Oracle 11.2.0.2 Patch Set

The Oracle 11.2.0.2 patch set was released in mid-September 2010, just before Oracle OpenWorld 2010 in San Francisco.

This patch set has some significant differences to its predecessors. Most importantly Oracle 11.2.0.2 is a full installation of the Oracle software. In the past patch sets have contained a set of files that have replaced existing files in an existing Oracle home. This patch set is a full installation that replaces an entire existing installation. A consequence of this change is that Oracle 11.2.0.2 can be installed directly on a new server; it is no longer necessary to install the base release (Oracle 11.2.0.1) and then to apply the patch set.\n\nUnlike previous versions there is new functionality in this release. Oracle Corporation is claiming to 34 new features in the following product areas:

It is also worth noting that the documentation has been updated for this release. It is always worth checking the latest documentation, even if you are using older versions as it often contains corrections and additions. The latest documentation can always be found at http://tahiti.oracle.com. Worth checking out is the New Features Guide (E17128-03) and the What's New section at the front of the remaining manuals.

This article covers upgrade from Oracle 11.2.0.1 to Oracle 11.2.0.2 of a two-node Linux x86-64 cluster at a customer site. The database was not yet in production but we wanted to upgrade the Oracle software prior to user acceptance testing.

Oracle 11.2.0.1 is available in the download area of http://www.oracle.com. However, Oracle 11.2.0.2 can only be downloaded from My Oracle Support so you will need a CSI number to obtain it. The patch number is 10098816. Additional information about the upgrade can be found in Note 1189783.1 - Important Changes to Oracle Database Patch Sets Starting with 11.2.0.2. Also worth reviewing is Note 1179474.1 - Known Issues specific to the 11.2.0.2 Patch Set.

At the time of writing (early October 2010), Oracle 11.2.0.2 was available for:

Oracle 11.2.0.2 patch sets for AIX, HP/UX and Windows are still awaited.

The Linux x86-64 patch set consists of seven files:

  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip 1247MB Database 1 of 2
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip 1001MB Database 2 of 2
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_3of7zip   815MB Grid Infrastructure
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_4of7zip   612MB Client
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_5of7zip   563MB Gateways
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_6of7zip   458MB Examples
  p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_7of7zip   105MB Deinstaller

Oracle Grid Infrastructure is an out of place upgrade. This means that a new Oracle home will be created by the OUI for the Oracle Grid Infrastructure binaries. At the end of the upgrade you will be prompted to run the rootupgrade.sh script as the root user on each node in the cluster. The rootupgrade.sh script copies all configuration files etc from the old home to the new home.

The Oracle RAC/RDBMS software can be upgraded either out-of-place or in-place. Oracle recommends that an out-of-place upgrade is performed.

The first step in the Grid Infrastructure OUI installation is now the Download Software Updates page. This screen presents three options to download recommended patches including patchset updates (PSUs) and one-offs

If you wish to download these updates, you may need to configure a proxy internet connection for the server or to download them to another server and copy them across your internal network.