Category: Update

This blog post details the steps for cloning an Oracle Database Home from an existing Oracle Home to another server, applicable to both RAC and Single Instance environments. Cloning is preferred over reinstalling, particularly for legacy systems with unique patches when original installation setups are unavailable. The process involves creating a tar file of the source, setting up the target, and executing cloning commands to ensure successful cloning and validation of the new Oracle Home.

This post illustrates how to use AutoUpgrade to patch an Oracle Database to in environments without internet access, making it also suitable for isolated systems. It details steps such as creating necessary directories, copying setup files, running prechecks, applying patches, and performing post-upgrade operations. The AutoUpgrade utility automates many tasks traditionally handled manually by DBAs.

In this blog post, I walk you through how to download Oracle patches using AutoUpgrade on a Windows host behind a proxy requiring authentication. The steps include configuring proxy environment variables, creating the necessary directory structure, importing SSL certificates into the Java truststore and setting up a keystore for My Oracle Support (MOS) credentials. Additionally, I share a workaround for a language-specific issue encountered when the Windows display language is set to Turkish, which will be fixed on the next release.

In this post, I’m sharing the latest Ansible playbooks for patching Oracle Database and Grid Infrastructure, specifically for the Oracle 19.26 Release Update, including MRPs and recommended one-off fixes. Ansible simplifies the patching process, providing repeatability and ease.

This post outlines the process for upgrading Oracle Application Express (APEX) from version 19.2 to 24.1. APEX is a low-code platform for developing web applications with Oracle Database. The upgrade process is independent of the database version but requires Oracle Database version 19c or later. The steps include downloading the new version, creating dedicated tablespaces, executing installation scripts, modifying request-handling procedures, and dropping the old APEX user and tablespace. Finally, the latest cumulative patch, released on December 9, 2024, is applied to ensure a secure, reliable, and efficient APEX environment.

The necessity of a time zone upgrade depends on whether a database stores timestamp data with time zones. For organizations with clients in various time zones, upgrading may be essential. The data types TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE (TSTZ) and TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE (TSLTZ) are key considerations, with TSTZ retaining original time zone data while TSLTZ normalizes it according to DBTIMEZONE value. Oracle’s Data Pump requires matching time zone versions during data transfers. The steps for upgrading the time zone in a sample database are explained in detail.