Sneak Peek at Oracle EBS Release 12.2 Features, Online Patching

Online Patching is one of the cornerstone, new features in our upcoming Oracle E-Business Suite 12.2 release. Referred to as the “Edition-Based Redefinition,” it is a new 11gR2 Database feature that was built to allow the E-Business Suite’s database tier to be patched while the environment is running.

Online Patching combines the use of Edition-Based Redefinition and new E-Business Suite technologies to allow patching to the E-Business Suite’s database and application tier servers while the environment is being actively used by its end-users.

Oracle also introduced redundancy at the file system level. There will be two APPL_TOPs, two common tops, two INST_TOPs, two 10.1.2 Oracle homes and two Weblogic Oracle homes. One of the file systems will be called Run Edition and the other the Patch Edition.

 

Online users will be served using the Run Edition and when a patch is being applied to the Patch Edition. Once patches are applied successfully to the Patch Edition, the DBA needs to switch the Patch Edition into Run Edition. After the switch is done, the DBA needs to synchronize both the File systems.

Edition-Based Redefinition will maintain different version of packages in the database, facilitating the online patching feature.

Oracle will now support rolling back of a patch in R12.2 and this online patching enables that. Only downside of this feature is, it will use double the disk space on the server.

Some of the Key Benefits of Online Patching are:

• Easier to negotiate downtime with lines of business as minimal downtime is required (minutes vs. hours)
• Easier to identify potential brief downtime windows, allowing for greater opportunities for patching during the work day
• Applications stay online during patch application
• Critical business operations are not impacted