Oracle Apps 11i: Back to the future

A while ago, I posted a few references for installing an 11i Vision instance, noting that it was "something you'll hopefully only need to do once." The fun doesn't stop with installing the software, though. Once you're done with the easy part you're left with:

  1. A desupported version of the database
  2. A desupported version of the Developer 6i tools (yes, even more obsolete than 6i's inherent obsolescence)
  3. JInitiator, which is also, you guessed it, desupported in favor of the standard Sun JDK.

What's the big deal? After all, 11i is in Extended Support mode, so why should it matter if an installed Vision instance has technical components that are a bit long in the tooth? Extended Support or not, there are probably one or two (hah) 11i instances still stubbornly kicking around out there. Presumably those instances have been patched up at least a little bit. If you're installing an 11i Vision instance for educational purposes, it might help to have something that (hopefully) more closely matches the modern state of affairs.

Below are some of my notes from when I dragged my 11i Vision instance forward from 2005 to 2011. Well, sort of. It is still on 32-bit Linux (OEL 5.5 in this case) ;-) . But the latest Developer 6i patch set has been applied, the database is at 11.2.0.2, Jinitiator's been replaced by JDK 6, and the AD tools are a bit more up-to-date. If you decide to use these notes, please understand that I intend them to be a rough guide, to save you some research time. I can't commit to detailed support of your effort. This is a reference, not a cookbook.

Reference Notes

Not surprisingly, upgrading 11i components to this decade requires a lot of preparatory reading. Even if you're really familiar with the contents, it's worth revisiting these docs; some of them were changed as recently as July 2011. Here's a list that should cover everything for 32-bit OEL:

Database

Apps

Forms, Java, and friends

Patches

While you're reading, if you want to get a jump on downloading the patches listed in these documents, I've listed them below. Please validate that the patch numbers still match the documents; the Developer 6i patch document in particular are subject to relatively frequent updates.

Database

Apps

Order of operations

Tying all those notes and patches together looks daunting, but it's not actually that bad. Here's a quick summary of what needs to happen. Make sure to reference the relevant notes for detail. Please recall that we're working on a Vision "playground" here; some of my suggestions for speeding things up may not be comfortable in production.

  1. Start downloading all those fun patches! Here's a script to get you started, though you might need to make adjustments if patch requirements have changed.
  2. Upgrade the database from version 9.2.0.6 to 9.2.0.8, per note 216550.1 to make the 11gR2 upgrade smoother. Doesn't take long, and while the scripts are running, you can work on the next five steps. Just do the database pieces (Section 2, steps 3-9 & 12 should be sufficient) for now.
  3. Set s_discostatus=disabled in the context file to be picked up by the next Autoconfig run; this is 2011 for heaven's sake.
  4. Install the JDK version 6 rpm as root.
  5. Install 11.2.0.2 software and examples, per Note 881505.1
  6. Create NLS data directory per note 881505.1
  7. Apply database patches (9776940,10149223, 10165223, and 10229719) to the 11gR2 ORACLE_HOME.
  8. Bring the newly-patched 9.2.0.8 database up and apply the AD.I.7 patch set. Use the nocompileb option; you have a utlrp step coming later.
  9. Adjust adrelinknew.sh script, per Note 316806.1.
  10. To avoid an error during the next round of patches, make an adjustment to the IGW.IGW_AWARD_BUDGET_S sequence. This can also be fixed with a patch, but why go through the trouble of getting a password-protected patch for this exercise? 
    SQL> alter sequence IGW.IGW_AWARD_BUDGET_S increment by 10000;
SQL> select  IGW.IGW_AWARD_BUDGET_S.nextval from dual;
SQL> alter sequence IGW.IGW_AWARD_BUDGET_S minvalue 10000;
  11. Apply the rest of the Apps patches (Merge them all. Yes, seriously). Again, use the nocompiledb option, and noautoconfig as well; the JDK step below will take care of that for you.
  12. Apply Forms 19 patchset and the small pile of related Forms and 8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME patches as documented in Doc ID 125767.1 -- don't forget the relink steps afterward
  13. Run txkrun.pl per section 5.1 of note 401561.1 (use jdk_top=/usr/java/latest)
  14. Regenerate jar files for jdk6 (use force option)
  15. Deploy the JRE to the apps tier per note 290807.1
  16. Perform the database upgrade per note 881505.1. There's a lot to do there; follow the note closely.
  17. Find something else to do with your day; recompiling 140K invalid objects might take a while.

Next steps ("Exercise for the Reader")

What, you thought you were done? Now that all of the technical bits are more-or-less up-to-date, you can turn your attention to security patches and applications updates. That may seem like a lot for a playground Vision instance, and maybe it is. It's also too much to cover in this blog post, but check the following notes if you're an overachiever:

This entry was written by jpiwowar, posted on 14 September 2011 at 5:00, filed under EBS and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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