Session ID:

Prepared by:

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appsTechDBA Strategies for a Successful E-Business Suite Upgrade

05 March, 2018

James J. Morrow

Sr. Oracle Applications DBA

BlueStone Solutions Group, Inc.

morrow.james@gmail.com

James Morrow

• Oracle Applications DBA

• BlueStone Solutions Group, Inc.

• 22+ years as an E-Business Suite DBA

• 24+ years as a Unix/Linux Administrator

• E-Business Suite versions 9.4.2 through R12.2.7

• Oracle RDBMS 7.0.16 through 12.1.0.1

Upcoming Sessions at Collaborate

• Sun, April 22 @ 1:45pm – OAUG SysAdmin SIG (#10223) – Breakers B

• Wed, April 25 @ 11:00am – OAUG Cloning Panel – Breakers B

• Wed, April 25 @ 1:15pm – E-Business Suite DBA Best Practices (#10155) –

Breakers C

• Thur, 4/26 @ 9:45am – Anatomy of an EBS Platform Migration (#10156) –

Breakers C

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OAUG Membership

• The OAUG is the world’s largest education, networking and advocacy forum

for Oracle Applications users.

– Get the answers you need to get ahead

– Network with Oracle Applications users and experts

– Influence Oracle

Shine with the OAUG

• Get the most from your networking and education at conferences.

• Find networking opportunities at and after Conferences like OpenWorld and

COLLABORATE.

• Save time and money with OAUG resources

created by Oracle Applications users and experts.

OAUG Insight Magazine

Thousands of Solutions in One Place

The Conference Paper Database

– White papers and presentation

slides from past COLLABORATE

OAUG speakers.

– Search by topic, product or year

to find the resources relevant to

you.

OAUG ProTip: Take 5

• Bite-sized learning

available in 15 short

videos.

Connect with Peers

and Experts

• Geographic and Special

Interest Groups

• Membership Directory

• Social Media Pages

• Conferences

• The OAUG Emerging

Leaders Forum

Sample OAUG Member Resources

• Download a recorded webinar

• A copy of OAUG Insight magazine

• Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card

www.oaug.org/illuminate

Illuminate your Path

• Join the OAUG • $965/year for companies that are Licensed Users of Oracle

Applications. Includes full access to all resources for all employees.

• $1945/year for companies that provide products or services to enhance Oracle Applications. Includes full access to all resources for all employees.

“Less expensive than a few hours of consulting.”

Connect With the OAUG at COLLABORATE

• Visit the OAUG in booth 1335

• Discover how OAUG members shine

• Illuminate your path to success

• Talk to Customer Support Council reps

• Polish your online image with free LinkedIn consulting and professional head

shots

Release Information

and Support

Timelines

E-Business Suite Releases(April, 2017)

Support Timelines(April, 2017)

Database Patch Set Release Roadmap [MOS 742060.1] (April, 2017)

Database Support Changes (12.1)

Database 12.1

Premier Support through July 31, 2018

Extended Support through July 31, 2021

Extended Support Fee Waived through July 31, 2019

SOURCE: E-Business Suite Technology Blog, February 8, 2017

https://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/entry/db121_extfee

Database Support Changes (11.2)

Database 11.2

Premier Support expired July, 2015

Extended Support through December 31, 2020

Extended Support Fee Waived through December 31, 2018

SOURCE: E-Business Suite Technology Blog, February 7, 2017

https://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/entry/db112_extfee

The Toolkit

The Toolkit: Client Connectivity

VNC Client

• RealVNC

• TightVNC

• MobaXTerm

• Linux running in a VirtualBox VM

X-Windows

• Reflection X

• Hummingbird Exceed

• MobaXterm

• Linux running in a VirtualBox VM

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The Toolkit: Client Connectivity

SSH Client

• PuTTY

• SecureCRT

• OpenSSH

• MobaXterm

• Linux running in a VirtualBox VM

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The Toolkit: Server-Side

Generally available in most Unix/Linux systems

• VNC Server

• GNU Screen

• ASCII Web Browser (Links, Lynx)

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The Toolkit: Documentation

Screen Capture Tool

• Windows Snipping Tool

• Greenshot

• TechSmith SnagIT!

Word Processor/Spreadsheet

• Microsoft Office

• OpenOffice

• LibreOffice

Project Planning Tool

• Microsoft Project

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Big Picture Planning

Big Picture Planning

• Operating System Upgrade?

• Database Upgrade?

• Platform Migration?

• New Hardware?

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Big Picture Planning

• Customizations

– Inventory all of your customizations

– Start with NO! Make the business units re-justify EVERYTHING.

– Pay CLOSE attention to the R12.2 Development Standards

• Your developers have been “getting away with it” so far… R12.2 will punish you if you

don’t follow the standards! Things. Will. Break.

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Big Picture Planning

• External Integrations

– Discoverer

– OBIEE

– Single Sign-on

– SOA

• Printing

– Migrate all to PASTA Universal Driver

– Check Printing Solutions

Big Picture Planning

• Read Only Users

– Security problem

– Back Door that leads to unauthorized “mission critical” applications

– Replace with NAMED database users that have SPECIFIC grants

Research, Research,

Research

Research, Research, Research

• EBS Fresh Install generally simpler than Upgrade

• What components to install?

• What components need to be upgraded/patched after installation?

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Research, Research, Research

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EBS R12.2 Upgrade

Decision Process

Flowchart

MOS 1585857.1

No Job is Finished

Until

the Paperwork is

Done

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done

Four documents for each iteration of the upgrade project:

• Patch Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel)

• Project Plan/Gantt Chart (Microsoft Project)

• Upgrade Runbook (Microsoft Word)

• Upgrade Transcript (Microsoft Word)

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No Job is Finished

Until

the Paperwork is

Done – Patch

Spreadsheet

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Patch Spreadsheet

• Used to plan, sequence, and group patches applied during the upgrade

process.

• Useful for planning merges and for checking/documenting prerequisites.

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No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Patch Spreadsheet

Database & Tools (opatch) portion

37

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Patch Spreadsheet

E-Business Suite Portion (adpatch) portion

38

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Patch Spreadsheet

Columns:

• Merge Name

• Merge Order

• Patch Number

• Patch Name

• Type

• Size

• Date Released

• Description

• MOS Note(s)

• Disposition

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No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Patch Spreadsheet

About that prerequisite column:

• All (or all major) prerequisite patches listed

• Prerequisites that are already satisfied crossed out

• Prerequisites that will be applied as part of this process are in red and should

appear on the patch list

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No Job is Finished

Until

the Paperwork is

Done – Project

Plan/Gantt Chart

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Project Plan/Gantt Chart

• Only using to plan the DBA tasks

• Focusing on the Blackout Window

• Generic resources (“DBA” “Functional” “Developer”)

• 24 hour calendar

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No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Project Plan/Gantt Chart

Used for

• Sequencing Tasks

• Planning Dependencies

• Determining which tasks can be performed “out of band”

• Estimating Timing

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No Job is Finished

Until

the Paperwork is

Done – Upgrade

Runbook

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Upgrade Runbook

• Have a serviceable MS Word style template (simple headers, indicate where

each step should be performed)

• First Iteration Runbook

– Build (somewhat) in advance

– Lay out the major tasks

– Use this to create your Transcript

• Runbooks for subsequent iterations created from the Transcript of the

previous iteration

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No Job is Finished

Until

the Paperwork is

Done – Upgrade

Transcript

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Upgrade Transcript

• Upgrade Transcript built using the Runbook as a starting point

• Record command syntax

• Record start/stop times

• Record any errors encountered

– Including portions of log files

– Keep track of solutions tried, SR’s, MOS research

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No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Upgrade Transcript

Sample Transcript

48

No Job is Finished Until

the Paperwork is Done:

Upgrade Transcript

• Use transcript to create runbook for next iteration

– Re-sequence tasks

– Add steps to avoid errors from previous iteration

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Practice, Practice,

Practice

Practice, Practice, Practice

• NOT LESS THAN FOUR (4) ITERATIONS

• Use an early iteration to produce project instances and clone from that

• Subsequent iterations may not all need to be used by the project

• Use the iterations to test your Runbook and refine your process

• PASS1 Transcript becomes PASS2 Runbook

– Lather, rinse, repeat.

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Practice, Practice, Practice

• Perform a “dry run” (PROD-1) iteration

– Close to go-live

– Use a recent clone of the source

– Patch list finalized

– On target hardware (if possible)

– Exercise/Test your Runbook

– Establish timings

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The Big Event

The Big Event

• Upgrade on new hardware if possible

– Allows you to leave the source untouched

• Plan your outage

– One DBA vs. Working in shifts

– Make sure building is prepared (power, lights, HVAC)

– Have something to keep you occupied/awake

– Wear comfortable clothes

– Bring snacks

54

The Big Event

• Communicate!

– Simple Status Email Template

– Periodically send to key project personnel (or distribution list)

– List major milestones

– Don’t advertise times in the status email

55

Session ID:

Remember to complete your evaluation for this session within the app!

appsTech

morrow.james@gmail.com