Apply Patch 119963-21 to Solaris 10 Sparc

Hi,

One of the pre requirements o upgrade Netbackup 6.5.4 to 7.1 is to apply Patch 119963-21 to all media servers.

My media servers are Oracle Databases ( e-business suite and for other 3rd party app ).

I read the Patch 119963-21's README and there is no Install Requirements for this patch.

Put I need to confirm is it applicable to install this patch in normal operation mode instead of single user mode?

Some servers have Oracle RAC and some have Sun Cluster 3.2.

Also since this patch is for shared library c++ is it OK to install it while DB up and running or I have to shut it down first?

Patch details link here.

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks in advanced.

BR

Any help please,

BR

Hi there,
I would suggest to refer only official links from Oracle/Solaris/Symmentech, when it comes to patching.

Go to oracle site, search for correct patch, check dependencies etc.
Download patch and read README/INSTALL file.

Search on symantech if they have updated info about the patch you are talking about.

The type of environment you are mentioning looks very critical, so better apply patch by taking proper maintenance window in non business hours with proper rollback plan after implementing in test environment.

I haven't read the patch documentation file(s), and don't plan to

But I wouldn't patch something like a system's C++ runtime libraries while any process could be using them.

And since the patch is a prerequisite for a Netbackup upgrade, it's pretty safe to assume that some process is using the C++ runtime libraries.

Do it in single-user mode.

I actually read the link you provided. It says that the patch you are talking about (119963-21) is obsoleted by a newer patch. Why would you want to install an obsoleted patch?

Hi Guys,

@psshah, The website I provided in the first post got README from Oracle, so if Oracle doesn't request any special installation steps is it safe to apply this patch even if it Prod env?

Or should I test it in Dev env first?

As you mention this env is very critical even if I applied this patch in single user mode because it has RAC and Sun Cluster sw.

Thanks for you comments.

@achenle Oracle DBA doesn't care for Netbackup upgrade, he is considering his own DB so down time for his DB is very critical, So I came with installing this patch in normal mode while DB is off, is it dangers?

Thanks for your comments.

@fpmurphy, Yes there is newer patch, but as this patch is minimum requirement and no special steps needed I decided to apply it.

Symantec stated "Customers should review the above list and apply the patches relavent to their configuration. If later O/S patches are available, they should be applied. The above list is simply the minimum level."

Thanks for your comments.

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I really appreciate your comments guys and I need your experiences in this field, should I or shouldn't try to install this patch in normal operation mode?

I came with some steps to be in safe side:

1- Backup all effected libs in the README, 12 libs.
2- Shutdown the db before applying this patch.
3- Clear shared library from RAM before applying this Patch.
4- In case of any thing went wrong I will remove the patch then restore libs that I backed up.

What do you think, Do you agree with me or you don't?

Thanks again, and I hope you help me before I miss with my env

BR

go the safe route and shutdown the database, enter single user mode and apply the patch.

Just want to add this. At least this is how I understand it. I hope someone on this forum who actively works with C++ or C application development can validate or correct me.

It is a shared library patch for C++. If your application is dynamically linked against this shared library, you will only need to restart your application. In this case restarting your oracle DB or any other app that uses the shared library will make sure it will start using this new patched library or the next time you reboot, it will use the new library. Hence patch notes are missing any indication to reboot or apply in single user etc.

But if you are using an in house or custom app, which is statically linked, you may run into issues, if the patch deprecates any option that your custom app was using. In that case you may need to back out the patch or recompile against the patched library.

Having said, that, I would still go with some of the above suggestions on applying in single user :-), just to minimize any errors.

If you value your job in the slightest, you should test the patch on a test system first and not on critical production systems.

and back out plan should also be prepared. in case you will face problems on the production systems.

best is to do live upgrade if your system can meet the requirements for a new boot environment. else, do a full backup first of the system before implementing any change. these are the best way to go should you need to roll back the patch.

@frank_rizzo Thanks a lot for your comments.

@dude2cool These media servers are Oracle DB with RAC or Sun Cluster only, no in house app installed on these servers

Thanks a lot for your comments.

@fpmurphy Sure, I will test in our Dev first but my question was about installing this patch in normal mode or single mode.

Thanks a lot for your comments.

@tamitot we have a weekly backup for our systems so backup is not an issue

Thanks a lot for your comments.

I really appricate your help guys.