Patching Oracle GoldenGate Classic Architechture for Oracle Database Using OPatch

This topic lists the prerequisites and the steps to be performed for patching Oracle GoldenGate Classic Architecture for Oracle database only, using OPatch.

Perform the following prerequisites before installing the patch:

Download and install the most recent release of OPatch, and keep a note of the installation directory where you installed the latest release of OPatch.

Details from where to download OPatch is available at: How To Download And Install The Latest OPatch(6880880) Version (Doc ID 274526.1)
Download the Oracle GoldenGate patch and maintain a location for storing the contents of the patch ZIP file. This location or the absolute path is referred to as patch_top_dir in the subsequent steps.
Navigate to the patch_top_dir directory and run the following command to extract the contents of the patch ZIP file to the location you created previously.

$ cd patch_top_dir

$ unzip patch_number_version_platform.zip
Navigate to the unzipped patch directory:

$ cd patch_top_dir/patch_number_dir
Set the ORACLE_HOME environment variable to the Oracle GoldenGate installation directory:

$ export ORACLE_HOME=GoldenGate_Installation_Path
Set the PATH environment variable to include the locations of the $ORACLE_HOME and OPatch directories.
```
$ export PATH=$PATH:$ORACLE_HOME:/OPatch
```
Run the following command to verify the Oracle inventory, which OPatch accesses to install the patches:
```
$ opatch lsinventory
```
If the command displays any errors, contact Oracle Support to resolve the issue.
Run the OPatch prerequisites check and verify that it passes.
```
$ opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -ph ./
```
If any errors are displayed, identify the error type. OPatch categorizes conflicts in the following types:
- Conflicts with a patch already applied to the ORACLE_HOME: In this case, stop the patch installation and contact Oracle Support Services.
- Conflicts with a patch already applied to the ORACLE_HOME that is a subset of the patch you are trying to apply: In this case, continue with the patch installation because the new patch contains all the fixes from the existing patch in the ORACLE_HOME. The subset patch will automatically be rolled back prior to the installation of the new patch.
Before patching Oracle GoldenGate, ensure that you shut down all processes such as Extracts and Replicats, and stop all other services such as the Oracle GoldenGate Monitor JAgent and Performance Metrics Service.
1. Use the Oracle GoldenGate Software Command Interface (ggsci) in the GoldenGate Software Home to stop all processes.
```
$ ./ggsci
```
2. Stop the Extract and Replicat processes and the Distribution Paths.
```
GGSCI> STOP ER *
```
3. If monitoring is enabled, stop the GoldenGate Monitor JAgent and Performance Metrics Service.
```
GGSCI> STOP PMSRVR
GGSCI> STOP JAGENT
```
4. Stop the Manager process.
```
GGSCI> STOP MGR!
```
5. Re-check to verify that all processes have stopped.
```
GGSCI> INFO ALL
```
6. Exit the Oracle GoldenGate Software Command Interface.
```
GGSCI> EXIT
```
Perform the following steps to install the patch:
Install the patch by running the following command:
```
$ opatch apply
```
When the OPatch command starts, it validates the patch and ensures that there are no conflicts with the software already installed in ORACLE_HOME of the Oracle GoldenGate release.
After the patch installation completes, run the following command to verify that the Oracle inventory contains the installed patch:
```
$ opatch lsinventory
```
Start the Manager, followed by the other services such as GoldenGate Monitor JAgent and Performance Metrics Service, and the Oracle GoldenGate processes.
1. Use Oracle GoldenGate Software Command Interface (ggsci) in the GoldenGate Software Home to start all processes and services.
```
$ ./ggsci
```
2. Start the Manager process.
```
GGSCI> START MGR
```
3. If monitoring was enabled, start the GoldenGate Monitor JAgent and Performance Metrics Service.
```
GGSCI> START PMSRVR
GGSCI> START JAGENT
```
4. Start the Extracts and the Replicats.
```
GGSCI> START ER *
```
5. Check the status and verify that all processes and services are running.
```
GGSCI> INFO ALL
```