Patch Recommendation

DST Time Zone Patches missing in 23ai Release Updates

We work right now with a number of customers going live or being live on Oracle Database 23ai already. And tomorrow will be the release date for the quarterly Release Update, in this case for Oracle Database 23.8.0. But you should be aware of one thing: DST Time Zone Patches missing in 23ai Release Updates.

DST Time Zone Patches missing in 23ai Release Updates

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Time Zone patches and RUs?

In January 2023 I blogged about the inclusion of DST Time Zone patches in Release Updates. But later I learned that this applied only to Oracle Database 19c, and not to 21c. I …

Final blog post about datapatch cleanup and purge?

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 30

Uh … this was a long journey. In September 2022 Jannes Arends contacted me showing me his growing SYSTEM tablespace with every patch cycle. And not only for the CDB$ROOT only but in every PDB. Over time, I wrote some blog posts I link at the end of this blog post. But finally, we should have a working solution without any additional risk. So, I am hoping that this will be my final blog post about datapatch cleanup and purge.

Final blog post about datapatch cleanup and purge?

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What’s the point (summary)?

With every patch run, datapatch stores the entire collection …

The 25.1 version of AutoUpgrade is available for download

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 53

It’s time for a new version of AutoUpgrade. The 25.1 version of AutoUpgrade is available for download. And you should refresh your existing versions quickly since we added plenty of new and long awaited features but we of course fixed also known bugs.

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How to download AutoUpgrade 25.1

Not only can you download the newest AutoUpgrade and its previous versions from MOS Note:2485457.1 – Download AutoUpgrade. But for many of you it may be easier to just fetch it with wget or curl directly from:

Download AutoUpgrade directly from oracle.com

You …

News and updates in opatch 12.2.0.1.45 (Jan 2025)

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 10

Are you interested in the news and updates in opatch 12.2.0.1.45 (Jan 2025)? This is the opatch version being released on January 21, 2025 together with the January Release Updates (RUs) and other patch bundles.

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What’s new in opatch 12.2.0.1.45 (Jan 2025)?

When I refer to opatch, I mean the opatch tool for the Oracle Database installations. You can always download it via OPatch Download: Patch 6880880. You will use this opatch for Oracle Database 12.1.0.2, 12.2.0.1, 18c, 19c and 21c. In addition, the same changes and updates are present in opatch 11.2.0.3.49 …

Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 8

Actually this is not an alerting blog post but just a hint. At DOAG conference in Nürnberg several customers came by after our patching talk on Thursday in Tokio and complained that the Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free, and thus hard to use. Let me see if I can help here.

Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free

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What does MOS Note: 555.1 provide?

I have a love-and-hate relationship with this MOS Note: 555.1 – Oracle Database 19c Important Recommended One-off Patches. It lists the issues on-top of a given Release Update (RU). This is …

Data Pump Bundle Patch for Oracle Database 23ai

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Data Pump Patch Recommendation 14

While I blogged in the past already several times about how important the Data Pump Bundle Patch for all kinds of migrations is, a question was in my inbox this morning: Is there a separate note for the Data Pump Bundle Patch for Oracle Database 23ai?

Data Pump Bundle Patch for Oracle Database 23ai

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Download the Data Pump Bundle Patch for Oracle 23ai

We shared an intro about the Data Pump Bundle Patch in our Virtual Classroom Seminar #13 a long while ago. And talked about it in our Oracle Cloud World and User Group talks in more detail.

In brief, you …

How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation Release Schedule 0

I’ve had this topic on my “to write about” list for a long time. But somehow it felt through the cracks. Especially in relation to the recently announced extension of the Oracle Database 19c Premier and Extended Support periods it may be useful if you are aware of this policy since you may ask yourself: How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

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What is a backport?

As we explain in Virtual Classroom Seminar – Episode 17: From SR to Patch – Insights into the Oracle Database Development process we fix …

AutoUpgrade’s Patching: The feature you waited for

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 45

Over the almost past 6 years since we unleashed it, AutoUpgrade changed Oracle Database upgrades significantly. But we’ve been asked so many times about one missing feature. And now it is available. Still in V.1, not feature complete (yet). And we know that you have wishes and desires. Stay with us, it’s going to improve rapidly. So, let us kick off AutoUpgrade’s Patching: The feature you waited for.

AutoUpgrade's Patching: The feature you waited for

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Wait a bit … AutoUpgrade Patching??

Yes, you are right. AutoUpgrade can patch your database from home A to home B for a longer …

Virtual Classroom Seminar 21: One-Button Patching

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Oracle Database 19c Oracle Database 21c Oracle Database 23ai Patch Recommendation 10

It’s time for our next Virtual Classroom Seminar 21: One-Button Patching – and how it will make the life easier for every DBA with AutoUpgrade. So, this seminar is clearly for you. And we plan to constrain it this time to only 60 minutes with a heavy focus on demos.

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Date, Time and Registration

Episode 21 of our Virtual Classroom Series will happen on:

October 24, 2024 – 14:00h CET (5:30pm IST – 1:00pm BST – 8am EDT)
Registration Link

Why do YOU have to attend?

Oracle AutoUpgrade has been patching databases for …

More about cleaning up datapatch patching files

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 10

One of the reasons why I love my job: We have the smartest customers out there. Incredible. When I blogged the other day (after a longer pause) about Cleanup datapatch patching files in your database some of you commented the other day with either success messages, or tried out to rollback – or simply missed steps in the README. And since we have also smart developers at Oracle, I received some additional facts from the datapatch architect which I let him explain below.

More about cleaning up datapatch patching files

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The README file

Well, Devin commented on the previous blog post…

Cleanup datapatch patching files in your database

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 16

A while back I wrote about datapatch stores rollback patching files in the database, and the amount of space it may consume over time, especially if you patch frequently. I am fully aware that it took a bit longer, but finally since a few months, there is a relief. You can now Cleanup datapatch patching files in your database, and reclaim the space as well.

Cleanup datapatch patching files in your database

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A quick recap

In my blog post from January 2024 I shared queries to check the space consumed by previous patches in your database. In brief, to allow …

ORA-39405 with impdp when you have mixed time zone versions

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich DBCA Patch Recommendation Time Zone - DST 24

Today, Gisela, a former team mate from CSS/ACS Support contacted me regarding an issue seen at a customer. She reported an ORA-39405 with impdp when you have mixed time zone versions. But how can this happen? And what are the potential workarounds? Since some of our hosted environments got into the same situation already, this may be worth a blog post and some explanation.

ORA-39405 with impdp when you have mixed time zone versions

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Why does this happen?

You never cared about DST (Daylight Savings Time) files and versions of your database? This isn’t unusual, and in many environments actually not a problem …

datapatch stores rollback patching files in the database

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 29

I held back this blog post for a longer while. A customer (Thanks Jannes!) reported this to me many months ago but the fix was not as trivial as we thought initially, and there were several unlucky circumstances delaying it multiple times. But now it is time to tell you how datapatch stores rollback patching files in the database. And of course, how to cleanup.

datapatch stores rollback patching files in the database

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Why is this important?

At first, you may ask yourself: Why should I care? And you are right. This is normally nothing you should care about. …

The downsides of in-place patching – and a patching lab

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Best Practice Patch Recommendation 40

Happy New Year to all of you at first. I hope you all had a good start – and for myself, I promise to blog a bit more again in 2024. Let me start with my first post since I received a question very often: Why should I patch out-of-place with a new Oracle Home? Since I need to patch a bit today I can easily show the downsides of in-place patching – and a patching lab.

The downsides of in-place patching - and a patching lab

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It all started at OCW 2023

Ok, we didn’t really start it at OCW 2023 in …

Important clarifications to the Oracle Database Error Correction Policy

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Best Practice Patch Recommendation Release Schedule 4

When I came back from vacation a few weeks ago (or was it almost 2 months ago??) I learned that we have added some Important clarifications to the Oracle Database Error Correction Policy. The clarifications are mainly about how long you will be able to request a single fix for a given Release Update (RU). Take this not as a constraint but a motivation to argue internally to not stay on too old Release Updates.

Important clarifications to the Oracle Database Error Correction Policy

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How to find the important notes?

It is not easy to find this important note in MOS, …

How many fixes are you missing?

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich ORAdiff Patch Recommendation 4

Since we’ve had a public holiday in Germany yesterday, this feels almost like my Monday-morning-rant blog post. But seriously, this question came up so many times the past weeks. And I think it is worth a blog post to answer the question: How many fixes are you missing?

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Why would you want to know?

To be frank, customers I discussed the patch bundle topic with recently are often not interested in knowing how many fixes they are missing. Discussions quickly emerge into “quality” or “ease” or “cost” for how to apply patches. But rarely …

You may need to run root.sh again after RU patching

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 21

With the Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory – July 2023 – you may have spotted a change in the Database Release Update READMEs: You may need to run root.sh again after RU patching. Why is that?

You may need to run root.sh again after RU patching

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Let us have a quick look

I verified this with the 19.20.0 README on Linux. But I guess this applies to the other READMEs as well. Please bare in mind that this applies to the Database RUs only, not to Grid Infrastructure. You can find this new paragraph in it:

3.3.5 Update Permissions for extjob

Patch Download Assistant has now MRPs as well

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 16

You gave feedback – we discussed it, and Muthu implemented it right away. This will be a shorter blog post about one of our most favorite MOS notes, MOS Note: 2118136.2 since the Patch Download Assistant has now MRPs as well.

Patch Download Assistant has now MRPs as well

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What is the Download Assistant all about?

We call KA958 – Assistant: Download Reference for Oracle Database/GI Update, Revision, PSU, SPU(CPU), Bundle Patches, Patchsets and Base Releases one of our top 5 MOS notes because it is so handy. You need to download an RU? 3 clicks later you download it. You need …

Patching to Oracle 19.19.0 out-of-place with additional patches

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 94

From all my quarterly blog posts you know that I patch usually in-place for space and other reasons. And you may have similar reasons when you patch. But it is not ideal – and just speaking about risk and downtime, you should always patch out-of-place. So let me show you how Patching to Oracle 19.19.0 out-of-place with additional patches works.

Patching to Oracle 19.19.0 out-of-place with additional patches

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What do I need?

Actually, this is not complicated at all. And if you never done it this way, give it a try now please.

Base release Oracle Database 19.3.0 image
opatch 37 from

Patching process changes with MRPs

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 12

I blogged about the Monthly Recommended Patches (MRP) several times before. And due to the feedback you and we had given, a few things got changed. The main change is from having the MRP bundled as a system patch making opatchauto a requirement. See below what Patching process changes with MRPs were implemented recently.

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Before …

As you could read already in:

the introduction of the MRPs added one major flaw: They’ve been built as system patches which made …

Cleaning up older patch artifacts – improving opatch performance

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 51

This blog post is about a feature not only I but you did ask for actually for a long time. Cleaning up older patch artifacts – improving opatch performance. Both in one opatch release. And opatch 12.2.0.1.37 from April 2023 has it.

Cleaning up older patch artifacts - improving opatch performance

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A little bit of history

One of the longest journey I had ever done in my long time in Oracle was helping customers to find a voice for patch cleanup. Oracle 19c is a long term support release. Many customers upgraded to it already. And you apply patches on a regular …

Virtual Classroom Seminar 16: Release and Patching Strategy for Oracle 19c and 23c

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation Release Schedule Workshop 9

There are just two days left to sign up for our Virtual Classroom Seminar 16: Release and Patching Strategy for Oracle 19c and 23c. We’ll talk to you on Wednesday, May 10 at 16:00h CET.

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What’s the topic?

We’ll try to cover everything for your best release and patching strategy with Oracle Database 19c of course, but also moving forward to Oracle Database 23c. Our big focus will be several aspects of patching. You’ll hear us talking not only about standard database patching but especially about patching in RAC environments.

We’ll put together a …

A patch (RU, OJVM, 32-bit) is not available yet – where will I find information?

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation Release Schedule 2

A longer while ago I wrote a blog post about the topic that a patch (RU, OJVM, 32-bit) is not available yet – where will I find information? But I wrote it too specific. And it is even hard for me to find my older blog post. Since several of you mailed me the past weeks with a variety of questions regarding patch availability I decided to write down my thoughts – but this time in a more generic way. And I hope it is helpful.

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Why are patches missing?

At first, I …

Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Optimizer Patch Recommendation 22

Christian Pfundtner pointed me to the fact that my old blog post about the Statistics Advisor from 2017 may not be up to date anymore. And he further pointed out that some of his clients still suffer from issues with the tool. Hence, let me refresh the topic with Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c. And thanks to Christian for the pointers.

Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c

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Overview

At first, I won’t rewrite the entire blog post but instead focus on recent findings. Therefore, you may please want to read my previous blog post about the …

ORA-13516 “CATPROC not valid” during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Patch Recommendation 18

I thought I could relax this week using my leftover vacation days from 2022. But this issue is triggering me since some of you mailed me already. Maybe this blog post can prevent others from being trapped by this issue: ORA-13516 “CATPROC not valid” during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0. And as a prolog, you will NOT see the below issue when you started your database in NORMAL mode for the execution of datapatch.

ORA-13516 "CATPROC not valid" during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0

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What is the symptom?

Regardless of whether you patch to Oracle Database RU 19.18.0 manually or with …

Patch Recommendation

Time Zone patches and RUs?

What’s the point (summary)?

How to download AutoUpgrade 25.1

What’s new in opatch 12.2.0.1.45 (Jan 2025)?

What does MOS Note: 555.1 provide?

Download the Data Pump Bundle Patch for Oracle 23ai

What is a backport?

Wait a bit … AutoUpgrade Patching??

Date, Time and Registration

Why do YOU have to attend?

The README file

A quick recap

Why does this happen?

Why is this important?

It all started at OCW 2023

How to find the important notes?

Why would you want to know?

Let us have a quick look

3.3.5 Update Permissions for extjob

What is the Download Assistant all about?

What do I need?

Before …

A little bit of history

What’s the topic?

Why are patches missing?

Overview

What is the symptom?

Archives

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