DST (10.2.0.3) patchset - Message from Oracle

From: GovindanK <gkatteri_at_fastmail.fm>
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 18:12:37 UT
Message-Id: <1173118357.30921.1177824411@webmail.messagingengine.com>

Hello , I got this by mail from Oracle. Thought i will share it with the oracle-l list. Here you go . HTH GovindanK

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                       Oracle Corporation
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                      Dear Oracle Customer,

To inform you about important information regarding your software, Oracle is notifying you of an issue discovered in a recent download of a database patch set or bundle. This issue affects the following patch sets and bundles (hereinafter "Patch Set"):

10.2.0.3 all ports
Windows 32 and 64 bit patch bundles: + 9.2.0.7 Bundle 13, 14, 15 + 9.2.0.8 Bundle 2, 3 and 4 + 10.1.0.5 Bundle 9, 10, 11 + 10.2.0.2 Bundle 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 + 10.2.0.3 Bundle 1

Oracle believes that the number of customers with user data that may be affected by this Patch Set is small; however, the information contained in this announcement is intended to help you determine if your data may be affected and what to do if it is. Please read through this message in its entirety to determine if you have the issue and be sure to perform all recommended steps before contacting support. This information should be maintained for your reference as necessary.

                       Defining the Issue

Due to 2007 U.S. and Canadian changes to Daylight Saving Time, you may have stored timestamp data in your Oracle database which was not previously within Daylight Saving Time, but is now included (e.g., timestamp data with dates falling between March 11, 2007 and April 1, 2007). Such data must be corrected BEFORE installing a Patch Set into your Oracle Database. The instructions to detect and correct affected data prior to installing Patch Set are documented in MetaLink (for more information, see MetaLink [1]Note ID # 359145.1).

A new version of the time zone rules file was included in the Patch Sets; however, the instructions regarding how to correct pre-existing data were not referred to in the original README file. If you did not correct pre-existing data before installing the Patch Set, it may mean that incorrect pre-existing data is inappropriately combined with newer data stored after installation of the Patch Set.

If you have not yet installed the Patch Set, Oracle strongly recommends that you DO NOT INSTALL it until you have read the modified README files and have completed all specified pre- and post-installation tasks. To access the modified README files, logon to the MetaLink page where you originally downloaded the software and follow the instructions to view the README file.

The modified README will contain instructions for downloading and running the correct version of the script utltzuv2.sql. Please read the instructions COMPLETELY and finish all pre-installation tasks BEFORE installing the Patch Set.

How Do I Know If My Data is Affected? There is no impact from installing the Patch Set without following the new README on data stored by the following Oracle products:

Oracle Application Server
Oracle EM Grid Control
Content Services and ContentDB
Oracle Secure Enterprise Search
Oracle E-Business Suite (other than user-added columns)
Siebel CRM
Peoplesoft Enterprise
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
Oracle Demantra

As we determine impact on other Oracle products they will be listed in MetaLink Note: [2]415912.1.

There are two classes of potentially affected data: Oracle 10g Database Scheduler jobs, and user defined data. Oracle-defined Scheduler jobs are only scheduled one week in the future, so if you install the Patch Set more than one week before March 11, the Oracle-defined Scheduler jobs should all be correct.

If you believe that your data may be incorrect, Oracle strongly encourages you to obtain and run an Oracle software script to assess your data (for more information, see MetaLink Note ID # 415912.1). Running the script as soon as possible before March 11 will minimize your chance of encountering problems with your data or having the script report correct Scheduler data as potentially incorrect. The script will identify each class of affected data, if any, and information in the MetaLink note will provide guidance for correcting affected data.

The script will assess the following general conditions, all of which must have occurred for your data to be affected:

You must have installed a Patch Set WITHOUT running the steps to detect and correct pre-existing incorrect data (for more information, see MetaLink [3]Note ID # 359145.1 followed by [4]Note ID # 406410.1). If you ran script utltzuv2.sql and correctly followed the instructions for acting on what the script found, your data should correctly reflect the new time changes. Note: if you installed the Patch Set on a new database BEFORE you stored any data, then your data is NOT affected.
Your database must contain timestamp columns of type TIMESTAMP WITH TIMEZONE. NOTE: ALL customers running 10gR1 or 10gR2 windows patch bundles and 10.2.0.3 may be affected if they have jobs scheduled by the Database Scheduler because it stores timestamp data as described above. 10g installations have some jobs scheduled by default (Automatic Workload Repository data gathering, for example).
Your timestamp data must meet all of these conditions: + Contain US or Canadian time zones. + The timestamp falls within the date ranges that are newly included in Daylight Saving Time. This includes beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time this year and beyond (for example, timestamps between March 11, 2007 and April 1, 2007 in a U.S. time zone might be affected). + The timestamp was stored in your database before you installed a Patch Set.

                        What Should I Do?

If you have run the script from MetaLink Note ID # 415912.1, and after following Oracle's guidance for correcting affected data you need additional assistance, please go to MetaLink and log a Service Request. When logging your Service Request, select the following values to help route your SR quickly:

Product: Oracle Server – Enterprise Edition Oracle Server – Standard Edition
Type of Problem: Daylight Saving Time (DST) Changes in 2007 Abstract: Please start your abstract with the tag DST REPAIR:

Global Customer Support is here to assist you in this matter. Please use the information contained in this announcement for your reference. For any further inquiries please log a Service Request with Oracle Global Customer Support.

Please note that, in light of the importance of critical patch and other support notices, and in accordance with the terms of Oracle's privacy policy, these notices are sent to the registered technical analysts for Oracle's supported customers and are not subject to suppression. If your role has changed and you are no longer the Oracle technical analyst for the customer listed above, please send an email to [5]support-communications_ww_at_oracle.com.

References

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Received on Mon Mar 05 2007 - 12:12:37 CST