Re: Simple Upgrade questions

> Planing to upgrade from 8.1.7.0.0 to 9.2.x.x on Solaris 7, I have
> already read a couple of documents. In the "manual" procedure, one has
> to start some scripts as the crucial steps. But I found no information
> about the elementary question: where is the material source of these
> scripts? Do I need the standard CDROMs containing the plain "standard"

These scripts are found in $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin.

> installation software of the Version I am about to upgrade to or do I
> need a special Upgrade distribution kit? I would rather prefer to use
> the "Upgrade Assistant" instead of doing things manually, since it
> should be less prone to human errors, but the same question arises
> again: From where should I start this Upgrade Assistant? What kind of
> source media do I need?

The Upgrade Assistant can be found in $ORACLE_HOME/bin.

> I suppose that an upgrade, no matter how it is done, does not render
> the software in the last patch level. Am I right that after the
> upgrade the appropriate Patch Level should be applied? (In this case,
> I know that a special Patch file should be downloaded or otherwise
> supplied.

You can do two things. Install 9i, upgrade, and then patch. Or install 9i, patch, then upgrade.  

> And one more question: the manual upgrade procedure involves creating
> a new Oracle environment with different paths etc. That means that in
> this case, after the Upgrade, two software versions (the old and the
> new one) are present in the system. Right? As far as I understood, the
> Upgrade through the "Upgrade Assistant" *replaces* the old binaries
> along with transforming the DB files to the new version, so in this
> case onle one version, the new one, is kept in the system.

This is incorrect. Upgrading does not replace any binaries or libraries. You currently have software in your 8i ORACLE_HOME. You will need to install the 9i software in a new, 9i ORACLE_HOME. At this point, you have different binaries and library files installed in two distinctly different directories. You can also apply the 9.2.0.4 patchset at this time if you want, or you can do the patch later. Next, you will be upgrading your 8i db. This involves shutting down the db and then starting it up with the 9i HOME and then running an upgrade script. You can do this manually or you can do this with the Upgrade Assistant. After the database is upgraded and you are running on the 9i HOME, you can use the OUI to safely remove the 8i HOME software.

Please make sure that you do the following before you proceed:

1. Read the Oracle 9i Migration Guide (http://tahiti.oracle.com). A thorough understanding of this document is essential for pain-free migration to the new version.
2. Take a backup *before* and *after* you've upgraded. This way, you can revert to the database as it existed right before the upgrade. And a recovery 3 days after the upgrade can be accomplished without having to do the upgrade all over again, and trying to find some way to get all of your transactions in there as well.
3. Test, test, test. Test the upgrade process itself on a test database before you even look at production. Test your application against the upgraded database.

HTH,
Brian  

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Brian Peasland
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