C Preparing to Upgrade an Existing Oracle RAC Database

You must stop all processes in an Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) database, in preparation for adding additional products to an existing database, or in preparation for patch updates.

Backing Up the Oracle RAC Database
Make a backup of the Oracle software installation before modifying the installed software.
Shutting Down Oracle RAC Databases
You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager or the Server Control (SRVCTL) utility to shut down the Oracle RAC databases and their instances.
Stopping All Oracle Processes
Stop all listener and other processes running in the Oracle home directories where you want to modify the database software.
Using CVU to Validate Readiness for Oracle RAC Upgrades
Review the contents in this section to validate that your Oracle RAC cluster is ready for upgrades.

See Also:

Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for information about how to prepare for upgrading an existing database

C.1 Backing Up the Oracle RAC Database

Make a backup of the Oracle software installation before modifying the installed software.

Before you make any changes to the Oracle software, Oracle recommends that you create a backup of the Oracle Database installation.

See Also:

Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for information about creating a backup strategy
Oracle Database Backup and Recovery User’s Guide for information about backing a database using RMAN
Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows for information about backing up a database using VSS

C.2 Shutting Down Oracle RAC Databases

You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager or the Server Control (SRVCTL) utility to shut down the Oracle RAC databases and their instances.

Shut down any existing Oracle Database instances on each node, with normal or immediate priority.

Note:
If you are using Oracle Clusterware or Oracle Restart, then you must shut down all Oracle Database instances on all cluster nodes before modifying the Oracle software. If you are performing a patch update, then review the instructions in the Patch Set Notes for detailed instructions.

See Also:

Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about Oracle Restart
"Determine If Any Patches Are Required For Your New Software" for more information about patches and patch sets

C.3 Stopping All Oracle Processes

Stop all listener and other processes running in the Oracle home directories where you want to modify the database software.

Note:

Before you can shut down Oracle ASM instances, Oracle Clusterware, or Oracle Restart, you must first shut down all database instances that use them.

Stopping Oracle Database Processes Before Adding Products or Upgrading
There are several tasks that must be completed before adding additional products to Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1).
Stopping Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM Instances
If you are updating the Oracle Clusterware or Oracle ASM software, then you must first stop all Oracle RAC database instances and all Oracle database instances that use Oracle ASM for storage. After stopping the database instances, shut down the Oracle ASM instances and Oracle Clusterware.

C.3.1 Stopping Oracle Database Processes Before Adding Products or Upgrading

There are several tasks that must be completed before adding additional products to Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1).

If you are updating only the Oracle Database software, then you only need to stop the databases instances that run from the Oracle home being updated. If you are performing a patch upgrade, then refer to the Database Patch Set Notes for the patch for additional instructions.

Note:

You must perform these steps in the order listed.

Shut down any processes in the Oracle home on each node that can access a database.

Note:
Before you shut down any processes that are monitored by Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, set a blackout in Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control for the processes that you intend to shut down. This is necessary so that the availability records for these processes indicate that the shutdown was planned downtime, rather than an unplanned system outage.
Shut down all Oracle RAC instances on all nodes. To shut down all Oracle RAC instances for a database, enter the following command, where db_name is the name of the database:
```
C:\> %ORACLE_HOME%\bin\srvctl stop database -db db_name
```

See Also:

Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for information about configuring blackouts with Oracle Enterprise Manager
"Determine If Any Patches Are Required For Your New Software"

C.3.2 Stopping Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM Instances

If you are updating the Oracle Clusterware or Oracle ASM software, then you must first stop all Oracle RAC database instances and all Oracle database instances that use Oracle ASM for storage. After stopping the database instances, shut down the Oracle ASM instances and Oracle Clusterware.

Note:

You must perform these steps in the order listed.

Shut down any processes in the Oracle home on each node that might be accessing a database, for example, an Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control agent or an Oracle Net Services listener.

Note:
Before you shut down any processes that are monitored by Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, set a blackout in Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control for the processes that you intend to shut down. This is necessary so that the availability records for these processes indicate that the shutdown was planned downtime, rather than an unplanned system outage.
Shut down all Oracle RAC instances on all nodes. To shut down all Oracle RAC instances for a database, enter the following command, where db_name is the name of the database:
```
Oracle_home\bin\srvctl stop database -db db_name
```
Stop all Oracle Clusterware node applications and resources on all nodes. To stop node applications running on a node, enter the following command, where C:\app\12.1.0\grid is the Grid home, and node is the name of the node where the applications run:
```
C:\> cd app\12.1.0\grid\bin
C:\..\bin> srvctl stop nodeapps -node node
```
Shut down the Oracle Clusterware processes and the Oracle ASM instance on each node by entering the following command on all nodes as a user with Administrator privileges:
```
C:\app\...\bin> crsctl stop cluster
```
To stop Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM instances on all nodes in the cluster, you can enter a single command: crsctl stop cluster -all.

Note:
The crsctl stop crs command stops Oracle Restart services for single-instance databases.
Shut down the Oracle Clusterware processes from the Services window.
1. Click Start.
2. Select Control Panel.
3. Select Administrative Tools.
4. Select Services.
5. In the Services window, shut down the following services:
  - Oracle Object Service
  - OracleClusterVolumeService
  - OracleOHService
  Note:
  Depending on your configuration, your nodes might not be running all of the services listed.

C.4 Using CVU to Validate Readiness for Oracle RAC Upgrades

Review the contents in this section to validate that your Oracle RAC cluster is ready for upgrades.

Using the CVU Database Upgrade Validation Command Options
Use the Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) to check the readiness of your Oracle RAC installation for upgrades.
Example of Verifying System Upgrade Readiness for Oracle RAC Infrastructure
You can verify that the permissions required for installing Oracle RAC have been configured on the nodes node1 and node2 using cluvfy.
Verifying System Readiness for Oracle Database Upgrades
To avoid interruptions during the upgrade process, you should use Cluster Verification Utility to ensure your system is ready.

C.4.1 Using the CVU Database Upgrade Validation Command Options

Use the Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) to check the readiness of your Oracle RAC installation for upgrades.

Purpose

Running cluvfy with the -pre dbinst and -upgrade options performs system checks to confirm if the cluster is in a correct state for upgrading from an existing Oracle RAC installation.

Command Syntax

cluvfy stage -pre dbinst -upgrade -src_dbhome src_RAChome [-dbname 
db_names_list] -dest_dbhome dest_RAChome -dest_version dest_version
 [-dest_serviceuser username [-dest_servicepasswd]][-verbose]

Command Options

Table C-1 Command Options for CLUVFY Pre-upgrade Check

Command Option	Description
`-src_dbhome src_RAChome`	The ___location of the source Oracle RAC home that you are upgrading, where src_RAChome is the path to the home that you want to upgrade.
`-dbname db_names_list`	Optional: List of unique names of the databases being upgraded.
`-dest_dbhome dest_RAChome`	The ___location of the upgraded Oracle RAC home, where dest_RAChome is the path to the Oracle RAC home.
`-dest_version dest_version`	Use the `dest_version` option to indicate the release number of the upgrade, including any patchset. The release number must include the five digits designating the release to the level of the platform-specific patch, for example: 12.1.0.1.0. See Oracle Database Administrator’s Guide for information about release number format.
`-dest_serviceuser username`	Optional: The Oracle Home user for the destination Oracle home.
`-dest_servicepasswd`	Optional: Prompt for the Oracle Home user password
`-verbose`	Use the `-verbose` option to produce detailed output of individual checks.

C.4.2 Example of Verifying System Upgrade Readiness for Oracle RAC Infrastructure

You can verify that the permissions required for installing Oracle RAC have been configured on the nodes node1 and node2 using cluvfy.

C:\..bin> cluvfy stage -pre dbinst -upgrade -src_dbhome 
C:\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1 -dest_dbhome 
C:\app\oracle\product\12.1.0\dbhome_1 -dest_version 12.1.0.0.0 -verbose

C.4.3 Verifying System Readiness for Oracle Database Upgrades

To avoid interruptions during the upgrade process, you should use Cluster Verification Utility to ensure your system is ready.

Use Cluster Verification Utility to assist you with system checks in preparation for starting a database upgrade.
The installer runs the appropriate CVU checks automatically, and prompts you to fix problems before proceeding with the upgrade.

See Also:
Oracle Database Upgrade Guide