Solaris/Oracle 7.0.16 SERIOUS Problem *****

We went to install Oracle 7.0.16 on a Solaris 2.x server a few days ago and almost lost our system. We received the CD-ROMs from Oracle (why you send a patch CD-ROM when the corrected system would fit on a single CD-ROM....) just 2 weeks ago. They shipped the Oracle 7.0.13 install guide (they said it had not changed in terms of the install procedure) and a flier that mentioned a patch needed for 6.0.37 and 7.0.15, but no mention of patches needed for 7.0.16. We installed the Oracle 7.0.16
(after hitting some bugs in the the init.ora was not converted over when
upgrading existing database objects), but when we got to the point where Oracle started under 7.0.16, we got a system panic and the Sun re-booted itself. Several attempts to start up the database under 7.0.13 failed (it said that the control file was in use by another instance). We could start the database under 7.0.16, but when we tried to shut it down cleanly or even exit SQL*DBA, down came the operating system.

When we called Oracle they indicated that it was a known problem and that we should have received a patch tape for the bug from the shipping group
(we did not) along with warnings about this problem. It turns out that
you need a Solaris patch (they call it the jumbo kernal patch, nice name) that was not the one mentioned on the flier for 7.0.15 along with an Oracle patch or else you crash your system. As always, I asked the system administrator to do a backup before we started the upgrade (however, he blew it and we were stuck). The Oracle support rep in their Unix group was very good (actually both of the reps that I spoke to were good) and sent me the Oracle patch via Internet mail and we got the Sun rep to bring the patch over to us. When the patches were installed, we ran the rest of the Oracle installation procedure manually (the second good Oracle support rep told us the scripts that we had to run) and the instance was able to come up. We did have to increase the memory available to Oracle 7.0.16 before it would come up (it seems 7.0.16 is an even bigger hog than previous versions, is that actually possible?) Anyway, we did not lose data, but it took some pretty careful surgery (editing oratab, init.ora, and a ton of startup and shutdown scripts using vi) to get this back up.

So, before anyone upgrades to Solaris Oracle 7.0.16, I would recommend you get and apply all of the patches first. It will prevent everyone from the VP of IS on down from standing at your desk watching you work. Received on Thu Jul 14 1994 - 02:15:05 CEST