As I started writing down the steps for my recent post Downtime and Apache Restricted Mode in Release 12,  Steven and I exchanged some conversations which made me realize that there would be questions about the availability of the same feature Release 11i. And, it turns out to be fairly accurate realization. So, this one is for those enthusiastic pals of mine on this community. I will try to do this differently, hence making it relatively shorter in content.

Is this feature available in 11i?

Yes. Check out the documentation in the References section.

Is the procedure to configure the same?

Yes. As you might have understood already, there are two pieces in this puzzle.
  1. Creation of downtime
  2. Managing Apache in Restricted Mode
Answering the question based on these two tasks,
  • Step ‘1’ is pretty much the same in 11i and Release 12. Hence, I am not recreating the screen shots for you here. Check out the steps in the table below.
  • Step ‘2’ is automated in Release using the perl script where as in Release 11i, the administrator has to go through some manual steps and run Autoconfig.

What are the exact steps in Release 11i?.

Thanks to our OAM team, these are well documented. And, they work like charm. Below are the sequence of steps for my DBA friends.

Note: Navigation in 11i for the downtime page creation is slightly different than Release 12.

S.No
 Task
 How to?
1.
 Schedule System Downtime and warn your end users of an impending downtime Use OAM to schedule downtime:
  • ( Navigation: Sitemap=>Maintenance=>Patching
    and utilities=>Schedule Downtime)
2.
 Complete the required one-time setups to monitor patch in progress
  • Use OAM Autoconfig editor to edit the variable < s_trusted_admin_client_nodes
    > to include the list of hosts that can access OAM in restricted mode.
    Run autoconfig to ensure that the new settings take effect.

  • Ensure that you have enabled the the monitoring user account by unlocking
    the ad_monitor user account and setting the password by using the following
    commands:

    • alter user ad_monitor account unlock;

    • Login to SQL*Plus as user ad_monitor. Default password is lizard. Reset
      the password.
3.
 Shutdown all Applications services

Use the standard ad script from $COMMON_TOP/admin/scripts/<context_name> directory:

  • adstpall.sh <apps user>/<password>
4.
 Enable maintenance mode for your Applications system
 Run adadmin, and:

  1. Select option 5 ‘Change Maintenance Mode’
  2. Select
    option 1 ‘Enable Maintenance Mode’
5.
 Start OAM in restricted mode to monitor patching in progress
 From the $COMMON_TOP/admin/scripts/<context_name> directory, run:

  • adaprstctl.sh start
6.
 Begin applying patch
 Run adpatch (hotpatch=n)
7.
 Monitor patching in progress
  1. Access OAM in restricted mode from the following URL : http://host:port/servlets/weboamLocal/oam/oamLogin

  2. Login into OAM using the ad_monitor user

  3. Navigation: Sitemap=>Maintenance=>Patching and utilities=>Timing
    Reports
8.
 Confirm the end of scheduled downtime upon patch completion
 From within OAM in restricted mode:

  • Navigation: Sitemap=>Maintenance=>Patching and utilities=>Manage
    Downtime Schedules=>Select “Complete” button.
9.
 Bring your Applications System to normal mode.
 Run adadmin, and:
  1. Select option 5 ‘Change Maintenance Mode’
  2. Select
    option 2 ‘Disable Maintenance Mode’
10.
 Shutdown Apache in restricted mode and Restart all services
From the $COMMON_TOP/admin/scripts/<context_name> directory, run:
  • adaprstctl.sh stop

  • adstrtall.sh <apps user>/<password>

References

  1. About Oracle Applications Manager Mini-pack 11i.OAM.H
  2. Chapter 6, Section ‘Managing Downtime in Restricted Mode’ of Oracle Applications System Administrator’s Guide – Maintenance – Release 11i (Part No B13924-04)