Re: How to find out version and install security patches?

From: joel garry <joel-garry_at_home.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 13:22:12 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <4e083b3a-447e-4459-88c1-9f1588939879@a9g2000prl.googlegroups.com>


On May 31, 3:54 pm, "A. Farber" <Alexander.Far..._at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello fellow Oracle users,
>
> I have unfortunately no Oracle experience,
> but will have to maintain a server at my new job
> (this will be 1 of my 50 other tasks).

You might poke around at oracle.com and look for things like "2-day DBA," though watch versions.

>
> After lots of searching I've managed to install
> version 9i.2 at a CentOS 5 Linux machine.
> (And I really don't understand, why would
> Oracle use a Java installer and also compile
> lots of stuff during the "Linking" phase instead
> of providing a well-tested binary rpm-package).

Is this production or test?

>
> A consultant has installed their program then.
>
> Now I'd like to install security patches.
> I have a Metalink account and have read their
> wordy FAQ but still don't have an idea,
> where to download their patches and how
> to install them (is there another GUI for that?)

Note that when you find the patch, there is a readme. Follow directions exactly, even if they seem to have some circular references.

>
> Also I don't know which version do I actually
> have, is it 9.2.0.4? Where could I check?
>
> Can anyone please advise me?
>
> Can I do anything else to improve the security?
> (Change some default passwords etc.)

Look around for "project lockdown" starting at http://www.oracle.com/security/security-best-practices.html

>
> Also is there maybe an easy way for me to
> create daily snapshots of the program database?

What really matters is how you intend to restore. RMAN is generally best for backup/restore, but if you say "snapshot," I wonder what intentions you have. Some 3rd party products assume a logical backup, which is often the wrong way to go about it, but it depends.

>
> For PostgreSQL I have a cronjob
> pg_dump phpbb > /mnt/backups/pg-`date +\%F`.sql
> and know that I can at least roll back to it
> if I do something stupid as a would-be-admin.
>
> Is there something as simple for Oracle?

Avoid most scripts found on the internet, many are way off. You need to understand what you are trying to accomplish.

>
> Thank you very much
> Alex

Here is some more information about this group: http://www.dbaoracle.net/readme-cdos.htm

jg

--
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word: burati
Received on Mon Jun 02 2008 - 15:22:12 CDT

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