Oracle Universal Installer And OPatch User’s Guide For Windows UNIX User's

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Oracle® Universal Installer
and OPatch User’s Guide
11g Release 2 (11.2) for Windows and UNIX
E12255-11

March 2011

Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide, 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Windows and UNIX
E12255-11
Copyright © 1996, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Primary Author:
Contributor:

Michael Zampiceni

Smitha Viswanathan, Sumant Sankaran, Phi Nguyen

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Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................................................................. xi
Audience....................................................................................................................................................... xi
Documentation Accessibility ..................................................................................................................... xi
Conventions ................................................................................................................................................ xii
Related Documents .................................................................................................................................... xii

1 Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer
System Requirements..............................................................................................................................
Key Features ..............................................................................................................................................
Utilities .......................................................................................................................................................
Oracle Universal Installer .................................................................................................................
OPatch..................................................................................................................................................
Actions Performed by the Utilities .......................................................................................................
Installation...........................................................................................................................................
Deinstallation......................................................................................................................................
Cloning ................................................................................................................................................
Patching ...............................................................................................................................................
Upgrades and Patchsets ....................................................................................................................
Adding Nodes ....................................................................................................................................
Inventory Operations ........................................................................................................................
Attaching Oracle Homes............................................................................................................
Detaching Oracle Homes ...........................................................................................................
Updating the Node List .............................................................................................................
Major Entities Created.............................................................................................................................
Inventory .............................................................................................................................................
Oracle Home .......................................................................................................................................
Modes of Installation...............................................................................................................................
Interactive Mode ................................................................................................................................
Suppressed-Interactive Mode...........................................................................................................
Silent Mode .........................................................................................................................................
Cluster Mode ......................................................................................................................................

1-1
1-1
1-3
1-3
1-3
1-3
1-3
1-3
1-4
1-4
1-4
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1-4
1-4
1-5
1-5
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1-6
1-6
1-6

iii

2

Managing Oracle Homes
Introduction to Oracle Homes .............................................................................................................. 2-1
Introduction to Oracle Base.................................................................................................................... 2-1
Installing an Oracle Product ................................................................................................................. 2-2
Removing Oracle Homes ....................................................................................................................... 2-3
Determining the Default Oracle Home .............................................................................................. 2-3
Multiple Oracle Homes .......................................................................................................................... 2-4
Target Home ...................................................................................................................................... 2-4
Oracle Universal Installer Inventory ................................................................................................... 2-4
Structure of the Oracle Universal Installer Inventory ................................................................. 2-4
Central Inventory Pointer File .................................................................................................. 2-4
Central Inventory ....................................................................................................................... 2-5
Oracle Home Inventory ............................................................................................................ 2-6
Creating the Central Inventory ....................................................................................................... 2-8
Using the Session Variables ...................................................................................................... 2-8
Verifying the Operation ............................................................................................................ 2-9
Detaching Oracle Homes from the Central Inventory ................................................................. 2-9
Using the Optional -local Flag ................................................................................................. 2-9
Removing the Central Inventory .......................................................................................... 2-10
Consolidating Multiple Central Inventories ............................................................................... 2-10
Reconstructing a Shared Central Inventory on a Non-shared Location ................................. 2-11
Oracle Recommendation Regarding Central Inventory Placement ................................. 2-11
Enforced Shared Inventory Check......................................................................................... 2-11
Procedure to Reconstruct the Central Inventory................................................................. 2-12
Upgrading and Patching the Oracle Home ................................................................................ 2-13
Cloning Oracle Homes .................................................................................................................. 2-13
Backing up the Inventory .............................................................................................................. 2-13
Recovering from Inventory Corruption ...................................................................................... 2-14
Diagnosing and Recovering from Central Inventory Corruption ................................... 2-14
Diagnosing and Recovering from Oracle Home Inventory Corruption ......................... 2-15
Oracle Real Application Clusters ................................................................................................. 2-15
Updating the Nodes of a Cluster .......................................................................................... 2-15
Diagnosing and Recovering from RAC Oracle Home Inventory Corruption ............... 2-15
Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms) ............................................................................. 2-16
Home Selector Overview .............................................................................................................. 2-16
How Home Selector Works .......................................................................................................... 2-16
Oracle Home Directory Structure for Windows Platforms ..................................................... 2-17
Optimal Flexible Architecture Directory Structure (on UNIX) ............................................... 2-17
ORACLE_BASE Directory ..................................................................................................... 2-18
ORACLE_HOME Directory .................................................................................................. 2-18

3

Customizing and Creating Response Files
About Response Files .............................................................................................................................
What Is a Silent Installation? ...........................................................................................................
What Is a Response File? ..................................................................................................................
Why Perform a Silent Installation? .................................................................................................
Modifying a Response File ....................................................................................................................

3-1
3-1
3-1
3-2
3-2

Saving a Response File after Installation ............................................................................................ 3-3
Response File Format .............................................................................................................................. 3-3
Variable Values .................................................................................................................................. 3-3
Variable Lookup Order ............................................................................................................. 3-3
Response File Entries Order ...................................................................................................... 3-4
Setting the Recommendation Value ........................................................................................ 3-4
Comments .......................................................................................................................................... 3-4
Headers ............................................................................................................................................... 3-5
Response File Parameters ................................................................................................................ 3-5
Installing with a Response File ......................................................................................................... 3-10
Specifying a Response File ............................................................................................................ 3-11
Optional Parameters When Specifying a Response File ........................................................... 3-11
Setting Response File Variables From the Command Line ...................................................... 3-12
Specifying the Value of a Session Variable ......................................................................... 3-12
Specifying the Value of a Component Variable ................................................................. 3-12

4

Installing Products
Checking Prerequisites Before Installation ....................................................................................... 4-1
Installing Oracle Products ..................................................................................................................... 4-1
Getting Help While Installing Oracle Products ............................................................................ 4-2
About the ORAPARAM.INI File .................................................................................................... 4-2
Modes of Installation ........................................................................................................................ 4-5
Installation Media ............................................................................................................................. 4-5
Installing from a Single CD-ROM ........................................................................................... 4-6
Installing from Multiple CD-ROMs ........................................................................................ 4-6
Installing from a staged HTTP location .................................................................................. 4-7
Special Instructions for UNIX Users .............................................................................................. 4-8
Failed to Connect to Server Error ............................................................................................ 4-8
Providing a UNIX Installer Location with Root Privileges ................................................. 4-8
Providing a UNIX Group Name .............................................................................................. 4-9
Deinstalling Oracle Products ................................................................................................................ 4-9
Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation .................................................................... 4-9
Starting Oracle Universal Installer ................................................................................................. 4-9
Command Line Arguments .......................................................................................................... 4-10
Using Oracle Universal Installer Exit Codes .............................................................................. 4-11
Cloning Considerations ................................................................................................................. 4-12
About Oracle Universal Installer Log Files ..................................................................................... 4-13

5 Installing Cluster Environments
Oracle Universal Installer and Oracle Real Application Clusters .................................................
Oracle Clusterware and Vendor Clusterware Installations.........................................................
Installed Oracle Real Application Clusters Components ............................................................
General System Installation Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters ....................
Hardware Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters Setup ......................................
Software Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters Setup ........................................

5-1
5-2
5-2
5-3
5-3
5-3

v

Cluster Setup and Pre-installation Configuration Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters .....
5-4
Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX ......................................... 5-4
Logging In to the System as root .................................................................................................... 5-4
Creating Required UNIX Groups and Users ................................................................................ 5-5
Creating Identical Users and Groups on Other Cluster Nodes .......................................... 5-5
Configuring SSH on all Cluster Nodes ................................................................................... 5-6
Configuring the Oracle User Environment ................................................................................... 5-9
Checking the Hardware Requirements ......................................................................................... 5-9
Checking the Network Requirements ............................................................................................ 5-9
Network Hardware Requirements .......................................................................................... 5-9
Network Parameter Requirements ....................................................................................... 5-10
IP Address Requirements ...................................................................................................... 5-10
Node Time Requirements ...................................................................................................... 5-10
Checking Software Requirements ............................................................................................... 5-10
Configuring Kernel Parameters ................................................................................................... 5-10
Identifying Required Software Directories ................................................................................ 5-10
Oracle Base Directory ............................................................................................................. 5-11
Oracle Inventory Directory .................................................................................................... 5-11
Oracle Clusterware Home Directory ................................................................................... 5-12
Oracle Home Directory .......................................................................................................... 5-12
Identifying or Creating an Oracle Base Directory ..................................................................... 5-12
Creating the Clusterware Home Directory ................................................................................ 5-13
Pre-installation Tasks for Real Application Clusters on Windows ............................................ 5-14
Checking Hardware and Software Certification ....................................................................... 5-14
Checking the Hardware Requirements ...................................................................................... 5-14
Hard Disk Space Requirements ............................................................................................ 5-14
Checking the Software Requirements ......................................................................................... 5-14
Checking the Network Requirements ......................................................................................... 5-14
Network Hardware Requirements ....................................................................................... 5-14
IP Address Requirements ...................................................................................................... 5-15
Checking Individual Component Requirements ...................................................................... 5-15
Configuring Storage for Oracle Clusterware .................................................................................. 5-15
Installing Oracle Clusterware on UNIX ........................................................................................... 5-15
Running the Oracle Universal Installer to Install Oracle Clusterware ................................... 5-15
Running the Oracle Universal Installer in Silent Mode to Install Oracle Clusterware ........ 5-16
Oracle Clusterware Background Processes ................................................................................ 5-16
Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows .................................................................................... 5-16
Running the Oracle Universal Installer to Install Oracle Clusterware ................................... 5-16
Running the Oracle Universal Installer in Silent Mode to Install Oracle Clusterware ........ 5-19
Oracle Clusterware Background Processes ................................................................................ 5-19
Adding More Nodes to the Cluster for Mass Deployment .......................................................... 5-19
Installing Product Software on a Cluster ........................................................................................ 5-20
Cluster Detection ............................................................................................................................ 5-20
Availability Checking .................................................................................................................... 5-20
Cluster Installation ......................................................................................................................... 5-21
Cluster Installation in Silent Mode .............................................................................................. 5-21
Cluster Deinstallation .................................................................................................................... 5-21

Command Line Options for Cluster Installations (UNIX Only) ................................................
Adding Language Support for Installed Products..........................................................................
Patchsets and Upgrades .......................................................................................................................
Post-installation Tasks .........................................................................................................................
Verification ......................................................................................................................................
Back Up Disk after Installation ....................................................................................................
Download and Install Patches ......................................................................................................
Configure Oracle Products ...........................................................................................................
Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software .........................................................................
Deinstalling Oracle Product Software on UNIX ........................................................................
Deinstalling Oracle Product Software on Windows .................................................................
Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware ..................................................................................................
Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware from a UNIX Environment ..........................................
Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware from a Windows Environment ...................................
Converting Single-instance Nodes to Real Application Clusters ...............................................
Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation .......................

5-22
5-22
5-22
5-23
5-23
5-23
5-23
5-24
5-24
5-24
5-25
5-25
5-26
5-26
5-27
5-27

6 Cloning Oracle Software
About Cloning .........................................................................................................................................
Overview of the Cloning Process .........................................................................................................
Source Preparation Phase ................................................................................................................
Cloning Phase ....................................................................................................................................
Locating and Viewing Log Files ...........................................................................................................

7

6-1
6-2
6-2
6-3
6-3

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch
About OPatch ........................................................................................................................................... 7-1
OPatch Features ................................................................................................................................. 7-1
Getting Interim Patches .................................................................................................................... 7-2
Environment Variables OPatch Uses ............................................................................................. 7-2
Requirements for OPatch ...................................................................................................................... 7-3
Prerequisite Checks for OPatch ............................................................................................................ 7-3
Checks for Single Instances and Oracle Real Application Clusters ........................................... 7-3
Additional Checks for Oracle Real Application Clusters ............................................................ 7-4
Check for User Equivalence ..................................................................................................... 7-4
Check for OPatch Lsinventory ................................................................................................. 7-4
Backup and Recovery Considerations for Patching ......................................................................... 7-7
OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes .................................................................................... 7-8
Apply Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes .......................................................................... 7-9
Napply Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ..................................................................... 7-12
Auto Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes .......................................................................... 7-15
Lsinventory Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ............................................................. 7-16
Query Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ....................................................................... 7-22
Rollback Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ................................................................... 7-23
Nrollback Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ................................................................. 7-26
Version Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes ..................................................................... 7-28
Standalone Patching ............................................................................................................................ 7-28

vii

Unsupported Services for Standalone Patching ........................................................................
Standalone Patching Requirements .............................................................................................
OPatch Utility for Standalone Homes .........................................................................................
Apply Command for Standalone OPatch ...........................................................................
Lsinventory Command for Standalone OPatch .................................................................
Query Command for Standalone OPatch ............................................................................
Rollback Command for Standalone OPatch .......................................................................
Version Command for Standalone OPatch .........................................................................
Use Cases .........................................................................................................................................
Inventory Operations .............................................................................................................
Patching Operations ...............................................................................................................
Utility Operations ...................................................................................................................
Schema Patching ...................................................................................................................................
Schema Patching Options .............................................................................................................
Standalone SQL Execution ............................................................................................................
Online Patching ....................................................................................................................................
Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching .....................................................................................
All Node Patching ..........................................................................................................................
Rolling Patching .............................................................................................................................
Minimum Downtime Patching ....................................................................................................
About Patch Conflicts ..........................................................................................................................
Types of Conflicts ...........................................................................................................................
Superset ....................................................................................................................................
Subset ........................................................................................................................................
Duplicate ..................................................................................................................................
Bug Conflict .............................................................................................................................
File Conflict ..............................................................................................................................
Patch Conflict Behavior for Apply and Napply ........................................................................
Patch Conflict Detection and Resolution ....................................................................................
Problem Resolution .............................................................................................................................
Logging and Tracing ......................................................................................................................
Command Index ......................................................................................................................
Levels of Logging ....................................................................................................................
Recovering from a Failed Patching Session ...............................................................................
Single Instance Setup ..............................................................................................................
Oracle Real Application Clusters Setup ..............................................................................
Resolving OPatch Application Errors .........................................................................................

8

7-28
7-29
7-30
7-30
7-32
7-32
7-33
7-34
7-35
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7-44
7-44
7-44
7-45
7-45
7-45
7-46
7-46
7-46
7-49
7-52

Oracle Internationalization and Translation
Installation Dialogs Language .............................................................................................................. 8-1
Product Language Selections ................................................................................................................ 8-1
Language Add-on .................................................................................................................................... 8-2

A

Frequently Asked Questions

B

Troubleshooting and Debugging Oracle Universal Installer
Debugging Mechanisms in Oracle Universal Installer ..................................................................
Installation Log .................................................................................................................................
Automated Inventory Backups ......................................................................................................
Central Inventory Backup ........................................................................................................
Oracle Home Inventory Backup .............................................................................................
Oracle Universal Installer Errors .........................................................................................................
Other Tips ................................................................................................................................................

C

B-1
B-1
B-8
B-8
B-8
B-9
B-9

Understanding Oracle Universal Installer Commands
Options Available in Oracle Universal Installer .............................................................................. C-1
Command-line Variables Available in Oracle Universal Installer ............................................... C-3

D

Sample Files
Sample Response File ............................................................................................................................ D-1
Sample ORAPARAM.INI File ............................................................................................................. D-9
Sample Components File .................................................................................................................... D-10

E

Error Messages and Solutions
OUI - 10001................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10004................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10005................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10020................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10021................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10022................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10024................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10025................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10028................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10029................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10030................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10031................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10033................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10034................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10035................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10036................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10038................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10039................................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10040..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10041..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10044..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10053..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10054..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10055..............................................................................................................................................

E-1
E-1
E-2
E-2
E-3
E-3
E-4
E-4
E-5
E-6
E-6
E-7
E-7
E-7
E-8
E-9
E-9
E-9
E-10
E-10
E-11
E-11
E-12
E-12

ix

OUI - 10056..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10058..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10059..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10070..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10082..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10083..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10088..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10091..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10092..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10094..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10095..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10096..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10104..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10105..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10116..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10122..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10135..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10136..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10137..............................................................................................................................................
OUI - 10153..............................................................................................................................................

Index

E-12
E-13
E-13
E-14
E-14
E-14
E-14
E-15
E-15
E-16
E-16
E-16
E-16
E-17
E-17
E-17
E-18
E-18
E-18
E-18

Preface
This manual describes how to manage Oracle and third-party software using the
Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch. This guide provides instructions for installing,
setting up, and starting the Oracle Universal Installer software. It also provides
instructions on cloning and patching Oracle software.

Audience
This manual is intended for users installing Oracle software products using the Oracle
Universal Installer and covers only the generic functionality and concepts. Use this
manual in conjunction with any product-specific installation guides available with
your Oracle product.

Documentation Accessibility
Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation
accessible to all users, including users that are disabled. To that end, our
documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive
technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to
facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to
evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading
technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be
accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility
Program Web site at http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.
Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation
Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The
conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an
otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text
that consists solely of a bracket or brace.
Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation
This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or
organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes
any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.
TTY Access to Oracle Support Services
To reach Oracle Support Services, use a telecommunications relay service (TRS) to call
Oracle Support at 1.800.223.1711.

xi

Conventions
The following text conventions are used in this document:
Convention

Meaning

boldface

Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated
with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic

Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for
which you supply particular values.

monospace

Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code
in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

Related Documents
For additional information, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Patching Guide.

xii

1
Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer

1

This chapter is designed to aid developers, administrators, and all other users who
install Oracle software by understanding the system requirements, features, and key
concepts of Oracle Universal Installer.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■

System Requirements

■

Key Features

■

Utilities

■

Actions Performed by the Utilities

■

Major Entities Created

■

Modes of Installation

System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for Oracle Universal Installer are as follows:
■

■

■

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) — Automatically installed with Oracle
Universal Installer on most platforms. Check the Release Notes or installation
guide of the products that you are installing for the required version.
Memory Requirements — Memory requirements vary depending on the number
of components installed. Check the Release Notes or installation guide for the
products that you are installing for details. 32 MB is the minimum recommended
on all platforms.
Disk Space Requirements — Oracle recommends at least 200 MB for Oracle
Universal Installer files on Windows platforms and 116 MB on UNIX. (UNIX
requires more memory because of the difference in JRE sizes for the platforms.)
You may need up to 1 MB for the related inventory files.
When you run Oracle Universal Installer from an NFS-mounted user home,
especially for Linux, execute the quota command to check the space availability.
Never perform an installation on a user home for which space is allocated based
on quota.

Key Features
Oracle Universal Installer 11g Release 2 (11.2) offers the following features:
■

An XML-based centralized inventory

Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer

1-1

Key Features

The XML format enables third-party Java applications to query the inventory for
information about installed software.
■

Cloning of existing Oracle homes
Enables you to copy an existing Oracle home to another location and "fix it up" by
updating the installation configuration to be specific to the new environment.
Cloning makes it easy to propagate a standard setup without having to install and
configure after installation.

■

Better support for cluster environments
Oracle Universal Installer now replicates its inventory to all nodes that participate
in a cluster-based installation. You can invoke Oracle Universal Installer from any
node on the cluster that is part of the installation. You can then upgrade, remove,
or patch existing software from any node.

■

True silent capability
When running Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode on a character mode
console, you no longer need to specify an X-server or set the DISPLAY
environment variable on UNIX. No GUI classes are instantiated, making the silent
mode truly silent.

■

Ability to record your Oracle Universal Installer session to a response file
This feature makes it easy to duplicate the results of a successful installation on
multiple systems. All the options you selected during the installation are saved in
the resulting response file.

■

More accurate disk space calculations
Oracle Universal Installer now uses a more accurate method of calculating the disk
space your Oracle products require. This feature reduces the risk of running out of
disk space during an installation.

■

Automatically launched software after installation
Some Oracle products now take advantage of a new feature that enables the
software to launch automatically immediately after the installation.

■

Cleaner deinstallation and upgrades
Deinstallation completely removes all software, leaving no "bits" behind. This also
completely removes files associated with configuration assistants and patchsets.
Oracle homes can also be removed from the inventory and registry. For
deinstalling 11.2 Oracle Clusterware, Database, and client homes, OUI prompts
you to run the deinstall/deconfig utility from the home.

■

Integrated prerequisite checking
Provides a prerequisite checking tool to diagnose the readiness of an environment
for installation. The prerequisite checks are run as part of the installation process,
but can also be run as a separate application.

■

Support for Desktop Class and Server Class
The following installation types are available for the database:
–

Desktop Class
Choose this option if you are installing on a laptop or desktop class system.
This option includes a starter database and provides minimal configuration.
This option is designed for users that want to quickly bring up and run the
database.

1-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Actions Performed by the Utilities

–

Server Class
Choose this option if you are installing on a server class system, such as what
you would use when deploying Oracle in a production data center. This
option provides more advanced configuration options. Advanced
configuration options available using this installation type include Oracle
RAC, Automatic Storage Management, backup and recovery configuration,
integration with Enterprise Manager Grid Control, and more fine-grained
memory tuning, as well as other options.
For the Server Class option, the Typical Installation method is selected by
default. It enables you to quickly install the Oracle Database using minimal
input. This method installs the software and optionally creates a
general-purpose database using the information that you specify in this
dialog.

Utilities
Oracle offers two utilities for software deployment:
■

Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle products

■

OPatch to apply interim patches

Oracle Universal Installer
Oracle Universal Installer 11g Release 2 (11.2) is a Java-based installer that enables you
to install Oracle components from CDs or from a staged HTTP location. It performs
component-based installations as well as complex installations, such as integrated
bundle and suite installations, and installations over the Web.

OPatch
OPatch is an Oracle-supplied utility that assists you with the process of applying
interim patches to Oracle's software. OPatch 11.2 is a Java-based utility that can run on
either OUI-based Oracle homes or standalone homes. It works on all operating
systems for which Oracle releases software. For more information on OPatch, see the
Oracle OPatch User’s Guide.

Actions Performed by the Utilities
Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch performs the following activities:

Installation
Installation is the process of choosing products from a release or stage area and
deploying them in the target directory. There are four modes of installation, which are
explained in the section "Modes of Installation" on page 1-5.

Deinstallation
Deinstallation is the process of removing an installed product from the installation
area. A de-installation can be cancelled, resumed or rolled back. It can be executed
either interactively or silently.

Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer

1-3

Actions Performed by the Utilities

Cloning
Cloning is the process of copying an existing installation to a different location while
preserving its configuration. You can install multiple copies of the Oracle product
easily on different computers using cloning. During cloning, Oracle Universal Installer
is invoked in clone mode to adapt the home to the target environment. Oracle
Universal Installer in clone mode replays all the actions that have been executed to
originally install the Oracle home. The difference between installation and cloning is
that during cloning, Oracle Universal Installer runs the actions in the clone mode. Each
action decides how to respond during cloning.

Patching
During patching, a small collection of files are copied over an existing installation to
fix certain bugs. OPatch is an Oracle-supplied utility that facilitates Oracle software
patching. For more information on OPatch, see the Oracle OPatch User’s Guide.

Upgrades and Patchsets
Oracle Universal Installer enables you to upgrade a product from one version to
another version. An upgrade is a major product enhancement that often requires
installation of the upgraded software. For example, you may want to convert your
Oracle Database 10gR2 (10.2) to Oracle 11gR2 (11.2) Database, which is called an
upgrade.
A group of patches form a patchset. For example, you may want to convert your
Oracle 11gR1 (11.1) Database from version 11.1 to version 11.1.0.7.0, which is called
applying a patchset.

Adding Nodes
You can install an Oracle home on multiple nodes in a cluster. You can extend the
cluster for a particular Oracle home using the -addNode flag of Oracle Universal
Installer. You can add more than one node to the Oracle home. The Oracle Universal
Installer with the -addNode flag is always run on the local node and not on the
node(s) to be added. You can add nodes to an Oracle Clusterware node or an Oracle
Real Application Clusters node depending upon whether the node addition is being
performed at the Oracle Clusterware layer or the Oracle Real Application Clusters
database layer. You can use $OH/oui/bin/addNode.sh to add nodes.
For more information on adding nodes, see "Installing Cluster Environments" on
page 5-1.

Inventory Operations
Oracle Universal Installer supports the following inventory operations:

Attaching Oracle Homes
Oracle Universal Installer uses the -attachHome flag to attach an Oracle home to the
inventory to set up the Central Inventory or to register an existing Oracle home with
the Central Inventory. You can use attachHome.sh (bat) from an Oracle home as
well as from the shiphome.
For more information, see "Creating the Central Inventory" on page 2-8.

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Modes of Installation

Detaching Oracle Homes
Oracle Universal Installer uses the -detachHome flag to remove an Oracle home from
the Central Inventory. You can use detachHome.sh (bat) from an Oracle home.
For more information, see "Detaching Oracle Homes from the Central Inventory" on
page 2-9.

Updating the Node List
Oracle Universal Installer uses the -updateNodeList flag to update the node list in
the inventory. For an Oracle Clusterware home, you need to pass CRS=true from the
updateNodeList command line.
For more information, see "Updating the Nodes of a Cluster" on page 2-15.

Major Entities Created
The following major entities are created when you run Oracle Universal Installer.

Inventory
The Oracle Universal Installer inventory stores information about all Oracle software
products installed in all the Oracle homes on a host, provided the product was
installed using Oracle Universal Installer. The inventory is organized as follows:
■

Central Inventory

■

Oracle home inventory

For more information on the inventory and the structure of the inventory, see "Oracle
Universal Installer Inventory" on page 2-4.

Oracle Home
An Oracle home is the system context in which the Oracle products run. This context
consists of the following:
■

Directory location where the products are installed

■

Corresponding system path setup

■

■

Program groups associated with the products installed in that home (where
applicable)
Services running from that home

For more information on Oracle homes, see Chapter 2, "Managing Oracle Homes".

Modes of Installation
You can run the Oracle Universal Installer in the following modes:

Interactive Mode
You can use the interactive mode to walk through the installation by providing
information in the dialogs when prompted. This method is useful when installing a
small number of products in different setups on a small number of hosts.

Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer

1-5

Modes of Installation

Suppressed-Interactive Mode
You can use this mode to supply the necessary information by using a combination of
a response file or command line entries with certain interactive dialogs. This is useful
when an installation has a common set of parameters that can be captured in a
response file, in addition to the custom information that you must enter manually.

Silent Mode
You can use this mode to bypass the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and supply the
necessary information in a response file. This method is useful when installing the
same product multiple times on multiple hosts. By using the response files, you can
also automate the installation of a product for which you know the installation
parameters.
For more information on silent installation, see Chapter 3, "Customizing and Creating
Response Files".

Cluster Mode
A cluster installation uses Oracle Universal Installer to install software on the nodes of
a cluster that are network-reachable and bound together by Oracle Clusterware. You
can use Oracle Universal Installer to extend the Oracle home of a product installation
to include additional nodes on the cluster. You need to install Oracle Clusterware for a
cluster installation.
For more information on cluster installations, see Chapter 5, "Installing Cluster
Environments".

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2
2

Managing Oracle Homes

This chapter contains the following sections:
■

Introduction to Oracle Homes

■

Introduction to Oracle Base

■

Installing an Oracle Product

■

Removing Oracle Homes

■

Determining the Default Oracle Home

■

Multiple Oracle Homes

■

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

■

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

Introduction to Oracle Homes
The Oracle Universal Installer supports the installation of several active Oracle homes
on the same host. An Oracle home is a directory into which all Oracle software is
installed. This is pointed to by an environment variable. The Oracle home consists of
the following:
■

Directory location where the products are installed

■

Corresponding system path setup

■

■

Program groups associated with the products installed in the home (where
applicable)
Services running from the home

Introduction to Oracle Base
The Oracle base location is the location where Oracle Database binaries are stored.
During installation, you are prompted for the Oracle base path. Typically, an Oracle
base path for the database is created during Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation.
To prepare for installation, Oracle recommends that you only set the ORACLE_BASE
environment variable to define paths for Oracle binaries and configuration files.
Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) creates other necessary paths and environment
variables in accordance with the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) rules for
well-structured Oracle software environments.
For example, with Oracle Database 11g, Oracle recommends that you do not set an
Oracle home environment variable allow OUI to create it instead. If the Oracle base
Managing Oracle Homes

2-1

Installing an Oracle Product

path is /u01/app/oracle, then by default, OUI creates the following Oracle home
path:
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1

Ensure that the paths you select for Oracle software, such as Oracle home paths and
the Oracle base path, use only ASCII characters. Because installation owner names are
used by default for some paths, this ASCII character restriction applies to user names,
file names, and directory names.

Installing an Oracle Product
When you install an Oracle product, an Oracle home is created.
To install the product and create the Oracle home, perform the following steps:
1.

Run Oracle Universal Installer.

2.

In the Specify Home Details page, enter the Oracle home settings for the
installation session. See Table 2–1 for a description of the fields in this section of
the screen.

3.

Continue with your installation. See Chapter 4, "Installing Products" for detailed
information.

Table 2–1

Oracle Installation Settings for Specify Home Details page

Settings

Functions

Name

Enter a name for the Oracle home. This name identifies the
program group associated with a particular home and the
Oracle services installed on this home. The Oracle home name
must be between 1 to 127 characters long, and can include only
alphanumeric characters and underscores.

Software Location

Enter the full path to an Oracle home, or select an Oracle home
from the drop-down list of existing Oracle homes. The Oracle
home location is the directory where products are installed.
Data files may or may not be installed within an Oracle home.
You can use the Browse button to choose a directory to install
your product.
For Windows platforms, you must provide a valid path that is
not in the Windows directory. Different homes cannot share the
same location.

Oracle recommends that you designate an Oracle home
location that is an empty or non-existing directory. If you select a
directory for the Oracle home location that is not empty or already
exists, you will be warned and asked if you want to proceed.

Note:

For silent installations, if a non-empty, existing directory is
specified, an error is logged in the console and in the
installActions.log file. Also, the Oracle
Universal Installer aborts. To override this condition, use the
-force flag on the command line. The effect of using the -force
flag is the same as selecting Yes while installing in interactive
mode. You receive a warning message, but the installation
continues.

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Determining the Default Oracle Home

Removing Oracle Homes
To remove or deinstall Oracle homes, you can either use the Deinstall tool included
with the Shiphome, or use the Deinstall utility available as part of the Oracle home.
■

■

To use the Deinstall tool, do the following to remove the Oracle home:
1.

cd to DeinstallTool.

2.

Run deinstall -home .

To use the Deinstall utility, do the following to remove the Oracle home:
1.

cd to $Oracle_Home/deinstall.

2.

Run Deinstall.

Determining the Default Oracle Home
By default, when you start Oracle Universal Installer, the software searches your
system to determine the default Oracle home where Oracle software should be
installed.
In all cases, the ORACLE_HOME name is taken first from the command line if it is
specified, or else from the response file if specified. If not specified, the value of
DEFAULT_ORACLE_HOME_NAME in oraparam.ini is examined. Typically, the
following convention is used for the name:
Ora_

Where  is the short product marketing name as
specified in the oraparam.ini file; for example, "Db11g", and 
is a counter derived from the Central Inventory. For example, the ORACLE_HOME name
could be OraDb11g_1.
The ORACLE_HOME path is taken first from the command line if specified, or else
from the response file if specified. If not, the ORACLE_HOME environment variable is
used. If neither is specified, the following conventions are used for the path:
■

If ORACLE_BASE has been specified in the environment:
$ORACLE_BASE/product//_

For example: $ORACLE_BASE/product/11.2.0/Db_1.
■

If ORACLE_BASE has not been specified in the environment:
$HOME/product//_

Where  is the short product name; for example, "Db", and 
is picked up based on the existence of the files. For example, the ORACLE_HOME
path could be $HOME/product/11.2.0/Db_1.
The instance-related directory location is accepted first from the response file, if
specified. If not, the oradata, flash_recovery_area, admin, and doc directories
are created under ORACLE_BASE. If ORACLE_BASE has not been specified, the default
is the $ORACLE_HOME/oradata directory. If the parent directory of the Oracle home
is writable, these directories are created in the parent directory of the Oracle home.

Managing Oracle Homes

2-3

Multiple Oracle Homes

Multiple Oracle Homes
Oracle Universal Installer supports the installation of several active Oracle homes on
the same host as long as the products support this at run-time. Multiple versions of the
same product or different products can run from different Oracle homes concurrently.
Products installed in one home do not conflict or interact with products installed on
another home. You can update software in any home at any time, assuming all Oracle
applications, services, and processes installed on the target home are shut down.
Processes from other homes may still be running.

Target Home
The Oracle home currently accessed by Oracle Universal Installer for installation or
deinstallation is the target home. To upgrade or remove products from the target
homes, these products must be shut down or stopped.

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory
The Oracle Universal Installer inventory stores information about all Oracle software
products installed in all Oracle homes on a host, provided the product was installed
using Oracle Universal Installer.
Inventory information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format. The
XML format enables easier diagnosis of problems and faster loading of data. Any
secure information is not stored directly in the inventory. As a result, during removal
of some products, you may be prompted to enter the required credentials for
validation.
Oracle recommends placing the central inventory on a local
file system that is not shared by other systems, since the central
inventory is a system-specific inventory of the installations on this
system. It is strongly recommended that you place the central
inventory on a local disk so that installations from other systems do
not corrupt the inventory. You should not place the central inventory
in the Oracle Base.

Note:

Structure of the Oracle Universal Installer Inventory
The Oracle Universal Installer inventory has the following hierarchical structure:
■

Central Inventory Pointer File

■

Central Inventory

■

Oracle Home Inventory

Central Inventory Pointer File
Every Oracle software installation has an associated Central Inventory where the
details of all the Oracle products installed on a host are registered. The Central
Inventory is located in the directory that the inventory pointer file specifies. Each
Oracle software installation has its own Central Inventory pointer file that is unknown
to another Oracle software installation.
For Oracle homes sharing the same Central Inventory, the Oracle Universal Installer
components perform all read and write operations on the inventory. The operations on
the Central Inventory are performed through a locking mechanism. This implies that

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Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

when an operation such as installation, upgrade, or patching occurs on an Oracle
home, these operations become blocked on other Oracle homes that share the same
Central Inventory.
Table 2–2 shows the location of the default inventory pointer file for various platforms:
Table 2–2

Default Inventory Pointer File Locations

Platform

Default Inventory Pointer Location

Linux
Linux.PPC64
AIX

/etc/oraInst.loc

Solaris.SPARC
Solaris.X64
HPUX
HPIA
HP.TRU64
Linux.IA64
Linux.xSeries

/var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc

Windows
Windows.X64
Windows.IA64

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/
Oracle/inst.loc

The following string shows an example of the path for the oraInst.loc file:
inventory_loc=/home/oracle_db11g/product/11.2.0/db_1
inst_group=oracle

In UNIX, if you do not want to use the Central Inventory located in the directory
specified by the inventory pointer file, you can use the -invPtrLoc flag to specify
another inventory pointer file. The syntax is as follows:
./runInstaller -silent -invPtrLoc  ORACLE_
HOME=""

If the contents of the oraInst.loc file is empty, Oracle
Universal Installer prompts you to create a new inventory.

Note:

Central Inventory
The Central Inventory contains the information relating to all Oracle products installed
on a host. It contains the following files and folders:
■

Inventory File

■

Logs Directory

Inventory File This file lists all the Oracle homes installed on the node. For each Oracle
home, it also lists the Oracle home name, home index, and nodes on which the home is
installed. It also mentions if the home is an Oracle Clusterware home or a removed
Oracle home. It can only detect removed Oracle homes created using Oracle Universal
Installer version 11.2 and later. This file is present in the following location:
/ContentsXML/inventory.xml

The following code shows a sample inventory.xml file:


Managing Oracle Homes

2-5

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory





11.2.0.0.0
2.1.0.6.0









Oracle recommends that you do not remove or manually edit
this file as it could affect installation and patching.

Note:

Logs Directory The Central Inventory contains installation logs in the following
location:
/logs

The logs directory contains the logs corresponding to all installations performed on a
particular node. You can also find a copy of the installation log in the $ORACLE_
HOME/cfgtoollogs directory.
The installation logs for an installation are identified by the timestamp associated with
the log files. These files are generally saved in the following format:
.log

For example, consider an attachHome operation performed on 17th, May, 2009 at
6.45AM. The associated log file would be created as follows:
AttachHome2009-05-17_06-45-00AM.log

Oracle Home Inventory
Oracle home inventory or local inventory is present inside each Oracle home. It only
contains information relevant to a particular Oracle home. This file is located in the
following location:
$ORACLE_HOME/inventory

It contains the following files and folders:
■

Components File

■

Home Properties File

■

Other Folders

Components File This file contains the details about third-party applications like Java
Runtime Environment (JRE) required by different Java-based Oracle tools and
components. In addition, it also contains details of all the components as well as
patchsets or interim patches installed in the Oracle home. This file is located here:
ORACLE_HOME/inventory/ContentsXML/comps.xml

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For an example of the components file, see "Sample Components File" on page D-10.
Home Properties File This file contains the details about the node list, the local node
name, and the Oracle Clusterware flag for the Oracle home. In a shared Oracle
home, the local node information is not present. This file also contains the following
information:
■
■

■

GUID — Unique global ID for the Oracle home
ARU ID — Unique platform ID. The patching and patchset application depends
on this ID.
ARU ID DESCRIPTION — Platform description

The information in oraclehomeproperties.xml overrides the information in
inventory.xml. This file is located here:
$ORACLE_HOME/inventory/ContentsXML/oraclehomeproperties.xml

The following example shows the Oracle home property file:
893051798#.356758136


46
Linux x86





Table 2–3 lists the ARU_IDs for some platforms:
Table 2–3

ARU_IDs for Platforms

Platform

ARU_ID

Apple Mac OS X (PowerPC)

421

HP Tru64 UNIX

87

HP-UX Itanium

197

HP-UX Itanium (32-bit)

278

HP-UX PA-RISC (32-bit)

2

HP-UX PA-RISC (64-bit)

59

IBM AIX on POWER Systems (32-bit)

319

IBM AIX on POWER Systems (64-bit)

212

IBM i on POWER Systems

43

IBM S/390-based Linux (31-bit)

211

IBM z/OS on System z

30

IBM: Linux on POWER Systems

227

IBM: Linux on System z

209

Linux Itanium

214

Linux x86

46

Linux x86-64

226

Managing Oracle Homes

2-7

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

Table 2–3 (Cont.) ARU_IDs for Platforms
Platform

ARU_ID

Microsoft Windows (32-bit)

912

Microsoft Windows Itanium (64-bit)

208

Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)

233

Sun Solaris SPARC (32-bit)

453

Sun Solaris SPARC (64-bit)

23

Sun Solaris x86 (32-bit)

173

Sun Solaris x86-64 (64-bit)

267

Other Folders Table 2–4 lists the other folders you can find in the Oracle home
inventory:
Table 2–4

Other Folders in the Oracle Home Inventory

Folder Name

Description

Scripts

Contains the scripts used for the cloning operation.

ContentsXML

Contains the details of the components and libraries installed.

Templates

Contains the template files used for cloning.

oneoffs

Contains the details of the one-off patches applied.

Creating the Central Inventory
Oracle Universal Installer enables you to set up the Central Inventory on a clean host
or register an existing Oracle home with the Central Inventory when it is lost or
corrupted. If the Central Inventory does not already exist, Oracle Universal Installer
creates the Central Inventory in the location specified by the oraInst.loc file.
You can set up the Central Inventory by using the -attachHome flag of Oracle
Universal Installer. The syntax is as follows:
./runInstaller -silent -attachHome ORACLE_HOME=""
"CLUSTER_NODES={}" LOCAL_NODE=""

Using the Session Variables
You can use the following session variables:
■

ORACLE_HOME

■

CLUSTER_NODES

■

REMOTE_NODES

■

LOCAL_NODE

In a cluster installation:
■

■

If you do not pass the CLUSTER_NODES session variable, Oracle Universal
Installer takes it from the $ORACLE_HOME/inventory/
ContentsXML/oraclehomeproperties.xml file.
If you do not pass the LOCAL_NODE session variable, Oracle Universal Installer
takes it from the
$ORACLE_HOME/inventory/ContentsXML/oraclehomeproperties.xml

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Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

file. If it does not find an entry there, it takes it from the Oracle Clusterware stack.
If it is not able to find it in the stack, the first node of the CLUSTER_NODES is taken
as the LOCAL_NODE.
You can pass the REMOTE_NODES variable if you want to specify the list of remote
nodes. If you want to set up the Central Inventory in the local node, you need to pass
the -local flag, and the REMOTE_NODES variable is empty. The syntax is as follows:
./runInstaller -silent -attachHome -invPtrLoc ./oraInst.loc
ORACLE_HOME="" "REMOTE_NODES={}" -local

When you use the -local flag, it performs the action on the
local node irrespective of the cluster nodes specified.

Note:

For a non-Oracle Real Application Clusters setup, you do not need to pass the LOCAL_
NODE variable, and the CLUSTER_NODES variable is empty. The syntax is as follows:
./runInstaller -silent -attachHome -invPtrLoc ./oraInst.loc
ORACLE_HOME="" "CLUSTER_NODES={}"

You can use the -local flag to attach the local Oracle home. If you are using a shared
Oracle home with the -local flag, use the -cfs flag. This ensures that the local node
information is not populated inside a shared Oracle home.

Verifying the Operation
After attaching the Oracle home, you can verify the success of the operation by
verifying the contents of the log file present in the /logs
directory. You can also view the contents of the inventory.xml file under the
/ContentsXML directory to verify if the Oracle home is
registered.
Oracle recommends cloning on Windows operating systems to
create the Central Inventory.

Note:

Detaching Oracle Homes from the Central Inventory
You can detach an Oracle home from the Central Inventory. When you pass this flag, it
updates the inventory.xml file present in the Central Inventory. The syntax is as
follows:
./runInstaller -silent -detachHome -invPtrLoc ./oraInst.loc
ORACLE_HOME=""

Using the Optional -local Flag
You can use the -local flag to detach the Oracle home from the inventory of the local
node. If you are using a shared Oracle home, use the -cfs flag. This ensures that the
local node information is not populated inside a shared Oracle home.
./runInstaller -silent -local -cfs -detachHome
ORACLE_HOME=""

Managing Oracle Homes

2-9

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

Removing the Central Inventory
Even after all the Oracle homes on a host are removed, you will find traces of the
inventory with certain log files. If you do not want to maintain these files and want to
remove the Central Inventory, do the following:
Removing the Central Inventory on UNIX Platforms You can remove the Central Inventory
on UNIX by performing the following steps:
1.

Locate the oraInst.loc file and get the Central Inventory location
(inventory_loc parameter) from this file.
For Solaris, this file is located in the /var/opt/oracle folder.
For Linux, this file is located in the /etc folder.

2.

Remove the Central Inventory by executing the following command:
rm -rf 

3.

Remove the oraInst.loc file by executing the following command with root
privileges:
Solaris:
rm /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc

Linux:
rm /etc/oraInst.loc

Removing the Central Inventory on Windows Platforms You can remove the Central
Inventory on Windows by performing the following steps:
1.

Locate the registry key:
\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Oracle\inst_loc

2.

Get the Central Inventory location from this key.

3.

Delete the Central Inventory directory and all its contents.

4.

Delete the registry key:
\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Oracle\inst_loc

Consolidating Multiple Central Inventories
The following procedure explains how to consolidate multiple central inventories into
a single central inventory. For Oracle Clusterware and Oracle RAC homes, perform
this procedure for each node.
1.

Identify the Central Inventory to use and ensure that it is the same path on all
nodes of the cluster.

2.

Go to this Central Inventory directory and run orainstRoot.sh to ensure that the
oraInst.loc file points to this inventory.

3.

Identify the other central inventories on the system, then identify the Oracle
homes for each Central Inventory.

4.

Do the following for each Oracle home:
a.

Enter cd $ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin.

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Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

b.

Run ./attachhome.sh -silent -local "CLUSTER_NODES=
{}" LOCAL_NODE= CRS="TRUE"
For single instance homes, run ./attachhome.sh -silent.

c.

Verify the inventory updates by going to the ORACLE_HOME/OPatch
directory and running opatch lsinventory -detail.

d.

Verify that the overall inventory is being updated by running ./runInstaller
and clicking on 'Installed Products...' to bring up the contents of the central
inventory. Ensure that the inventory shows the new home and the nodes.

Reconstructing a Shared Central Inventory on a Non-shared Location
The following sections provide advisory information about shared Central Inventories,
explain the enforced shared inventory check, and provide a procedure for
reconstructing the Central Inventory.

Oracle Recommendation Regarding Central Inventory Placement
The Oracle Central Inventory is a repository for all Oracle products (software)
installed on a system. Since the Central Inventory consists of system-specific
information, it is required that the Central Inventory be saved on a local non-shared
directory on the system. While software can be shared across nodes, the inventory
should be local to each system.
If the Central Inventory is shared across system (nodes), this would reflect the
installation information for a group of systems collectively. Such a configuration also
mandates that all Oracle homes registered in the inventory are also shared. However, a
shared inventory is contrary to Central Inventory design principles.
Consequently, Oracle recommends placing the Central Inventory on a local file
system not shared by other systems, because the Central Inventory is a
system-specific inventory of the installations on this system. Shared inventories are
strongly discouraged.

Enforced Shared Inventory Check
Since a shared inventory is a recommended practice, OUI displays a warning if you
attempt to specify a shared inventory location under the following circumstances:
■
■

Grid Control upgrades from 10.1.x or 10.2.x to 10.2.0.4 or later
10.2.0.4 or later Grid Control patchset applications and 11g Grid Control
installations

Exceptions are as follows:
■

Shared storage prior to 10.2.0.4 —
If you have already set up your inventory on shared storage prior to Grid Control
version 10.2.0.4, you can use the steps in "Procedure to Reconstruct the Central
Inventory" below to reconstruct the central inventory on a non-shared location.
If you do not want to reconstruct the central inventory on a non-shared location,
you can pass the flag '-ignoreSharedInventory' to suppress the shared inventory
error when invoking runInstaller.

■

HPTru64 Cases —
Tru64 is a special operating system where all storage is shared storage (including
the operating system installed on shared storage). Therefore, a shared inventory is
permissible.
Managing Oracle Homes 2-11

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

Procedure to Reconstruct the Central Inventory
Perform the following steps as a Grid Control installation user, which is the user who
owns the inventory.
1.

Identify a non-shared location for the Central Inventory. This location should have
sufficient permissions, such as read and write permissions. Make sure that the
installation user creates this new location and that the location is part of the
installation group.

2.

Obtain the list of Oracle homes from the existing shared Central Inventory
registered in oraInventory, use the command opatch lsinventory -all.
Since this is a shared inventory, you may see Oracle homes listed in the Central
Inventory from other systems on which the inventory is shared. Identify the
Oracle home pertinent to the current system.

3.

Edit the default inventory pointer file indicating the location of the non-shared
inventory:
inventory_loc=
inst_group=

The default inventory pointer file resides in this file:
/etc/oraInst.loc

All other Unix operating systems, such as Solaris and so forth reside in this file:
/var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc
4.

For each Oracle home in the existing shared inventory, do the following:
a.

Detach the home from the existing inventory.
–

For a non-RAC home, run:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/detachhome.sh

–

For a Clusterware, RAC, or clustered Agent home, run the following
command on each of the nodes:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/detachhome.sh -local

b.

Attach a home to the new non-shared inventory.
–

For a non-RAC home, run:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachhome.sh

–

For a non-shared Clusterware home, run the following command on each
of the nodes:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachhome.sh -local "CLUSTER_NODES=
{comma-separated nodelist}" LOCAL_NODE=
CRS=true

–

For a shared Clusterware home, run the following command on each of
the nodes:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachhome.sh -local "CLUSTER_NODES=
{comma-separated nodelist}" LOCAL_NODE=
CRS=true -cfs

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Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

–

For a non-shared RAC or clustered Agent home, run the following
command on each of the nodes:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachhome.sh -local "CLUSTER_NODES=
{comma-separated nodelist}" LOCAL_NODE=

–

For a shared RAC or clustered Agent home, run the following command
on each of the nodes:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachhome.sh -local "CLUSTER_NODES={comma
separated nodelist}" LOCAL_NODE= -cfs

The old inventory becomes obsolete after this migration. You
can delete the directory, but this is not mandatory.

Note:

Upgrading and Patching the Oracle Home
You can apply patchsets and upgrade an existing Oracle home. You can apply
patchsets using Oracle Universal Installer. For more information on upgrading or
applying patchsets for an Oracle product, refer to the respective Oracle product
installation guide of the product that you want to upgrade.

Cloning Oracle Homes
You can clone an Oracle home using Oracle Universal Installer. For more information
on cloning, see Chapter 6, "Cloning Oracle Software".

Backing up the Inventory
You can back up the Oracle home using your preferred method. You can use any
method such as zip, tar, and cpio to compress the Oracle home.
It is highly recommended to back up the Oracle home before any upgrade or patch
operation. You should also back up the Central Inventory when Oracle home is
installed or deinstalled.
Example:
Consider a scenario where you have a Database Oracle home called DBHome that is
registered with the default Central Inventory in the /product directory. You want to
patch this database but decide to back up the database before patching.
1.

Enter the following to back up the database:
cd /product/DBHome
tar cf - * | gzip > /product/archive/DBHome.tar.gz

If you are using a Win32 system, you could use WinZip to zip up the Oracle home.
Do not use the jar command to zip the Oracle home, as this causes the file
permissions to become lost.
2.

Suppose you apply the patch and something goes wrong. You decide to delete the
Oracle home from the Central Inventory and restore the original Oracle home. To
delete the Oracle home from the Central Inventory, use the following command:
./runInstaller -silent -detachHome ORACLE_HOME="/product/DBHome"

On Win32 systems, the command would be:

Managing Oracle Homes 2-13

Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

setup.exe -silent -detachHome ORACLE_HOME="C:\product\DBHome"
3.

Delete the Oracle home:
cd /product
rm -rf /product/DBHome

4.

Restore the original Oracle home and update the Central Inventory. Restore the
Oracle home to its original location using the following commands:
mkdir -p /product/DBHome
gunzip < /product/archive/DBHome.tar.gz | tar xf -

5.

Attach this Oracle home to the Central Inventory:
./runInstaller -silent -attachHome ORACLE_HOME="/product/DBHome"

On Win32 systems, the command would be:
setup.exe -silent -attachHome ORACLE_HOME="C:\product\DBHome"

Recovering from Inventory Corruption
The inventory (Central and the Oracle home inventory) is critically important in the
Oracle software life-cycle management. The following section explains what you need
to do in case of inventory corruption.

Diagnosing and Recovering from Central Inventory Corruption
When you execute opatch lsinventory -detail or when you click Installed
Products, the Oracle home does not appear.
Cause: The Oracle home may be missing from the Central Inventory, or the Central
Inventory could be missing or corrupted.
Action: Do the following:
■

■

If the Oracle home is missing from the Central Inventory, perform an attach home
operation on the missing Oracle home. The Central Inventory will be restored.
If the Central Inventory is missing or corrupted, restore the Central Inventory. If
you have not backed up the Central Inventory, perform an attach home operation.

For more information on the attach home operation, see "Creating the Central
Inventory" on page 2-8.
If multiple entries are in the inventory.xml file for a given Oracle home, Inventory
Collection from the Grid Control perspective would have issues. In this event, you
should remove these duplicate entries manually.
Here are some examples of the kind of incorrect entries that could be there:




In the above example, the first and third entries are duplicates. The Oracle home name
and Oracle home location are identical. In this example, remove the third line.
Note that all duplicate inventory issues are caused by manual updates to the
inventory.xml file. Use the OUI APIs to change the inventory.

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Oracle Universal Installer Inventory

Diagnosing and Recovering from Oracle Home Inventory Corruption
When you execute opatch lsinventory -detail or when you click Installed
Products, the Oracle home appears, but the products and components within the
Oracle home are not listed.
Cause: This may result because of a missing or corrupted Oracle home inventory.
Action: If the Oracle home inventory is missing or corrupted, restore the Oracle home
inventory. If you have not backed up the Oracle home inventory, you may have to
install the software on a different node with the same platform and install the same
patch levels including interim patches. After that, you can simply copy the inventory
directory from the patched Oracle home to the location of the affected Oracle home.
For Oracle Universal Installer version 10.2.0.2.0 and above,
you can use the following scripts in Oracle home to recover from
Oracle home inventory corruption:

Note:

■

■

detachHome.bat / detachHome.sh: Use this script if the
Oracle home is corrupted or needs to be updated.
attachHome.bat / attachHome.sh: Use this script if the
Oracle home needs to be added to the inventory.

For information on recovering from Oracle Real Application Clusters Oracle home
inventory corruption, see "Diagnosing and Recovering from RAC Oracle Home
Inventory Corruption".

Oracle Real Application Clusters
In an Oracle Real Application Clusters environment, the inventory also contains a list
of nodes associated with an Oracle home. It is important that during upgrade and
patching, the inventory is correctly populated with the list of nodes.
For more information, see Chapter 5, "Installing Cluster Environments".

Updating the Nodes of a Cluster
When you use the -updateNodeList flag with the Oracle Universal Installer, it
retrieves the list of nodes and updates the inventory.xml file. If the Oracle
Clusterware tag is set to TRUE, the Oraclehomeproperties.xml file is updated
with the Oracle Clusterware home information. For shared Oracle homes, you need to
use this with the -cfs flag. The syntax is as follows:
./runInstaller -updateNodeList "CLUSTER_NODES={Node1,Node2}"
ORACLE_HOME="" -defaultHomeName LOCAL_NODE="Node_Name"

You update the nodes of a cluster only under exceptional
circumstances. Oracle recommends that you perform this operation
with the help of Oracle support.

Note:

Diagnosing and Recovering from RAC Oracle Home Inventory Corruption
When you execute opatch lsinventory -detail or when you click Installed
Products, the Oracle home appears, but the products and components within the
Oracle home are not listed.
Cause: This may result because of a missing or corrupted Oracle home inventory.

Managing Oracle Homes 2-15

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

Action: Do the following:
1.

Back up the Central and Local inventories of both Oracle Clusterware and RDBMS
for all nodes.

2.

Rename or remove the Central Inventory on all nodes.

3.

Copy the Local Inventory from the node that is not corrupted to the node that is
corrupted.

4.

Recreate the Central Inventory with the attachhome option as in MetaLink note
413939.1, Steps to Recreate the Central Inventory in Oracle Real Application
Clusters.

5.

Verify that opatch lsinventory functions correctly in both the Oracle Clusterware
and RDBMS homes.
Copying the Local Inventory is supported only when patch
sets and one-off patches applied are the same across all nodes.

Note:

For information on recovering from non-RAC Oracle home inventory corruption, see
"Diagnosing and Recovering from Oracle Home Inventory Corruption".

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)
The following sections describe the Home Selector, which is installed as part of Oracle
Universal Installer on Windows computers.
To view the Home Selector, click the Environment tab of the Inventory dialog, which
appears when you click the Installed Products button on several Oracle Universal
Installer screens.

Home Selector Overview
The Home Selector is a part of the installation software. The Home Selector enables
you to easily change your primary Oracle home (the one that appears first in the PATH
environment variable). If you need to switch the active home or need to perform batch
work which requires a "default home" to be active, you can use the Home Selector to
change the Windows NT system settings.
When using the Home Selector to make a specific Oracle home the active one, the
software installation in question is moved to the front of the PATH variable, making it
the first directory to be scanned for executable and library files.
Use the GUI in the Environment tab of the Inventory dialog to establish the order of
Oracle homes in your PATH variable.

How Home Selector Works
When you perform an installation on a system, Oracle Universal Installer runs the
selectHome.bat file to register the Oracle home you selected. In silent mode, you
perform this outside Oracle Universal Installer. The first Oracle home is named the
"DEFAULT_HOME" and registers itself in the Windows NT registry under the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Oracle

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Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

This is the default Windows NT registry hive which contains all the "generic" Oracle
settings. Also the PATH variable is adjusted and the BIN directory of the
$ORACLE_HOME is added to the environment variable.
Some additional parameters is also written to the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Oracle
KEY_

With Oracle Universal Installer, you can change the "DEFAULT_HOME" name to
something else. Also, it registers all Oracle settings in the "KEY_"
sub-key of the ORACLE key.
When an additional Oracle home is added to the system, the PATH variable is adjusted
again to add the new BIN directory of the newly installed Oracle software. The
registry variables are written to a key named "KEY_".

Oracle Home Directory Structure for Windows Platforms
A typical Oracle home on Windows platforms contains the files and directories shown
in Table 2–5.
Table 2–5

Oracle Home Directory for Windows Platforms

Oracle Home Directory

Contents

\BIN

Product executable and DLLs

\LIB

DLL files

\JLIB

All JAR files

\DBS

Common message files

\PROD1

PROD1 product files

\PROD2

PROD2 product files

Optimal Flexible Architecture Directory Structure (on UNIX)
The Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) standard is a set of configuration guidelines
for fast, reliable Oracle databases that require little maintenance.
OFA is designed to:
■

■

Organize large amounts of complicated software and data on disk to avoid device
bottlenecks and poor performance
Facilitate routine administrative tasks such as software and data backup functions,
which are often vulnerable to data corruption

■

Alleviate switching among multiple Oracle databases

■

Adequately manage and administer database growth

■

Help eliminate fragmentation of free space in the data dictionary, isolate other
fragmentation, and minimize resource contention

The OFA directory structure is described in the following sections.

Managing Oracle Homes 2-17

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

ORACLE_BASE Directory
ORACLE_BASE specifies the BASE of the Oracle directory structure for OFA-compliant
databases. A typical ORACLE_BASE directory structure is described in Table 2–6. When
installing an OFA-compliant database using Oracle Universal Installer, ORACLE_BASE
is set to /pm/app/oracle by default.
Table 2–6

Sample ORACLE_BASE Directory Structure and Content

Directory

Content

admin

Administrative files

doc

online documentation

local

Sub-tree for local Oracle software

product

Oracle software

ORACLE_HOME Directory
Table 2–7 shows an example of the Oracle home directory structure and content for an
Oracle Server Installation.
If you install an OFA-compliant Oracle Server, the Oracle home directory is /mount_
point/app/oracle/product/release_number. Under UNIX, the Oracle home
directory might contain the following subdirectories, as well as a subdirectory for each
Oracle product selected.
The directory and content information in this table are only
samples. The directories that appear in your own Oracle home
depend on whether the corresponding products are installed and
the version of the Oracle Database you are running.

Note:

Table 2–7

Sample Oracle Home Directory Structure and Content

Directory

Content

assistants

configuration Assistants

bin

binaries for all products

ctx

interMedia Text cartridge

dbs

initsid.ora, lksid

install

install related files

lib

Oracle product libraries

jlib

Java classes

md

Spatial cartridge

mlx

Xerox Stemmer (for interMedia Text cartridge)

network

Net8

nlsrtl

NLS run-time loadable data

ocommon

common files for all products

odg

data gatherer

opsm

Parallel Server Manager Components

oracore

core libraries

2-18 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

Table 2–7 (Cont.) Sample Oracle Home Directory Structure and Content
Directory

Content

ord

data cartridges

otrace

Oracle TRACE

plsql

PL/SQL

precomp

precompilers

rdbms

server files and libraries required for the database

slax

SLAX parser

sqlplus

SQL*Plus

Managing Oracle Homes 2-19

Home Selector (Available on Win32 Platforms)

2-20 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

3
3

Customizing and Creating Response Files
This chapter introduces you to Oracle Universal Installer's availability of response files
for silent and suppressed installations. This chapter also describes how to modify or
create a response file so you can customize and standardize the installation of Oracle
products in your organization.
This chapter is organized into the following sections:
■

About Response Files

■

Modifying a Response File

■

Response File Format

■

Installing with a Response File

About Response Files
This section answers the following questions:
■

What Is a Silent Installation?

■

What Is a Response File?

■

Why Perform a Silent Installation?

What Is a Silent Installation?
A silent installation runs in the console and does not use the GUI. The interactive
dialogs you normally see are not displayed in a silent installation.
Instead of prompting you to select a series of installation options, Oracle Universal
Installer installs the software using a predefined set of options stored in a response file
or passed on the command line. You can view the progress of a silent installation in the
console.

What Is a Response File?
A response file is a specification file containing information you normally fetch
through the Oracle Universal Installer user interface during an interactive installation
session. Each answer is stored as a value for a variable identified in the response file.
For example, values for Oracle home or installation type can be set automatically
within the response file.
The response file template for the installation of your product can be found on your
stage (CD-ROM) under the /response directory, with pre-populated
values. For example:
Customizing and Creating Response Files 3-1

Modifying a Response File

/Response/..rsp

Check the installation guide for the product that you are
installing to get the correct list of required files.

Note:

Why Perform a Silent Installation?
Silent installations can be useful if you have to install an Oracle product multiple times
on multiple computers. If the options you select while installing on each computer are
always the same, you save the time of reviewing each installation screen and selecting
the various installation options.
Silent installations can also ensure that multiple users in your organization use the
same installation options when they install your Oracle products. This makes
supporting those users easier because you already know what components and
options have been installed on each computer.
Before you perform a silent installation, you should review the settings in the response
file template provided with your Oracle product.
Note: If you attempt to perform a silent installation on a UNIX
computer where no Oracle products have been installed, Oracle
Universal Installer uses the default inventory location, then
prompts you to run the oraInstRoot.sh script with root
privileges upon successful installation.

The script is saved in the _*Central Inventory - oraInventory *_
directory. This script sets up the Central Inventory on a clean host.
You can override the default location by setting it in INVENTORY_
LOCATION. Note that this location is ignored if a Central
Inventory already exists and is pointed to by
/var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc (or /etc/oraInst.loc for Linux, AIX,
and Sequent).
See "Oracle Universal Installer Inventory" on page 2-4 for more
information on the Central Inventory.
The remainder of this chapter describes the various parameters and settings you can
modify within an Oracle Universal Installer response file.

Modifying a Response File
If your product installation includes a response file template, you can find it on your
stage (CD-ROM) under the /response directory.
If your product installation does not include a response file template, you can create a
response file based on the installation options you select.
To modify the response file:
1.

Make a copy of the product's response file and open it in a text editor.

2.

Review any information provided in the response file or in the product installation
guide.

3-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Response File Format

Many software products use settings in the response file to customize the
installation of their particular product. See the response file template for
suggestions or guidelines on how to set up the file for your installation.
3.

Get familiar with the organization and content of the response file using the
information in the section "Response File Format" on page 3-3.

4.

Modify the response file to meet the needs of your organization and save the
modified version.

5.

See the section "Installing with a Response File" on page 3-10 for information on
starting Oracle Universal Installer using your modified response file.

Saving a Response File after Installation
You can use Oracle Universal Installer in interactive mode to record a response file,
which you can edit and then use to complete silent mode or response file mode
installations. This method is useful for custom or software-only installations. For more
information, see "Recording a Response File" in the Oracle® Database Installation Guide
11g for Linux.

Response File Format
The following sections describe the organization and content of an Oracle Universal
Installer response file.
■

Variable Values

■

Comments

■

Headers

■

Response File Parameters
Oracle recommends using an absolute path for the file name.
However, if the file name is a relative path, it should be relative to the
directory where the oraparam.ini file is present.

Note:

Variable Values
This section contains information on how variables are populated with values.

Variable Lookup Order
All variable values within a response file are in the name-value format. If two
components have a variable with the same name, the expression should be written as
follows to preserve each variable's uniqueness:
:=

Component Nomenclature and Version Ambiguity
If two components have the same internal name, but different versions, resolve the
ambiguity by specifying the expression as follows:
::=

Order of Variables
Oracle Universal Installer looks for command line variables in the following order:

Customizing and Creating Response Files 3-3

Response File Format

::=
:=
=

Similarly, if command line variables are not found, Oracle Universal Installer looks for
variables in the response file in the same order as shown above.
Note: Oracle Universal Installer treats incorrect context, format, or
type values within a response file as if no value were specified.

Response File Entries Order
There are no restrictions on where you place entries in the response file. You can insert
entries in any order desired. You can also subsequently move existing entries to any
other position within the file. Be aware, however, that although the order of the entries
is unimportant, naming conventions require that the variable names must be unique
regardless of where they appear in the file.

Setting the Recommendation Value
Values for variables are specified as:
 =  : 

The values that are given as  must be specified for a silent
installation to be successful.
For values that are given as , you can optionally specify a
value, where  can be one of the following types listed in Table 3–1.
Table 3–1

Variable Types and Representations

Type

Representation

Number

10

Boolean

TRUE or FALSE (case insensitive)

String

"Value"

String List

{"value1", "value2"}

The  parameter can be specified as Forced or Default.
■

■

■

If you specify Forced, no dialog appears during installation. The value is
automatically used. You cannot change the value.
If you specify Default, the dialog appears during installation with the value as
the default. You can choose another value if desired.
If nothing is specified for , Forced is used as the default.

Comments
Comments begin with a "#" (hash or pound) symbol. They contain information about
the type of the variable, state whether the variable appears in dialog, and describe the
function of the variable. A variable and a value are associated with a comment.
For example:
#TopLevelComponent;StringList;Used in Dialog
TopLevelComponent={"Demo", "1.0"}

3-4 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Response File Format

Headers
The header is a comment that describes the different formats and comment
conventions used in a response file.
For example:
#Parameter : UNIX_GROUP_NAME
#Type : String
#Description : UNIX group to be set for the inventory directory.
#Valid only on UNIX platforms.
#Example : UNIX_GROUP_NAME = "install"
UNIX_GROUP_NAME=

Response File Parameters
The following list describes parameters for Oracle Universal Installer. All products
installed using Oracle Universal Installer have these parameters in addition to
product-specific variables.
The parameters provided below are OUI-specific and not
necessarily the parameters applicable for your platform and version.
Always check your specific installation guide for the list of valid
response file parameters.

Note:

ACCEPT_LICENSE_AGREEMENT

Set this Boolean variable to TRUE if you agree with the license agreement. This
parameter requires you to set this variable to TRUE to indicate your acceptance of the
license agreement normally accepted in the GUI. This variable is used only in silent
installations. Installation cannot continue until this variable is set to TRUE.
CLUSTER_NODES

This parameter lists the nodes on the cluster on which the Oracle home is installed or
would be installed. For new installations, this would be the node list on which the
installation needs to be done (including the local node). For patching or upgrades, this
is the node list on which the Oracle home is already installed.
"CLUSTER_NODES={alpha-1, alpha-2}"

DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES

If the direct connection is unavailable, set this parameter to false if you do not want to
configure Oracle Configuration Manager, or do not want to provide any proxy details
for the connection. The default is False.
If you do not set MYORACLESUPPORT_USERNAME to any value and you set this
parameter to true, the Oracle Configuration Manager is not configured.
For information on the Oracle Configuration Manager, see the Oracle® Configuration
Manager Installation and Administration Guide.
DEINSTALL_LIST

Use this parameter to enter a list of components to be removed during a silent
deinstall session. For each component, specify the internal component name and
version.
DEINSTALL_LIST={"sample1","1.0.0.0.0"}

Customizing and Creating Response Files 3-5

Response File Format

DEPENDENCY_LIST

The DEPENDENCY_LIST is the list of dependents on which the component depends.
These dependent components represent the list of components that appear as
"selected" during installation. Following is a list of some of this parameter's
characteristics:
FROM_LOCATION

The location of the source of the products to be installed. The default generated value
for this parameter is a path relative to the location of the runInstaller file
oraparam.ini. Relative paths are necessary for shared response files used by
multiple users over a network. Since users may be mapping to different drives,
absolute paths will not work for shared response files.
Notes:
■

■

■

This parameter serves the same purpose as SOURCE in
oraparam.ini. Use this parameter only if you need to override the
default products.xml location.
You must enter a value for FROM_LOCATION for a complete silent
installation. You may want to use the command line to set this
parameter. If the location is a relative path, remember that the path
should be relative to the location of the oraparam.ini file.
Make sure that /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc (or
/etc/oraInst.loc for Linux, AIX, and Sequent) exists. The
response file for UNIX has a public variable,
setunixinstallgroup, that only becomes effective when it is the
first Oracle Universal Installer installation and the oraInst.loc
file is not already present in the location mentioned above.

FROM_LOCATION_CD_LABEL

This parameter is used in multiple-CD installations. It includes the label of the
compact disk where the file products.jar exists. You can find the label in the
disk.label file in the same directory as products.jar.
INCLUDE

This parameter specifies the list of response files to be included in this response file. If
you want to include other response files in your main response file, you must use this
parameter. Note that the values in the main response file have priority over the
included response files.
INCLUDE={"file1.rsp","file2.rsp",............."filen.rsp"}

You should specify the absolute path in the INCLUDE statement for each response file
to be included. If you wish to specify a relative path, note that the location is relative to
the current working directory (the location of the oraparam.ini file).
INSTALL_TYPE

You can set the installation type variable to determine the installation type of the
currently selected top level component.
The installation type variable is only generated for the top level components and only
when there is more than one installation type available.
Note:

You must enter a value for INSTALL_TYPE.

3-6 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Response File Format

LOCAL_NODE

This parameter specifies the current node on which the installation occurs.
LOCAL_NODE={}

LOCATION_FOR_DISK2

This parameter is for the complete path to other disks.
LOCATION_FOR_DISK2="F:\teststage\cd\Disk2"

If there are more than two disks, more variables will be added as LOCATION_FOR_
DISK3, and so on.
The CD location for a silent installation is located by two mechanisms:
1.

Oracle Universal Installer looks for the Location_For_Disk{DiskNumber}
variable in the response file and uses that location.

2.

If the variable does not have a value or does not have the required files, it looks for
the components under ../../Disk{DiskNumber}/stage (from
products.jar).
Therefore, you can either specify the location to look for it in the response file or
you can copy them into the disk. For example:
/stage

NEXT_SESSION

Set this boolean variable to TRUE if the installer needs to go to the File Locations page
for another installation or to another response file if you are performing a silent
installation.
NEXT_SESSION = TRUE

NEXT_SESSION_ON_FAIL

Set this boolean variable to TRUE to enable users to invoke another installation session
even if the current installation session fails. This variable is used only if the
NEXT_SESSION variable is set to TRUE.
NEXT_SESSION_ON_FAIL = TRUE

NEXT_SESSION_RESPONSE

Use this string variable to enter the complete path of the next session's response file if
you want to automatically begin another silent installation when the current
installation is complete. If you specify only a file name, the Installer looks for the
response file in the /orainstall directory. This variable is only used if
NEXT_SESSION is set to TRUE; otherwise, Oracle Universal Installer ignores the value
of this variable.
NEXT_SESSION_RESPONSE="/private/usr2/nextinstall.rsp"

MYORACLESUPPORT_PASSWORD

This parameter indicates the My Oracle Support password used in Oracle
Configuration Manager (OCM) configuration. This parameter is used for validation
only if the direct connection is available, or if there is a valid proxy connection (in case
no direct connection is available). The default is Empty.
For information on OCM, see the Oracle® Configuration Manager Installation and
Administration Guide.

Customizing and Creating Response Files 3-7

Response File Format

MYORACLESUPPORT_USERNAME

This parameter indicates the My Oracle Support username/email address used in
Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM) configuration. This parameter validates the My
Oracle Support user name only if the direct connection is available, or if there is a valid
proxy connection (in case no direct connection is available).
To avoid configuring OCM, you do not need to pass any values for
MYORACLESUPPORT_USERNAME or any other session variables except for
DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES, which should be set to true. OCM will then be
installed, but not configured.
Configuration Use Cases
■

■

If only MYORACLESUPPORT_USERNAME is provided,
–

OUI does not validate the user name against My Oracle Support, but
configures it in anonymous email registration mode.

–

there is not a direct connection, and DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=true,
OUI does not validate the user name against My Oracle Support, but
configures it in disconnected mode.

–

there is not a direct connection, and PROXY_* values are provided, OUI does
not validate the user name against My Oracle Support, but configures it in
anonymous email registration mode.

–

SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT=true, and
MYORACLESUPPORT_PASSWORD is provided, OUI validates it against My
Oracle Support and configures it in My Oracle Support user registration mode.

–

SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT=true, and
MYORACLESUPPORT_PASSWORD is provided, but there is not a direct
connection and DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=true, OUI configures in
disconnected mode.

–

SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT=true,
MYORACLESUPPORT_PASSWORD is provided, but there is not a direct
connection and PROXY_* values are provided, OUI configures in My Oracle
Support user registration mode.

If MYORACLESUPPORT_USERNAME is empty and DECLINE_SECURITY_
UPDATES = true, OUI does not configure OCM.

For information on OCM, see the Oracle® Configuration Manager Installation and
Administration Guide.
OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS

While all the required configuration tools are launched by the installer, you can control
the optional configuration tools you would want to launch by specifying the tool's
internal names in the OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS section.
Note: The OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS variable is only generated
when at least one optional configuration tool is available.

You can call the Net Configuration Assistant or the Database Configuration Assistant
at the end of a database installation in silent mode also. For example, to launch the Net
Configuration Assistant in silent mode, you can pass the parameter s_
responseFileName="netca.rsp".

3-8 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Response File Format

You can specify both the Auto-launch optional tools and User-launch optional tools in
a string list.
#Example : OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS = {"configtool2 ", "configtool3"}
OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS=

If no value is specified for this variable, all the tools are run by default. If there is a
value specified, only those optional tools are run while the rest of the tools are ignored.
Suppress the configuration tool by mentioning only the tools that you want to run as
part of the OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS variable added for each component. You
should use the internal names of the configuration tool. The response file generator
generates these internal names also as part of the options provided for the variable.
For example, if oracle.server has Tool1 and Tool2 and you want to run only Tool1
in the response file, you can specify it as follows:
oracle.server:11.2.0.0.0:OPTIONAL_CONFIG_TOOLS={"Tool1"}

ORACLE_BASE

The location of the Oracle Base where all Oracle software and configuration-related
files are stored.
ORACLE_HOME

The location where products are to be installed. You must enter a value for ORACLE_
HOME for a complete silent installation.
PROXY_HOST

This proxy connection server is used only if the direct connection is not available and
DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=false.
PROXY_PORT

This proxy connection port is used only if the direct connection is not available and
DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=false.
PROXY_PWD

This proxy connection password is used only if the direct connection is not available
and DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=false.
PROXY_USER

This proxy connection user name is used only if the direct connection is not available
and DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=false.
REMOTE_NODES

This parameter lists the remote nodes (apart from the local node) on the cluster on
which to install during a silent installation. Oracle Universal Installer installs on all
named nodes.
"REMOTE_NODES={alpha-1, alpha-2}"

REMOVE_HOMES

Use this parameter to identify the Oracle homes you want to remove from the
inventory during a deinstallation session. For each home, specify the home name
using the full path information.
REMOVE_HOMES={"/home/oracle/ora9i","/home/oracle/ora8i"}

RESPONSEFILE_VERSION

This parameter specifies the version number of the response file.
RESPONSEFILE_VERSION = 

Customizing and Creating Response Files 3-9

Installing with a Response File

RESTART_SYSTEM

Set this boolean variable to TRUE if you want to restart the system without the user's
confirmation. This is the force value for restarting the system.
SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT

This parameter is equivalent to the OUI window checkbox that enables users to
receive security updates. ("I wish to receive security updates via My Oracle Support,"
followed by a My Oracle Support Password field.) This parameter enables you to set
the password for My Oracle Support credentials. The default is False. If you set this to
true, the user must enter a password.
SELECTED_LANGUAGES

You can set the languages in which the components will be installed. You must use the
internal name while specifying the value:
en,
fr,
de,
ja,

:
:
:
:

English
French
German
Japanese

For example, to specify Japanese:
SELECTED_LANGUAGES = {"ja"}

For more information on the languages Oracle Universal Installer supports, see
"Product Language Selections" on page 8-1.
The SELECTED_LANGUAGES variable is only generated
when more than one language is available.

Note:

TOPLEVEL_COMPONENT

This parameter is the name of the component (products) and the version as a string
list. You must enter a value for TOPLEVEL_COMPONENT.
Usually, the components are represented with a pair of strings: the first one
representing the internal name, the second representing the version.
For example, RDBMS 11.2. may be represented as
{"oracle.rdbms","11.2.0.0.0"}.
UNIX_GROUP_NAME

This parameter is the UNIX group name to be set for the inventory on UNIX
platforms.
Note: The UNIX group name is used for first-time installations only.

Installing with a Response File
Many Oracle software products provide tools and procedures for running Oracle
Universal Installer from the command line without displaying Oracle Universal
Installer screens or responding to questions during the installation.
These are called silent installations. Instead of prompting you to select a series of
installation options, Oracle Universal Installer installs the software using a predefined
set of options. These options are stored in a response file (.rsp).
Consider the following information about response files:

3-10 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Installing with a Response File

■

■

■

If your product installation includes a response file, you can find it on your stage
(CD-ROM) under the /response directory.
You can modify the response file for your Oracle product to customize an
installation for your organization. See "Modifying a Response File" on page 3-2 for
more information.
If you start Oracle Universal Installer from the command line, see "Using Oracle
Universal Installer Exit Codes" on page 4-11.

The following sections describe how to specify a response file when you start Oracle
Universal Installer.
Note: If you attempt to perform a silent installation on a UNIX
computer where no Oracle products have been installed, you will
receive an error message. Before you can perform a silent
installation on such a computer, you must first run the script
oraInstRoot.sh, which is saved in the /oraInventory
directory. You must run this script with root privileges. This enables
Oracle Universal Installer to set up the Central Inventory on a clean
host.

See "Oracle Universal Installer Inventory" on page 2-4 for more
information on the Central Inventory.

Specifying a Response File
To start Oracle Universal Installer and specify the response file, enter the following
command at the command line in the directory where the executable file is installed:
setup.exe -responseFile   (on Windows)
./runInstaller -responseFile   (on UNIX)

You must specify the complete responseFile path. If you do
not, Oracle Universal Installer assumes the location to be relative to the
oraparam.ini associated with the launched Oracle Universal Installer.

Note:

For help on command line usage, enter the following at the command line in the
directory where the executable file is stored:
setup -help (on Windows)
./runInstaller -help (on UNIX)

In Windows, when you execute setup -help, a new command window appears,
with the "Preparing to launch..." message. A moment later, the help information
appears in that window.

Optional Parameters When Specifying a Response File
Optional parameters you can use with the -responseFile flag are:
■

■

-nowelcome — Use the -nowelcome flag with the -responseFile flag to
suppress the Welcome dialog that appears during installation.
-silent — Use the -silent flag with the -responseFile flag to run Oracle
Universal Installer in complete silent mode. Note that the Welcome dialog is
suppressed automatically.

Customizing and Creating Response Files

3-11

Installing with a Response File

■

-formCluster — Use the -formCluster flag for Oracle Clusterware installations
to specify the cluster.

Note that when you specify the -silent flag, but no values are specified to a
particular variable in a dialog, the installer stops. The success or failure of the
installation when you specify this flag is generated as follows:
■

■

In a file named silentInstall.log for hosts without an Oracle
inventory. This file is generated in the /tmp directory on UNIX and the directory
specified by the variable TEMP on Windows platforms.
In the inventory logs directory for hosts that already had an inventory.
Using the -nowelcome option with the -silent option is
unnecessary since the Welcome screen does not appear when you use the
-silent option.

Note:

Setting Response File Variables From the Command Line
With Oracle Universal Installer 2.1 and higher, you can specify the value of certain
variables when you start Oracle Universal Installer from the command line.
Specifically, you can specify session and component variables. For specific information
about the format and organization of response files, see "Modifying a Response File"
on page 3-2.
When you specify the value of a variable on the command line, that value overrides
the value of the variable if it is defined in the response file.

Specifying the Value of a Session Variable
To specify the value of a session variable, use the following command syntax:
./runInstaller session:= (on UNIX)
setup.exe session:= (on Windows)

For example, to install English and French files:
./runInstaller session:COMPONENT_LANGUAGES="{"en","fr"}" (on UNIX)
setup.exe session:COMPONENT_LANGUAGES="{"en","fr"}" (on Windows)

Note that the "session:" tag is optional and is used mainly to remove any possible
ambiguity.

Specifying the Value of a Component Variable
To specify the value of a component variable, use the following command syntax:
./runInstaller ::= (on UNIX)
setup.exe ::= (on Windows)

For example, to modify the value of a variable VAR1 in version 1.1 of a component
called COMP2:
./runInstaller COMP2:1.1.0.0.0:VAR1="test" (on UNIX)
setup.exe COMP2:1.1.0.0.0:VAR1="test" (on Windows)

Note that the ":" and ":" optional tags
are used mainly to remove any possible ambiguity. If two variables exist with the same
name for different components/versions, use these tags to distinguish between them.

3-12 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

4
4

Installing Products

This chapter includes the following sections:
■

Checking Prerequisites Before Installation

■

Installing Oracle Products

■

Deinstalling Oracle Products

■

Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation

■

About Oracle Universal Installer Log Files

Checking Prerequisites Before Installation
Before installation, Oracle Universal Installer checks the environment to see whether it
meets the requirements for successful installation. Early detection of problems with the
system setup reduces the chances of encountering problems during installation; for
instance, problems with insufficient disk space, missing patches, inappropriate
hardware, and so on.
Oracle Universal Installer is required to perform all prerequisite checks defined for the
installation before installing any software, whether they are Oracle Universal
Installer-specific tests, or tests defined for a specific product. Specific prerequisite
checks are defined for each operating system on which Oracle Universal Installer runs.
All prerequisite check parameters must be defined in the oraparam.ini file (or
another *.ini file that you define). All the results are logged in the install
Actions.log file.
You can perform prerequisite checking automatically when you run the Oracle
Universal Installer executable during an installation. Simply run Oracle Universal
Installer to perform all predefined prerequisite checks.
Inputs to the checker are listed in the prerequisite.xml file. After running the
checker, you can find the results, along with the predefined inputs, in the
prerequisite_results.xml file. These files are located in the
oraInventory/logs directory. You can reuse the prerequisite_results.xml
file as an input file for subsequent executions of the checker.

Installing Oracle Products
The following sections describe how to start Oracle Universal Installer and install an
Oracle product. Specifically, this section describes:
■

Getting Help While Installing Oracle Products

■

About the ORAPARAM.INI File
Installing Products 4-1

Installing Oracle Products

■

Modes of Installation

■

Installation Media

■

Special Instructions for UNIX Users

Getting Help While Installing Oracle Products
At any time while installing your product, click Help for information about the screens
specific to your installation.
Oracle Universal Installer provides two kinds of online help
■

Generic online help provided with every copy of Oracle Universal Installer
These topics describe the screens and dialog boxes that all Oracle Universal
Installer users see, regardless of the product they are installing.

■

Online help specific to a particular installation
These topics are created by the product developer and describe the screens and
dialog boxes specific to the product you are installing. For example, the help topic
for the Installation Types page is often a custom help topic the installation
developer creates that describes the specific installation types for the product you
are installing.

After you view an online help topic, choose Navigator from the Tools menu to display
the navigator pane. From the navigator pane, you can browse the table of contents,
select other topics, or search for a particular word or phrase in the online help.
Only generic help topics are available in the navigator or
table of contents. You can only access custom help topics by
clicking the Help button on the dialogs or windows they describe.

Note:

About the ORAPARAM.INI File
The oraparam.ini file is the initialization file for Oracle Universal Installer. This file
includes information that defines the behavior of certain Oracle Universal Installer
features. Each product installation possesses a unique oraparam.ini file.
Generally, you should not have to edit the contents of this file, but in certain situations,
understanding the contents of this file can help you troubleshoot problems and
understand certain aspects of the Oracle Universal Installer product.
For example, for most installations, Oracle Universal Installer provides a default value
on the File Locations page that points to the location of the product's installation kit or
stage. This default value is stored in the oraparam.ini file. The oraparam.ini file
also identifies the location of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) required for the
installation.
In the staging area, it is located in the same directory as the executable file. For
example:
For UNIX systems:
cd//install/solaris/runInstaller
cd//install/solaris/OraParam.ini

For Windows systems:
cd\\install\win32\setup.exe
cd\\install\win32\OraParam.ini

4-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Installing Oracle Products

In the staging area, the default OUI_LOCATION is relative to the location of the
oraparam.ini file, as follows:
../../stage/

Once installed, the oraparam.ini file is located in the /oui directory.
Table 4–1 describes the parameters in the oraparam.ini file and how to use them.
Table 4–1

Parameters in oraparam.ini

Section/Parameter

Description

[Oracle]

This section contains various parameters related to your
installation.

DISTRIBUTION

Set to TRUE if the oraparam.ini file is on a distribution
medium. A distribution medium can be a CD-ROM or a Web
server. Once installed, this parameter is set to FALSE.

SOURCE

Location of your staging area (the products.xml file). This
location is relative to the directory where oraparam.ini exists.

LICENSE_LOCATION

Location of a text file for License information. This location is
relative to the directory where oraparam.ini exists. The legal
terms file should be a plain text file.
If you specify the LICENSE_LOCATION variable, Oracle
Universal Installer asks for license acceptance after you click the
Next button on the "Welcome" screen. Oracle Universal Installer
lets you proceed only after the license is accepted.
This parameter is ignored if the file is not found.

LICENSE_TITLE

The value of this variable displays as the title of the license
agreement. Oracle Universal Installer only reads this value if the
license dialog is displayed; that is, if the LICENSE_LOCATION
variable has a valid value.

JRE_LOCATION

Location of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that the Oracle
Universal Installer uses.
Note: For a single installation to point to two different JRE
versions, move the oraparam.ini file one level below its
original location and then specify the individual platform’s JRE
location. For example, if the original location is in the
Disk1/install directory, move it to the
Disk1/install/win32 or the Disk1/install/solaris
directory, and then specify the individual platform’s JRE
location.

OUI_LOCATION

Points to the location of Oracle Universal Installer files used for
interactive mode (GUI-based). This parameter is optional; if
DISTRIBUTION=TRUE, Oracle Universal Installer computes this
value using the OUI_VERSION parameter.
Use this parameter if you want to override the default value:
../../stage/Components/oracle.swd.oui/
/1/DataFiles/Expanded

OUI_CORE_LOCATION

Points to the location used for silent mode. This parameter is
optional; If DISTRIBUTION=TRUE, then Oracle Universal
Installer computes this value using the OUI_VERSION
parameter.
Use this parameter if you want to override the default value:
../../stage/Components/oracle.swd.oui.core/
/1/DataFiles/Expanded

Installing Products 4-3

Installing Oracle Products

Table 4–1 (Cont.) Parameters in oraparam.ini
Section/Parameter

Description

OUI_VERSION

Set the version of Oracle Universal Installer that you are using.
You must properly set the version for the BOOTSTRAP to work.

DISPLAY_VERSION

Set to FALSE to suppress the display of the version of top-level
components in the Installation Type dialog during installation.

JRE_MEMORY_
OPTIONS

Set these to increase the initial heap threshold for JRE. For
example, -mx48m.

DEFAULT_HOME_
LOCATION

Location of the default Oracle home.

DEFAULT_HOME_
NAME

The default name for the Oracle home. Use this parameter only
if the installation occurs on a host with no previous Oracle
installations.

NO_BROWSE

Lists directories that you do not want to browse, which are
typically large directories that require a long time to view. For
example, /net, /nfs.

NLS_ENABLED

Set to TRUE for Oracle Universal Installer to enable NLS support.
Set to FALSE to disable the installation session translations.
Oracle Universal Installer displays in English even if you run on
a non-English system.

BOOTSTRAP

Set to TRUE or FALSE. This parameter instructs Oracle Universal
Installer to attempt a bootstrap. Set to TRUE before cutting CDs,
but set to FALSE after you have copied the staging area to the
hard disk.

BOOTSTRAP_SIZE

Use this parameter to set the size the temporary space requires
when BOOTSTRAP is set to TRUE. For example, when you
install Oracle Universal Installer, it sets the value of this
parameter to the temporary space required by both Oracle
Universal Installer and the JRE.
By default, if this entry is not set, Oracle Universal Installer
assumes 45 MB for Win32, 52 MB for Win64, and 69 MB for
Solaris. However, these values could vary from one major
release to the other, based on the space required by newer
versions of JRE.
If the shiphome contains advertisement images, installation
developers should add the space taken by the images to this
value. Oracle Universal Installer checks the temp space
requirements before starting up and produces an error if there is
not enough space for Oracle Universal Installer to run in
bootstrap mode.

USE_BUILD_
NUMBER

Use this parameter to control whether or not Oracle Universal
Installer considers the build number of the component when
determining whether or not to overwrite a previous version or
copy of a component. Note that this parameter is intended to be
used in pre-production shiphomes only.

APPLTOP_STAGE

Use this parameter when you want your users to specify the
location of an Oracle Applications top (APPL_TOP) directory.
When this parameter is set to TRUE, the File Locations page
includes fields for selecting an APPL_TOP directory. This is an
optional parameter for use with Apps installs only. If not
specified, the default is assumed to be FALSE.

REGISTRATION_URL

This parameter is the URL where the user is directed from the
Product Registration page in Oracle Universal Installer. The
REGISTRATION_KEY parameter is validated at this site. Set this
parameter along with the REGISTRATION_KEY parameter to
invoke the Product Registration page. Both are required.

4-4 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Installing Oracle Products

Table 4–1 (Cont.) Parameters in oraparam.ini
Section/Parameter

Description

REGISTRATION_KEY

This key is validated against an encrypted key at the
REGISTRATION_URL location. Set this parameter along with the
REGISTRATION_URL parameter to invoke the Product
Registration page. Both are required.

[IMAGES]

This section lists the images associated with an installation. To
show advertisements during an installation, specify each image
as a separate variable.

Modes of Installation
You can use Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle products in any of the three
following modes:
■

■

■

Interactive: Use Oracle Universal Installer's interactive mode to use the graphical
user interface to walk through the installation, providing information in the
installation dialogs when prompted. This method is most useful when installing a
small number of products in different setups on a small number of hosts.
Suppressed: Use Oracle Universal Installer's suppressed mode to supply the
necessary information by using a combination of a response file or command line
entries with certain interactive dialogs. You can choose which dialogs to suppress
by supplying the information at the command line when you invoke Oracle
Universal Installer. This method is most useful when an installation has a common
set of parameters that can be captured in a response file, in addition to custom
information that must be input by hand.
Silent: Use Oracle Universal Installer's silent installation mode to bypass the
graphical user interface and supply the necessary information in a response file.
This method is most useful when installing the same product multiple times on
multiple hosts. By using a response file, you can automate the installation of a
product for which you know the installation parameters. For more information,
see Chapter 3, "Customizing and Creating Response Files", for detailed
information on using response files and installing in silent mode.
Note: You can use the -noConsole flag on the Windows platform to
suppress the display of messages in the console.

Installation Media
For each of these three installation modes, you can install from three different media:
■

Installing from a Single CD-ROM

■

Installing from Multiple CD-ROMs

■

Installing from a staged HTTP location
On Windows, when you start the installer from a shared drive,
you need to map the shared drive and then invoke the installer from
the shared drive.

Note:

The following sections discuss these different installation approaches.

Installing Products 4-5

Installing Oracle Products

When you invoke runInstaller (UNIX) or setup.exe
(Windows), you should invoke it from the directory where this
command is present, or you must specify the complete path to
runInstaller (UNIX) or setup.exe (Windows).

Notes:

Installing from a Single CD-ROM
While installing Oracle products contained on a single CD-ROM, start Oracle
Universal Installer by running the executable file, setup.exe or
runInstaller.sh, located in:
../install/

Where  represents Win32, Win64, Solaris, Linux, and so on.
For UNIX systems, run the script by typing ./runInstaller at the command line.
Oracle Universal Installer for win64 functions like Oracle
Universal Installer for win32. However, the startup directory on the
CD is "win64" instead of "win32." Launching Oracle Universal
Installer from the win32 directory launches Oracle Universal
Installer in 32-bit mode, used for installing 32-bit software. Use
win64 for installing 64-bit software.

Note:

When you install both 32-bit and 64-bit Oracle Universal Installer
on a 64-bit machine, two different inventories are created and
maintained. However, you cannot install 64-bit software in a 32-bit
home, and vice versa.

Installing from Multiple CD-ROMs
If you are creating a multiple-CD installation on UNIX, you might need to launch
runInstaller in the background using the following command:
./runInstaller &

By launching runInstaller in the background, you can change your current
directory after you launch Oracle Universal Installer, enabling you to eject the CD. (It
may also help to launch runInstaller as a foreground process from a different
directory.)
You may want to create a shell script that launches Oracle Universal Installer in the
background and then exits. If you choose to create a shell script, remember to also pass
all parameters that you passed to the shell script to runInstaller in the event that
you want to install silently using a response file.
TEMP/TMP Directory On both UNIX and Windows installations, temporary copies of
Oracle Universal Installer and JRE are placed in the TEMP or TMP directory in a
subdirectory named /OraInstall so that these applications can be
launched when you change CD-ROMs. Note that temporary files are created for
single-CD installations as well. On both UNIX and Windows, Oracle Universal
Installer looks for %TEMP% then %TMP%. If neither is set, Oracle Universal Installer
defaults to /tmp on UNIX and c:\temp on Windows
.The TEMP/TMP directory should not be a cluster file system
or a shared location.

Note:

4-6 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Installing Oracle Products

Unmounting a CD On UNIX, if you have trouble installing a product from multiple
CD-ROMs, try using the following procedure to unmount the first CD-ROM and
mount the second CD-ROM. If you still have problems, refer to the documentation
links at the end of this topic.
In most cases, the following procedure helps with any problems you experience while
switching to a second CD-ROM while installing Oracle software. If you inadvertently
run the installer while the current working directory is in the CD-ROM, follow these
steps to mount the next CD-ROM:
1.

Change to the root directory of your system and log in as the root user by using
the following commands:
$ cd /
$ su root

2.

Unmount and remove the CD-ROM from the drive with the following command:
# umount cdrom_mount_point_directory

3.

Insert and mount the next CD-ROM into the drive by using the following
command:
# mount options device_name cdrom_mount_point_directory

4.

Enter the correct mount point in the Installation dialog box.

5.

Click OK to continue.

If after attempting this procedure you are still having problems, see the section on
installing from multiple CD-ROMs in the Oracle Database Installation Guide, which is
available from the Oracle Technology Network:
http://otn.oracle.com/documentation

Installing from a staged HTTP location
With Oracle Universal Installer, you can install products from the Web. You can
publish your staging area from a Web server and then in the Oracle Universal
Installer's Source location, specify the HTTP location for the products.xml file.
For example, you can enter:
http://www.oracle.com/product/ouiinstall/stage/products.xml

The Oracle Universal Installer recognizes a Web staging area just like a local, network,
or CD-ROM stage.
System administrators of large customers who may want to deploy Oracle software to
more than one target can use a combination of the Web installation and response file
features:
1.

Copy the staging area to a shared file system and make it accessible on the Intranet
or a Web server.

2.

Include predetermined response files on the same location. (Different groups of
users might rely on different response files.)

3.

Clients run Oracle Universal Installer locally and use the local response file that is
mailed or downloaded so they can perform a silent installation.

The Web installation capability relies on some guidelines that must be followed at
installation development time. Check the installation guide for your product to see if
the installation of your product is certified for Web installation.

Installing Products 4-7

Installing Oracle Products

To test if your stage is Web-enabled, you can try the following procedure:
1.

Copy the stage to your Web server.

2.

Start the Oracle Universal Installer locally and point to the location of the
products.xml file. For example:
http://smpweb.us.oracle.com/product/ouiinstall/stage/products.xml

Special Instructions for UNIX Users
The following sections describe special instructions that apply when you are installing
certain products on a UNIX system.

Failed to Connect to Server Error
If you receive an Xlib error or a "Failed to connect to Server" error when you are
running Oracle Universal Installer on the Solaris operating system, do the following:
1.

Define the following environment variable on the host computer where you are
running Oracle Universal Installer:
%setenv DISPLAY :0.0

2.

Replace  with the name of the computer that will display
Oracle Universal Installer.

3.

On the computer that will display Oracle Universal Installer, enter the following
command, which enables other computers to display information on the
computer's monitor:
%xhost +

4.

Rerun the runInstaller script after you have set the DISPLAY environment
variable.
You can run Oracle Universal Installer without specifying
the DISPLAY variable by running in silent mode using a response
file.

Note:

Providing a UNIX Installer Location with Root Privileges
You must have root privileges to perform various installation operations on the UNIX
platform. For example, you must have root privileges to be able to create the Oracle
Universal Installer inventory.
If you are installing Oracle Universal Installer for the first time, you are prompted to
run a shell script from another terminal window before proceeding with the
installation. Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to run root.sh after installation
completes only if the script is required to be run as root before configuration
assistants are run. Otherwise, you are prompted to run root.sh as root later.
When running Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode, if
root.sh is required prior to configuration assistants, Oracle
Universal Installer skips configuration assistants during the
installation. You must run root.sh as root and then run the
skipped configuration assistants after the silent installation is
complete.

Note:

4-8 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation

To successfully run the required shell script:
1.

Leave the Oracle Universal Installer window open and open another terminal
window.

2.

In the new terminal window, use the substitute user command to log in with root
privileges:
su -root

3.

Change directory to the Oracle home into which you are currently installing your
Oracle software product.

4.

Run the shell script ./root.sh.

5.

When the script is finished and you are returned to the command prompt, exit
from the new terminal window and return to Oracle Universal Installer to
continue the installation.
Do not exit the installation to run the shell script. Exiting the
installation removes this script.

Note:

You are prompted to run the script only the first time you install.

Providing a UNIX Group Name
If you are installing a product on a UNIX system, the Installer also prompts you to
provide the name of the group that owns the base directory.
You must choose a UNIX group name that has permissions to update, install, and
remove Oracle software. Members of this group must have write permissions to the
base directory chosen.
Only users who belong to this group are able to install or remove software on this host.

Deinstalling Oracle Products
You can only deinstall Oracle products by using the Deinstallation tool. For more
information, see see "Removing Oracle Database Software" in the Oracle® Database
Installation Guide 11g for Linux.

Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation
The following sections describe the different ways that Oracle Universal Installer can
be used after installation. Specifically, this section describes:
■

Starting Oracle Universal Installer

■

Command Line Arguments

■

Using Oracle Universal Installer Exit Codes

■

Cloning Considerations

Starting Oracle Universal Installer
OUI is installed in the Oracle home and is available for both Windows and Unix
under:
/oui/bin

Installing Products 4-9

Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation

For all platforms, the executable file (setup.exe or runInstaller.sh) is located in
the following directory:
/bin

A new version of Oracle Universal Installer replaces its older version.
To start Oracle Universal Installer:
■

■

On Windows platforms, select Start, Programs, Oracle Installation Products,
Oracle Universal Installer.
On UNIX, execute ./runInstaller from the directory where it is installed.
For example: if the Oracle home is /u01/app/oracle/, OUI will be located at
OH/oui/u01/app/oracle/oui.

A runInstaller.sh script is also available, so that you can launch Oracle Universal
Installer directly from a different directory.
When Oracle Universal Installer is first installed and run, it checks for the JRE path
(the location from which it runs), using the location specified in the oraparam.ini
file's JRE_LOCATION parameter. If Oracle Universal Installer cannot find the JRE
specified, an error is returned.

Command Line Arguments
Following is the output from the runInstaller -help command, which gives you
the full list of command line options and their descriptions, as well as command line
variables usage:
Usage:
runInstaller [-options] [()*]
Where options include:
-clusterware oracle.crs, Version of Cluster ready services installed.
-crsLocation  Used only for cluster installs, specifies the path to the crs home
location. Specifying this overrides Oracle Clusterware information obtained from central
inventory.
-invPtrLoc  Unix only. To point to a different inventory location.
The orainst.loc file contains:
inventory_loc=
inst_group=<>
-jreLoc  Path where Java Runtime Environment is installed. OUI cannot be run
without it.
-logLevel  To filter log messages that have a lesser priority level than .
Valid options are: severe, warning, info, config, fine, finer, finest, basic, general,
detailed, trace. The use of basic, general, detailed, trace is deprecated.
-paramFile  Specify location of oraparam.ini file to be used by OUI.
-responseFile  Specifies the response file and path to use.
-sourceLoc  To specify the shiphome location.
-addLangs To add new languages to an already installed product.
-addNode For adding node(s) to the installation.
-attachHome For attaching homes to the OUI inventory.
-cfs Indicates that the Oracle home specified is on cluster file system
(shared). This is mandatory when '-local' is specified so that Oracle
Universal Installer can register the home appropriately into the inventory.
-clone For making an Oracle Home copy match its current environment.
-debug For getting the debug information from OUI.
-detachHome For detaching homes from the OUI inventory without deleting
inventory directory inside Oracle home.
-enableRollingUpgrade Used in cluster environment, to enable upgrade of a product on a
subset of nodes (on which the product was installed).
-executeSysPrereqs Execute system prerequisite checks and exit.
-force Allowing silent mode installation into a non-empty directory.

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Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation

-help Displays above usage.
-ignorePatchConflicts Ignore all conflicts with existing interim patches during an
upgrade. The conflicting interim patches are removed from the home.
-ignoreSysPrereqs For ignoring the results of the system prerequisite checks.
-local Performs the operation on the local node irrespective of the
cluster nodes specified.
-printdiskusage Log debug information for disk usage.
-printmemory Log debug information for memory usage.
-printtime Log debug information for time usage.
-removeAllPatches Remove all interim patches from the home
-silent For silent mode operations, the inputs can be a response file or a
list of command line variable value pairs.
-updateNodeList For updating node list for this home in the OUI inventory.
-waitforcompletion For windows. setup.exe will wait for completion instead of
spawning the java engine and exiting.
-nobackground Do not show background image
-noclusterEnabled No cluster nodes specified.
-noconsole For suppressing display of messages to console. Console is not
allocated.
-nowarningonremovefiles To disable the warning message before removal of home directory.
-nowait For windows. Do not wait for user to hit Enter on the console
after the task (install etc.) is complete.
-formCluster To install the Oracle clusterware in order to form the cluster.
-remotecp  Unix specific option. Used only for cluster installs, specifies
the path to the remote copy program on the local cluster node.
-remoteshell  Unix specific option. Used only for cluster installs, specifies
the path to the remote shell program on the local cluster node.
Command Line Variables Usage
Command line variables are specified using ; for example:
[ session: | compName: | compName:version: ]variableName="valueOfVariable"]
Session/Installer variables are specified using:
[session:]varName=value
Ex 1: session:ORACLE_HOME="OraHome"
Ex 2: ORACLE_HOME="OraHome"
The lookup order is session:varName then just varName).
The session prefix is used to avoid ambiguity.
Component variables are specified using:
[compInternalName:[Version:]]varName
Ex 1: oracle.comp1:1.0.1:varName="VarValue"
Ex 2: oracle.comp1:varName="VarValue"
Ex 2: oracle.comp1:varName="VarValue"
The lookup order is compInternalName:Version:varName, then compInternalName:varName, then
just varName.

Using Oracle Universal Installer Exit Codes
If you are starting and stopping Oracle Universal Installer programmatically (for
example, by invoking Oracle Universal Installer using a response file), you may need
to consider the exit codes Oracle Universal Installer generates, and perform a
particular action depending on the code Oracle Universal Installer returns.
Oracle Universal Installer returns one of the following exit codes:
Code Description
0

All installations were successful.

1

All installations were successful, but some optional configuration tools
failed.

2

Local installations were successful, but some remote operations failed.

Installing Products 4-11

Running Oracle Universal Installer After Installation

Code Description
3

All installations were successful, but some recommended configuration
tools failed.

4

The installation was stopped.

6

The installation was successful after you proceeded by disregarding a few
prerequisite checks or warnings.

-1

At least one installation failed.

-2

The installation failed. One or more validation of variables failed.

-3

The attempted installation encountered a prerequisite failure. Some of the
optional prerequisites have not been met. See the logs for details.
You can ignore this code if the prerequisite is optional.

Note that:
■

This feature does not work if Oracle Universal Installer is running in "bootstrap"
mode. In this case, setup.exe/runInstaller just launches the JRE process and
returns immediately without waiting for the exit code. Oracle Universal Installer
runs in "bootstrap" mode if the following line exists in the oraparam.ini file:
BOOTSTRAP=TRUE

■

If you exit without installing any products (for example, if you exit from the
"Welcome" screen), the exit code is -1.

Cloning Considerations
You can copy an existing Oracle home, then configure it for its new environment. This
process is called "cloning."
Patching and deinstallation on a cloned Oracle home act the
same as a regularly installed Oracle home. You can directly patch a
cloned installation.

Note:

Invoke Oracle Universal Installer in clone mode using the following command:
./runInstaller -clone ORACLE_HOME="" [-responseFile ]

Use setup.exe instead of runInstaller for Windows machines. The
-responseFile parameter is optional. You can supply clone-time parameters on the
command line or through the response file named on the command line.
Clone-time activity is logged in the cloneActions.log file at
installation time.
For more information on cloning see Chapter 6, "Cloning Oracle Software".

4-12 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

About Oracle Universal Installer Log Files

Because most cloning is done in silent mode, when cloning
an Oracle home onto a "clean" host (one that has no oraInst.loc file),
Oracle Universal Installer creates a Central Inventory in the
location specified by the INVENTORY_LOCATION variable. If this
variable is not specified, Oracle Universal Installer creates the
Central Inventory in the /oraInventory
directory.
Note:

After cloning is finished, you must run oraInstRoot.sh as root
to move oraInventory to the final, desired location.

About Oracle Universal Installer Log Files
When you install or deinstall products using Oracle Universal Installer, important
information about each installation is saved not only in the inventory, but also in a
series of log files located in the following directory:
$ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs

You can use these log files to troubleshoot installation problems. These files are also
crucial for removing and configuring the various software components you install on
your Windows or UNIX computer. Oracle Universal Installer displays the name and
location of the current session's log file on the Install page. Each installation or
configuration utility provides a separate folder containing the
installActions.log files inside the
$ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs folder.
Many exceptions can possibly occur and consequently appear in a log file, depending
on the product, as shown in the following example:
globalVarQueries2.1.0.4.1 getGlobalVariable[[.variable =
oracle.assistants.server.launchNETCA]]
[2009-09-07T01:17:46.646+00:00] [OUI] [NOTIFICATION] [] [OUI] [tid: 21]
[ecid: 0000IEI4dFFDScApJ^^Ayf1Ad5uS00000C,0]
[[Query Exception: VariableNotFoundException
Query Exception Class: class oracle.sysman.oii.oiil.OiilQueryException]]

You can ignore the exception traces in the logs if the installation has subsequently
continued.
Action logs are written on a per-session basis. The installer action log is created each
time a new install session is started. What each action does and whether it occurred
during installation or deinstallation is logged for every action in the installer action
log. Each session is saved in the file, installActionstime_stamp.log, where time_stamp
is of the form:
yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss[AM|PM].log

The .err and .out files also use the time stamp in their file names, making it easier to
keep track of these files for each session.
Product Removal Logs vs. Action Logs
Note that the logs used to remove products are different from the
installActions.log file generated during the installation process.
The installActions.log is easier to read and can be used to view
the operations performed during installation.

Installing Products 4-13

About Oracle Universal Installer Log Files

Exceptions
Many exceptions can possibly occur and consequently appear in a log file, depending
on the product, as shown in the following example:
globalVarQueries2.1.0.4.1 getGlobalVariable[[.variable =
oracle.assistants.server.launchNETCA]]
[2009-09-07T01:17:46.646+00:00] [OUI] [NOTIFICATION] [] [OUI] [tid: 21]
[ecid: 0000IEI4dFFDScApJ^^Ayf1Ad5uS00000C,0]
[[Query Exception: VariableNotFoundException
Query Exception Class: class oracle.sysman.oii.oiil.OiilQueryException]]

You do not need to take any action if the text that follows the exception message
appears to ignore the exception.
yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss[AM|PM]

4-14 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

5
Installing Cluster Environments

5

A cluster installation uses Oracle Universal Installer to install software on the nodes of
a cluster that are network reachable and bound together by Oracle Clusterware. You
can use Oracle Universal Installer to extend the Oracle home of a product installation
to include additional nodes on the cluster.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■

Oracle Universal Installer and Oracle Real Application Clusters

■

General System Installation Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters

■

Cluster Setup and Pre-installation Configuration Tasks for Oracle Real Application
Clusters

■

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

■

Pre-installation Tasks for Real Application Clusters on Windows

■

Configuring Storage for Oracle Clusterware

■

Installing Oracle Clusterware on UNIX

■

Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows

■

Adding More Nodes to the Cluster for Mass Deployment

■

Installing Product Software on a Cluster

■

Command Line Options for Cluster Installations (UNIX Only)

■

Adding Language Support for Installed Products

■

Patchsets and Upgrades

■

Post-installation Tasks

■

Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software

■

Converting Single-instance Nodes to Real Application Clusters

■

Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation

Oracle Universal Installer and Oracle Real Application Clusters
The Oracle Universal Installer facilitates the installation of Oracle grid infrastructure
for a cluster, which includes Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Automatic Storage
Management (Oracle ASM). You must install Oracle grid infrastructure before you
install Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC). In most cases, you use the
graphical user interface (GUI) provided by the Oracle Universal Installer to install the

Installing Cluster Environments

5-1

Oracle Universal Installer and Oracle Real Application Clusters

software. However, you can also use the Oracle Universal Installer to complete
non-interactive (or "silent") installations without using the GUI.
The Oracle inventory maintains records of Oracle software versions and patches. Each
installation has a Central Inventory where the Oracle home is registered. Oracle
software installations have a local home directory, whose path location is recorded in
the Central Inventory. The local inventory directory for each Oracle software
installation contains a list of components and applied interim patches associated with
that software. Because faulty inventory information can corrupt your Oracle software
installation, the Oracle Universal Installer must perform all read and write operations
on Oracle inventories. Ensure that you do not modify files in the Central Inventory or
the Oracle home inventory.
When you install Oracle grid infrastructure for a cluster or Oracle Real Application
Clusters, the Oracle Universal Installer copies the Oracle software onto the node from
which you are running it. If your Oracle home is not on a shared file system, the
Oracle Universal Installer propagates the software onto the other nodes that you have
selected to be part of your Oracle Universal Installer installation session. The Oracle
inventory maintains a list of each node that is a member of the Oracle Real Application
Clusters database, and lists the paths to each node’s Oracle home. This is used to
maintain patches and updates for each member node of the Oracle Real Application
Clusters database.
When the Oracle Universal Installer installs the Oracle software, Oracle recommends
that you select a preconfigured database, or use the Database Configuration Assistant
(DBCA) interactively to create your cluster database. You can also manually create
your database as described in the Oracle Database Administrator’s Guide.
Oracle ASM is installed as part of the Oracle grid infrastructure installation. Oracle
recommends that you use Oracle ASM. If you are not using Oracle ASM, configure
Oracle RAC on a supported storage option.

Oracle Clusterware and Vendor Clusterware Installations
The Oracle Universal Installer installs Oracle Clusterware on each node on which the
Oracle Universal Installer detects that third-party vendor clusterware is present. If
third-party vendor clusterware is not present, you must use the Oracle Universal
Installer to enter the nodes on which you want the Oracle Clusterware to be installed.
The Oracle Clusterware home can be either shared by all nodes, or private to each
node, depending on your responses when you run the Oracle Universal Installer.
When third-party vendor clusterware is present, Oracle Clusterware can interact with
the third-party vendor clusterware. In using third-party vendor clusterware, note that
Oracle Clusterware can integrate with third-party vendor clusterware for all operating
systems except Linux and Windows. You need to have Oracle Cluster Registry and
Voting Disks shared across all nodes.

Installed Oracle Real Application Clusters Components
All instances in an Oracle Real Application Clusters environment share the control file,
server parameter file, redo log files, and all data files. These files reside on a shared
cluster file system or on shared disks. Either of these types of file configurations are
accessed by all the cluster database instances. Each instance also has its own set of
redo log files. During failures, shared access to redo log files enables surviving
instances to perform recovery.

5-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

General System Installation Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters

General System Installation Requirements for Oracle Real Application
Clusters
Each node that is going to be part of your Oracle Real Application Clusters installation
must meet the following hardware and software requirements. You will perform
step-by-step tasks for hardware and software verification for the platform-specific
pre-installation procedures.

Hardware Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters Setup
Each node in a cluster requires the following hardware:
■

External shared disks for storing the Oracle Clusterware files.
See the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for
information on the available disk configuration options. Review these options
before you decide which storage option to use in your Oracle Real Application
Clusters environment.

■

One private Internet protocol (IP) address for each node to serve as the private
interconnect. The following must be true for each private IP address:
– It must be separate from the public network.
– It must be accessible on the same network interface on each node.
– It must have a unique address on each node.
The private interconnect is used for inter-node communication by both Oracle
Clusterware and Oracle Real Application Clusters. If the private address is
available from a network name server (DNS), you can use that name. Otherwise,
the private IP address must be available in each node’s /etc/hosts file on UNIX
and %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows.
During Oracle Clusterware installation, the information you enter as the private IP
address determines which private interconnects are used by Oracle Real
Application Clusters database instances.

■

One public IP address for each node to be used as the Virtual IP address for client
connections and for connection failover.
This public Virtual IP address (VIP) must be associated with the same interface
name on every node that is part of your cluster. Additionally, the IP addresses that
you use for all of the nodes that are part of a cluster must be from the same subnet.
If you have a domain name server (DNS), register the host names for the VIP with
DNS. The Virtual IP address should not be in use at the time of the installation,
because this is a Virtual IP address that Oracle manages.

■

One public fixed host name address for each node, typically assigned by the
system administrator during operating system installation. If you have a DNS,
register both the fixed IP and the VIP address with DNS. If you do not have DNS,
you must make sure that both public IP addresses are in the node host file.

Software Requirements for Oracle Real Application Clusters Setup
Each node in a cluster requires a supported interconnect software protocol to support
Cache Fusion, and to support Oracle Clusterware polling. Your interconnect must be
certified by Oracle for your platform. You should also have a Web browser, both to
enable Oracle Enterprise Manager, and to view online documentation. For Oracle
Database 11g requirements, Oracle Clusterware provides the same functionality as
third-party vendor clusterware. Using Oracle Clusterware also reduces installation
Installing Cluster Environments

5-3

Cluster Setup and Pre-installation Configuration Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters

and support complications. However, you may require third-party vendor clusterware
if you use a non-ethernet interconnect, or if you have deployed clusterware-dependent
applications on the same cluster where you deploy Oracle Real Application Clusters.

Cluster Setup and Pre-installation Configuration Tasks for Oracle Real
Application Clusters
Before installing Oracle Real Application Clusters, perform the following procedures:
1.

Ensure that you have a certified combination of operating system and Oracle
software version by referring to the OracleMetaLink certification information,
which is located at the following Web site:
http://metalink.oracle.com

Click Certify & Availability, and select 1.View Certifications by Product.
The layout of the OracleMetaLink site and the site's
certification policies are subject to change.

Note:

2.

Configure a high-speed interconnect that uses a private network. Some platforms
support automatic failover to an additional interconnect.

3.

Determine the storage option for your system and configure the shared disk.

4.

Ensure that the directory structure is similar in all nodes.

5.

Ensure that all nodes in the cluster have the same time zone settings.

6.

Install the operating system patches for the Oracle software. For more information,
see the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX
You need to complete the following pre-installation tasks before you start the Oracle
Universal Installer:

Logging In to the System as root
Before you install the Oracle software, you must complete several tasks as the root
user. To log in as the root user, complete one of the following procedures:
■

If you are installing the software from an X Window System workstation or X
terminal, then:
1.

Start a local terminal session, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

2.

If you are not installing the software on the local system, enter the following
command to enable remote hosts to display X applications on the local X
server:
$ xhost +

3.

If you are not installing the software on the local system, use the ssh, rlogin,
or telnet command to connect to the system where you want to install the
software:
$ telnet remote_host

5-4 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

4.

If you are not logged in as the root user, enter the following command to
switch user to root:
$ su - root
password:
#

■

If you are installing the software from a PC or other system with X server software
installed:
1.

Start the X server software.

2.

Configure the security settings of the X server software to permit remote hosts
to display X applications on the local system.

3.

Connect to the remote system where you want to install the software and start
a terminal session on that system, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

4.

If you are not logged in as the root user on the remote system, enter the
following command to switch user to root:
$ su - root
password:
#

Creating Required UNIX Groups and Users
Depending on whether it is the first time an Oracle software product is being installed
on a system and on the products that you are installing, you may need to create
several UNIX groups and a UNIX user account. The following UNIX group and users
are required for all installations:
■

The Oracle Inventory group (oinstall)
You must create this group the first time you install Oracle software on the system.
The usual name chosen for this group is oinstall. This group owns the Oracle
inventory, which is a catalog of all Oracle software installed on the system.
If Oracle software is already installed on the system, the
existing Oracle Inventory group must be the primary group of the
UNIX user that you use to install new Oracle software. The following
sections describe how to identify an existing Oracle Inventory group.

Note:

■

The Oracle software owner user (oracle)
You must create this user the first time you install Oracle software on the system.
This user owns all of the software installed during the installation. The usual name
chosen for this user is oracle. This user must have the Oracle Inventory group as
its primary group.

You need to create other groups and users in addition to the ones created above. For
more information on creating the required groups and users, see the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Creating Identical Users and Groups on Other Cluster Nodes
The Oracle software users and groups must exist and be identical on all cluster nodes.
To create these identical users and groups, you must identify the user ID and group
IDs assigned to them on the node where you created them, then create the user and
groups with the same name and ID on the other cluster nodes. You must create

Installing Cluster Environments

5-5

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

identical users and groups on other cluster nodes only if you are using local users and
groups. If you are using users and groups defined in a directory service such as NIS,
they are already identical on each cluster node.
Identifying the User and Group IDs To determine the user ID (UID) and the group IDs
(GID) for the groups, follow these steps:
1.

Enter following command:
# id oracle

The output from this command is similar to the following:
uid=440(oracle) gid=200(oinstall) groups=201(dba),202(oper)
2.

From the output, identify the user identity (UID) for the Oracle user and the group
identities (GIDs) for the groups to which it belongs.

Creating the User and Groups on the Other Cluster Nodes To create the user and groups on
the other cluster nodes, repeat the following procedure on each node:
1.

Log in to the cluster node in which you want to create the user and groups as
root.

2.

Enter commands as per the syntax to create the respective groups. Use the -g
option to specify the correct GID for each group:
# /usr/sbin/groupadd -g  

Configuring SSH on all Cluster Nodes
Before you install and use Oracle Real Application Clusters, you must configure secure
shell (SSH) for the oracle user on all cluster nodes. Oracle Universal Installer uses
the ssh and scp commands during installation to run remote commands on and copy
files to the other cluster nodes. You must configure SSH so that these commands do
not prompt for a password. SSH is also used by the configuration assistants, Enterprise
Manager, and when adding nodes to the cluster.
You can configure SSH from the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) interface during
installation for the user account running the installation. The automatic configuration
creates passwordless SSH connectivity between all cluster member nodes. You can use
an SSH Connectivity button available in the Cluster Node information page for this
purpose.
To enable the script to run, you must remove stty commands from the profiles of any
Oracle software installation owners, and remove other security measures triggered
during a login and that generate messages to the terminal. These messages, mail
checks, and other displays prevent Oracle software installation owners from using the
SSH configuration script that is built into the Oracle Universal Installer. If they are not
disabled, you must manually configure SSH before running an installation.
On Linux systems, to enable Oracle Universal Installer to use the ssh and scp
commands without being prompted for a pass phrase, you must have user
equivalency in the cluster. User equivalency exists in a cluster when the following
occurs on all nodes in the cluster:
■

A given user has the same user name, user ID (UID), and password.

■

A given user belongs to the same groups.

■

A given group has the same group ID (GID).

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Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

Note: This section describes how to configure OpenSSH version 3. If
SSH is not available, then Oracle Universal Installer attempts to use
rsh and rcp instead. However, these services are disabled by default
on most Linux systems.

Configuring SSH on Cluster Member Nodes To configure SSH, complete the following
steps on each cluster node:
1.

Log in as the Oracle user.

2.

If necessary, create the.ssh directory in the Oracle user’s home directory and set
the correct permissions for it:
$ mkdir ~/.ssh
$ chmod 700 ~/.ssh

3.

Enter the following commands to generate an RSA key for version 2 of the SSH
protocol:
$ /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -t rsa

At the prompts:
■

Accept the default location for the key file.

■

Enter and confirm a different pass phrase from the Oracle user’s password.

This command writes the public key to the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file and the
private key to the ~/.ssh/id_rsa file. Never distribute the private key to
anyone.
4.

Enter the following command to generate a DSA key for version 2 of the SSH
protocol:
$ /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -t dsa

At the prompts:
■
■

Accept the default location for the key file.
Enter and confirm a pass phrase that is different from the Oracle user’s
password.

This command writes the public key to the ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub file and the
private key to the ~/.ssh/id_dsa file. Never distribute the private key to
anyone.
5.

Copy the contents of the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub and ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub files
to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on this node and to the same file on all
other cluster nodes.
Note: The ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on every node must
contain the contents from all of the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub and
~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub files that you generated on all cluster nodes.

6.

Change the permissions on the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on all cluster
nodes:
$ chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Installing Cluster Environments

5-7

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

At this point, if you use ssh to log in to or run a command on another node, you are
prompted for the pass phrase that you specified when you created the DSA key.
Enabling SSH User Equivalency on Cluster Member Nodes To enable Oracle Universal
Installer to use the ssh and scp commands without being prompted for a pass phrase,
follow these steps:
1.

On the system where you want to run Oracle Universal Installer, log in as the
Oracle user.

2.

Enter the following commands:
$ exec /usr/bin/ssh-agent $SHELL
$ /usr/bin/ssh-add

3.

At the prompts, enter the pass phrase for each key that you generated.
If you have configured SSH correctly, then you can use the ssh or scp commands
without being prompted for a password or a pass phrase.

4.

To test the SSH configuration, enter the following commands from the same
terminal session, testing the configuration of each cluster node:
$ ssh nodename1 date
$ ssh nodename2 date
.
.

These commands should display the date set on each node. If any node prompts
for a password or pass phrase, verify that the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on
that node contains the correct public keys.
Note: The first time you use SSH to connect to a node from a
particular system, you might see a message stating that the
authenticity of the host could not be established. Enter yes at the
prompt to continue. You should not see this message again when you
connect from this system to that node.

If you see any other messages or text, apart from the date, the
installation can fail. Make any changes required to ensure that only
the date is displayed when you enter these commands.
You should ensure that any parts of login scripts that generate any
output, or ask any questions, are modified so that they only act when
the shell is an interactive shell.
5.

To ensure that X11 forwarding does not cause the installation to fail, create a
user-level SSH client configuration file for the Oracle software owner user, as
follows:
a.

Using any text editor, edit or create the ~oracle/.ssh/config file.

b.

Make sure that the ForwardX11 attribute is set to no. For example:
Host *
ForwardX11 no

6.

You must run Oracle Universal Installer from this session or remember to repeat
steps 2 and 3 before you start Oracle Universal Installer from a different terminal
session.

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Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

Preventing Oracle Clusterware Installation Errors Caused by stty Commands During an Oracle
Clusterware installation, the Oracle Universal Installer uses SSH to run commands and
copy files to the other nodes. During the installation, hidden files on the system (for
example, .bashrc or .cshrc) can cause installation errors if they contain stty
commands.
To avoid this problem, Oracle recommends that you modify these files to suppress all
output on STDERR, as in the following examples:
■

Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
if [ -t 0 ]; then
stty intr ^C
fi

■

C shell:
test -t 0
if ($status == 0) then
stty intr ^C
endif

Configuring the Oracle User Environment
You run Oracle Universal Installer from the oracle account. However, before you
start Oracle Universal Installer you must configure the environment of the oracle
user. For more information on configuring the environment, see the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Checking the Hardware Requirements
Each system must meet certain minimum hardware requirements. For more
information on hardware requirements, see the Oracle Real Application Clusters
Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Checking the Network Requirements
There are some minimum networking hardware and Internet protocol (IP) address
requirements. Check that you have the networking hardware and Internet protocol
(IP) address required for an Oracle Real Application Clusters installation.

Network Hardware Requirements
Each node in the cluster must meet the following requirements:
■

■

■

■
■

Each node must have at least two network adapters: one for the public network
interface and one for the private network interface (the interconnect).
The interface names associated with the network adapters for each network must
be the same on all nodes.
For increased reliability, you can configure redundant public and private network
adapters for each node.
For the public network, each network adapter must support TCP/IP.
For the private network, the interconnect must support the user datagram protocol
(UDP) using high-speed network adapters and switches that support TCP/IP
(Gigabit Ethernet or better recommended).

Installing Cluster Environments

5-9

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

UDP is the default interconnect protocol for Real Application
Clusters and TCP is the interconnect protocol for Oracle Clusterware.
Token-Ring is not supported for the interconnect.

Note:

■

For the private network, the end points of all designated interconnect interfaces
must be completely reachable on the network.

Network Parameter Requirements
If you are using NFS, then you must set the values for the NFS buffer size parameters
rsize and wsize to at least 16384. Oracle recommends that you use the value 32768.

IP Address Requirements
Before starting the installation, you must identify or obtain the following IP addresses
for each node:
■

■

An IP address and an associated host name registered in the domain name service
(DNS) for each public network interface.
One unused virtual IP address and an associated virtual host name registered in
DNS, or resolved in the host file, or both, that you will configure for the primary
public network interface.
The virtual IP address must be in the same subnet as the associated public
interface. After installation, you can configure clients to use the virtual host name
or IP address. If a node fails, then its virtual IP address fails over to another node.

Node Time Requirements
Before starting the installation, ensure that each member node of the cluster is set as
closely as possible to the same date and time. Oracle strongly recommends using the
Network Time Protocol feature of most operating systems for this purpose, with all
nodes using the same reference Network Time Protocol server.

Checking Software Requirements
The Oracle Universal Installer performs checks on your system to verify that it meets
the requirements listed for your platform. To ensure that these checks pass, verify the
requirements before you start the Installer.
Depending on the Oracle products that you intend to install, verify that the required
software is installed on the system. For more information on software requirements,
see the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Configuring Kernel Parameters
Each cluster node must meet the recommended kernel values. For information on
verifying and setting the kernel parameters, see the Oracle Real Application Clusters
Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Identifying Required Software Directories
You must identify or create the following directories for the Oracle software as follows:
■

Oracle Base Directory

■

Oracle Inventory Directory

5-10 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

■

Oracle Clusterware Home Directory

■

Oracle Home Directory

The following subsections describe the requirements for these directories.

Oracle Base Directory
The Oracle base directory acts as a top-level directory for Oracle software installations.
It is analogous to the C:\Oracle directory used for Oracle software installations on
Windows systems. On UNIX systems, the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA)
guidelines recommend that you use a path similar to the following for the Oracle base
directory:
/mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner

In this example:
■

mount_point is the mount point directory for the file system that will contain the
Oracle software.
The examples in this guide use /u01 for the mount point directory. However, you
could choose another mount point directory, such as /oracle or /opt/oracle
for example.

■

oracle_sw_owner is the operating system user name of the Oracle software
owner, for example oracle.

You can use the same Oracle base directory for more than one installation, or you can
create separate Oracle base directories for different installations. If different operating
system users install Oracle software on the same system, each user must create a
separate Oracle base directory. The following example Oracle base directories could all
exist on the same system:
/u01/app/oracle
/u01/app/orauser
/opt/oracle/app/oracle

Regardless of whether you create an Oracle base directory or decide to use an existing
one, you must set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the full path to
this directory.
The Oracle base directory can be on a local file system or on an
NFS file system on a certified NAS device. Do not create the Oracle
base directory on an OCFS version 1 file system.

Note:

Oracle Inventory Directory
The Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory) stores an inventory of all software
installed on the system. It is required by, and shared by, all Oracle software
installations on a single system. The first time you install Oracle software on a system,
Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to specify the path to this directory. If you are
installing the software on a local file system, Oracle recommends that you choose the
following path:
oracle_base/../oraInventory

Installing Cluster Environments 5-11

Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

If the Oracle base directory is on a cluster file system, or on an NFS file system on a
NAS device, you must specify a path for the Oracle Inventory directory on a local file
system. The Oracle base directory must be on a local file system to enable all of the
nodes to have separate inventories.
Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory that you specify, and sets the correct
owner, group, and permissions for it. You do not need to create it.
All Oracle software installations rely on the Oracle base
directory. Make sure that you back it up regularly.

Note:

Do not delete the Oracle base directory unless you have completely
removed all Oracle software from the system.

Oracle Clusterware Home Directory
The Oracle Clusterware home directory is the directory where you choose to install the
software for Oracle Clusterware. You must install Oracle Clusterware in a separate
home directory. When you run Oracle Universal Installer, it prompts you to specify the
path to this directory, as well as a name that identifies it. Oracle recommends that you
specify a path similar to the following for the Oracle Clusterware home directory:
/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.2.0/app

Because you must change the permissions of all of the parent
directories of the Oracle Clusterware home directory after installing
the software to grant write access only to the root user, the Oracle
Clusterware home directory must not be a subdirectory of the Oracle
base directory.

Note:

Oracle Home Directory
The Oracle home directory is the directory where you choose to install the software for
a particular Oracle product. You must install different Oracle products, or different
releases of the same Oracle product, in separate Oracle home directories. When you
run Oracle Universal Installer, it prompts you to specify the path to this directory, as
well as a name that identifies it. The directory that you specify must be a subdirectory
of the Oracle base directory. Oracle recommends that you specify a path similar to the
following for the Oracle home directory:
oracle_base/product/11.2.0/db_1

Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory path that you specify under the Oracle
base directory. It also sets the correct owner, group, and permissions on it. You do not
need to create this directory.

Identifying or Creating an Oracle Base Directory
Before starting the installation, you must either identify an existing Oracle base
directory or, if required, create one. For more information on identifying or creating an
Oracle Base Directory, see the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g
Release 2 (11.2).

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Pre-installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters on UNIX

Creating the Clusterware Home Directory
Oracle Universal Installer creates the Oracle Clusterware home directory for you.
Ensure before you start the installation that you provide sufficient disk space on a file
system for the Oracle Clusterware directory, and the parent directory of the Oracle
Clusterware directory space is writable by the Oracle user.
To create the Oracle Clusterware home directory and specify the correct owner, group,
and permissions for it, follow these steps:
1.

Enter commands similar to the following to create the recommended
subdirectories in the mount point directory that you identified, and set the
appropriate owner, group, and permissions on them:
# mkdir -p /mount_point/crs/oracle_sw_owner/product/11.2.0/crs
# chown -R root:oinstall /mount_point/crs
# chmod -R 775 /mount_point/crs/oracle_sw_owner

If the mount point you identified is /u01, the recommended Oracle Clusterware
home directory path is as follows:
/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.2.0/crs
2.

If necessary, repeat the commands listed in the previous step to create the same
directory on the other nodes in the cluster.

3.

Enter commands similar to the following to set the ORACLE_BASE and ORACLE_
HOME environment variables in preparation for the Oracle Clusterware installation:
■

Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$
$
$
$

■

ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle
ORACLE_HOME=/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.2.0/crs
export ORACLE_BASE
export ORACLE_HOME

C shell:
% setenv ORACLE_BASE /u01/app/oracle
% setenv ORACLE_HOME /u01/crs/oracle/product/11.2.0/crs

4.

Enter the following commands to ensure that the TNS_ADMIN environment
variable is not set:
■

Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$ unset TNS_ADMIN

■

C shell:
% unsetenv TNS_ADMIN

5.

To verify that the environment has been set correctly, enter the following
commands:
$ umask
$ env | more

Verify that the umask command displays a value of 22, 022, or 0022, and the
environment variables that you set in this section have the correct values.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-13

Pre-installation Tasks for Real Application Clusters on Windows

Pre-installation Tasks for Real Application Clusters on Windows
You need to complete the following pre-installation tasks before you start the Oracle
Universal Installer to install Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Real Application Clusters
on Microsoft Windows systems.

Checking Hardware and Software Certification
Oracle recommends you to review the certification matrix on the OracleMetaLink Web
site for the most up-to-date list of certified hardware platforms and operating system
versions for Oracle software. This Web site also provides patches and workaround
information for bugs. For more information on accessing the OracleMetaLink site, see
"Download and Install Patches" on page 5-23.

Checking the Hardware Requirements
Each system must meet minimum hardware requirements. For more information on
hardware requirements and the steps involved to check them, see the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Hard Disk Space Requirements
Each system must meet certain hard disk space requirements. For more information on
hard disk space requirements, see the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide
11g Release 2 (11.2).

Checking the Software Requirements
Each system must meet minimum software requirements. For more information on
software requirements and the steps involved to check them, see the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Checking the Network Requirements
There are some minimum networking hardware and Internet protocol (IP) address
requirements. Check that you have the networking hardware and Internet protocol
(IP) address required for an Oracle Real Application Clusters installation. For more
information on the steps involved in checking these requirements, see the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Network Hardware Requirements
Each node in the cluster must meet the following requirements:
■

■

Each node must have at least two network adapters: one for the public network
interface and one for the private network interface (the interconnect).
The private and public network interface names must be different from each other
and cannot contain any multibyte language characters. The names are
case-sensitive.

■

The private network interface name must be the same on all nodes.

■

The public network interface name must be the same on all nodes.

■

The public interface must be listed first in the ipconfig list.

■

Oracle supports the TCP/IP protocol for the public and private networks.

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Installing Oracle Clusterware on UNIX

IP Address Requirements
Before starting the installation, you must identify or obtain the following IP addresses
for each node:
■

■

An IP address and an associated host name registered in the domain name service
(DNS) for each public network interface.
One unused virtual IP address and an associated virtual host name registered in
DNS that you will configure for the primary public network interface.
The virtual IP address must be in the same subnet as the associated public
interface. After installation, you can configure clients to use the virtual host name
or IP address. If a node fails, then its virtual IP address fails over to another node.

■

A private IP address and optional host name for each private interface.
Oracle recommends that you use private network IP addresses for the private
interfaces; for example: 10.*.*.* or 192.168.*.*. You can use the
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file on each node to associate
private host names with private IP addresses.

Checking Individual Component Requirements
Depending on the Oracle products that you intend to install, verify the required
components for the Oracle software you are installing and ensure they are installed on
the system. You can find more information on the components in the Oracle Real
Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Configuring Storage for Oracle Clusterware
You need to perform certain storage configuration tasks before you start Oracle
Universal Installer. For detailed information on the storage configuration tasks, see the
Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2).

Installing Oracle Clusterware on UNIX
This section provides you with information about how to use the Oracle Universal
Installer to install Oracle Clusterware on UNIX.

Running the Oracle Universal Installer to Install Oracle Clusterware
Complete the following steps to install Oracle Clusterware on your cluster. At any
time during installation, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do,
click Help in the Oracle Universal Installer page.
1.

Start the runInstaller command with the -formCluster option from the
main directory on the Oracle Clusterware 11g Release 2 (11.2) CD-ROM. This is a
separate CD that contains the Oracle Clusterware software. When the Oracle
Universal Installer displays the Welcome page, click Next.

2.

Oracle Universal Installer displays the Installation Prerequisite Checks page. This
screen shows the name, type, and status for all prerequisite checks designed for
the installation. Click Next.

3.

Oracle Universal Installer displays the Specify Cluster Nodes for Node Addition
page. Specify public, private, virtual IPs in this page and click Next.

4.

Oracle Universal Installer displays the Specify Local Host Name page. Specify at
least one public and one private interface in this page and click Next.
Installing Cluster Environments 5-15

Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows

5.

Specify the Oracle Cluster Registry location option to provide a redundant OCR
location and click Next.

6.

Specify the VD (Voting Disk Location) location option to provide redundant VD
locations and click Next.

7.

Oracle Universal Installer displays the Summary page. Click Install and proceed.

8.

After the installation is done, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to run
orainstRoot.sh and root.sh. You need to run these scripts and click OK.

9.

After you run root.sh on all of the nodes, the Oracle Universal Installer runs the
Oracle Notification Server Configuration Assistant and Oracle Private
Interconnect Configuration Assistant. These assistants run without user
intervention.

10. Oracle Universal Installer displays the End of Installation page. Click Exit.

Running the Oracle Universal Installer in Silent Mode to Install Oracle Clusterware
You can run the Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode to install Oracle Clusterware
by entering the following command:
./runInstaller -silent -responseFile 

For Oracle Clusterware, you need to use the -formCluster flag. You can pass session
variables like nodelist, ocr, voting disk location, and so forth from the command line
for silent installation.

Oracle Clusterware Background Processes
The following processes must be running in your environment after the Oracle
Clusterware installation for Oracle Clusterware to function:
■
■

■

■

oprocd — Process monitor for the cluster.
evmd — Event manager daemon that starts the racgevt process to manage
call-outs.
ocssd — Manages cluster node membership and runs as the Oracle user; failure
of this process results in node restart.
crsd — Performs high availability recovery and management operations such as
maintaining the OCR. Also manages application resources and runs as the root
user and restarts automatically upon failure.

Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows
This section provides you with information about how to use the Oracle Universal
Installer to install Oracle Clusterware on Windows.

Running the Oracle Universal Installer to Install Oracle Clusterware
Complete the following steps to install Oracle Clusterware on your cluster. At any
time during installation, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do,
click Help in the Oracle Universal Installer page.
1.

Log in to Windows with Administrative privileges and run the setup.exe
command on the Oracle Clusterware media. This opens the Oracle Universal
Installer Welcome page.

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Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows

2.

After you click Next in the Welcome page, the Specify File Locations page
enables you to accept the displayed path name for the Oracle Clusterware
products or select a different one. You can also accept default directory and path
name for the location of your Clusterware home or browse for an alternate
directory and destination. You must select a destination that exists on each cluster
node that is part of this installation. Click Next to confirm your choices and
proceed to the Language Selection page.

3.

Select the language or languages for your Oracle Clusterware installation in the
Language Selection page, then click Next for the Cluster Configuration page.

4.

The Cluster Configuration page contains predefined node information if the
Oracle Universal Installer detects that your system has the Oracle 10g Release 2
Clusterware. Otherwise, the Oracle Universal Installer displays the Cluster
Configuration page without predefined node information.
Provide your own cluster name if you do not want to use the name provided by
the Oracle Universal Installer. Note that the selected cluster name must be globally
unique throughout the enterprise, and its allowable character set is the same as
that for host names; that is, underscores (_), hyphens (-), and single-byte
alphanumeric characters (a to z, A to Z, and 0 to 9).
Enter a public and a private host name for each node. Neither the public nor the
private name should have a domain qualifier. When you enter the public host
name, use the primary host name of each node; that is, the name displayed by the
hostname command. The private node refers to an address that is only accessible
by the other nodes in this cluster, and which Oracle uses for Cache Fusion
processing. You can enter either a private host name or a private IP address for
each node.
Click Next after you have entered the cluster configuration information. This saves
your entries and opens the Specify Network Interface Usage page.

5.

In the Specify Network Interface Usage page, the Oracle Universal Installer
displays a list of cluster-wide interfaces. Use the drop-down menus on this page to
classify each interface as Public, Private, or Do Not Use. The default setting for
each interface is Do Not Use. You must classify at least one interconnect as Public
and one as Private. Click Next when you have made your selections to open the
Select Disk Formatting Options page.

6.

In the Select Disk Formatting Options page, you indicate what OCFS you want
the Oracle Universal Installer to format for you.
The formatting options are as follows:
■

■

■

Format two logical drives for data and software storage. In this case, the
Oracle Universal Installer creates two cluster file systems, one for the database
files and one for the Oracle home. The OCR and voting disk are created in the
data file directory.
Format one logical drive for software storage. In this case, the Oracle
Universal Installer creates one cluster file system for the Oracle home and
requires two additional partitions, one for the OCR and one for the voting
disk. If you select this option, you must have already configured the partitions
before proceeding with the installation. These partitions are stamped with
"ocrcfg" for the OCR and "votedsk" for the voting disk.
Format one logical drive for data file storage. In this case, the Oracle Universal
Installer creates one cluster file system for the database files which is also used
to store the OCR and voting disk.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-17

Installing Oracle Clusterware on Windows

■

Do not format any logical drives. In this case, the Oracle Universal Installer
requires two partitions: one for the OCR and one for the voting disk. If you
select this option, you must have already configured the partitions before
proceeding with the installation. These partitions are stamped with "ocrcfg"
for the OCR and "votedsk" for the voting disk.

Click Next after making your selection in the Select Disk Formatting Options
page. The next page that the Oracle Universal Installer displays depends on your
selection on the Select Disk Formatting Options page, as described in the
following step.
7.

If you selected the "Format two logical drives for data and software storage"
option on the Select Disk Formatting Options page, you must complete the Select
Software Storage Drive page and the Select Data Storage Drive page as
described in Steps a and b, respectively.
If you selected the "Format one logical drive for software storage" option on the
Select Disk Formatting Options page, you must complete the Select Software
Storage Drive page, the Disk Configuration - Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR)
page, and the Disk Configuration - Voting Disk page as described in Steps a, c,
and d, respectively.
If you selected the "Format one logical drive for data file storage" option on the
Select Disk Formatting Options page, you must complete the Select Data Storage
Drive page as described in Step b.
If you selected the "Do not format any logical drives" option on the Select Disk
Formatting Options page, you must complete the Disk Configuration - Oracle
Cluster Registry (OCR) page and the Disk Configuration - Voting Disk page as
described in Steps c and d, respectively.
a.

On the Select Software Storage Drive page, choose a shared drive to see a list
of available partitions on that drive. Choose a partition with sufficient space to
hold your Oracle home and select the partition’s disk number and partition
number from the list. Click Next to proceed.

b.

On the Select Data Storage Drive page, choose a shared drive to see a list of
available partitions on that drive. Choose a partition with sufficient space to
hold your database files and select the partition’s disk number and partition
number from the list. Click Next to proceed.

c.

On the Disk Configuration - Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR) page, choose a
partition with sufficient space to hold your OCR and select the partition’s disk
number and partition number from the list. Click Next to proceed.

d.

On the Disk Configuration - Voting Disk page, choose a partition with
sufficient space to hold your voting disk and select the partition’s disk number
and partition number from the list. Click Next to proceed.
The Oracle Universal Installer pages described in this step
displays logical drives from which you must make your selections. To
be valid for selection, a logical drive must be located on a disk without
a primary partition.

Note:

8.

After you click Next, the Oracle Universal Installer checks whether the remote
inventories are set. If they are not set, the Oracle Universal Installer sets up the
remote inventories by setting registry keys. The Oracle Universal Installer also
verifies the permissions to enable writing to the inventory directories on the

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Adding More Nodes to the Cluster for Mass Deployment

remote nodes. After completing these actions, the Oracle Universal Installer
displays a Summary page that shows the cluster node information along with the
space requirements and availability. Verify the installation that the Oracle
Universal Installer is about to perform and click Finish.
9.

When you click Finish, the Oracle Universal Installer installs the OCFS and Oracle
Clusterware software on the local node and validates the installation again. The
Oracle Universal Installer also creates any required OCFS file systems. After
validating the installation, the Oracle Universal Installer completes the Oracle
Clusterware software installation and configuration on the remote nodes.

Running the Oracle Universal Installer in Silent Mode to Install Oracle Clusterware
You can run the Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode to install Oracle Clusterware
by entering the following command:
./setup.exe -silent -responseFile 

For Oracle Clusterware, you need to use the -formCluster flag. You can pass
session variables like nodelist, ocr, voting disk location, and so forth from the
command line for silent installation.

Oracle Clusterware Background Processes
The following processes must be running in your environment after the Oracle
Clusterware installation for Oracle Clusterware to function:
■
■

■

■

oprocd — Process monitor for the cluster.
evmd — Event manager daemon that starts the racgevt process to manage
call-outs.
ocssd — Manages cluster node membership and runs as the Oracle user; failure
of this process results in node restart.
crsd — Performs high availability recovery and management operations such as
maintaining the OCR. Also manages application resources and runs as the root
user and restarts automatically upon failure.

Adding More Nodes to the Cluster for Mass Deployment
If you want to add more nodes to the cluster, complete the following procedure:
1.

Perform a single-node cluster Oracle Clusterware installation on node1.

2.

Execute the prerequisite checks required on the remote nodes in order to add the
nodes:
$CRS_HOME/bin/cluvfy stage -pre nodeadd -n 
-verbose

3.

Go to the $CRS_HOME/oui/bin directory. The variable $CRS_HOME represents
the Oracle Clusterware home directory of the successfully installed Oracle
Clusterware software.

4.

Run the following command:
./addNode.sh -silent "CLUSTER_NEW_NODES="
"CLUSTER_NEW_VIRTUAL_HOSTNAMES="

addNode is not supported in GUI mode in version 11.2.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-19

Installing Product Software on a Cluster

5.

If prompted to do so, run the orainstroot.sh script on the new nodes.

6.

When prompted, run the root.sh script on each of the new nodes.

Installing Product Software on a Cluster
After you have installed clusterware and completed pre-installation tasks, you are
ready to install the cluster-ready product on the cluster. To do this, you can use Oracle
Universal Installer in interactive mode, command line mode, or silent mode using a
response file.
See Also: See "Modes of Installation" on page 4-5 for more
information on the different modes.

Cluster Detection
When Oracle Universal Installer detects that the destination you entered on the File
Locations page is part of a cluster, one of two dialogs appear:
■

■

If the Oracle home name entered is new, the Specify Hardware Installation Mode
page appears. Use this page to select between cluster and non-cluster installation:
–

Cluster installation: Select the nodes for your installation from the list of
nodes on which clusterware has been installed.

–

Non-cluster installation: Install on a single-node only, even though that node
is part of a cluster.

If the Oracle home name entered is a pre-existing home, the Selected Nodes page
appears. This is an information-only page that displays the nodes associated with
the Oracle home. The installation is performed on all selected nodes. If any of the
selected nodes are down, the installation is not allowed to proceed.
Note: In Oracle Universal Installer, click Installed Products to
display the Inventory panel, which lists all installed Oracle homes.
Clustered Oracle homes, which are homes installed on multiple
cluster nodes, have an attribute called Cluster Nodes, which lists all
the nodes associated with that home.

Availability Checking
When the user clicks Next on the Specify Hardware Installation Mode page or
Selected Nodes page, Oracle Universal Installer performs the following availability
checks on the nodes:
■
■

■

■

■

Network reachability: Tests whether the remote cluster nodes are up and running.
Network configuration: Tests whether the remote cluster nodes are properly
network-configured.
Inventory setup: Tests whether the inventory is set up on the remote nodes. If not
set up on UNIX, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to run root scripts on the
remote nodes to set up the inventory. On Windows, Oracle Universal Installer sets
up the inventory location in the Windows registry.
Inventory permission: Tests whether you can write to the Central Inventory
location.
Oracle home permission: Tests whether you can write to the Oracle home.

5-20 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Installing Product Software on a Cluster

If all selected nodes are available, the installation process continues to the next step. If
a node (or nodes) is not available, the page redisplays with a Status column indicating
the results of the check. You must fix the problem or choose another set of nodes in
order to proceed.
If any of the remote nodes is unreachable, check if those nodes are up and running and
if they are properly network-configured. If either the inventory or the Oracle home is
not writable, check for the appropriate permissions on the remote nodes for these
directories.

Cluster Installation
In a typical cluster installation, when clusterware is present, Universal Installer installs
the Oracle software onto the node on which Oracle Universal Installer is running, then
propagates the Oracle home from the local node installation to the other nodes that are
part of the installation. Then Universal Installer runs -attachHome on the remote
nodes to update the inventory. After this, you need to run orainstRoot.sh (if
required) and root.sh on the local and remote nodes. After the scripts are run, the
configuration steps are executed.
If the cluster is Cluster File System (CFS) or Network File System (NFS) mounted,
Oracle Universal Installer does not propagate the Oracle home to other nodes, as files
are shared across nodes and the installation will exist on the shared disk.
Note: For cluster installations, you must run oraInstRoot.sh
on each node of the cluster to set up the inventory.

Cluster Installation in Silent Mode
For Real Application Clusters installation, you can specify the -local flag, CLUSTER_
NODES, REMOTE_NODES, and LOCAL_NODE session variables to indicate the nodes
on which the installation needs to be done.
When you use the -local flag in a cluster installation, it means that the installation or
inventory operation needs to be performed only on the local node. The CLUSTER_
NODES session variable indicates that the specified nodes are part of the cluster.
./runInstaller -local "CLUSTER_NODES={a,b,c,d}"

In the above example, the installation would be performed in the local node, and
nodes a, b, c, and d would be taken as the part of the cluster.
When you use the REMOTE_NODES session variable in a cluster installation, it means
that the installation or the inventory operation needs to be performed on the local
node and the other nodes apart from the local node.
./runInstaller "REMOTE_NODES={c,d}" "CLUSTER_NODES={a,b,c,d}"

In the above example, the installation would be performed on the local node a and
nodes c and d. The nodes a, b, c, and d would be taken as the part of the cluster.

Cluster Deinstallation
When removing a clustered Oracle home, Oracle Universal Installer first removes
software from the node from which you are deinstalling, then removes software from
the other cluster nodes associated with the Oracle home.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-21

Command Line Options for Cluster Installations (UNIX Only)

Command Line Options for Cluster Installations (UNIX Only)
When using Oracle Universal Installer in suppressed or silent mode, specify the path
to the remote copy or shell program on the local node to use for cluster installations
using the following optional flags:
-remoteShell 
-remoteCopy 

The default for remoteShell is /usr/local/bin/ssh. The default for
remoteCopy is /usr/local/bin/scp. If these are not present, Oracle Universal
Installer defaults to rsh and rcp, respectively.

Adding Language Support for Installed Products
Oracle Universal Installer enables you to add language support for the products you
have installed. To add a language definition for the products already installed in the
Oracle Home, you use the addLangs flag of runInstaller.
User Interface-based Installation
1. From the shiphome or from the Oracle Home, start OUI by entering the following
command and flag:
./runInstaller -addLangs
2.

Select the product location of the shiphome.

3.

Select the new language set from the languages panel. The language upgrade is
performed for all the components in the shiphome that are located in the Oracle
Home.

4.

View the summary window with the new “Language Updates” node. The
elements of this node provide the component information for which the language
updates are performed.

Silent-based installation
In the installation phase, OUI copies the files for the languages to be installed.
1.

Make sure the response file specifies the new languages. For silent installations, by
default the language update is performed for the languages specified in the
response file.

2.

From the shiphome or from the Oracle Home, start OUI by entering the following
command and flags:
./runInstaller -silent -addLangs

The language upgrade is performed for all the components in the shiphome that are
located in the Oracle Home. In the installation phase, OUI copies the files for the
languages to be installed.

Patchsets and Upgrades
Oracle Universal Installer enables you to upgrade a product from one version to
another version. An upgrade is a major product enhancement that often requires
installation of the upgraded software. For example, if you convert your Oracle 10g
Database to Oracle 11gR1 Database, then it is called an upgrade.

5-22 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Post-installation Tasks

A group of patches form a patchset. For example, if you convert your Oracle 11gR1
from version 11.1.1 to version 11.1.2, then it is called applying a patchset.

Post-installation Tasks
After completing a Real Application Clusters installation, it is advisable that you
perform the following tasks:

Verification
After your Oracle product with Real Application Clusters installation is complete, go
to $ORACLE_HOME/Opatch on each node and execute the following command:
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch lsinventory -detail

This command lists the components installed inside the Oracle home and also lists the
local and remote nodes for the home. Verify this information. You may also want to
look at installation logs inventory.xml and oraclehomeproperties.xml.
See "Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation" on
page 5-27 in case the check fails.

Back Up Disk after Installation
After your Oracle product with Real Application Clusters installation is complete and
after you are sure that your system is functioning properly, make a back-up of the
contents of the disk.
Also make a back-up of the disk contents after you complete any node additions or
node deletions and after running any de-installation procedures.

Download and Install Patches
Go to the OracleMetaLink Web site for required patches for your installation. To
download the required patches:
1.

Use a Web browser to view the OracleMetaLink Web site:
http://metalink.oracle.com

2.

Log in to OracleMetaLink.

3.

On the main OracleMetaLink page, click Patches.

4.

On the Select a Patch Search Area page, click New MetaLink Patch Search.

5.

On the Simple Search page, click Advanced.

6.

On the Advanced Search page, click the search icon next to the Product or Product
Family field.

7.

In the Search and Select: Product Family field, enter the Oracle product name in
the For field and click Go.

8.

Select the Oracle product under the Results heading and click Select. The product
name appears in the Product or Product Family field, and the current release
appears in the Release field.

9.

Select your platform from the list in the Platform field and click Go.

10. Any available patches appear under the Results heading.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-23

Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software

11. Click the number of the patch that you want to download.
12. On the Patch Set page, click View README and read the page that appears. The

README page contains information about the patch set and how to apply the
patches to your installation.
13. Return to the Patch Set page, click Download, and save the file on your system.
14. Use the unzip utility provided with Oracle software to uncompress the Oracle

patches that you downloaded from OracleMetaLink. The unzip utility is located in
the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.
By default, the patches would only be applied on the nodes on
which the Oracle software installation was done. You can change the
node list by using the -enableRollingUpgrade option.

Note:

Configure Oracle Products
Many Oracle products and options must be configured before you use them for the
first time. Before using individual Oracle products or options, refer to the manual in
the product documentation library that is available on the documentation CD-ROM or
on the Oracle Technology Network Web site.

Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software
If you need to deinstall Real Application Clusters software, you must run the Oracle
Universal Installer to deinstall the software on the same node from which you
performed the installation. You must first deinstall the Oracle product before
deinstalling the Oracle Clusterware software.
Perform the following procedures as described in the following sections to deinstall
Oracle product and Oracle Clusterware software.

Deinstalling Oracle Product Software on UNIX
The following steps describe how to use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle
software from an Oracle home on UNIX systems:
Always use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle
software. Do not delete any Oracle home directories without first
using Oracle Universal Installer to remove the software.

Note:

1.

If necessary, log in as the oracle user:
$ su - oracle

2.

Set the ORACLE_HOME environment variable to specify the path of the Oracle
home directory that you want to remove:
■

Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$ ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1
$ export ORACLE_HOME

■

C shell:
$ setenv ORACLE_HOME /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1

5-24 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software

3.

Stop all processes running in this Oracle home.

4.

Start Oracle Universal Installer using the Deinstall tool. For information on this
tool, see "Removing Oracle Database Client Software" in the Oracle Database Client
Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux.

Deinstalling Oracle Product Software on Windows
The following steps describe how to use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle
software from an Oracle home on Windows systems:
Always use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle
software. Do not delete any Oracle home directories without first
using Oracle Universal Installer to remove the software.

Note:

1.

Stop all the Oracle services running in this Oracle home.

2.

Start Oracle Universal Installer: from the Start menu, select Programs, then
ORACLE_ HOME_NAME, then Oracle Installation Products, then Oracle
Universal Installer.
The Welcome screen for Oracle Universal Installer appears.

3.

Click Deinstall Products.
The Inventory screen appears.

4.

Expand the tree of installed components until you find the components to remove.
For example, if you installed a database with the Enterprise Edition option and
later installed additional components with the Custom option, expand the Oracle
home component to display all the components installed in the Oracle home.

5.

Select the components to remove.

6.

Click Remove.
The Confirmation screen appears.

7.

Click Yes to remove the selected components to initiate the removal process.

8.

After the components are removed from your computer, the Inventory screen
appears without the removed components.

9.

Click Close to close the Inventory screen.

10. Click Cancel to exit Oracle Universal Installer.
11. Click Yes to confirm that you want to exit.

For detailed instructions on deinstalling an Oracle product, see the respective
Oracle product installation guide.

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware
Before deinstalling Oracle Cluster software, ensure that you have removed the
respective Oracle product's home in each node by following the steps in the preceding
section. The following section explains deinstallation on Windows and UNIX.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-25

Deinstalling Real Application Clusters Software

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware from a UNIX Environment
Deinstall each Oracle product Real Application Clusters home by running the
procedure in the previous section. Then complete the deinstallation by removing the
Oracle Clusterware software using the following procedure:
1.

Run the command $CRS_HOME/install/rootdelete.sh to disable the Oracle
Clusterware applications running on the cluster node. The rootdelete.sh script
requires three arguments. If you are running this command on a remote node of
the cluster, use remote as the first argument; otherwise, use local as the first
argument. If the ocr.loc file is on a shared file system, use sharedvar.
Otherwise, use nosharedvar as the second argument. If the Oracle Clusterware
home is on a shared file system, use sharedhome; otherwise, use nosharedhome
as the third argument. Repeat this step on each node of the cluster from which you
want to deinstall Oracle Clusterware.

2.

Run the script $CRS_HOME/install/rootdeinstall.sh on a local node to
remove the OCR. You only need to run this script once.

3.

Start Oracle Universal Installer. In the Welcome page, click Deinstall Products to
display the list of installed products. Select the Oracle Clusterware home to
deinstall.

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware from a Windows Environment
Deinstall each Oracle product Real Application Clusters home by running the
procedure in the previous section. Then complete the deinstallation by removing the
Oracle Clusterware software using one of the following procedures:
■

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware with No Previous Cluster Software Versions.

■

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware with Clusterware Downgrade to 10.2.

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware with No Previous Cluster Software Versions Perform the
following steps to deinstall Oracle 11g Clusterware software from a Windows
environment:
1.

Click Start and navigate to Settings, then to Control Panel, then to
Administrative Tools, and then to Services. Stop the service oracleremexec.

2.

Start the Oracle Universal Installer. On the Welcome page, click Deinstall
Products to display the list of installed products. Select the Oracle Clusterware
home you want to deinstall.

3.

If you have services with names such as OracleCRSTokenname, remove them by
running the following command:
crsuser remove user_name
where user_name is a user name.

4.

Shut down and restart each node that is a member of your cluster.

5.

If you are not using a cluster file system, on each node use Windows Explorer to
delete the Oracle directory, its subdirectories, and their contents.

Deinstalling Oracle Clusterware with Clusterware Downgrade to 10.2 Perform the following
steps to deinstall Oracle 11g Clusterware software from a Windows environment that
also has 10.2 Real Application Clusters:
1.

Run $CRS_HOME\bin\GuiOracleOBJManager.exe to make sure that the
symbolic link named srvcfg exists and points to a disk partition, if you are not
using OCFS to store the OCR.

5-26 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation

2.

If Oracle10g release 10.2 Clusterware uses Oracle CFS (Cluster File System),
ensure the following is true for all nodes:
■
■

The registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Oracle\osd9i\ocr exists.
The registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Oracle\osd9i\ocr has a string value
CfsOcrRoot that points to a release 10.2 OCR (CFS) location.

3.

Run $CRS_HOME\bin\ocrconfig -downgrade to downgrade the Cluster
Registry to a release 10.2 OCR.

4.

On each node, copy $CRS_HOME\cfs\OcfsFindVol.exe to
%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\osd9i\cfs.

5.

Run $CRS_HOME\oui\bin\setup.exe to start Oracle Universal Installer. On
the Welcome page, click Deinstall Products to list all the installed products. Select
the Oracle Clusterware home name from the displayed products, and click
Remove to deconfigure and deinstall the product.

6.

On each node, run
%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\osd9i\olm\OracleOBJService.exe /install
to reinstall the Oracle 10.2 object service. Then start Oracle Object Service.

7.

On each node, run %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\osd9i\cfs\OcfsFindVol.exe
/i:%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\osd9i\cfs\OcfsFindVol.exe to reinstall the
Oracle Cluster Volume service. Then start the Oracle Cluster Volume service.

8.

From a 10.2 Real Application Clusters Oracle home on each node, run the
command ORACLE_HOME\bin\gsdservice.exe -install. Then start the
OracleGSDService.

9.

On each node, copy %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\osd9i\orafencedrv.sys
%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\drivers\orafenceservice.sys.

Converting Single-instance Nodes to Real Application Clusters
You can convert single-instance nodes to Real Application Clusters using Oracle
Universal Installer. For details on converting single instance nodes to Real Application
Clusters, see the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for
your platform.

Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware
Installation
Figure 5–1 explains how you can solve problems associated with the Real Application
Clusters or Oracle Clusterware installation.

Installing Cluster Environments 5-27

Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation

Figure 5–1 Troubleshooting Real Application Clusters / Oracle Clusterware Installation

5-28 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

6
Cloning Oracle Software

6

This chapter provides information about Oracle cloning using Oracle Universal
Installer (OUI). This chapter contains the following topics:
■

About Cloning

■

Overview of the Cloning Process

■

Locating and Viewing Log Files
For procedures to clone an Oracle Database Oracle Home,
refer to the following documentation depending on your platform:

Note:
■
■

Oracle® Database Installation Guide for Linux 11g Release 2 (11.2)
Oracle® Database Installation Guide for Microsoft Windows 11g
Release 2 (11.2)

For procedures to clone Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Real
Application Clusters homes, refer to the following documentation:
■

■

Oracle® Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment
Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)
Oracle® Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide 11g
Release 2 (11.2)

About Cloning
Cloning is the process of copying an existing Oracle installation to a different location
and updating the copied bits to work in the new environment. The changes made by
applying one-off patches on the source Oracle home are also present after the clone
operation. The source and the destination path (host to be cloned) need not be the
same. During cloning, OUI replays the actions that were run to install the home.
Cloning is similar to installation, except that OUI runs the actions in a special mode
referred to as clone mode. Some situations in which cloning is useful are:
■

Creating an installation that is a copy of a production, test, or development
installation. Cloning enables you to create a new installation with all patches
applied to it in a single step. This contrasts with going through the installation
process by performing separate steps to install, configure, and patch the
installation.

■

Rapidly deploying an instance and the applications that it hosts.

■

Preparing an Oracle home and deploying it to many hosts.

Cloning Oracle Software 6-1

Overview of the Cloning Process

The cloned installation behaves the same as the source installation. For example, the
cloned Oracle home can be removed using OUI or patched using OPatch. You can also
use the cloned Oracle home as the source for another cloning operation. You can create
a cloned copy of a test, development, or production installation by using the
command-line cloning scripts. The default cloning procedure is adequate for most
usage cases. However, you can also customize various aspects of cloning, for example,
to specify custom port assignments, or to preserve custom settings.
The cloning process copies all of the files from the source Oracle home to the
destination Oracle home. Thus, any files used by the source instance located outside
the source Oracle home's directory structure are not copied to the destination location.
The size of the binaries at the source and the destination may differ because these are
relinked as part of the clone operation, and the operating system patch levels may also
differ between these two locations. Additionally, the number of files in the cloned
home would increase because several files copied from the source, specifically those
being instantiated, are backed up as part of the clone operation.
OUI cloning is more beneficial than using the tarball approach, because cloning
configures the Central Inventory and the Oracle home inventory in the cloned home.
Cloning also makes the home manageable and enables the paths in the cloned home
and the target home to be different.

Overview of the Cloning Process
The cloning process uses the OUI cloning functionality. This operation is driven by a
set of scripts and add-ons that are included in the respective Oracle software. The
cloning process has two phases:
■

Source Preparation Phase

■

Cloning Phase

Source Preparation Phase
To prepare the source Oracle home for cloning, archive and compress the source
Oracle home using your preferred archiving tool. For example, you can use WinZip on
Microsoft Windows system computers and tar or gzip on UNIX.
During this process, ensure the following:
■
■

■

The tool that you use should preserve the permissions and file time stamps.
When archiving the home, skip the *.log, *.dbf, listener.ora,
sqlnet.ora, and tnsnames.ora files for archiving.
Do not archive the following folders:
$ORACLE_HOME/_
$ORACLE_HOME/oc4j/j2ee/OC4J_DBConsole__

Example 6–1 shows an example of an excluded file list.
Example 6–1 Excluded File List
$ cat excludedFileList.txt
./install/make.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/CfmLogger_2009-07-13_12-03-16-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.server_2009-07-13_12-03-17-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.network.client_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.has.common_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log

6-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Locating and Viewing Log Files

./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.assistants.server_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/OuiConfigVariables_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.sysman.console.db_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/cfgfw/oracle.sqlplus.isqlplus_2009-07-13_12-03-18-PM.log
./cfgtoollogs/oui/cloneActions2009-07-13_11-52-19AM.log
./cfgtoollogs/oui/silentInstall2009-07-13_11-52-19AM.log

Example 6–2 shows how to archive and compress the source for various platforms.
Example 6–2 Archiving and Compressing the Source
tar cpf - . | compress -fv > temp_dir/archiveName.tar.Z ( for "aix" or $^O eq
"hpux")
tar cpfX - excludeListFile . | compress -fv > temp_dir/archiveName.tar.Z (for
remaining UNIX based systems)

Note:

Do not use the jar utility to archive and compress the Oracle

home.

Cloning Phase
On the destination system, you unarchive the Oracle home and run the following OUI
clone command from the destination home:
/oui/bin/runInstaller -clone -silent -defaultHomeName
ORACLE_HOME=

The following example shows how to unarchive and decompress the source for
various platforms:
To unarchive:
mkdir Destination_oracle_home
cd
Destination_oracle_home
zcat temp_dir/archiveName.tar.Z | tar xpf - (for "hpux")
zcat temp_dir/archiveName.tar.Z | tar xBpf - (for remaining UNIX based systems)

The cloned home and source home will not be identical in size,
because the cloned home will have additional files created during the
cloning operation.

Note:

Locating and Viewing Log Files
The cloning script runs multiple tools, each of which may generate its own log files.
However, the following log files that OUI and the cloning scripts generate are the key
log files of interest for diagnostic purposes:
■

■

■

■

/logs/cloneActions timestamp.log: Contains a detailed log
of the actions that occur during the OUI part of the cloning.
/logs/oraInstall timestamp.err: Contains information about
errors that occur when OUI is running.
/logs/oraInstall timestamp.out: Contains other
miscellaneous messages generated by OUI.
$ORACLE_HOME/clone/logs/clone timestamp.log: Contains a detailed log of the
actions that occur during the pre-cloning and cloning operations.

Cloning Oracle Software 6-3

Locating and Viewing Log Files

■

$ORACLE_HOME/clone/logs/error timestamp.log: Contains information about
errors that occur during the pre-cloning and cloning operations.

To find the location of the Oracle inventory directory:
On all UNIX system computers except Linux and IBM AIX, look in the
/var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc file. On IBM AIX and Linux-based systems, look
in the /etc/oraInst.loc file.
On Windows system computers, you can obtain the location from the Windows
Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\INST_LOC.

6-4 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

7
7

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch
OPatch is an Oracle-supplied utility that assists you with the process of applying
interim patches to Oracle's software and rolling back interim patches from Oracle’s
software. This chapter provides information on using OPatch for these purposes.
This chapter includes the following topics:
■

About OPatch

■

Requirements for OPatch

■

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch

■

Backup and Recovery Considerations for Patching

■

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

■

Standalone Patching

■

Schema Patching

■

Online Patching

■

Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching

■

About Patch Conflicts

■

Problem Resolution

About OPatch
OPatch is a platform-dependent utility that requires installation of the Oracle
Universal Installer.
Patches are a small collection of files copied over to an existing installation. They are
associated with particular versions of Oracle products. When applied to the correct
version of an installed product, patches result in an upgraded version of the product.
Interim patches are bug fixes available to customers in response to specific bugs. They
require a particular base release or patchset to be installed before you can apply them.
They generally address specific bugs for a particular customer. These patches are not
versioned and are generally available in a future patchset as well as the next product
release.

OPatch Features
The OPatch 11.2 utility has the following features:
■

Scalability — OPatch is scalable to support a large number of patches.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-1

About OPatch

■

■

■

■

■
■

■

■

Reliability — OPatch is reliable and protects the Oracle home and inventory. It
can bring back the Oracle home to a stable state from patch application failures. It
can also easily detect patch conflicts.
Availability — Opatch’s online patching improves system availability by enabling
database patches to be applied without needing to shut down databases.
Portability — OPatch is compatible with all operating systems for which Oracle
releases software.
Robust — OPatch is very robust. It is very easy to apply a patch as well as remove
it.
Easy to maintain — OPatch is easy to maintain and is also extensible.
Support for Silent Operation — OPatch supports silent operation. This mode
enables you to run the software without any user interaction.
Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters — OPatch supports Oracle Real
Application Clusters and works well in that setup. It is easy to extend it to
Enterprise Manager Grid Control.
Easy to debug — OPatch has various levels of logging and tracing mechanisms. It
also has a debug option that helps to easily diagnose software problems.

OPatch supports the following tasks:
■

Applying an interim patch.

■

Rolling back the application of an interim patch.

■

■

Detecting a conflict when applying an interim patch after previous interim patches
have been applied. It also suggests the best options to resolve a conflict.
Reporting on installed products and interim patches.

Getting Interim Patches
Oracle releases interim patches frequently to fix a bug or a set of bugs. You can get the
interim patches by doing the following:
1.

Access and log into My Oracle Support at the following location:
http://support.oracle.com

2.

Click the Patches & Updates link.

3.

Enter the Patch or ID Number, then click Search. A Patch Search Results table
appears.

4.

Using the Release and Platform columns, find the desired patch, then click the
associated Patch ID.

5.

In the page that now appears, click the Download button in the right-hand
column.

Environment Variables OPatch Uses
OPatch uses the following environment variables:
ORACLE_HOME — Oracle home location.
PATH — Path information.

7-2 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch

Requirements for OPatch
The OPatch utility requires the following environment:
■

■

■

The Oracle home environment variable (ORACLE_HOME) must point to a valid
Oracle home directory and match the value used during installation of the Oracle
home directory.
JRE version 1.4 or higher, Java commands for Windows, and ar, cp, fuser, and
make commands for UNIX must be made available.
The library path must be set correctly for Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments. OPatch uses some APIs to detect if the system is an Oracle Real
Application Clusters system. Ensure that the library path is set correctly as
follows:
For Solaris:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH = $ORACLE_HOME/lib32:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
For HP-UX:
SHLIB_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib32:/usr/lib

See Also: For the latest information about the OPatch utility, to
check for updates, and to get the latest versions, go to OracleMetaLink
at:

http://www.oracle.com/support/metalink/index.html
■

You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home before running the
OPatch utility. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch
Before you invoke OPatch, perform the prerequisite checks described in the following
sections.

Checks for Single Instances and Oracle Real Application Clusters
Check ORACLE_HOME and Environment Variable
OPatch verifies if the Oracle home is present. You must ensure that the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable is set to the Oracle home of the product you are trying to patch.
Check the respective vendor documentation for details to set the environment
variable.
Check for JRE
OPatch requires JRE version 1.4 or higher to work properly.
Check for System Space
When OPatch processes the script for the installation of a patch, it simultaneously
generates a Rollback script and saves a copy of every file edited or deleted during the
patching. OPatch also backs up the inventory information. Consequently, Oracle
recommends that you have sufficient system space to accommodate the patch and the
backup information.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-3

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch

Check for Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch Version Compatibility
OPatch 11.2 requires Oracle Universal Installer 11.2 or higher to work properly. If the
Oracle Universal Installer version is less than what OPatch requires, OPatch errors out.
Check for Patch Applicable on Operating System
OPatch detects if a particular patch is applicable for an operating system. If it is not
applicable, OPatch displays an error message.
Check for System Commands
OPatch supports a set of properties used for various software operations. You can use
these properties to control the internal operations of OPatch. By default, OPatch uses
the standard Java property format to specify the properties. The following list shows
the default properties and their values:
fuser=/sbin:/usr/sbin
ar=/usr/ccs/bin/
make=/usr/bin

You can specify OPatch properties in the following ways:
■

By using the default OPatch properties.

■

By specifying the location of the user-defined properties file.

■

By using the command line. The syntax is as follows:
PROPERTY_NAME=VALUE

Example: fuser=/sbin:/usr/sbin

Additional Checks for Oracle Real Application Clusters
For Oracle Real Application Clusters, ensure that you perform the following
prerequisite checks besides the other checks listed in the preceding section.

Check for User Equivalence
You must ensure that the cluster machines have user equivalence set for the user
installing Oracle Clusterware/ Oracle Real Application Clusters. On UNIX, this means
rsh or ssh or both should be set up on the cluster machines. On Windows, this means
the same \ should have administrative privileges on all the cluster
machines, and the machines should be a member of the .
If the user equivalence is set properly, the following command will work properly:
$ rsh  date

Check for OPatch Lsinventory
Ensure that you are able to invoke the opatch lsinventory -detail command
and are able to see the node information being printed out. If you do not find the node
information correctly printed out, you need to update the node list. For more
information on updating the node list, see "Updating the Nodes of a Cluster" on
page 2-15.
The following example shows the command output for the 134 installed products:
Invoking OPatch 11.1.0.6.6

7-4 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch

Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 11.1.0.6.6
Copyright (c) 2009, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.

Oracle Home
Central Inventory
from
OPatch version
OUI version
OUI location
Log file location
10-18-36AM.log

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

/scratch/usernameusername/11.2db
/home/username/newDB/oraInventory
/etc/oraInst.loc
11.1.0.6.6
11.2.0.1.0
/scratch/username/11.2db/oui
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2009-07-27_

Patch history file: /scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch_history.txt
Lsinventory Output file location :
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/lsinv/lsinventory2009-07-27_
10-18-36AM.txt
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Installed Top-level Products (1):
Oracle Database 11g
There are 1 products installed in this Oracle Home.

11.2.0.1.0

Installed Products (134):
Agent Required Support Files
Assistant Common Files
Bali Share
Buildtools Common Files
Character Set Migration Utility
Cluster Verification Utility Common Files
Database Configuration and Upgrade Assistants
Database SQL Scripts
Database Workspace Manager
Deinstallation Tool
Enterprise Edition Options
Enterprise Manager Agent
Enterprise Manager Agent Core Files
Enterprise Manager Common Core Files
Enterprise Manager Common Files
Enterprise Manager Database Plugin -- Agent Support
Enterprise Manager Database Plugin -- Repository Support
Enterprise Manager Grid Control Core Files
Enterprise Manager Minimal Integration
Enterprise Manager plugin Common Files
Enterprise Manager Repository Core Files
Exadata Storage Server
Expat libraries
Generic Connectivity Common Files
HAS Common Files
HAS Files for DB
Installation Common Files
Installation Plugin Files
Installer SDK Component
JAccelerator (COMPANION)
LDAP Required Support Files
OLAP SQL Scripts
Oracle 11g Warehouse Builder Required Files

10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
1.1.18.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
2.0.1.0.1
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-5

Prerequisite Checks for OPatch

Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle

Advanced Security
Application Express
Call Interface (OCI)
Clusterware RDBMS Files
Code Editor
Configuration Manager
Configuration Manager Deconfiguration
Containers for Java
Core Required Support Files
Data Mining RDBMS Files
Database 11g
Database 11g
Database 11g Multimedia Files
Database Deconfiguration
Database Gateway for ODBC
Database User Interface
Database Utilities
Database Vault J2EE Application
Database Vault option
DBCA Deconfiguration
Display Fonts
Enterprise Manager Console DB
Extended Windowing Toolkit
Globalization Support
Globalization Support
Help For Java
Help for the Web
Ice Browser
Internet Directory Client
Java Client
JDBC Server Support Package
JDBC/OCI Instant Client
JDBC/THIN Interfaces
JFC Extended Windowing Toolkit
JVM
Label Security
LDAP administration
Locale Builder
Message Gateway Common Files
Multimedia
Multimedia Annotator
Multimedia Client Option
Multimedia Java Advanced Imaging
Multimedia Locator
Multimedia Locator RDBMS Files
Net
Net Listener
Net Required Support Files
Net Services
Netca Client
Notification Service
Notification Service (eONS)
ODBC Driver
ODBC Driverfor Instant Client
OLAP
OLAP API
OLAP RDBMS Files
One-Off Patch Installer
Partitioning
Programmer

7-6 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
1.2.1.0.0I
10.3.1.1.0
10.3.1.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.2.13.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
9.0.2.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
3.4.47.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
4.2.9.0.0
2.0.14.0.0
5.2.3.6.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
4.2.36.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.0.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

Backup and Recovery Considerations for Patching

Oracle Quality of Service Management (Client)
Oracle RAC Deconfiguration
Oracle RAC Required Support Files-HAS
Oracle Real Application Testing
Oracle Recovery Manager
Oracle Security Developer Tools
Oracle Spatial
Oracle SQL Developer
Oracle Starter Database
Oracle Text
Oracle Text Required Support Files
Oracle UIX
Oracle Universal Connection Pool
Oracle Universal Installer
Oracle Wallet Manager
Oracle XML Development Kit
Oracle XML Query
Parser Generator Required Support Files
Perl Interpreter
Perl Modules
PL/SQL
PL/SQL Embedded Gateway
Platform Required Support Files
Precompiler Common Files
Precompiler Required Support Files
Provisioning Advisor Framework
RDBMS Required Support Files
RDBMS Required Support Files for Instant Client
regexp
Required Support Files
Sample Schema Data
Secure Socket Layer
SQL*Plus
SQL*Plus Files for Instant Client
SQL*Plus Required Support Files
SQLJ Runtime
SSL Required Support Files for InstantClient
Sun JDK
XDK Required Support Files
XML Parser for Java
XML Parser for Oracle JVM
There are 134 products installed in this Oracle Home.

11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.2.24.5.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
5.10.0.0.1
5.10.0.0.1
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.1.9.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
1.5.0.17.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

There are no Interim patches installed in this Oracle Home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------OPatch succeeded.

Backup and Recovery Considerations for Patching
It is highly recommended that you back up the ORACLE_HOME
before any patch operation. You can back up the ORACLE_HOME using
your preferred method. You can use any method such as zip,
cp -r, tar, and cpio to compress the ORACLE_HOME.

Note:

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-7

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

If the ORACLE_HOME does not appear when you execute the opatch lsinventory
-detail command, the ORACLE_HOME might be missing from the Central Inventory,
or the Central Inventory itself could be missing or corrupted.
If the ORACLE_HOME is listed when you execute the opatch lsinventory
-detail command, but the products and components within the ORACLE_HOME are
not listed, the inventory within the ORACLE_HOME (local inventory) might be missing
or corrupted.
If the local inventory is corrupted or lost for some reason, you can simply restore the
ORACLE_HOME/inventory if it was backed up. If a backup does not exist, you may
have to reinstall the software.

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes
You can run the OPatch utility, located in the /OPatch
directory, with various commands and options. The following string shows the syntax
for the OPatch utility:
/opatch [-help] [-r[eport]] [command] [-option]

where:
■

help — Displays the help message for the command.

■

report — Prints the actions without executing.

■

command — One of the OPatch commands, described in Table 7–1.

■

option — One of the OPatch command options, described starting with Table 7–2.

Table 7–1

OPatch OUI-based Commands

Command

Description

apply

Installs an interim patch. See "Apply Command for OUI-based
Oracle Homes" for more information.

napply

Applies Oracle Clusterware patches. See the "Auto Command
for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

auto

Applies Oracle Clusterware patches. See the "Auto Command
for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

lsinventory

Lists what is currently installed on the system. See "Lsinventory
Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

query

Queries a given patch for specific details. See "Query Command
for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

rollback

Removes an interim patch. See "Rollback Command for
OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

nrollback

Removes n number of patches (hence nrollback). See "Nrollback
Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

version

Prints the current version of the patch tool. See "Version
Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes" for more information.

To view additional information for any command, use the following command:
/opatch command -help

If using Perl, use the following command:
perl opatch.pl command -help

7-8 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

To show the full syntax of the -help option, enter opatch -h to view the following
display:
Usage: opatch [ -help ] [ -r[eport] ] [ command ]
command := auto
apply
lsinventory
napply
nrollback
rollback
query
version
prereq
util
 := -help
-report
example:
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch
'opatch

Displays the help message for the command.
Print the actions without executing.

-help'
auto -help'
apply -help'
lsinventory -help'
napply -help'
nrollback -help'
rollback -help'
prereq -help'
util -help'

Apply Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command applies an interim patch to an Oracle home from the current directory.
The ORACLE_HOME environment variable must be set to the Oracle home to be
patched.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch apply

[-delay  ] [ -force ]
[-invPtrLoc  ]
[-jre  ] [-local ] [-minimize_downtime ]
[-no_bug_superset ] [-no_inventory ]
[-oh  ] [-retry  ] [-silent ]
[-verbose ] [-no_relink] [-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post  [-opatch_post_end] ] [-no_sysmod]
[-property_file ]
[-local_node ]
[-remote_nodes ]
[-connectString ]
[-runSql] [-sqlScript ]
[-ptlSchema ] [-ptlPassword ]

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-9

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

[-ptlConnect ]
[-init  [-opatch_init_end] ] [-report]
[]

Options
Table 7–2 lists the options available for this command.
Table 7–2

Apply Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

connectString

Specifies the list of database instances on which the patch needs
to be applied. Specify the value for this option using the
following syntax:
SID:User:Passwd:Node
Example:
oracle:dba:dba:mymachine,oracle1:::
The SID is required, but you can disregard the other parameters
if desired, because OPatch provides default values for them.
Note: If the system is not part of an Oracle RAC setup and you
want to patch just the local node, provide the node name as an
empty string.

delay

Specifies how many seconds to wait before attempting to lock
the inventory again for a previous failure. You can use this
option only if you specify the retry option.

force

Removes conflicting patches from the system. If a conflict exists
that prevents the patch from being applied, you can use this
option to apply the patch. OPatch removes all the conflicting
patches before applying the current patch.

init

Passes parameters to the init script, which executes before
prerequisite checks are run. The values for this option must be
enclosed in double-quotes.

invPtrLoc

Specifies the location of the oraInst.loc file. The invPtrLoc
option is needed when this option is used during installation.
Oracle recommends the use of the default Central Inventory for
a platform.

jre

Instructs OPatch to use JRE (Java) from the specified location
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

local

Specifies that OPatch should patch the local node and update
the inventory of the local node. It does not propagate the patch
or inventory update to other nodes.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments and non-clustered environments. If an entire
cluster is shut down before patching, you can use this option for
non-rolling patches.

local_node
minimize_downtime

Tells OPatch the local node for this cluster. You can use this
option on Oracle Real Application Clusters environments.
Specifies the order of nodes that OPatch should patch.
This option only applies to Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments. You cannot use it with the -local option with a
rolling patch.

no_bug_superset

Specifies to error out if the current patch’s bugs-to-fix is a
superset (or same set) of an installed patch’s bugs-fixed in the
Oracle home directory.

7-10 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–2 (Cont.) Apply Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

no_inventory

Bypasses the inventory for reading and updates. You cannot use
this option with the local option. This option places the
installation into an unsupported state.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operations. You can use
it during multiple patch applications and to perform the linking
step only once. OPatch does not keep track of the make
operations it did not perform. You need to make sure to execute
OPatch without this option at the end for compilation.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch does not need to update the files in the
system. It only updates the inventory. It also does not execute
the pre and post scripts.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default.
This takes precedence over the environment variable
ORACLE_HOME.

opatch_init_end

Marks the end of the init options. You use this option with the
init option. If you do not use this option, everything after
init until the end of the command is passed into init.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post option. You use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. You use this option with the
pre option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre
until the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

post

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the post script. This
script is executed after the patch is applied. You need to enclose
the values for this option in double-quotes.

pre

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the pre script. This
script is executed before the patch is applied. You need to
enclose the values for this option in double-quotes.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

ptlConnect

Specifies the connection string credentials of the portal schema.

ptlPassword

Specifies the password of the portal schema.

ptlSchema

Specifies the schema of the portal repository.

remote_nodes

Tells OPatch the list of remote nodes. You can use this option on
Oracle Real Application Clusters environments. The node names
must be separated with commas, but without spaces.

report

Prints the action to the screen without executing it.

retry

Tells OPatch how many times it should retry when there is an
inventory lock failure.

runSql

Tells OPatch to run the SQL script and SQL procedures if they
exist in the given patch. For information on SQL and PL/SQL
patching, see "Schema Patching".

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any answers to "yes."

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-11

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–2 (Cont.) Apply Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

sqlScript

Specifies the custom SQL script that OPatch should run after
patching completes. For information on SQL and PL/SQL
patching, see "Schema Patching".

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

If a patch consists of SQL changes, follow the instructions in
the patch readme, which is included with the patch to apply the SQL
scripts.

Note:

Napply Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command applies interim patches to several Oracle homes at the same time.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch napply [patch_location] [-id comma-separated list of patch IDs]
[-delay  ] [ -force ]
[-invPtrLoc  ]
[-jdk  ] [-jre  ] [ -local ]
[-minimize_downtime ] [-no_bug_superset ]
[-no_inventory ] [-oh  ]
[-retry  ] [-silent ]
[-verbose ] [-no_relink]
[-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post  [-opatch_post_end] ]
[-no_sysmod]
[ -property_file  ]
[ -local_node  ]
[ -remote_nodes  ]
[ -all_nodes ]
[ -phBaseFile  ]
[-skip_subset] [-skip_duplicate] [-report]

Examples
■
The following example applies all patches under the 
directory:
opatch napply 
■

The following example applies patches 1, 2, and 3 that are under the
 directory:
opatch napply  -id 1,2,3

7-12 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

■

The following example applies all patches under the 
directory. OPatch skips duplicate patches and subset patches (patches under
 that are subsets of patches installed in the Oracle home).
opatch napply  -skip_subset -skip_duplicate

See the description for the skip_subset option in Table 7–3 for more
information.
■

The following example applies patches 1, 2, and 3 that are under the
 directory. OPatch skips duplicate patches and subset
patches (patches under  that are subsets of patches installed
in the Oracle home).
opatch napply  -id 1,2,3 -skip_subset -skip_duplicate

See the description for the skip_subset option in Table 7–3 for more
information.
Options
Table 7–3 lists the options available for this command.
Table 7–3

Napply Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

all_nodes

Applies the patch using the all-node mode.

delay

Specifies how many seconds to wait before attempting to lock
the inventory again for a previous failure. You can use this
option only if you specify the retry option.

force

Removes conflicting patches from the system. If a conflict exists
that prevents the patch from being applied, you can use this
option to apply the patch. OPatch removes all the conflicting
patches before applying the current patch.

invPtrLoc

Specifies the location of the oraInst.loc file. The invPtrLoc
option is needed when this option is used during installation.
Oracle recommends the use of the default Central Inventory for
a platform.

jdk

Instructs OPatch to use JDK (jar) from the specified location
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.
If you do not specify the jre option, JVM is executed from the
jdk location.

jre

Instructs OPatch to use JRE (Java) from the specified location
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.
You cannot specify the jdk and jre options together.

local

Specifies that OPatch should patch the local node and update
the inventory of the local node. It does not propagate the patch
or inventory update to other nodes.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments and non-clustered environments. If an entire
cluster is shut down before patching, you can use this option for
non-rolling patches.

local_node

Tells OPatch the local node for this cluster. You can use this
option on Oracle Real Application Clusters environments.

minimize_downtime

Specifies the order of nodes that OPatch should patch.
This option only applies to Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments. You cannot use it with the -local option with a
rolling patch.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-13

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–3 (Cont.) Napply Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

no_bug_superset

Specifies to error out if the current patch’s bugs-to-fix is a
superset (or same set) of an installed patch’s bugs-fixed in the
Oracle home directory.

no_inventory

Bypasses the inventory for reading and updates. You cannot use
this option with the local option. This option places the
installation into an unsupported state.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operations. You can use
it during multiple patch applications and to perform the linking
step only once. OPatch does not keep track of the make
operations it did not perform. You need to make sure to execute
OPatch without this option at the end for compilation.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch does not need to update the files in the
system. It only updates the inventory. It also does not execute
the pre and post scripts.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default.
This takes precedence over the environment variable
ORACLE_HOME.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post option. You use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. You use this option with the
pre option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre
until the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

phBaseFile

If you do not specify , use this option to
point OPatch to a file containing a list of patches to be n-applied.
Each line in the file points to a location of a patch.

post

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the post script. This
script is executed after the patch is applied. You need to enclose
the values for this option in double-quotes.

pre

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the pre script. This
script is executed before the patch is applied. You need to
enclose the values for this option in double-quotes.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

remote_nodes

Tells OPatch the list of remote nodes. You can use this option on
Oracle Real Application Clusters environments. The node names
must be separated with commas, but without spaces.

report

Prints the action to the screen without executing it.

retry

Tells OPatch how many times it should retry when there is an
inventory lock failure.

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any answers to "yes."

skip_duplicate

Skips patches to be applied that are duplicates of other patches
installed in the Oracle home. Two patches are duplicates if they
fix the same set of bugs.

7-14 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–3 (Cont.) Napply Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

skip_subset

Skips patches to be applied that are subsets of other patches
installed in the Oracle home. One patch is a subset of another
patch if the former fixes a subset of bugs fixed by the latter.
For example, if you used napply yesterday for patch A that
fixed bugs 1 and 2, then you use napply today with this option
for patch B that fixes bug 1 and patch C that fixes bugs 1, 2, and
3, then subset patch A is skipped, and patch C then becomes a
superset of patch A.

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

Auto Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
Ordinarily, an Oracle Clusterware patch requires several manual steps before and after
you apply the patch, such as:
■

Stopping all dependent databases

■

Stopping Oracle Clusterware resources

■

Running pre-patch scripts

■

Shutting down Oracle Clusterware

■

Running post-patch scripts

■

Starting Oracle Clusterware and dependent databases

The opatch auto command automates all of these tasks for patching the grid
infrastructure home and all other applicable RDBMS homes.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
/opatch auto
[-rollback [patch_location]]
[[patch_location]-oh ,...] |
[[patch_location]-och ]

... where patch_location is path to the location for the patch. If you do not specify the
patch location, the current directory is considered the patch location.
Auto Options
Table 7–4 lists the options available for this command.
Table 7–4

Auto Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

rollback

Rolls back the patch rather than applying it.

oh

Comma-separated Oracle homes to patch. The default is all
applicable Oracle homes. Use this option to patch RDBMS
homes where no database is registered.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-15

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–4 (Cont.) Auto Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

och

Path of the Oracle Clusterware home. Use this option to patch
only Oracle Clusterware homes where Oracle Clusterware has
been stopped already. Do not use this option for Oracle
Clusterware with a CRS stack that is up.

Examples
■
The following example applies a patch with an unzipped patch location to all
applicable Oracle homes on the system:
opatch auto 
■

The following example rolls back the patch from all the applicable Oracle homes
on the system:
opatch auto -rollback 

■

The following example patches a selective list of Oracle homes:
opatch auto  -oh /tmp/oh1,/tmp/oh2,/tmp/oh3

■

The following example only patches the CRS home when the Oracle Clusterware
stack is down.
opatch auto  -och /tmp/ora_crs_home

Lsinventory Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command lists the inventory for a particular Oracle home, or displays all
installations that can be found. This command does not have any required options.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch lsinventory [-all ] [-all_nodes] [-bugs_fixed  ]
[-delay  ] [-detail ] [-group_by_date ]
[-inactive] [-invPtrLoc  ]
[-jre  ] [-local ]
[-oh  ] [-patch  ]
[-ptlPassword  ]
[-ptlSchema  ]
[-property_file ]
[-retry  ]
[-retry  ] [-translation_patch ]

The following sections provide examples for the detail, bugs_fixed, and patch desc
options. See Table 7–5 for descriptions of the command options.
-detail Option Example
The following example shows the output of opatch lsinventory -detail for 134
products and one interim patch:
Invoking OPatch 11.1.0.6.6

7-16 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 11.1.0.6.6
Copyright (c) 2009, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Oracle Home
Central Inventory
from
OPatch version
OUI version
OUI location
Log file location
10-28-06AM.log

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

/scratch/username/11.2db
/home/username/newDB/oraInventory
/etc/oraInst.loc
11.1.0.6.6
11.2.0.1.0
/scratch/username/11.2db/oui
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2009-07-27_

Patch history file: /scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch_history.txt
Lsinventory Output file location :
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/lsinv/lsinventory2009-07-27_
10-28-06AM.txt
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Installed Top-level Products (1):
Oracle Database 11g
There are 1 products installed in this Oracle Home.

11.2.0.1.0

Installed Products (134):
Agent Required Support Files
Assistant Common Files
Bali Share
Buildtools Common Files
Character Set Migration Utility
Cluster Verification Utility Common Files
Database Configuration and Upgrade Assistants
Database SQL Scripts
Database Workspace Manager
Deinstallation Tool
Enterprise Edition Options
Enterprise Manager Agent
Enterprise Manager Agent Core Files
Enterprise Manager Common Core Files
Enterprise Manager Common Files
Enterprise Manager Database Plugin -- Agent Support
Enterprise Manager Database Plugin -- Repository Support
Enterprise Manager Grid Control Core Files
Enterprise Manager Minimal Integration
Enterprise Manager plugin Common Files
Enterprise Manager Repository Core Files
Exadata Storage Server
Expat libraries
Generic Connectivity Common Files
HAS Common Files
HAS Files for DB
Installation Common Files
Installation Plugin Files
Installer SDK Component
JAccelerator (COMPANION)
LDAP Required Support Files
OLAP SQL Scripts
Oracle 11g Warehouse Builder Required Files

10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
1.1.18.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
2.0.1.0.1
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-17

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle
Oracle

Advanced Security
Application Express
Call Interface (OCI)
Clusterware RDBMS Files
Code Editor
Configuration Manager
Configuration Manager Deconfiguration
Containers for Java
Core Required Support Files
Data Mining RDBMS Files
Database 11g
Database 11g
Database 11g Multimedia Files
Database Deconfiguration
Database Gateway for ODBC
Database User Interface
Database Utilities
Database Vault J2EE Application
Database Vault option
DBCA Deconfiguration
Display Fonts
Enterprise Manager Console DB
Extended Windowing Toolkit
Globalization Support
Globalization Support
Help For Java
Help for the Web
Ice Browser
Internet Directory Client
Java Client
JDBC Server Support Package
JDBC/OCI Instant Client
JDBC/THIN Interfaces
JFC Extended Windowing Toolkit
JVM
Label Security
LDAP administration
Locale Builder
Message Gateway Common Files
Multimedia
Multimedia Annotator
Multimedia Client Option
Multimedia Java Advanced Imaging
Multimedia Locator
Multimedia Locator RDBMS Files
Net
Net Listener
Net Required Support Files
Net Services
Netca Client
Notification Service
Notification Service (eONS)
ODBC Driver
ODBC Driverfor Instant Client
OLAP
OLAP API
OLAP RDBMS Files
One-Off Patch Installer
Partitioning
Programmer

7-18 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
1.2.1.0.0I
10.3.1.1.0
10.3.1.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.2.13.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
9.0.2.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
3.4.47.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
4.2.9.0.0
2.0.14.0.0
5.2.3.6.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
4.2.36.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.0.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Oracle Quality of Service Management (Client)
Oracle RAC Deconfiguration
Oracle RAC Required Support Files-HAS
Oracle Real Application Testing
Oracle Recovery Manager
Oracle Security Developer Tools
Oracle Spatial
Oracle SQL Developer
Oracle Starter Database
Oracle Text
Oracle Text Required Support Files
Oracle UIX
Oracle Universal Connection Pool
Oracle Universal Installer
Oracle Wallet Manager
Oracle XML Development Kit
Oracle XML Query
Parser Generator Required Support Files
Perl Interpreter
Perl Modules
PL/SQL
PL/SQL Embedded Gateway
Platform Required Support Files
Precompiler Common Files
Precompiler Required Support Files
Provisioning Advisor Framework
RDBMS Required Support Files
RDBMS Required Support Files for Instant Client
regexp
Required Support Files
Sample Schema Data
Secure Socket Layer
SQL*Plus
SQL*Plus Files for Instant Client
SQL*Plus Required Support Files
SQLJ Runtime
SSL Required Support Files for InstantClient
Sun JDK
XDK Required Support Files
XML Parser for Java
XML Parser for Oracle JVM
There are 134 products installed in this Oracle Home.

11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.2.24.5.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
5.10.0.0.1
5.10.0.0.1
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
10.2.0.4.2
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
2.1.9.0.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
1.5.0.17.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0
11.2.0.1.0

Interim patches (1) :
Patch 103
: applied on Mon Jul 27 10:25:16 PDT 2009
Created on 07 Nov 2007, 04:57:14 hrs US/Eastern
Bugs fixed:
103, 104, 105
Files Touched:
routeserver.ear --> ORACLE_HOME/md/jlib/routeserver.ear
Patch Location in Inventory:
/scratch/username/11.2db/inventory/oneoffs/103
Patch Location in Storage area:
/scratch/username/11.2db/.patch_storage/103_Nov_07_2007_04_57_14
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------OPatch succeeded.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-19

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

-bugs_fixed Option Example
The following example shows the output of opatch lsinventory
-bugs_fixed asc:
Invoking OPatch 11.1.0.6.6
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 11.1.0.6.6
Copyright (c) 2009, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Oracle Home
Central Inventory
from
OPatch version
OUI version
OUI location
Log file location
10-25-33AM.log

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

/scratch/username/11.2db
/home/username/newDB/oraInventory
/etc/oraInst.loc
11.1.0.6.6
11.2.0.1.0
/scratch/username/11.2db/oui
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2009-07-27_

Patch history file: /scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch_history.txt
Lsinventory Output file location :
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/lsinv/lsinventory2009-07-27_
10-25-33AM.txt
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Installed Top-level Products (1):
Oracle Database 11g
There are 1 products installed in this Oracle Home.

11.2.0.1.0

List of Bugs fixed by Installed Patches:
Bug

Installed at

Description

---

Fixed by
Patch
--------

------------

-----------

103
104
105

103
103
103

Mon Jul 27 10:25:16 PDT 2009
Mon Jul 27 10:25:16 PDT 2009
Mon Jul 27 10:25:16 PDT 2009

Try to Patch an ear
Dummy1
Dummy2

OPatch succeeded.

-patch desc Option Example
The following example shows the output of opatch lsinventory -patch desc:
Invoking OPatch 11.1.0.6.6
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 11.1.0.6.6
Copyright (c) 2009, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Oracle Home
Central Inventory
from
OPatch version
OUI version
OUI location
Log file location
10-39-03AM.log

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

/scratch/username/11.2db
/home/username/newDB/oraInventory
/etc/oraInst.loc
11.1.0.6.6
11.2.0.1.0
/scratch/username/11.2db/oui
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2009-07-27_

Patch history file: /scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch_history.txt

7-20 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Lsinventory Output file location :
/scratch/username/11.2db/cfgtoollogs/opatch/lsinv/lsinventory2009-07-27_
10-39-03AM.txt
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interim patches (2) :
Patch 101
: applied on Mon Jul 27 10:38:00 PDT 2009
Created on 07 Nov 2007, 04:57:14 hrs US/Eastern
Bugs fixed:
101
This patch overlays patches:
103
Patch 103
: applied on Mon Jul 27 10:25:16 PDT 2009
Created on 07 Nov 2007, 04:57:14 hrs US/Eastern
Bugs fixed:
103, 104, 105
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------OPatch succeeded.

Lsinventory Options
Table 7–5 describes the options available for the lsinventory command.
Table 7–5

Lsinventory Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

all

Reports the name and installation directory for each Oracle
home directory found.

all_nodes

Reports the patches installed on the given Oracle home in all
nodes of the Oracle RAC system. It also prints the Oracle
binary's size and checksum on all nodes. You cannot use this
option with the all, detail, or patch options.

bugs_fixed

Reports bugs fixed by installed patches in a tabular format.
Besides the bugs fixed, the report also displays the installed
patches, installed times, and bug descriptions.
The fixed bugs are sorted per installed patch. Default display is
patches in descending order based on installed time and
ascending order of bugs within each patch. You can use 'asc' (or)
'desc' with this option to enforce sort order on bugs within each
patch.
You can use this option with the patch or patch option to obtain
sort orders with installed patches.

delay

If you specify retry, this option tells OPatch how many seconds it
should wait before attempting to lock the inventory again in
case of a previous failure.

detail

Reports the installed products and other details. You cannot use
this option with the -all option.

group_by_date

Specifies that OPatch should group all installed patches by the
date they were installed in the Oracle home.

inactive

Lists all the inactive patches that have been superseded by other
superset patch(es) installed in the Oracle home.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-21

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–5 (Cont.) Lsinventory Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

invPtrLoc

Specifies the location of the oraInst.loc file. You need this
option if you used the invPtrLoc option during the
installation. Oracle recommends using the default Central
Inventory for a platform.

jre

Specifies the location of a particular JRE (Java) to use instead of
the default location under the Oracle home directory.

local

Instructs OPatch to only display inventory information for the
local node.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

patch

Lists the patch IDs installed in the Oracle home in ascending
(asc) or descending (desc) order, which is the default, based on
installed time.

ptlPassword

Enables you to specify the password of the portal schema.

ptlSchema

Enables you to specify the schema of the portal repository.

property_file

Indicates the user-defined property file that OPatch should use.
The path to the property should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the property file that OPatch supplies.

retry

Specifies how many times OPatch should retry when there is an
inventory lock failure.

translation_patch

Displays the translation patch, language code, installed time of
the translation patch, and base patch for any single row in the
table.

Query Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command queries a specific patch for specific details. It provides information
about the patch and the system being patched.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch query

[-all] [-is_auto_patch] [-is_translatable_patch]
[-get_base_bugs] [-get_component] [-get_os] [-get_date]
[-get_patch_language] [-get_patch_type] [-get_patch_model]
[-get_product_family] [-get_update_components] [-has_sql]
[-is_online_patch] [-is_patchset_update]
[-is_portal_patch] [-is_rolling_patch]

Options
Table 7–6 lists the options available for the Query command.

7-22 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–6

Query Options

Option

Description

all

Retrieves all information about a patch. This is equivalent to
setting all available options.

get_base_bugs

Retrieves bugs fixed by the patch.

get_component

Retrieves components the patch affects.

get_date

Retrieves the patch creation date and time.

get_patch_language

Gets the language that the patch supports.

get_patch_model

Gets the patching model.

get_patch_type

Gets the patch type specified in the patch metadata.

get_product_family

Gets the product family specified in the patch metadata to which
the patch belongs.

get_update_components

Gets all components to be upgraded in a patchset update.

has_sql

Indicates true if the patch has SQL-related actions. Otherwise,
the option is false. For information on SQL and PL/SQL
patching, see "Schema Patching".

is_auto_patch

Indicates true if the patch is auto-enabled. Otherwise, the option
is false.

is_online_patch

Indicates true if the patch is an online patch. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_patchset_update

Indicates true if the patch is a patchset upate. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_portal_patch

Indicates true if the patch has portal actions. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_rolling_patch

Indicates true if the patch is a rolling patch. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_translatable_patch

Indicates true if the patch is translatable. Otherwise, the option
is false.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

Rollback Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command removes an existing one-off patch from the appropriate Oracle home
directory indicated by the reference ID.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch rollback -id  [-ph ] [-delay ]
[-invPtrLoc  ]
[-jre  ] [-local] [-oh ]

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-23

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

[-retry ] [-silent] [-verbose]
[-no_relink] [-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post [ -opatch_post_end] ] [-no_sysmod]
[-property_file ]
[-local_node ]
[-remote_nodes ]
[-connectString ]
[-ptlSchema ] [-ptlPassword ]
[-ptlConnect ]
[-runSql] [-sqlScript ]
[-init  [-opatch_init_end] ] [-report]

Options
Table 7–7 lists the options available for the Rollback command.
Table 7–7

Rollback Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

all_nodes

Rolls back the patch using the all-nodes mode.

connectString

Specifies the list of database instances on which the patch needs
to be applied. Specify the value for this option using the
following syntax:
SID:User:Passwd:Node
Example:
oracle:dba:dba:mymachine,oracle1:::
The SID is required, but you can disregard the other parameters
if desired, because OPatch provides default values for them.
Note: If the system is not part of an Oracle RAC setup and you
want to patch just the local node, provide the node name as an
empty string.

delay

If you use the retry option with the rollback command,
specifies how many seconds OPatch should wait before
attempting to lock the inventory again if a previous failure
occurs.

id

Indicates the patch to be rolled back. Use the lsinventory
option to display all patch identifiers. Each one-off patch is
indicated by its ID. To successfully roll back a patch, you must
provide the patch identifier.

init

Passes parameters to the init script, which executes before
prerequisite checks are run. The values for this option must be
enclosed in double-quotes.

invPtrLoc

Specifies the location of the oraInst.loc file. You need to use
this option if you used the invPtrLoc option during
installation. Oracle recommends the use of the default Central
Inventory for a platform.

jre

Specifies the location of a particular JRE (Java) for OPatch to use
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

7-24 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–7 (Cont.) Rollback Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

local

Specifies that OPatch roll back the local node, then update the
inventory of the local node. It does not propagate the patch or
inventory update to other nodes.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments and non-clustered environments. If an entire
cluster is shut down before patching, you can use this option for
non-rolling patches.

local_node

Specifies to OPatch that this is the local node for the cluster to be
used for rollback.
You can use this option for Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch need not update the files in the system,
only the inventory. It also does not execute the pre and post
scripts.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operation in the patch.
You can use this option during multiple patch removals and to
perform the compilation step only once.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

opatch_init_end

Marks the end of the init options. Use this option with the
init option. If you do not use this option, everything after
init until the end of the command is passed into init.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post options. Use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. Use this option with the pre
option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre until
the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

ph

Specifies the valid patch directory area. Rollback uses the
command types found in the patch directory to identify which
commands are used for the current operating system.

post

Specifies the parameters to be passed inside the post script.
This script executes after the patch is removed. You must enclose
the value of this option in double-quotes.

pre

Specifies the parameters to be passed inside the pre script. This
script executes before the patch is removed. You must enclose
the value of this option in double-quotes.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

ptlConnect

Specifies the connection string credentials of the portal schema.

ptlSchema

Specifies the schema of the portal repository.

ptlPassword

Specifies the password of the portal schema.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-25

OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Table 7–7 (Cont.) Rollback Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

remote_nodes

Specifies to OPatch the list of remote nodes to be used for
rollback of the patch. The node names must be separated with
commas, but without spaces.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments.

report

Prints the actions to the screen without executing them.

retry

Instructs OPatch how many times it should retry when there is
an inventory lock failure.

runSql

Instructs OPatch to run the SQL script and SQL procedures if
they exist in the given patch. For information on SQL and
PL/SQL patching, see "Schema Patching".

sqlScript

Specifies the custom SQL script that OPatch should run after
patching completes. For information on SQL and PL/SQL
patching, see "Schema Patching".

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any yes|no questions
to "yes". An Oracle Real Application Clusters setup does not
support this option.

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

Nrollback Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command rolls back interim patches from several Oracle homes at the same time.
You must have write permission to the files in the Oracle home
before using this command. Otherwise, OPatch fails.

Note:

Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch nrollback -id 
[-delay ] [-invPtrLoc  ]
[-jdk  ] [-jre  ] [-local]
[-minimize_downtime] [-no_relink] [-oh  ]
[-retry ] [-silent] [-verbose]
[-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post [ -opatch_post_end] ]
[-no_sysmod] [-property_file ]
[-local_node ]
[-remote_nodes ]
[ -all_nodes ] [-report]

Example
The following example rolls back patches 1, 2, and 3 that have been installed in the
Oracle home:
opatch nrollback -id 1,2,3

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OPatch Utility for OUI-based Oracle Homes

Options
Table 7–8 lists the options available for this command.
Table 7–8

Nrollback Options for OUI Patches

Option

Description

all_nodes

Rolls back the patch using the all-nodes mode.

delay

If you use the retry option with the rollback command,
specifies how many seconds OPatch should wait before
attempting to lock the inventory again if a previous failure
occurs.

id

Indicates the patch to be rolled back. Use the lsinventory
option to display all patch identifiers. Each one-off patch is
indicated by its ID. To successfully roll back a patch, you must
provide the patch identifier.

invPtrLoc

Specifies the location of the oraInst.loc file. You need to use
this option if you used the invPtrLoc option during
installation. Oracle recommends the use of the default Central
Inventory for a platform.

jdk

Instructs OPatch to use JDK (jar) from the specified location
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.
If you do not specify the jre option, JVM is executed from the
jdk location.

jre

Specifies the location of a particular JRE (Java) for OPatch to use
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

local

Specifies that OPatch roll back the local node, then update the
inventory of the local node. It does not propagate the patch or
inventory update to other nodes.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments and non-clustered environments. If an entire
cluster is shut down before patching, you can use this option for
non-rolling patches.

local_node

Specifies to OPatch that this is the local node for the cluster to be
used for rollback.
You can use this option for Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments.

minimize_downtime

Specifies the order of nodes that OPatch should patch.
This option only applies to Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments. You cannot use it with the -local option with a
rolling patch.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch need not update the files in the system,
only the inventory. It also does not execute the pre and post
scripts.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operation in the patch.
You can use this option during multiple patch removals and to
perform the compilation step only once.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post options. Use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-27

Standalone Patching

Table 7–8 (Cont.) Nrollback Options for OUI Patches
Option

Description

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. Use this option with the pre
option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre until
the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

remote_nodes

Specifies to OPatch the list of remote nodes to be used for
rollback of the patch. The node names must be separated with
commas, but without spaces.
You can use this option on Oracle Real Application Clusters
environments.

report

Prints the actions to the screen without executing them.

retry

Instructs OPatch how many times it should retry when there is
an inventory lock failure.

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any yes|no questions
to "yes". A Real Application Clusters setup does not support this
option.

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

Version Command for OUI-based Oracle Homes
This command shows the current version number of the OPatch utility. Use the
following syntax for this command:
/opatch version

Standalone Patching
Standalone patching is available for Oracle homes that have not been installed using
the Oracle Universal Installer. Standalone patching does not have Central Inventory
registration, but still generates inventory files for the one-off inventory and future
conflict checking. OPatch uses the presence of the OUI directory under ORACLE_HOME
to determine whether it should operate in OUI-based or standalone mode.
The following sections discuss these standalone patching topics:
■

Unsupported services for standalone patching

■

Standalone patching requirements

■

OPatch commands for standalone patching

■

Use cases

Unsupported Services for Standalone Patching
Standalone patching provides most of the services that OUI-based patching provides.
However, standalone patching does not provide the following services that OUI-based
patching provides.

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Standalone Patching

Looking up the component inventory
Standalone OPatch enables you to look up which patches have been applied to a
standalone Oracle home, but it does not support looking up product components. For
example, if you run opatch lsinventory on a JDeveloper Oracle Home, OPatch
shows a list of patches applied on the home. It does not show which components the
home has, however.
Looking up the Central Inventory
You cannot run opatch lsinventory –all to list all Oracle homes registered on
the host (through the Central Inventory repository).
Migrating from standalone to OUI-based patching and vice versa
The assumption is that after you have installed a product as standalone without OUI,
it remains standalone. For example, after having installed JDeveloper, you cannot put
OUI (through copying or proper installation) onto the Oracle home and expect OPatch
to treat the home as an OUI-based Oracle home.
Conversely, the assumption is that after you have installed a product with OUI, it
remains OUI-based. For example, after you install Oracle RDBMS, you cannot remove
OUI (either by removing or proper deinstallation) and expect OPatch to treat the home
as a standalone Oracle home. OPatch will not work properly in this case and will
corrupt the home.
Interoperating between standalone and OUI-based patches
Since you cannot migrate a home from standalone to OUI-based and vice versa,
OPatch does not support interoperability between standalone and OUI-based Oracle
homes.
Seamlessly working on a cloned standalone Oracle home
If you clone a standalone Oracle home S1 to another Oracle home OH2, Opatch will
not function properly on the new cloned OH2.
Supporting RAC
OPatch relies on OUI to detect Oracle RAC and propagate files. Hence, standalone
OPatch does not support RAC; it does not attempt to detect RAC, and its utility will
not work. That is, OPatch always runs as opatch apply –local. OPatch does not
support any patch propagation from one node to another node. Also, standalone
OPatch does not support RAC-related utilities such as opatch util
runRemoteMake (invokes relink on remote node).
Performing patch set operations
OPatch does not support patch set operations in either standalone or OUI modes. You
need to use OUI for patch set operations.

Standalone Patching Requirements
Standalone patching requires the following environment:
■

JRE version 1.4 or later

■

Oracle home without OUI

■

OPatch that supports standalone patching

All of the required files and directories must exist for OPatch to function correctly. If
any of the files are missing, OPatch perceives that the patch has not been applied. You
Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-29

Standalone Patching

would then have to take corrective action, returning the standalone inventory to a
stable state.

OPatch Utility for Standalone Homes
As with OUI-based patching, you can run the OPatch utility, located in the
/OPatch directory, with various commands and options.
The following string shows the syntax for the OPatch utility:
/opatch [-help] [-r[eport]] [command] [-option]

where:
■

help — Displays the help message for the command.

■

report — Prints the actions without executing.

■

command — One of the OPatch commands.

■

option — One of the OPatch command options.

Table 7–9 lists the commands available for standalone patching.
Table 7–9

OPatch Standalone Commands

Command

Description

apply

Installs an interim patch. See "Apply Command for Standalone
OPatch" for more information.

lsinventory

Lists what is currently installed on the system. See "Lsinventory
Command for Standalone OPatch" for more information.

query

Queries a given patch for specific details. See "Query Command
for Standalone OPatch" for more information.

rollback

Removes an interim patch. See "Rollback Command for
Standalone OPatch" for more information.

version

Prints the current version of the patch tool. See "Version
Command for Standalone OPatch" for more information.

The following sections provide the syntax and options for each of these commands.

Apply Command for Standalone OPatch
The Apply command applies an interim patch to a standalone home from the current
directory.
Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch apply

[ -force ] [-jre  ] [-no_bug_superset ] [-no_inventory ]
[-oh  ][-silent ][-verbose ]
[-no_relink] [-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post  [-opatch_post_end] ] [-no_sysmod]
[-property_file ]
[-init  [-opatch_init_end] ] [-report]
[]

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Standalone Patching

Options
Table 7–10 lists the options available for the Apply command.
Table 7–10

Apply Options for Standalone Patches

Option

Description

force

Removes conflicting patches from the system by enabling you to
change the product and version number of the standalone
Oracle home. OPatch removes all the conflicting patches before
applying the current patch.

init

Passes parameters to the init script, which executes before
prerequisite checks are run. The values for this option must be
enclosed in double-quotes.

jre

Instructs OPatch to use JRE (Java) from the specified location
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

no_bug_superset

Specifies to error out if the current patch’s bugs-to-fix is a
superset (or same set) of an installed patch’s bugs-fixed in the
Oracle home directory.

no_inventory

Bypasses the inventory for reading and updates. You cannot use
this option with the local option. This option places the
installation into an unsupported state.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operations. You can use
it during multiple patch applications and to perform the linking
step only once. OPatch does not keep track of the make
operations it did not perform. You need to make sure to execute
OPatch without this option at the end for compilation.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch does not need to update the files in the
system. It only updates the inventory. It also does not execute
the pre and post scripts.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default.
This takes precedence over the environment variable
ORACLE_HOME.

opatch_init_end

Marks the end of the init options. You use this option with the
init option. If you do not use this option, everything after
init until the end of the command is passed into init.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post option. You use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. You use this option with the
pre option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre
until the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

post

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the post script. This
script is executed after the patch is applied. You need to enclose
the values for this option in double-quotes.

pre

Specifies the parameters to be passed to the pre script. This
script is executed before the patch is applied. You need to
enclose the values for this option in double-quotes.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any answers to "yes."

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-31

Standalone Patching

Table 7–10 (Cont.) Apply Options for Standalone Patches
Option

Description

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

Lsinventory Command for Standalone OPatch
The Lsinventory command lists the inventory for a particular Oracle home, or displays
all installations that can be found. This command does not have any required options.
Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:

opatch lsinventory [-all ] [-detail ] [-jre  ]
[-oh  ] [-patch] [-oh]
[-property_file ]

Options
Table 7–12 lists the options available for the Lsinventory command.
Table 7–11

Lsinventory Options for Standalone Patches

Option

Description

all

Reports the name and installation directory for each Oracle
home directory found.

detail

Reports the installed products and other details. You cannot use
this option with the all option.

jre

Specifies the location of a particular JRE (Java) for OPatch to use
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

patch

Specifies the patches installed in the Oracle home.

property_file

Indicates the user-defined property file that OPatch should use.
The path to the property should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the property file that OPatch supplies.

Query Command for Standalone OPatch
This command queries a specific patch for specific details. It provides information
about the patch and the system being patched.
Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch query

[-all] [-jre  ] [-oh  ]
[-get_component] [-get_os] [-get_date]
[-get_base_bug] [-is_portal_patch]
[-is_rolling_patch] [-is_online_patch]
[-has_sql] [  ]

Options
Table 7–12 lists the options available for the Query command.

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Standalone Patching

Table 7–12

Query Options

Option

Description

all

Retrieves all information about a patch. This is equivalent to
setting all available options.

get_base_bug

Retrieves bugs fixed by the patch.

get_component

Retrieves components the patch affects.

get_date

Retrieves the patch creation date and time.

has_sql

Indicates true if the patch has SQL-related actions. Otherwise,
the option is false. For information on SQL and PL/SQL
patching, see "Schema Patching".

is_online_patch

Indicates true if the patch is an online patch. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_portal_patch

Indicates true if the patch has portal actions. Otherwise, the
option is false.

is_rolling_patch

Indicates true if the patch is a rolling patch. Otherwise, the
option is false.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

Rollback Command for Standalone OPatch
The Rollback command removes an existing one-off patch from the appropriate Oracle
home directory indicated by the reference ID.
Syntax
Use the following syntax for this command:
opatch rollback -id  [-ph ]
[-jre  ] [-oh ]
[-silent] [-verbose] [-no_relink]
[-pre  [-opatch_pre_end] ]
[-post [ -opatch_post_end] ] [-no_sysmod]
[-property_file ]
[-init  [-opatch_init_end] ] [-report]

Options
Table 7–13 lists the options available for the Rollback command.
Table 7–13

Rollback Options for Standalone Patches

Option

Description

id

Indicates the patch to be rolled back. Use the lsinventory
option to display all patch identifiers. Each one-off patch is
indicated by its ID. To successfully roll back a patch, you must
provide the patch identifier.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-33

Standalone Patching

Table 7–13 (Cont.) Rollback Options for Standalone Patches
Option

Description

init

Passes parameters to the init script, which executes before
prerequisite checks are run. The values for this option must be
enclosed in double-quotes.

jre

Specifies the location of a particular JRE (Java) for OPatch to use
instead of the default location under the Oracle home directory.

no_sysmod

Specifies that OPatch need not update the files in the system,
only the inventory. It also does not execute the pre and post
scripts.

no_relink

This option does not perform any make operation in the patch.
You can use this option during multiple patch removals and to
perform the compilation step only once.

oh

Specifies the Oracle home directory to use instead of the default
directory. This takes precedence over the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable.

opatch_init_end

Marks the end of the init options. Use this option with the
init option. If you do not use this option, everything after
init until the end of the command is passed into init.

opatch_post_end

Marks the end of the post options. Use this option with the
post option. If you do not use this option, everything after
post until the end of the command is passed into post.

opatch_pre_end

Marks the end of the pre options. Use this option with the pre
option. If you do not use this option, everything after pre until
the end of the command is passed into pre.

Patch Location

Indicates the path to the patch location. If you do not specify the
location, OPatch assumes the current directory is the patch
location.

ph

Specifies the valid patch directory area. Rollback uses the
command types found in the patch directory to identify which
commands are used for the current operating system.

post

Specifies the parameters to be passed inside the post script.
This script executes after the patch is removed. You must enclose
the value of this option in double-quotes.

pre

Specifies the parameters to be passed inside the pre script. This
script executes before the patch is removed. You must enclose
the value of this option in double-quotes.

property_file

Specifies the user-defined property file for OPatch to use. The
path to the property file should be absolute. This property file
takes precedence over the one that OPatch supplies.

report

Prints the actions to the screen without executing them.

silent

Suppresses user interaction, and defaults any yes|no questions
to "yes". An Oracle Real Application Clusters setup does not
support this option.

verbose

Prints additional OPatch output to the screen as well as to the
log file.

Version Command for Standalone OPatch
This command shows the current version number of the OPatch utility. Use the
following syntax for this command:
/opatch version

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Use Cases
The following sections provide scenarios that administrators can encounter when
implementing standalone patching for the following types of operations:
■

Inventory

■

Patching

■

Utility

Inventory Operations
The following tables explain the purpose of the use case along with preconditions and
the process that occurs during the patching process.
Table 7–14

Getting Patch Information

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Show a list of interim patches installed on a standalone Oracle
home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using the standalone OPatch.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch lsinventory

OPatch Response

Table 7–15

1.

OPatch detects that this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch looks for the standalone inventory file.

3.

OPatch prints out a list of installed interim patches.

Getting Detailed Patch Information

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Show a detailed list of interim patches installed on a standalone
Oracle home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using the standalone OPatch.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch lsinventory -detail

OPatch Response

1.

OPatch detects that this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch looks for the standalone inventory file.

3.

OPatch prints out a list of installed interim patches as well
as files affected by each interim patch.

Patching Operations
The following tables explain the purpose of the use case along with preconditions and
the process that occurs during the patching process.
Table 7–16

Applying an Interim Patch - Case 1

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Apply an interim patch on a standalone Oracle home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using the standalone OPatch. The patch has been downloaded.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-35

Standalone Patching

Table 7–16 (Cont.) Applying an Interim Patch - Case 1
Use Case Category

Description

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch apply/patch_loc/123451

OPatch Response

Table 7–17

1.

OPatch detects that this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch looks for the standalone inventory file and checks
for conflicts.

3.

OPatch performs an automatic rollback if there are
conflicting patches.

4.

OPatch applies a new patch to the home.

5.

OPatch updates its standalone inventory.

Applying an Interim Patch - Case 2

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Apply an interim patch on a standalone Oracle home that exists
within another OUI-based Oracle home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using a new OPatch. The patch has been downloaded.
The standalone Oracle home has a different directory patch than
the OUI-based Oracle home. For example, the OUI-based Oracle
home path is /path, whereas the standalone Oracle home is
/path/dev.
Enter the following command:

User Input

opatch apply/patch_loc/123451
OPatch Response

Table 7–18

1.

OPatch detects that this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch looks for the standalone inventory file and checks
for conflicts.

3.

OPatch performs an automatic rollback if there are
conflicting patches.

4.

OPatch applies a new patch to the home.

5.

OPatch updates its standalone inventory.

Applying an Interim Patch - Case 3

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Apply an interim patch on a standalone Oracle. It seems to be a
standalone Oracle home, but OPatch detects it as OUI-based.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using a new OPatch. The patch has been downloaded.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch apply/patch_loc/123451

OPatch Response

1.

OPatch detects ORACLE_HOME/oui and believes it is an
OUI-based Oracle home.

2.

OPatch attempts to apply the patch as OUI-based Oracle
home patching (if the patch is compatible with the home).

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Table 7–19

Rolling Back an Applied Interim Patch

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Roll back an interim patch applied earlier on a standalone Oracle
home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set and the Oracle home has been patched
using a standalone OPatch.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch rollback -id 123451

OPatch Response

1.

OPatch detects this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch examines the standalone inventory file to determine
if patch 123451 was applied.

3.

OPatch rolls back patch 123451.

4.

OPatch updates its standalone directory.

Utility Operations
The following tables explain the purpose of the use case along with preconditions and
the process that occurs during the patching process.
Table 7–20

Loading an Arbitrary XML File

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Load an XML file, making sure it is XML-parsable.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch util loadXML
Note that the loadXML utility is often used as a debugging and
troubleshooting tool.

OPatch Response

Table 7–21

1.

OPatch detects this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch prompts for the complete path to the XML file that
you want to load.

3.

OPatch opens the file and uses the XML parser to parse it.

4.

OPatch reports that the file is XML-parsable.

Verifying that the Patch is Applied

Use Case Category

Description

Purpose

Ensure that the patch was applied to the Oracle home.

Preconditions

$ORACLE_HOME is set, and the Oracle home has been patched
using the standalone OPatch.

User Input

Enter the following command:
opatch util verify -ph/patch_loc/123451
Note that patch verification is automatically invoked when
OPatch applies a patch to an Oracle home. You do not need to
rerun verify after applying a patch.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-37

Schema Patching

Table 7–21 (Cont.) Verifying that the Patch is Applied
Use Case Category

Description

OPatch Response

1.

OPatch detects this is a standalone Oracle home.

2.

OPatch examines /patch_loc/123451 to make sure it is a
valid patch area.

3.

OPatch examines the files in /patch_loc/123451 to
make sure the Oracle home was patched with the same bits.

4.

OPatch reports that both the patch inventory and patch
binary are in the Oracle home.

Schema Patching
There are two types of schema patches:
■

■

SQL patch — This patches the Oracle database with updated procedures and
schema changes.
PL/SQL patch — This also patches the Oracle database with updated procedures
and schema changes, as for the SQL patch. However, a PL/SQL patch also
mentions the procedure names in its patch metadata so that these procedures can
be backed up for rollback.

The following sections discuss these topics:
■

Schema patching options

■

Standalone SQL execution

Schema Patching Options
Table 7–22 shows the schema patching options that OPatch supports for Apply and
Rollback:
Table 7–22

Schema Patching Options

Option

Description

-runSql

Instructs OPatch to read the SQL script from the patch and run it
on the specified SIDs. You must specify this option for the
patchmd.xml SQL script specification and custom SQL script.

-sqlScript

Specifies OPatch to run this custom SQL script. This is an
optional parameter.

-connectString

Provides a list of database instance SIDs, user, and password to
be patched. Each entry is separated by a comma ( , ). The value
for this option has the following format:
SID1:USER1:PASSWORD1:NODE1,
SID2:USER2:PASSWORD2:NODE2

Standalone SQL Execution
OPatch provides a utility to run only the SQL scripts to patch specified database
instances. Use this utility only when you cannot apply or roll back SQL procedure
actions using normal Apply or Rollback sessions.
The syntax for Apply is as follows:
opatch util applySql –id  -connectString 

The syntax for Rollback is as follows:
7-38 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching

opatch util rollbackSql –ph  (or) –phBaseFile  (or)
–phBaseDir
 -connectString 

Online Patching
Regular patches typically contain .o (object) files and/or .a (archive) libraries, and
therefore require a relink of the RDBMS binary. Online patches, however, contain .so
files, which are dynamic/shared libraries, and do not require a relink of the RDBMS
binary. Consequently, since a relink is not needed, you can apply or roll back online
patches while the RDBMS instance is running. This simplifies administration, because
no downtime is needed, and also results in a much quicker turnaround time for
installing or de-installing Online Patches.
A regular RDBMS patch can require many minutes to install, since it requires instance
shutdown, a relink, and instance startup. On the other hand, you can install an online
patch in just a few seconds.
Online patches are only applicable for Oracle RDBMS and not any other products.
Online patches are currently supported on the following Windows and UNIX
platforms for version 11.2.0.1.0 and later:
■

Linux x86

■

Linux x86_64

■

HP-UX Itanium

■

Solaris SPARC 64-bit

■

Solaris AMD 64-bit

■

AIX (AIX 6.1 and later)

Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching
An Oracle Real Application Clusters environment enables active instances to
concurrently execute transactions on a shared database. Patching in an Oracle Real
Application Clusters environment is slightly different compared to patching a single
node.
Interim Patching using OPatch follows a similar approach as that performed by Oracle
Universal Installer to detect Oracle home and nodes of a cluster. OPatch interacts with
the Oracle Universal Installer inventory through the Oracle Universal Installer Java
SDK. If OPatch detects a cluster, it queries the inventory through Oracle Universal
Installer to find the local node name and node list. If your node list is not updated, you
can update it by using the -updateNodeList flag of Oracle Universal Installer. You
can bypass remote actions using the -local flag, as shown below:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/ -updateNodeList ORACLE_
HOME=
"CLUSTER_NODES={node1,node2,node3}"
-noClusterEnabled
-local

If you want to specify the local node or remote nodes of an Oracle Real Application
Clusters setup to OPatch, you can use the LOCAL_NODE or REMOTE_NODES session
variable and specify the node name(s), as shown below:
$ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/ ORACLE_HOME=

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-39

Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching

"REMOTE_NODES={node1,node2,node3}"
LOCAL_NODE=

If OPatch does not automatically detect Oracle Real Application Clusters or its nodes,
you need to investigate the contents of the inventory and ensure that it is complete.
You can patch Oracle Real Application Clusters in three different ways:
■

All Node Patching

■

Rolling Patching

■

Minimum Downtime Patching

The following sections provide detailed information for these types of Oracle Real
Application Clusters patching.

All Node Patching
Figure 7–1 shows a basic example of All Node Patching.
Figure 7–1 All Node Patching

Systems A, B, and C are nodes in this cluster. When you perform All Node Patching in
this cluster, you bring down systems A, B, and C, apply patches to all these nodes,
then bring systems A, B, and C back up again.

Rolling Patching
In Rolling Patching, you shut down each node, apply the patch, then bring up each
node again. You do this separately for each node until you patch all nodes in the
cluster. This is the most efficient method of applying an interim patch to an Oracle
Real Application Clusters setup, because there is absolutely no downtime during the
application of patches, as only one system is brought down at any given time. Only
some patches can be applied in this mode. The type is generally specified in the patch
metadata.
Figure 7–2 shows a basic example of Rolling Patching.

7-40 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Oracle Real Application Clusters Patching

Figure 7–2 Rolling Patching

When you perform Rolling Patching in this cluster, the patches are applied in a rolling
fashion. You initially bring down system A, apply a patch to it, then bring it back up.
You do the same thing for systems B and C.

Minimum Downtime Patching
In Minimum Downtime Patching, the nodes are divided into sets. Initially, you shut
down the first set and apply a patch to it. After this, you shut down the second set.
You then bring up the first set and apply a patch to the second set. You now bring up
the second set. All the nodes in the cluster are now patched. This method leads to less
downtime for Oracle Real Application Clusters when both sets are brought down. This
mode is executed by using -minimize_downtime command line option. You can
also activate this option from the response file.
Figure 7–3 shows a basic example of Minimum Downtime Patching.
Figure 7–3 Minimum Downtime Patching

Systems A, B, and C are nodes in this cluster. It is divided into two sets: Set 1 contains
systems A and B, and Set 2 contains system C. When you perform Minimum
Downtime Patching in this cluster, you shut down Set 1 and apply a patch to it. You
now shut down Set 2. Then, you bring up Set 1 and apply a patch to Set 2. After you
apply the patch, you bring up Set 2 again. Now both Sets 1 and 2 are patched.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-41

About Patch Conflicts

About Patch Conflicts
All patches may not be compatible with one another. For example, if you apply a
patch, all the bugs the patch fixes could reappear after you apply another patch. This is
called a conflict situation. OPatch detects such situations and raises an error when it
detects a conflict.

Types of Conflicts
OPatch can detect the following types of conflicts.

Superset
If all the bugs fixed by a patch in the system are also fixed by the patch to be applied,
this patch (the patch to be applied) is considered a superset of the patch already
applied. If a bug superset condition is detected, it is not considered an error situation.
All the subset patches are removed from the system and the new patch is applied.
Example
Consider the following scenario:
■

Patch A, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 1, 2, and 3.

■

Patch B, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 10, 11, and 12.

■

Patch C, to be installed, fixes bugs 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Patch C is considered a superset of Patch A.
Using the -no_bug_superset Flag
If you want OPatch to error out if the current patch bugs-to-fix is a superset or the
same as an installed patch bugs-fixed in the Oracle home directory, you can use the
-no_bug_superset flag:
$ OPatch/opatch apply -no_bug_superset 
The following example output shows the message you would see when you use the
-no_bug_superset flag:
Oracle interim Patch Installer version 11.2.0.0.1
Copyright (c) 2009, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Oracle Home
: /home/oracle_TEST/product/11.1.0/db_1
Central Inventory : /home/OUIHome_Opatch
from
: /home/oracle_TEST/product/11.2.0/db_1/oraInst.loc
OPatch version
: 11.1.0.6.6
OUI version
: 11.1.0.6.6
OUI location
: /home/oracle_TEST/product/11.1.0/db_1/oui
Log file location : /home/oracle_TEST/product/11.1.0/db
_1/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch-2008_May_25_14-03-33-IST_Wed.log
ApplySession applying interim patch '111000' to OH '/home/oracle
_TEST/product/11.1.0/db_1'
Apply Session failed: ApplySession failed to prepare the system. Interim patch
111000 is a superset of the patch(es) [ 111000 ] in OH /home/oracle
_TEST/product/11.1.0/db_1
System intact, OPatch will not attempt to restore the system
OPatch failed with error code 73

Subset
Patches to be applied can be subsets of other patches installed in the Oracle home.

7-42 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

About Patch Conflicts

Example
Consider the following scenario:
■

Patch A, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 1, 2, and 3.

■

Patch B, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 10, 11, and 12.

■

Patch D, to be installed, fixes bugs 1 and 2.

Patch D is a subset of Patch A.
Using the skip_subset Option
When you want to skip patches formerly applied in the Oracle home that are now
subsets of other patches you want to apply now, you can use the
skip_subset option of napply. For example, if you used napply yesterday for
patch A that fixed bugs 1 and 2, then you use napply today with the
skip_subset option for patch B that fixes bug 1 and patch C that fixes bugs 1, 2, and
3, then subset patch A is skipped, and patch C then becomes a superset of patch A.
Example 7–1 applies all patches under the  directory. OPatch
skips duplicate patches and subset patches (patches under  that
are subsets of patches installed in the Oracle home).
Example 7–1
opatch napply  -skip_subset -skip_duplicate

Example 7–2 applies patches 1, 2, and 3 that are under the 
directory. OPatch skips duplicate patches and subset patches (patches under
 that are subsets of patches installed in the Oracle home).
Example 7–2
opatch napply  -id 1,2,3 -skip_subset -skip_duplicate

See the description for the skip_subset option in Table 7–3 for more information.

Duplicate
A duplicate patch fixes the same set of bugs fixed by another patch. For example, if
you applied Patch A that fixed bugs 1, 2 and 3, and now apply Patch B that also fixes
bugs 1, 2 and 3, then Patch B is a duplicate of Patch A. A patch is always a duplicate of
itself.
Using the skip_duplicate Option
If you specify this option, OPatch removes duplicate patches from the list of patches to
be applied. For example, if you used napply yesterday for Patch A discussed above,
then use napply today with the -skip_duplicate option for Patch A and other
patches, duplicate Patch A is skipped.

Bug Conflict
A bug conflict occurs if a set of bugs to be fixed by the current interim patch intersects
with some bugs already fixed by one or more previously installed interim patches. You
must remove the bug conflict before you proceed with the patching by using the
apply command with the -force flag, which rolls back the conflicting patches
before applying the new one.

Patching Oracle Software with OPatch 7-43

About Patch Conflicts

Example
Consider the following scenario:
■

Patch A, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 1, 2, and 3.

■

Patch B, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 10, 11, and 12.

■

Patch E, to be installed, fixes bugs 3 and 4.

Patch E conflicts with Patch A.

File Conflict
A file conflict occurs if a set of files to be patched by the current interim patch includes
files already patched by one or more previously installed interim patches, and it is not
a bug superset.
Example
Consider the following scenario:
■

■

Patch A, installed in the Oracle home, fixed bugs 1, 2, and 3, which modified files
a, b, and c.
Patch F, to be installed, fixes bugs 1, 2, 3 and 4, and modifies files a, d, and f.

Patch F conflicts with Patch A.

Patch Conflict Behavior for Apply and Napply
The expected behavior for the Apply and Napply commands is listed in Table 7–23.
Table 7–23

Expected Behavior for Apply and Napply Commands
File Conflict or Bug
Conflict Patch

Command

Superset

Subset

Duplicate

Apply

OPatch performs an
automatic rollback,
then an apply.

After the merge
request, OPatch
performs an
automatic rollback,
then performs an
apply.

OPatch performs an
automatic rollback,
then performs a
reapply.

OPatch reports the
conflict. After the
merge request, OPatch
performs an automatic
rollback, then an apply.

Napply

OPatch performs an
automatic rollback,
then an apply.

OPatch performs an
OPatch reports the
automatic rollback,
subset and skips the
then a reapply.
subset patch. It then
continues and applies
the other patches.

OPatch reports the
conflict, then asks you
to run again without
applying a bug conflict
patch.
You can use the -force
option to instruct
OPatch to
automatically roll back
the conflicting patch,
then apply the new
patch.

Patch Conflict Detection and Resolution
OPatch detects and reports any conflicts encountered when applying an Interim patch
with a previously applied patch. The patch application fails in case of conflicts. You
can use the -force option of OPatch to override this failure. If you use this option,
the installer first rolls back any conflicting patches and then proceeds with the
installation of the desired interim patch.

7-44 Oracle® Universal Installer and OPatch User’s Guide

Problem Resolution

You may encounter a bug conflict and might want to remove the conflicting patch.
This process is known as patch rollback. During patch installation, OPatch saves
copies of all the files the new patch replaced before the new versions of these files are
loaded and stores them in $ORACLE_HOME/.patch_storage. These saved files are
called Rollback files and are the key to making patch rollback possible. When you roll
back a patch, these Rollback files are restored to the system. You should only override
the default behavior by using the -force flag if you completely understand the patch
Rollback process. To roll back a patch, execute the following command:
$ OPatch/opatch rollback -id 

Problem Resolution
The following sections provide information and instructions on the following tasks to
resolve problems:
■

Using logs and traces

■

Recovering from a failed patching session

■

Resolving OPatch application errors

Logging and Tracing
Logging and tracing is a common aid for debugging. OPatch maintains logs for all
Apply, Rollback, and Lsinventory operations. Each time you execute OPatch, a new
log file is created. The log files are located in the
/cfgtoollogs/opatch directory. Each log file is tagged with the
timestamp of the operation. Log files are named as
opatch__

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