11gR2 RDBMS software Installation and Database Upgrade from 10.2 to 11.3 using DBUA

Please find the high level steps to upgrade your 10.2 RAC database to 11.3 using DBUA. I would recommend using DBUA for RAC databases upgrade, as dbua is RAC aware and performs various RAC related tasks internally.

1) Before we start the upgrade, use cluvfy to verify whether the nodes are ready for upgrade.
 
    From the 11gR2 software binaries location execute -->
    cluvfy stage -pre dbinst -n coltdb01,coltdb02 -d $ORACLE_HOME -verbose

2)  Once the cluvfy succeed for all the nodes, run the ./runInstaller to install the database software.

3) Choose "Install database software only" option.

4) As you can see, the nodes would be displayed and select all the nodes, where the software should be      installed.

5) Specify the Oracle Base and Oracle software location

6) Oracle will check for the Pre-requisite to install the software, make sure all the pre-requisite are met

7) Before the installation starts, the Summary is provided, .Click Install to start the installation.

 8) At the end of the installation, you will be asked to execute the root.sh on all the nodes.

Once you have successfully install the database software, now you can upgrade your 10.2 RAC database using DBUA.


 Things to do before you start your upgrade


1. Take a Full Database Backup


2. Take the count of invalid Objects after executing the utlrp.sql script.


3. Execute OH_11G/rdbms/admin/utlu112i.sql, to identify the Pre-upgrade task to be done on the database.
    
    SQL> @/u03/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1/rdbms/admin/utlu112i.sql
    Oracle Database 11.2 Pre-Upgrade Information Tool 07-17-2012 15:36:09
    Script Version: 11.2.0.3.0 Build: 001
.
    **********************************************************************
    Database:
   **********************************************************************
   --> name:          SENDB
   --> version:       10.2.0.5.0
   --> compatible:    10.2.0.5.0
   --> blocksize:     8192
   --> platform:      Linux x86 64-bit
  --> timezone file: V4
.
  **********************************************************************
  Components: [The following database components will be upgraded or installed]
  **********************************************************************
  --> Oracle Catalog Views         [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle Packages and Types    [upgrade]  VALID
  --> JServer JAVA Virtual Machine [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle XDK for Java          [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Real Application Clusters    [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle Workspace Manager     [upgrade]  VALID
  --> OLAP Analytic Workspace      [upgrade]  VALID
  --> OLAP Catalog                 [upgrade]  VALID
  --> EM Repository                [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle Text                  [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle XML Database          [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle Java Packages         [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle interMedia            [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Spatial                      [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Data Mining                  [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Expression Filter            [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Rule Manager                 [upgrade]  VALID
  --> Oracle OLAP API              [upgrade]  VALID


3. Fix  the component if they are not valid.


Steps to upgrade the Database using DBUA

1) Execute the dbua from 11g R2 Oracle Home.
    [oracle@coltdb01 bin]$ pwd
    /u03/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1/bin
    [oracle@coltdb01 bin]$ ./dbua

2) DBUA will list the databases mentioned in the Oratab. Select the correct db which you require to upgrade

3) You will receive a pop-up asking for the confirmation. Click Yes, if you have done all the pre- requisite

4) Provide the degree of Parallelism to recompile the invalid objects and also turn off the archiving mode    while upgrade. The DBUA will automatically turn on the archive mode after the upgrade.

5) At the end, dbua provides a Database upgrade Summary Report. Click Finish to start the upgrade.

6)  The DBUA upgrades all the components

7) At the End it provides you the Upgrade Results Summary. You can review, if there are any errors.

Post upgrade Validation

1) Execute utlrp.sql to compile the invalid objects and check for the count. It should be same or less than the earlier count.

2) Execute the OH_11G/rdbms/admin/utlu112s.sql to check the upgrade status of all the components.
    Also you can check the Total Upgrade Time taken at the end of the report.
     

3) Gather the stats for system and fixed objects.


4) Execute the  following command to check the status of the database
  [oracle@coltdb01 bin]$ ./srvctl config database -d sendb
   Database unique name: sendb
   Database name:
   Oracle home: /u03/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1
   Oracle user: oracle
   Spfile: +DATA/sendb/spfilesendb.ora
   Domain: cms.colt
   Start options: open
   Stop options: immediate
   Database role: PRIMARY
   Management policy: AUTOMATIC
   Server pools: sendb
   Database instances: sendb1,sendb2
   Disk Groups: DATA,FRA
   Mount point paths:
   Services:
   Type: RAC
   Database is administrator managed


5)  Take a full backup of the database


6) If you have tested your application thoroughly with oracle 11gR2, you can modify your compatible parameter. Because once you have modified your compatible parameter to 11.2, you cannot downgrade your database using normal method. only option is yo restore your database using the backup taken.


Time taken to upgrade the database does not mainly depend on your size of the database. It depends on the number of component you have installed along with the software.