Oracle RAC - Grid patch commands

category: solutionz · date: 2016-12-31 · updated: 2026-10-02 · author: LALA

Oracle RAC Solution · Config document · referenced from Grid patches and the multicast problem

noteThe last block, the cumulative patches 20760982 and 20996923, is a dead end: it was applied against a problem whose cause was the network, and it did not help. Do not copy it as part of the fix.

The commands that replaced OPatch in the Grid home and applied patch 17475946, without which root.sh fails on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3, followed by the commands that applied two cumulative patches while the second node would not join the cluster.

Item	Value
Grid home	`/data/u01/app/grid11204`
Archives	`/data/install/p17475946_112040_Linux-x86-64.zip`, `/data/install/p6880880_112000_Linux-x86-64.zip`
Unpacked patches	`/data/install/17475946`, `/data/install/20760982`, `/data/install/20996923`
Run as	root; the lines after `su - grid` as `grid`; the root scripts `orainstRoot.sh` and `root.sh` as root
Run on	not stated in the notes; `opatch … -local` patches only the node it runs on
Software	Grid Infrastructure 11.2.0.4, OPatch from patch 6880880

The commands

The notes write every line with the root prompt and switch users with su: after su - grid the lines run as grid, after su - as root again. The two root scripts, orainstRoot.sh and root.sh, are the exception: they follow lines run as grid, but they ran as root. The notes show no su - before them; they write them under titles that say "as the user root" and with the node in the prompt, the pair once for oradb01 and once for oradb02, which is why each pair stands twice in the fence. The table after the fence divides the lines into the steps of the notes.

bash

$ cd /data/install
$ unzip ./p17475946_112040_Linux-x86-64.zip
$ chmod -R 777 ./17475946/
$ cd /data/install
$ unzip ./p6880880_112000_Linux-x86-64.zip
$ mv /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch-old
$ cp -R /data/install/OPatch /data/u01/app/grid11204/
$ chown -R grid:oinstall /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch
$ chmod -R 755 /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch
$ su -
$ chown grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/bin/
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/lib/
$ su - grid
$ cd /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch/
$ ./opatch napply -oh /data/u01/app/grid11204 -local /data/install/17475946
$ /data/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh
$ /data/u01/app/grid11204/root.sh
$ /data/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh
$ /data/u01/app/grid11204/root.sh
$ su -
$ chown grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/bin/
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/lib/
$ su - grid
$ cd /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch/
$ ./opatch napply -oh /data/u01/app/grid11204 -local /data/install/20760982
$ su -
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/crs/
$ chown -R grid /data/u01/app/grid11204/jlib/
$ su - grid
$ cd /data/u01/app/grid11204/OPatch/
$ ./opatch napply -oh /data/u01/app/grid11204 -local /data/install/20996923
$ /data/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh
$ /data/u01/app/grid11204/root.sh
$ /data/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh
$ /data/u01/app/grid11204/root.sh

Lines	Step in the notes	What it does
1 to 3	`[2]`	Unpacks the patch for SLES 11 SP3 and makes it readable for everyone
4 to 5	`[2]`	Unpacks the newer OPatch; the archive holds a directory `OPatch`
6	`[2]`	Moves the OPatch that came with 11.2.0.4 aside
7 to 9	`[2]`	Copies the new OPatch into the Grid home, owner `grid:oinstall`, mode 755
10 to 16	`[2]`	Gives the home directory, `bin` and `lib` back to `grid`, then applies patch 17475946 to the local home as `grid`
17 to 18	`[2]`	The two root scripts again, as root, on `oradb01`
19 to 20	`[2]`	The same pair, as root, on `oradb02`, only after `root.sh` has finished on `oradb01`
21 to 27	`[X.1]`	Dead end: the same ownership changes, then the cumulative patch 20760982
28 to 33	`[X.1]`	Dead end: `crs` and `jlib` given to `grid`, then the cumulative patch 20996923
34 to 35	`[X.2]`	Dead end: the two root scripts again, as root, on `oradb01`
36 to 37	`[X.3]`	Dead end: the same pair, as root, on `oradb02`

The opatch options: napply applies the patches found in the given directory, -oh names the Oracle home, -local limits the work to the local node.

What does not agree in the notes:

The patch is called 1747594 in the step titles and 17475946 in the archive and directory names. The commands, which are what ran, use the longer number.
The title above lines 10 to 16 in the notes says that patch 1747594 "and patch sets 20760982 and 20996923" are applied. The step shows one opatch command; the other two are in the section marked [X], between two banners that say "not this".
The notes do not say whether the two cumulative patches were rolled back afterwards.
The patch commands carry no node name; only the root scripts do. The failure they fix occurred on both nodes.

Checked against Oracle Grid Infrastructure 26ai

As built	Today
`opatch napply -oh … -local` as `grid`, after `chown` of parts of the home by hand	For a configured Grid home the documented tool is `opatchauto apply`, run as root. Plain `opatch` as the Grid user is documented for the case that the Clusterware stack does not start
Patch applied after a failed `root.sh`	Patches are applied during setup with `gridSetup.sh -applyRU` and `-applyOneOffs`
Out-of-place patching with OPatch	Deprecated; in-place patching is not affected. Oracle recommends out-of-place patching with gold images
ACFS drivers missing for the SLES 11 SP3 kernel	The supported kernels are listed in the guide; for SLES they are those of 15 SP5 and later

What the two cumulative patches contain was not checked; My Oracle Support needs a login.