Single-Server Rolling Database Maintenance

Starting with Oracle Database 23ai, you can apply rolling patches and perform maintenance operations locally for an Oracle RAC database with one instance or Oracle RAC One Node database on an Oracle Grid Infrastructure cluster.

If your database is not Oracle RAC database or Oracle RAC One Node, then in order to use Single-Server Rolling database Maintenance feature, first convert your single instance database to Oracle RAC database or Oracle RAC One Node database on a single-node cluster. Then, create a new database home and enable single-server rolling maintenance which creates and starts a new database instance of the same database from the new home. You can now transfer your database from the old Oracle home to the new Oracle home.

Note:

The conversion is possible if the single instance database uses file systems accessible to the single server. Use the following command to check the readiness of the server for patching:

cluvfy stage -pre patch -db -dbhome oracle_home -dest_dbhome dest_dbhome -localrolling

Single-server rolling database maintenance ensures uninterrupted database availability to single instance databases during maintenance operations.

To use single-server rolling database maintenance, the existing single instance database is converted to a Oracle RAC or Oracle RAC One Node database. You can benefit from the minimal requirements of the general purpose cluster to convert the database and benefit from the improved availability of your databases. The steps can be orchestrated with custom scripts or by using Oracle FPP.

To apply rolling patches for a single instance Oracle Database follow this procedure:

  1. Converting Single Instance on a Single Server to Oracle RAC One Node Using Oracle DBCA
  2. Patching Oracle Database in Local Rolling Mode

Parent topic: Installing Oracle Database