11.0.x : Patch Installation Frequently Asked Questions

Questions & Answers-------------------

1) When applying patches, where should the patch files reside so that ADPATCH can find them? The patches can be copied anywhere as long as the environment is set correctly when executing ADPATCH. Usually, the patches are located in a directory under $APPL_TOP. 2) Which drivers should be run first? If they have been run in the wrong order can you run them again? Patches that begin with 'db??????.drv' are database drivers. Database drivers should always be run after the patch.drv driver. The patch.drv is a file system patch which is used to update the file system with new versions of certain files. When there is more than one 'db' driver, the readme.txt should provide information on the required sequence for application. If 'db' drivers are not run in the correct order, you may rerun them using the correct sequence.

3) What does ADPATCH actually do with a 'db' driver? It alters the tables in the database. Even if the executables are restored (on the file system), they may not work properly because the structure and information in the database has changed. These patches can create tables, add indexes, and alter the APPS schema. The only way to back-out a 'db' driver is with a database backup. 4) Is there a file that lists all of the patches that have been applied to the application? There are two files that are created in APPL_TOP directory which list all the patches applied to the application:

o applptch.txt o applpatch.tmp These files are created when a new APPL_TOP is created. Without the .txt file, patches cannot be applied. Grep the .txt file for the patch number in question. 5) Is there a command to list all to the patches for one application? grep -i 'begin bug ar' applptch.txt 6) Can you reapply a patch? Does this cause any problems? You can always reapply patches without a problem. 7) A patch fails on a column with one of the following errors:

11.0.x : Patch Installation Frequently Asked Questions

ORA-00904 invalid column name or ORA-00942 table or view does not exist

Review the manual steps in the README file distributed with the patch. This problem can usually be corrected by following the steps in this file.

8) What log files are generated by ADPATCH? When you start ADPATCH, you name the log file. If you do not give it a unique name each time, the log information is appended to the end of the existing file. The file is located in $APPL_TOP/install/log and the DEFAULT name is adpatch.log. The ADPATCH log file could contain references to many patches. Some patches may spawn workers which each have an associated log file. Worker. These log files are named adwork01.log, adwork02.log, etc., and are located in $APPL_TOP/install/log. They should be checked for errors when a new patch is installed. 9) What happens when a patch is applied whose version is lower than the current installed version of the patch?

Higher versions contained within the patch are copied; the lower versions are ignored.

10) A "BAD MAGIC" error message is received during the relinking stage of ADPATCH.

This error is normally caused by running the wrong platform patch (i.e. An HP-UX patch is run on a SUN platform).

11) Which patches can be backed out and is there a problem in doing this? Database drivers 'db' CANNOT be backed out without a system backup. The patch.drv portion of the patch MAY be backed out by reversing its steps. However, it is strongly recommended that you contact Oracle Worldwide Support before doing so.

Caution-------

There is no utility that is available to reverse the installation of a patch. Therefore, we recommend that a full system backup is performed prior to the installation of any patch.