This is a great reference - especially the point that "Your application is
already broken". My corollary to that is that "All code is obsolete the first
time it executes". NOT patching, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is a
folly. The net over time will be an application that "fails" (to perform as
expected) more and more often. . Patching or "upgrading" is to software
what "Preventive Maintenance" is to "hardware" (the physical universe); if you
don't change the oil in your car, eventually (and unpredictably) it will stop
(catastrophically).
I personally experienced this in a "previous life" and had to fight to develop
a "patching cycle"; like law and sausage making, it wasn't pretty, and it took
time; but our "application availability" improved dramatically.
When you're purchasing an application, one of the "due diligence" criteria
should be discovering how often the vendor provides updates, what dependencies
(like "platform" versions) exist and the vendor's track record on dealing with
those.
Clay Jackson
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf
Of Rajesh Aialavajjala
Sent: Friday, January 8, 2021 7:37 AM
To: mark@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: Noveljic Nenad <nenad.noveljic@xxxxxxxxxxxx>; mkline1@xxxxxxxxxxx; ORACLE-L
<oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Upgrading with no patches in the "base"?
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not follow
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This (in my humble opinion) excellent post by Tim Hall -
https://oracle-base.com/blog/2020/10/08/upgrades-you-have-to-do-them-when-are-you-going-to-learn-tlsv1-2/<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foracle-base.com%2Fblog%2F2020%2F10%2F08%2Fupgrades-you-have-to-do-them-when-are-you-going-to-learn-tlsv1-2%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cclay.jackson%40quest.com%7C994ed27912aa4b58d86c08d8b3eb5bcb%7C91c369b51c9e439c989c1867ec606603%7C0%7C0%7C637457170719795976%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=eUNHpU9kcoKuzC2j9992yIoPXZOL4NxLRtQnPnn0OnE%3D&reserved=0>
- summarizes the reasons to NOT try to use an unpatched home. I agree - I've
never heard of this "unpatched $ORACLE_HOME" strategy.
Patches (RU/RUR/CPU/PSU - a rose by any other name) exist for a reason (grin) -
granted they are not always perfect (grimace) and can lead to one dealing with
vendor support - in this case Oracle Support.
I would add my +1 to Mark's comment and the previous replies (of course you
gentlemen hardly need my endorsement) - this does not make sense...
I don't know if there is a constraint from the application side that prohibits
19c - I recently had an upgrade project to move databases to 12.1.0.2 and when
the "Why not 19c?" question was raised the reply was the application that uses
the DB had a hard stop regarding compatibility at 12.1 - the prior upgrade to
12c (interpreted 12.2) had to be rolled back.
Thanks,
--Rajesh
On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 10:28 AM Mark J. Bobak
<mark@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:mark@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
"They will test this for a while, and if everything is fine, THEN they will
apply the patch."
And what if everything *isn't* fine? Then they *won't* apply the patch?
Doesn't make sense.
-Mark
On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 10:19 AM Noveljic Nenad
<nenad.noveljic@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:nenad.noveljic@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi Michael,
That sounds like black magic.
If "for a while" implies two different maintenance windows, you end up with two
test cycles and two disruptions instead of just one. If you get the opportunity
to combat these voodoo practitioners in front of the management, the most
persuasive argument would be that the database will be running without security
and other critical patches for a while. Who's going to take that risk?
Last but not least, why not 19c?
Best regards,
Nenad
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> On Behalf
Of Michael Kline
Sent: Freitag, 8. Januar 2021 15:29
To: 'ORACLE-L' <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Subject: Upgrading with no patches in the "base"?
Hearing that an application is going to be upgraded from 12.1 to 12.2.
Vendor is saying they will create a "blank, no patched" 12.2 $ORACLE_HOME, and
then upgrade the database.
They will test this for a while, and if everything is fine, THEN they will
apply the patch.
I've never heard of such a thing and have been working on Oracle databases
since 1983, version 4.0.
Is there logic in this? We try to keep all databases at N-1 on patching.
Michael Kline
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