

13. Run the Online Patching Database Compliance Checker report to check for coding
standards violations

a. Set the current directory to $LOG_HOME/appl/op:

cd $LOG_HOME/appl/op

b. Run the Online Patching Database Compliance Checker report to check for online
patching database objects standards violations:
sqlplus <Apps Username> @$AD_TOP/sql/ADZDDBCC.sql

This utility reports all violations to the Online Patching Development Standards. Refer to
Database Object Development Standards for Online Patching in Oracle E-Business Suite
Developer's Guide. All Oracle E-Business Suite violations are fixed by the 12.2 upgrade. You
must fix any object listed in this report that is part of your custom code. If you do not fix the
violation, then you cannot leverage the online patching infrastructure to patch the objects
listed in this report.

Database Initialization Parameters

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 introduces a new database service called ebs_patch that
supports online patching. The 'service_names' parameter specifies one or more names by which
users can connect to an environment. The environment registers its service names with the listener.
When a user requests a service, the listener determines which environments offer the requested
service, and then routes the user to the most appropriate environment.

For example:
service_names=%s_dbSid%,ebs_patch

The 'recyclebin' parameter must be turned off to allow the cleanup phase of the online patching
cycle to be performed without having to connect as SYS. This feature may still be used at other
times.

For example:
recyclebin=off

If the _SYSTEM_TRIG_ENABLED parameter is set to false, then system triggers are not processed.
The post Online Patching Enablement parameter must be set to true.

_SYSTEM_TRIG_ENABLED=true
_SYSTEM_TRIG_ENABLED=true

Note: The parameters described in this section apply to Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2. For
details, refer to Database Initialization Parameters for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 (Doc ID:
396009.1).

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