Re: installing multiple patches(Release 2, 9.2.0.4)

snip

>
> Opatch of course is not well integrated with the universal installer
> so as someone noted previously test this carefully in your own
> environments. Start off by backing up everything in your oracle
> home(s) along with your oracle repository -- if you don't know that
> this means, better open a TAR with oracle support to get help.

Sorry that's supposed to be backup your oracle home(s) and oracle INVENTORY (* not repository).

Then test test test and consider carefully the pros and cons of whether the fix that is being supplied is likely to improve (or not) any production environments before thinking/planning a rollout. Many organizations have strict policies that determine the criteria needed to apply software vendor maintenance to production environments -- if not, do you need such a policy?

More technical clarification -- the patches oracle supplies are based on oracle changes to (various) release levels and previous patchsets. The patches you (intend to ) apply must be downloaded against (corresponding to) specify base releases or patchset releases.

Patches are NOT cumulative they depend on what you are running on. Patchsets are cumulative but keep in mind 2 things -- 1) patchsets may cause you to lose patches that have been previously applied unless those fixes have already been rolled into the (whatever it is) patchset that you are checking AND 2) (often) after you apply a patchset then you later find yourself applying (hopefully not too many) patches against that patchset.

Granted oracle has a lot of ground to cover in maintaining software against multiple releases and multiple hardware platforms -- but sometimes it seems like there might be (quite a bit) of room for improvement in how software updates are supplied by oracle -- but that's a different topic eh? Received on Mon Sep 06 2004 - 12:37:39 CDT