2. Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade: Best Practices & Strategy
Renga Rengarajan - Oracle Director of Product Management and Architecture
Michael Rubino – Oracle Senior Director Software Engineering

3. The following is intended to outline our general product direction
The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

4. Program Agenda Introduction & Strategy Using the Upgrade Assistant
Developing an upgrade strategy
Using the Upgrade Assistant
Upgrading to the latest 11g patch release
Upgrading to the 12c release

5. Terminology
Upgrade
 Moving from a previous major version to a new major version, (ie: 11g to 12c) OR a minor version to a new minor version (ie: to )
Patching
Copies a small number of files over an existing installation.
Updating from one patchset release to another patchset (ie: to )
Migration
Migration typically involves moving from a third-party (non-Oracle) product to an Oracle product or across hardware platforms.
Describe the differences between patching and upgrade. Explain that “Migration” is generally a different process.

6. Preservation of Artifacts
12c Upgrade – Features
Upgrade Procedure
Simplified upgrade steps with complete automation
Consistent steps across all products
Aggregate handling – upgrading domain as a whole
User Experience
No need for parallel infrastructure – “in-place” upgrade
Separation of installation from upgrade
Separation of mid-tier upgrade from schema upgrade
Error recovery – re-runnable (idempotent) upgrade operations
Preservation of Artifacts
Complete preservation of user deployed artifacts – no redeployment
Complete preservation of transactions and state information – no data loss
Compatibility
Complete public API backward compatibility
Complete binary compatibility – no need to recompile

7. Developing an Upgrade Strategy
Familiarize yourself with the Oracle Upgrade documentation.
Consider compatibility and interoperability requirements
Review the valid upgrade starting points
Identify the tools needed for upgrade
Understand the differences between source and target topologies (ie:FMW11g, FMW 12c)
Develop a backup plan
Remind audience that a successful upgrade depends on having a sound upgrade plan and strategy. Remind that a dry or test run is always part of good practice

8. Upgrade Documentation Library
Explain how the 12c upgrade documentation library has been restructured. Highlight the new books and explain how they are meant to be used. Explain that there are product specific books

9. Consider Compatibility & Interoperability Requirements
Collect the release and version numbers for installed products
Check the “Supported Configurations” matrix (Available on Oracle Technology Network)
Understand which components installed in your deployment will be upgraded
Decide when components will be upgraded
Check that any dependent databases are supported by the FMW release you are upgrading to. Upgrade underlying DB’s first.
A possible method to determine if there will be compatibility and interop issues

10. Upgrade Starting Points
You can upgrade to Oracle Fusion Middleware Release 12c (12.1.2) from the following previous versions of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g:
Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 ( )
Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 ( )
WLS Domain Upgrade Starting Point
Your WLS domain must be at least version
HTTP Server Upgrade Starting Point
You can upgrade your Oracle HTTP Server 11g ( , )
Explain what an upgrade starting point is. Explain the valid 11gstarting points available for a 12c upgrade. Explain that you must first upgrade to one of these valid starting points if at a previous version

11. Tools Used During the Upgrade Process
Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) – The upgrade process begins by installing a new 12c product set
Repository Creation Utility (RCU) – Use this tool to create schemas in your database. Certain schemas may need to be created before attempting an upgrade
Oracle FMW Upgrade Assistant (UA) - Use this tool to upgrade your supported 11g schemas and WebLogic domain component configurations
Oracle Reconfiguration Wizard - Use this tool to reconfigure the domain when upgrading WLS

12. Key Differences Between 11g & FMW 12c
OPMN is no longer used in Oracle Fusion Middleware, replaced by Node Manager
Redefinition of the Oracle home and elimination of the Middleware home
Oracle Web Cache is no longer part of Oracle Fusion Middleware
OPMN - OPMN is no longer used in Oracle Fusion Middleware. system components are managed by the WebLogic Management Framework.
MW Home – This term is no longer used. It is replaced by Oracle Home, and the OH contains product directories. The term “instance” and “farm” are no longer part of the 12c vocabulary

13. Develop a Backup Plan
Consider backing up your freshly installed Oracle home directory and any other created artifacts.
After stopping the 11g servers and processes, back up your 11g environment, including….
Middleware Oracle home directory, including the Oracle product home directories
Local Domain home directory, your local Oracle instances, and remote Domain home and Oracle instances
Schema Upgrades
Often the underlying database must be upgraded first. Always backup the DB before upgrading the schemas.
Explain that an upgrade process starts by installing a new oracle home. Recommend that this should be backed up before an upgrade, as a restore can be quicker than a new install, should something go wrong.

14. Program Agenda Introduction & Strategy Using the Upgrade Assistant
Developing an upgrade strategy
Using the Upgrade Assistant
Upgrading to the latest 11g patch release
Upgrading to the 12c release

15. Tools For Patching and 11g Patchset Updates
Description
OPATCH
Opatch copies a small collection of files over your existing installation
WebLogic Server Upgrade Installer
Updates your existing Oracle WebLogic Server installation to the latest available version
Patch Set Installer
Updates an existing product to the latest version. (ie: update to )
Patch Set Assistant
Updates database schemas to prepare them for use with the latest version of Oracle Fusion Middleware software.
Explain that the UA is used to upgrade from 10g to the latest 11g patch release.
Explain that the PSA is used to upgrade to the latest 11g release, from a prior 11g patch release.
Explain that these two tools are combined into one for 12c

16. 11gR1 Patchset Updates General Process Shut-down servers
Update of the 11gR1 installation through patchset installers
Perform in-place update of schemas through Patch Set Assistant
Start-up servers
Note
No requirement to rebuild custom binaries (SOA composites, ADF applications, etc…)
Best effort to minimize schema updates
Best effort to minimize manual updates at the domain level

17. Oracle SOA Suite 11g Patchset Update5 3 2 4

18. Program Agenda Introduction & Strategy Using the Upgrade Assistant
Developing an upgrade strategy
Using the Upgrade Assistant
Upgrading to the latest 11g patch release
Upgrading to the 12c release

19. Tools For Upgrading to 12c
Description
Oracle Universal Installer
Used to install 12c Fusion Middleware Productsincluding WebLogic Server
Repository Creation Utility (RCU)
Used to create schemas in the database. Certain schemas may need to be created before attempting an upgrade
Upgrade Assistant (UA)
Updates database schemas as well as Fusion Middleware component configuration
Reconfig Wizard
Updates the WebLogic Server domain configuration for the latest release

20. 12c Upgrade – High Level Flow
Prepare
Stop all 11g servers
Take a complete backup of 11g environment
Pre-upgrade
Install 12c products into a new Oracle Home
Create any new schemas – RCU
Upgrade
Upgrade Schemas – Upgrade Assistant
Reconfigure domain – Reconfig Wizard
Start Admin Server
Upgrade Config – Upgrade Assistant
Post-upgrade
Propagate upgraded domain config to other nodes – Pack/Unpack
Start the upgraded servers

21. 12c Upgrade – “In-place” and “out-of-place”
Binary installation is out-of-place
As in previous releases, schema upgrades are either in-place or out-of- place, depending on the schema being upgraded – this is automatically determined by the system
Config upgrades, including the domain, are upgraded in-place
Creation of a parallel destination configuration (domain, system components, etc… is no longer required)
Existing domains can be reconfigured as part of the in-place upgrade flow
Note: If desired, an “out-of-place” upgrade may be accomplished by creating a comparable target destination, and running an upgrade in that environment

22. FMW 12c Upgrade Assistant
FMW Upgrade Assistant redesigned for release
Complete separation of installation from upgrade
Complete separation of mid-tier upgrade from schema upgrade
Two-phase upgrades through examination phase
Simplify – Combine UA & PSA into single tool
Full GUI support for upgrading & patching
Highlight upgrade dependencies
Choosing SOA, highlights need for dependent MDS upgrade
Ability to upgrade more than one schema at a time
Upgrade Assistant supports Edition Based Redefinition (EBR) for FMW DB schemas to provide high availability upgrade of FMW components.

23. Upgrade Candidates
The UA provides a list of components that are candidates for upgrade
Run the UA from the oracle_common/upgrade/bin directory of your FMW 12c (12.1.2) installation
For schema upgrade: The UA examines install directories and identifies all possible candidate schemas to be upgraded. When a schema is chosen, any dependent schema will also be selected.
For component configuration upgrades: The UA prompts for, and connects to the WebLogic Administration Server to determine the list of components that are configured and candidates for upgrade.

24. 12c Upgrade – Directory Structure
Oracle Home
ODI Product Home
SOA Product Home
Oracle Common
UA Binaries
Point
SOA Binaries
SOA UA Plugin
ODI Binaries
ODI UA Plugin
UA Descriptor files
$OH/upgrade/bin directory
$OH/plugins/upgrade/
Infrastructure
UA Plugins
$OH/plugins/upgrade/
$OH/plugins/upgrade/
$OH/plugins/upgrade/
UA Descriptor
files
UA Descriptor files
UA Descriptor
files

25. Schema Upgrade Schema Selection
Upgrade Assistant will be installed into the oracle_common area of the FMW home in the  oracle_common/upgrade/bin   directory.
On Unix, start the UA by typing: ./ua
UA will provide a list of all schemas available for upgrade
Choose one or more schemas
Remind users that they must run domain reconfiguration AFTER running the UA to upgrade schemas

26. Component Configuration Upgrade
Weblogic Component Configuration
This option is available when the UA is run from an Oracle home that contains managed WebLogic domain components
Enter credentials for the domain you want to upgrade
In release use this option to upgrade:
Oracle HTTP Server
Oracle Web Services Manager
All candidates are upgraded when performing a configuration upgrade
Remind users that they must first reconfigure the domain BEFORE running the UA again

27. Standalone System Component Upgrade
Standalone Components
This option is available if running the UA from an Oracle home that contains standalone system components.
Standalone components are not associated with a managed WebLogic domain in 11g
OHS, for example, may be configured to run standalone
Explain when you would choose “Create a New Domain” vs “Update Existing”, ie: First time through, you must create a domain for the standalone systems to be associated. Explain that this is not
A true WLS domain.

28. Standalone System Component Upgrade (2)
Node Manager
In addition to creating a domain, you must create a new node manager
Specify the credentials for the node manager to be created

29. Examining Components Examine Phase
The UA examines and verifies that components are ready for upgrade.
You should ensure all components are ready for upgrade before proceeding
Examine is a “read-only” operation. No changes are made to the source or target
Explain the purpose of the examine phase, and the concept/benefits of a 2 phase upgrade. Users should understand the value of correcting an error now, before proceeding with an upgrade.
There are 5 status states from examine (succeeded, failed, pending, in-progress, not-needed)

30. Upgrading Components Performing the upgrade
Review the “Upgrade Summary” screen carefully, ensuring the correct components and options are selected
Select the “Save Response File” option to create a response file for later use
Click “Upgrade” to start the process
Talk about response files, and running the UA in “batch mode” at a later time. Response files can be created and edited.
Emphasize that nothing happens until the upgrade button is pressed, but once pressed, the upgrade has begun and restoration from backup may be needed in the event of an error/failure

31. Silent Upgrades With Response Files
Using UA Response files
Response files collect all the information entered through the UA GUI, and can perform them later
-response (specifies response file name)
-examine (Optionally perform examine phase only)
-loglevel , –logdir (Optional logging parameters to specifiy level of log detail and directory)

32. Post Upgrade Steps & Verification
Completing the upgrade
Ensure all components were successfully upgraded
Check the documentation to see if any post upgrade manual operations are required
Verify that the upgraded environment functions as expected

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