This is not quite what Jon was talking about, but something similar
https://github.com/jkstill/patch-check
I've used that to determine if Oracle has a dependency on any RPMs to be
installed.
Jared Still
Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist
Principal Consultant at Pythian
Oracle ACE Alumni
Pythian Blog http://www.pythian.com/blog/author/still/
Github: https://github.com/jkstill
On Fri, Oct 22, 2021 at 2:58 PM Jon Crisler <joncrisler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I had a script at one time that dug into most of the Oracle binaries , ran
a ldd and gave a thumbs up / down on the need to relink . Somehow I
misplaced it . Best practice would be to relink DB homes , Grid homes
etc if any of the 20+ rpms that oracle uses are touched . 12c and 19c
have gotten more reliable but occasionally we run into issues that are
resolved only with a relink .
Sent from my Atari 2600
On Oct 22, 2021, at 4:02 PM, Clay Jackson <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Well, I’m a “dinosaur” (aka, Grumpy Old Guy) and was trained that if the
data was valuable enough to be put in a database in the first place, it
should be treated that way; but, back when I was managing “real” databases
for various companies; MINIUMUM Standard Operating Procedure after ANY
patch was:
1. Shut down the database (if it was running after the patch) and all
other associated processes (like web servers or listeners)
2. Relink Oracle Home
3. Restart Oracle and all other processes
Of course, this leaves out a lot of steps that you might need to do BEFORE
patching (like read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the release notes), or
in the course of patching, like all the “catproc” stuff and any
troubleshooting (for example, when the relink fails). We also did “the
usual” things to mitigate the downtime required, including OS Clusters
(before RAC) and RAC, or DataGuard, or…., depending on the environment and
business requirements.
MOST of the time, the “powers that be” listened when I asked, “What kind
of outage would you prefer? A scheduled, coordinated one of a ‘time
certain’ duration (and we usually beat that); or a ‘fire drill’ of
uncertain impact and duration when something breaks”. Occasionally
someone thought “they knew better” and had to “learn by experience”.
At one particular employer, who shall remain nameless, when I arrived,
they had not had a patch “succeed on the first try” in 4 years. That
changed, not on the first or even second try, but, over time.
(And by the way, this “Standard Operating Procedure” was born of “knowing
better” and occasionally, but less frequently over time, being “reminded”
why “Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad
judgement”).
Good luck!
*Clay Jackson*
Database Solutions Sales Engineer
<image001.jpg>
clay.jackson@xxxxxxxxx
*office* 949-754-1203 *mobile* 425-802-9603
*From:* oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On
Behalf Of *Tharmarajah, Sam
*Sent:* Friday, October 22, 2021 11:53 AM
*To:* ORACLE-L <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* Question: do you relink and bounce or just bounce or non,
after your OS patching
*CAUTION:* This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not
follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognize the
sender and know the content is safe.
Hi All,
We are interested to know, what does the oracle community do when it comes
to databases and os patching, especially when there is no kernel patch? The
reason is that when there is no kernel patch, most of the times, our
database servers doesn’t get restarted. That would leave the databases up
and running, without a restart. When reading metalink document, Doc ID
1467060.1 “Relinking Oracle HOME FAQ” , oracle recommends manually
relinking the OH, after OS patching. Even though most of the times these OS
patches had not caused any issue, there are occasions, where some databases
have had performance degradations on these scenarios. Those times, just a
restart addressed the problems.
To me, at least a restart of the databases after the OS patching will help
to reinitialize the process with the new or updated libraries that are
dynamically linked. Though I would prefer to relink and restart. But the
systems folks think it could be an over kill, as most of the OS patches are
quiet stable.
What are your thoughts and justifications on doing the things the way you
do?
Thanks in advance to all your responses.
Thanx,
Sam
