RE: the joy of version numbers

In the late 1990's, I presented a short session on "Misunderstanding OFA" to a local user group after encountering far too many semi-educated DBAs who said stuff like: "This isn't OFA! You used /ora01/, /ora02/, etc. instead of /u01/, /u02/, etc."!

It seems that the intent of a once great idea has since been completely lost in the details. Some of the Oracle documentation now says "for example /u01/" and some says, essentially "THE MOUNT POINTS MUST BE /u01/, /u02/, etc."! Many support techs also seem to think that '/u01/' is somehow sacred.

Now, even with ASM for all the datafiles and such, I sometimes run across someone who still insists on creating /u01/, /u02/, /u03/, ad nauseum - and leaving them empty - simply to appease the (quite misunderstood) OFA gods.

Don Granaman | Ph: 402-361-3073 | Cell: 402-960-6955 | Solutionary - Relevant | Intelligent | Security

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From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Mark W. Farnham Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:16 PM
To: jpatterson_at_entint.com; fuzzy.graybeard_at_gmail.com; oracle-l_at_freelists.org Subject: RE: the joy of version numbers

IF you've got a single mount point big enough to be reserved for /orasoft (as is mostly true these days) in place of the pre-oracle-dominance and much smaller /u01, /u02, /u03... allocations of often less than a gig back when Cary first wrote out OFA, THEN why bother with .../app/oracle/product/... ?  

(If you read actual original OFA, those are replaceable tokens. Since you've already named your mount point orasoft, that means app, oracle, and product.)  

/ora/p/<version>/<dbhome>  

seems sufficient and shorter. This actually does translate into lots of saved memory. Your /orasoft would eliminate the need for the /p, but I like to allow the possibility of file systems database files, especially for little test databases, so they can be /ora/d/<dbname>/.  

Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the issue: short is good as long as it is clear. IF you've got $ORACLE_BASE and $ORACLE_HOME defined you've got a succinct roadmap.  

mwf  

-----Original Message-----

From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Patterson, Joel
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:46 PM
To: fuzzy.graybeard_at_gmail.com; oracle-l_at_freelists.org Subject: RE: the joy of version numbers  

After 11.2.0.2.0, (I think that's it), all updates will be self contained, (contain everything needed), so out of line patching becomes best practice.  

So I've move forward, and as of yet have not ensured that in my version of the OFA will be easier for patching. There is a five digit oracle version in my new OFA -- because there is a new directory for each install/patch.  

/orasoft/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.3.0/dbhome

/orasoft/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.3.3/dbhome  

I never had use for dbhome until someone, (I think Dunbar), uses it to distinguish between Standard edition and Enterprise edition... dbhome_se dbhome_ee for example.  

The self cleanup of the diag can be configured. The app_server for EM 10g was ridiculous but I got it done -- OFA but not every txt went away, apache, webCache, on and on with each one doing it their own way. With persistence I got every one -- with over a year on the SR(s). Now we are going to go to 12c. The only thing constant is change.  

On a high note: I like the external table idea! I have one standard on every database. I run a job (could be EM), but use my own and get all the alert info in one file, (if you want it all). The job pipes and filters out most of what I don't need to see). So 40 or 50 databases in one file gives you a glimpse of something new and exciting. I open it with VIM. (The alert logs start over each week helping out. I keep a month or two around for posterity).    

Joel Patterson

Database Administrator

904 928-2790      

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From: <mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org> oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [ <mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org> mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Hans Forbrich

Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 11:48 AM

To: <mailto:oracle-l_at_freelists.org> oracle-l_at_freelists.org

Subject: Re: the joy of version numbers  

On 22/05/2013 7:13 AM, Patrice sur GMail wrote:

> Oracle version numbers are fun, aren't they?

I've noticed that even Oracle does not understand them.  

According to the DBA Guide, Chapter 1, there is a known pattern that was intended to include the Oracle App Server group - but apparently neither the OAS nor the WebLogic Server groups read Database documentation so they created their own variants.  

And then the EM group decided to go on their own, somewhere in left field in which 'Releases' are what everyone else calls 'Patch Sets'. Oh well.  

Add to that the Marketing Brand (9i, 10g, 11g, 12c ...) which confuses everyone, and the consistency between brand and version (WebLogic Server 12c (12.1.1), WebLogic Server 11g (10.3.6) as on and we have a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.  

I'm sure interns are not involved - it appears too deliberately disorganized to have been accomplished by novices unless perhaps over Tequila Parties ...  

At least they are using a 'registery' called the Oracle Inventory to hold a database of component versions that have been installed. Although that database is in XML !?!?? (Perhaps someone should write an External Table. Like Tom Kyte's External Table mapping on the Alert.log ...)  

/Hans

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http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l Received on Wed May 22 2013 - 23:01:36 CEST