A Guide : Patch Oracle 19c Grid Infrastructure

   To patch Oracle Grid Infrastructure 19c, follow these detailed steps. This guide assumes you have already downloaded and unzipped the necessary patch files.

Prerequisites

        Backup: Always ensure you have a recent backup of your database and Grid Infrastructure.

        Environment Setup: Verify that ORACLE_HOME is set correctly for the Grid Infrastructure home.

Step-by-Step Patching Guide

1. Verify the Patch Contents

Navigate to the directory where you have unzipped the patch files and list the contents, always verify the contents of directory before proceeding with further steps.

2. Check for Patch Conflicts

Run conflict checks for each patch to ensure there are no conflicts:

export ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/19.0.0/grid 
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -phBaseDir /home/grid/34762026/34768569| grep checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail 
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -phBaseDir /home/grid/34762026/34765931| grep checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail 
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -phBaseDir /home/grid/34762026/33575402| grep checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail 
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -phBaseDir /home/grid/34762026/34863894| grep checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail 
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -phBaseDir /home/grid/34762026/34768559| grep checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail 

Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.

Ensure all checks pass before proceeding.

3. Stop Oracle Databases

Stop all Oracle databases managed by the Grid Infrastructure:

Here is a short shell for this, you can modify as per your requirement or environment

#!/bin/bash

# Set Oracle environment variables
export ORACLE_HOME=/path/to/oracle/home
export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH

# Get the list of all database names
DB_NAMES=$(srvctl config database | awk '{print $1}')

# Stop each database
for DB in $DB_NAMES

do
  echo "Stopping database: $DB"
  srvctl stop database -d $DB
  if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then

    echo "Successfully stopped database: $DB"
  else
    echo "Failed to stop database: $DB"
  fi
done

echo "All databases have been stopped."

4. Apply the Patch Using OPatchAuto

Switch to the root user and apply the patch using opatchauto:

sudo su - root
export ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/19.0.0/grid
export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch:$PATH

$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatchauto apply /home/grid/34762026 -oh $ORACLE_HOME

5. Verify Patch Application

After the patch application completes, verify the applied patches:

$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch lsinventory | grep -i 19.18

Check that the new patches appear in the inventory.

6. Check Cluster Status

Verify the status of the cluster resources to ensure everything is running smoothly:

crsctl stat res -t

7. Restart High Availability Services (HAS)

If you manually stopped HAS, restart it:

Ensure HAS is enabled for automatic startup if required 

crsctl start has
crsctl enable has

8. Confirm the Patch Level

Check the current patch level of Oracle High Availability Services:

crsctl query has releasepatch
crsctl query has softwarepatch

9. Start Oracle Databases

Restart your Oracle databases:

srvctl start database -d <db_unique_name>

Conclusion

Patching Oracle Grid Infrastructure 19c is a critical task to maintain your system’s security and performance. By following this comprehensive guide, you can ensure a smooth and successful patching process. If you encounter any issues, consult the logs generated by opatchauto and Oracle's support resources for troubleshooting.

For more detailed commands and options, always refer to the official Oracle documentation and support. 

Happy patching! 😉