1 Introduction to the Database Upgrade Process

Overview of the Database Upgrade Process

This section includes an overview of the major steps required to upgrade an existing Oracle database to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1). These procedures transform an existing Oracle Database system (including associated applications) into an Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) system. Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) is compatible with all earlier Oracle Database releases. Therefore, databases upgraded using the procedures described in this guide can work in the same manner as in earlier releases and, optionally, can leverage new Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) features and functions.

Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) supports the following tools and methods for upgrading a database to the new release:

• Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA)

  Provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that guides you through the upgrade of a database. DBUA can be launched during installation with the Oracle Universal Installer, or you can launch DBUA as a standalone tool at any time in the future.

  Note:

  DBUA is the recommended method for performing a major release upgrade or patch release upgrade.

• Manual upgrade using SQL scripts and utilities

  Provides a command-line upgrade of a database, using SQL scripts and utilities.

• Export and Import utilities

  Uses the Oracle Data Pump Export and Import utilities, available as of Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1), or the original Export and Import utilities to perform a full or partial export from your database, followed by a full or partial import into a new Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) database. Export/Import can copy a subset of the data, leaving the database unchanged.

• CREATE TABLE AS SQL statement

  Copies data from a database into a new Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) database. Data copying can copy a subset of the data, leaving the database unchanged.

These tools and methods are described in more detail in "Choose an Upgrade Method".

The major steps in the upgrade process are illustrated in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1 Upgrade Steps

Description of "Figure 1-1 Upgrade Steps"

The following list outlines the major steps performed during the upgrade process. Detailed instructions are provided in the appropriate chapters later in this guide.

Step 1: Prepare to Upgrade

• Become familiar with the features of Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1).

• Determine the upgrade path to the new release.

• Choose an upgrade method.

• Choose an Oracle home directory for the new release.

• Develop a testing plan.

• Prepare a backup strategy.

Step 2: Test the Upgrade Process

• Perform a test upgrade using a test database. The test upgrade should be conducted in an environment created for testing and should not interfere with the actual production database.

Step 3: Test the Upgraded Test Database

• Perform the tests you planned in Step 1 on the test database and on the test database that was upgraded to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1).

• Compare results, noting anomalies between test results on the test database and on the upgraded database.

• Investigate ways to correct any anomalies you find and then implement the corrections.

• Repeat Step 1, Step 2, and the first parts of Step 3, as necessary, until the test upgrade is completely successful and works with any required applications.

Chapter 2, "Preparing to Upgrade" provides detailed information about Steps 1 through 3.

Step 4: Prepare and Preserve the Production Database

• Prepare the current production database as appropriate to ensure the upgrade to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) is successful.

• Schedule the downtime required for backing up and upgrading the production database.

• Back up the current production database. Perform a full or an incremental backup, as necessary, to ensure your database is protected against data loss.

Step 5: Upgrade the Production Database

• Upgrade the production database to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1).

• After the upgrade, perform a full backup of the production database and perform other post-upgrade tasks.

Chapter 3 describes Steps 4 and 5 when using DBUA or when performing a manual upgrade. Chapter 4 describes the backup procedure after the upgrade and other post-upgrade tasks.

Step 6: Tune and Adjust the New Production Database

• Tune the Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) production database. The new production database should perform as well as, or better than, the database prior to the upgrade. Chapter 4, "After Upgrading to the New Release" describes these adjustments.

• Determine which features of Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) you want to use and update your applications accordingly.

• Develop new database administration procedures, as needed.

• Do not upgrade production users to the new release until all applications have been tested and operate properly. Chapter 6, "Upgrading Your Applications" describes considerations for updating applications.

During the upgrade, consider running multiple releases of the database software so you can use the existing release as your production environment while you test the new release. See "Running Multiple Oracle Releases".

Oracle Release Numbers

This guide describes moving between different releases of the Oracle Database server. Figure 1-2 describes what each part of a release number represents.

Figure 1-2 Example of an Oracle Release Number

Description of "Figure 1-2 Example of an Oracle Release Number"

When a statement is made in this guide about a major database release number, the statement applies to all releases within that major database release. References to Oracle Database include release 1 (11.1); references to Oracle Database 10g include Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) and Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2); references to Oracle9i include release 1 (9.0.1) and release 2 (9.2).

Similarly, when a statement is made in this guide about a maintenance release, the statement applies to all component-specific (also referred to as patchset releases) and platform-specific releases within that maintenance release. So, a statement about Oracle Database9i Release 2 (9.2) applies to release 9.2.0.1, release 9.2.0.2, and all other platform-specific releases within release 2 (9.2).

Using Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA)

Oracle recommends the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) standard for your Oracle Database installations. The OFA standard is a set of configuration guidelines for efficient and reliable Oracle databases that require little maintenance.

OFA provides the following benefits:

• Organizes large amounts of complicated software and data on disk to avoid device bottlenecks and poor performance

• Facilitates routine administrative tasks, such as software and data backup functions, which are often vulnerable to data corruption

• Alleviates switching among multiple Oracle databases

• Adequately manages and administers database growth

• Helps to eliminate fragmentation of free space in the data dictionary, isolates other fragmentation, and minimizes resource contention.

If you are not currently using the OFA standard, then switching to the OFA standard involves modifying your directory structure and relocating your database files.

Converting Databases to 64-bit Oracle Database Software

If you are installing 64-bit Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) software but were previously using a 32-bit Oracle Database installation, then the database is automatically converted to 64-bit during a patch release or major release upgrade to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1).

You must increase initialization parameters affecting the system global area, such as sga_target and shared_pool_size, to support 64-bit operation.

Rolling Upgrades

A rolling upgrade upgrades different databases or different instances of the same database (in an Oracle Real Application Clusters environment) one at a time, without stopping the database. Depending on the method you choose, you can perform a rolling upgrade of the Oracle Database software version, apply patchsets, or apply individual patches (sometimes referred to as one-off patches), incurring little or no database downtime.

Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) provides the following methods for performing rolling upgrades:

• Oracle Data Guard and logical standby databases

  Using SQL Apply and logical standby databases, you can upgrade Oracle Database software and patchsets with little or no database downtime. For example, you can upgrade the Oracle Database software from patchset release 10.1.0.n to the next database 10.1.0.(n+1) patchset release, or upgrade Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1).

  See Also:

  "Upgrading Standby Databases" for more information.

• Oracle Streams

  Using Streams source and destination databases, you can upgrade to a new version of Oracle Database software, migrate an Oracle database to a different operating system or character set, upgrade user-created applications, and apply Oracle Database patches. These maintenance operations use the features of Oracle Streams to achieve little or no database down time.

  See Also:

  Oracle Streams Concepts and Administration

• Oracle Real Application Clusters rolling upgrades with the OPatch Utility

  Using the OPatch command-line utility, you can perform rolling patch upgrades with Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC), incurring little or no database downtime. Note that the OPatch utility can only be used to apply individual patches, not patchset releases. See Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for more information about the OPatch utility.

  The advantage of a Oracle RAC rolling upgrade is that it enables at least some instances of the Oracle RAC installation to be available during the scheduled outage required for patch upgrades. Only the Oracle RAC instance that is currently being patched must be brought down; the other instances can continue to remain available. This means that the effect on the application downtime required for such scheduled outages is further minimized. The Oracle OPatch utility enables you to apply the patch successively to the different instances of the Oracle RAC installation.

  See Also:

  Oracle Database High Availability Best Practices

• Oracle Clusterware rolling upgrades using the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI)

  Using the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) that is downloaded with the patch update, you can perform rolling upgrades to upgrade Oracle Clusterware or Oracle Cluster Ready Services. You can perform a rolling upgrade to apply patchset releases.

  The advantage of an Oracle Clusterware rolling upgrade is that it enables at least some instances of the Oracle RAC installation to be available during the scheduled outage required for patchset upgrades. Only the node that is currently being patched must be brought down; the other instances remain available. This means that the effect on the application downtime required for such scheduled outages is further minimized. OUI enables you to apply the patchset successively to the different instances of the Oracle Clusterware installation.

  See Also:

  The "How to Perform Oracle Clusterware Rolling Upgrades" discussion in your platform-specific Oracle Clusterware installation guides for step-by-step instructions to help you upgrade your Oracle Clusterware. Also, see Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for information about using OUI.

• Automatic Storage Management (ASM) Rolling Upgrades

  Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1), you can perform a rolling upgrade of Oracle Automatic Storage Management software from Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) to a later release. ASM rolling upgrades enable you to independently upgrade or patch clustered ASM nodes without affecting database availability, thus providing greater uptime. During a rolling upgrade, all of the features of a clustered ASM environment continue to function even while one or more of the nodes in the cluster are running on different software versions. This feature provides greater availability and enables you to upgrade ASM software from one release to the next more gracefully.

  See Also:

  Your platform-specific Oracle Clusterware installation guide for instructions on how to perform a rolling upgrade, and the Oracle Database Storage Administrator's Guide for more information about ASM

Moving From the Standard Edition to the Enterprise Edition

If you have a Standard Edition database at a release prior to Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1), then you can change it to an Enterprise Edition database by installing the Enterprise Edition and following the normal upgrade procedures, as described in this manual.

To change your existing Oracle Database 11g Standard Edition database to an Enterprise Edition database, follow these steps:

1. Ensure that the release number of your Standard Edition server software is the same release as the Enterprise Edition server software.

   For example, if your Standard Edition server software is release 11.1.0.6, then you should upgrade to release 11.1.0.6 of the Enterprise Edition.

2. Shut down your database.

3. If your operating system is Windows, then stop all Oracle services, including the OracleServiceSID Oracle service, where SID is the instance name.

4. Deinstall the Standard Edition server software.

5. Install the Enterprise Edition server software using the Oracle Universal Installer.

   Select the same Oracle home that was used for the de-installed Standard Edition. During the installation, be sure to select the Enterprise Edition. When prompted, choose Software Only from the Database Configuration screen.

6. Start up your database.

Your database is now upgraded to the Enterprise Edition.

Upgrading from Oracle Database Express Edition to Oracle Database

In order to upgrade Oracle Database 10g Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) to Oracle Database 11g, you need to install Oracle Database 11g on the same system as Oracle Database XE and use Database Upgrade Assistant to perform the upgrade.