Re: Patching databases - time estimates

On Thu, February 1, 2007 18:17, Dennis Williams said:
> Tony,
>
> The problem with asking multiple questions is that one may be
> overlooked ;-)

I think you are right :)

> Patch times vary a lot depending on hardware and the such. The best
> policy
> is to apply them to a test server and that will let you get your
> procedure
> down. You'll still find that your production server may vary
> significantly
> in the amount of time it takes.

Unfortunately we have no test servers, we provide DBA services for several customers, and I have been asked to provide an estimate on upgrading several servers on a customer site. Most of these are production databases. They do have test databases, the estimate still applies to these.

I am expressing my reservations about NT4 and the 8i databases. Even though this is the UK, I'm worried about the impact of the DST changes, this is a multinational customer.

This proposal is complicated inasmuch as these servers are running several applications, including Siebel, and I can find nothing on Siebel and supported versions.

I need more info, and am unable to approach the customer at what is a proposal stage.

> 8i to 10g. Hard to make a blanket statement. This could be a good time
> to
> change the layout of your database to benefit most from 10g. For
> example,
> are you using LMT everywhere? On the other hand, how much data, how
> long a
> downtime window can you get? Imp/exp may not complete in the available
> downtime window.

I am attempting to get this message across, however, I still have to provide estimates. What I can do is qualify them with a big bunch of ifs.

> Here is a link to a document that may offer some ideas:
> http://www.tcoug.org/, scroll down to Best Practices for Upgrading to
> Oracle
> database 10g, and open the link to the presentation.
>
> Dennis Williams

Thanks Dennis, I'm having a look now.

Regards.
>
> On 1/31/07, Paul Drake <bdbafh_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On 1/31/07, S. Anthony Sequeira <tony_at_sequeira.org.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > More than one question here. I have been asked to estimate the
>> time
>> > required to patch several databases.
>> >
>> > The majority are 9i (currently 9.2.0.1/9.2.0.4), to be patched up
>> to
>> > 9.2.0.8, all are single instance databases, all are running on
>> > Win2K/Win 2003 servers. Most are 24/7, some 8/5
>> >
>> > Unfortunately, there are a couple of these still running on NT4.
>> >
>> > There are also a few 8.1.7 databases to be migrated to 10g on NT4
>> :(
>> >
>> > Questions:
>> >
>> > 1) A rough idea of time required for:
>> > a) 9i patch to 9.2.0.8?
>> > b) 8i patch to 10.2. Would it be better to export/import?
>> >
>> > 2)
>> > a) Will 10g be OK on NT4?
>> > b) If so, will Oracle support it?
>> > c) Is it possible to patch 8.1 to 10.2? (see 1b)
>> >
>> > I'm pessimistic about 2, I'll be digging around on Metalink as
>> soon as
>> > I finish paperwork, but I have a meeting and I have to have a
>> rough
>> > idea on the above.
>> >
>> > Cheers.
>> > --
>> > Tony
>> >
>>
>> Tony,
>>
>> MS Windows NT4 is a desupported OS.
>> Metalink >> Certify >> by platform >> product >> check versions and
>> submit.
>>
>> I wonder how MS WinNT4 will handle the daylight savings time change?
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
Tony

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