Re: Question: do you relink and bounce or just bounce or non, after your OS patching

This is not quite what Jon was talking about, but something similar

https://github.com/jkstill/patch-check

I've used that to determine if Oracle has a dependency on any RPMs to be installed.

Jared Still
Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist Principal Consultant at Pythian
Oracle ACE Alumni
Pythian Blog http://www.pythian.com/blog/author/still/ Github: https://github.com/jkstill

On Fri, Oct 22, 2021 at 2:58 PM Jon Crisler <joncrisler_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> I had a script at one time that dug into most of the Oracle binaries , ran
> a ldd and gave a thumbs up / down on the need to relink . Somehow I
> misplaced it . Best practice would be to relink DB homes , Grid homes
> etc if any of the 20+ rpms that oracle uses are touched . 12c and 19c
> have gotten more reliable but occasionally we run into issues that are
> resolved only with a relink .
>
> Sent from my Atari 2600
>
> On Oct 22, 2021, at 4:02 PM, Clay Jackson <dmarc-noreply_at_freelists.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Well, I’m a “dinosaur” (aka, Grumpy Old Guy) and was trained that if the
> data was valuable enough to be put in a database in the first place, it
> should be treated that way; but, back when I was managing “real” databases
> for various companies; MINIUMUM Standard Operating Procedure after ANY
> patch was:
>
> 1. Shut down the database (if it was running after the patch) and all
> other associated processes (like web servers or listeners)
> 2. Relink Oracle Home
> 3. Restart Oracle and all other processes
>
>
>
> Of course, this leaves out a lot of steps that you might need to do BEFORE
> patching (like read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the release notes), or
> in the course of patching, like all the “catproc” stuff and any
> troubleshooting (for example, when the relink fails). We also did “the
> usual” things to mitigate the downtime required, including OS Clusters
> (before RAC) and RAC, or DataGuard, or…., depending on the environment and
> business requirements.
>
>
>
> MOST of the time, the “powers that be” listened when I asked, “What kind
> of outage would you prefer? A scheduled, coordinated one of a ‘time
> certain’ duration (and we usually beat that); or a ‘fire drill’ of
> uncertain impact and duration when something breaks”. Occasionally
> someone thought “they knew better” and had to “learn by experience”.
>
>
>
> At one particular employer, who shall remain nameless, when I arrived,
> they had not had a patch “succeed on the first try” in 4 years. That
> changed, not on the first or even second try, but, over time.
>
>
>
> (And by the way, this “Standard Operating Procedure” was born of “knowing
> better” and occasionally, but less frequently over time, being “reminded”
> why “Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad
> judgement”).
>
>
>
> Good luck!
>
>
>
>
>
> *Clay Jackson*
>
> Database Solutions Sales Engineer
>
> <image001.jpg>
>
> clay.jackson_at_quest.com
>
> *office* 949-754-1203 *mobile* 425-802-9603
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org <oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org> *On
> Behalf Of *Tharmarajah, Sam
> *Sent:* Friday, October 22, 2021 11:53 AM
> *To:* ORACLE-L <oracle-l_at_freelists.org>
> *Subject:* Question: do you relink and bounce or just bounce or non,
> after your OS patching
>
>
>
> *CAUTION:* This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not
> follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognize the
> sender and know the content is safe.
>
>
>
> Hi All,
>
>
>
> We are interested to know, what does the oracle community do when it comes
> to databases and os patching, especially when there is no kernel patch? The
> reason is that when there is no kernel patch, most of the times, our
> database servers doesn’t get restarted. That would leave the databases up
> and running, without a restart. When reading metalink document, Doc ID
> 1467060.1 “Relinking Oracle HOME FAQ” , oracle recommends manually
> relinking the OH, after OS patching. Even though most of the times these OS
> patches had not caused any issue, there are occasions, where some databases
> have had performance degradations on these scenarios. Those times, just a
> restart addressed the problems.
>
>
>
> To me, at least a restart of the databases after the OS patching will help
> to reinitialize the process with the new or updated libraries that are
> dynamically linked. Though I would prefer to relink and restart. But the
> systems folks think it could be an over kill, as most of the OS patches are
> quiet stable.
>
>
>
> What are your thoughts and justifications on doing the things the way you
> do?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance to all your responses.
>
>
>
> Thanx,
>
> Sam
>
>

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