D Using the Database Upgrade Assistant

Complete the following steps to upgrade the database using the DBUA graphical user interface:

1. At the Welcome screen of the Database Upgrade Assistant, make sure the database being upgraded meets the specified conditions. Then, click Next.

   If you need help at any screen or want to consult more documentation about the Database Upgrade Assistant, then click the Help button to open the online help.

2. If an ASM instance is detected on the system, then the Upgrade Operations page is displayed. From this page you can choose to upgrade only the ASM instance or the database. If you choose to upgrade the database and if the database is using ASM, then the DBUA will prompt you about whether or not to upgrade the ASM instance along with the database. Oracle recommends that you upgrade the database and ASM in separate DBUA sessions, in separate Oracle homes.

3. At the Selecting a Database Instance screen, select the database you want to upgrade from the Available Databases table. Then, click Next.

   You can select only one database at a time. If you are running the Database Upgrade Assistant from a user account that does not have SYSDBA privileges, then you must enter the user name and password credentials to enable SYSDBA privileges for the selected database.

   The Database Upgrade Assistant analyzes the database, performing pre-upgrade checks and displaying warnings as necessary:

   • It checks for any redo log files whose size is less than 4 MB. If such files are found, then the Database Upgrade Assistant gives the option to drop/create new redo log files.

   • It checks the parameter file for any obsolete or deprecated initialization parameters

4. At the Creating the SYSAUX Tablespace screen, specify the attributes for the SYSAUX tablespace, which is added automatically to all new Oracle Database 10g databases you create. Then, click Next.

   See Also:

   Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about the SYSAUX tablespace

   Many of the attributes of the SYSAUX tablespace are set automatically and cannot be modified. For example, the SYSAUX tablespace is set to use Automatic Segment-Space Management. However, you can specify the location of the data file, the default size of the SYSAUX tablespace, and its autoextend attributes.

   Note:

   If you specify an existing datafile for the SYSAUX tablespace, then you must select Reuse Existing File Name. Otherwise, the Database Upgrade Assistant alerts you to the fact that the file already exists.

5. At the Recompiling Invalid Objects screen, decide whether you want the Database Upgrade Assistant to recompile all invalid PL/SQL modules after the upgrade is complete. Then, click Next.

   When you upgrade a database to the new Oracle Database 10g release, many of the PL/SQL modules in your database will become invalid. As a result, all existing PL/SQL modules in an INVALID state must be recompiled, such as packages, procedures, types, and so on.

   By default, the Oracle Database recompiles invalid PL/SQL modules as they are used. For example, if an invalid PL/SQL module is called, it will first be recompiled before it is actually executed. The time it takes to recompile the module can result in poor performance as you begin to use your newly upgraded database.

   To eliminate these performance issues, select Recompile invalid objects at the end of upgrade. When you select this option, the Database Upgrade Assistant recompiles all the invalid PL/SQL modules immediately after the upgrade is performed. This will ensure that you will not experience any performance issues later, as you begin using your newly upgraded database.

   Note:

   Selecting Recompile invalid objects at the end of upgrade is equivalent to running the ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/utlrp.sql script, which is used to recompile stored PL/SQL and Java code.

   The task of recompiling all the invalid PL/SQL modules in your database can take a significant amount of time and increase the time it takes to complete your database upgrade. If you have multiple CPUs, then you can reduce the time it takes to perform this task by taking advantage of parallel processing on your available CPUs. If you have multiple CPUs available, then the Database Upgrade Assistant automatically adds an additional section to the Recompile Invalid Objects screen and automatically determines the number of CPUs you have available.

   If the database is in ARCHIVELOG mode, the Database Upgrade Assistant gives you the choice of changing it to NOARCHIVELOG mode.

   The Database Upgrade Assistant also provides a recommended degree of parallelism, which determines how many parallel processes are used to recompile your invalid PL/SQL modules. Specifically, the Database Upgrade Assistant sets the degree of parallelism to one less than the number of CPUs you have available. For example, if you have three CPUs available for processing, then the Database Upgrade Assistant selects 2 from the Degree of Parallelism menu. You can adjust this default value by selecting a new value from the Degree of Parallelism menu.

6. At the Choosing a Database Backup Procedure screen, specify whether or not you want the Database Upgrade Assistant to back up your database for you. Then, click Next.

   If you choose not to use the Database Upgrade Assistant for your backup, then Oracle assumes you have already backed up your database using your own backup procedures. Oracle strongly recommends that you back up your database before the upgrade. If errors occur during the upgrade, then you may need to restore the database from the backup.

   Note:

   Database Upgrade Assistant does not back up ASM databases. You must manually back them up on your own.

   If you use the Database Upgrade Assistant to back up your database, then the Database Upgrade Assistant will make a copy of all your database files in the directory you specify in the Backup Directory field. The Database Upgrade Assistant will perform this cold backup automatically after it shuts down the database and before it begins performing the upgrade procedure. The cold backup will not compress your database files and the backup directory must be a valid file system path. You cannot specify a raw device for the cold backup files.

   In addition, the Database Upgrade Assistant creates a batch file in the specified directory. You can use this batch file to restore the database files:

   • On Windows operating systems, the file is called db_name_restore.bat.

   • On UNIX platforms, the file is called db_name_restore.sh.

7. Note: The Management Options screen described in this step is not displayed if a release 10.1 database is already being monitored with Enterprise Manager.

   At the Management Options screen, you have the option of setting up your database so it can be managed with Enterprise Manager. Enterprise Manager provides Web-based management tools for managing individual database instances, as well as central management tools for managing your entire Oracle environment, including multiple databases, hosts, application servers, and other components of your network.

   1. When you run the Database Upgrade Assistant, the assistant checks to see if the Oracle Management Agent has been installed on the host computer. If the assistant locates an Oracle Management Agent, select the Grid Control option and select an Oracle Management Service from the drop-down list. When you finish installing the Oracle Database, the database will automatically be available as a managed target within the Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control.

   2. If you are not centrally managing your Oracle environment, you can still use Enterprise Manager to manage your database. When you install an Oracle Database, you automatically install the Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control, which provides Web-based features for monitoring and administering the single-instance or cluster database you are installing.

      To configure the database so it can be managed with the Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control, select the Database Control option.

   3. When you select the Database Control management option, you can configure Enterprise Manager so that E-mail notifications will be enabled immediately upon installation.

      Select Enable E-mail Notifications if you want the SYSMAN user (the default Super Administrator and owner of the Management Repository schema) to receive E-mail notification when a metric for a specified condition reaches a critical or warning threshold. For example, Enterprise Manager can send an E-mail when a target goes down or when there are database space usage problems.

   4. If you select the Database Control management option, you can also enable automatic daily backups of your entire database.

      Select Enable Daily Backups to use the Oracle-suggested backup strategy to back up your entire database with a minimum amount of configuration. Later, you can use Enterprise Manager to customize your backup strategy further.

      When you select this option, Enterprise Manager will be configured to back up your database, based on the scheduled start time you enter on this page, immediately after you finish installing the Oracle Database. Enterprise Manager will back up the database to the Flash Recovery Area that you specify later on the Recovery Configuration screen of the Database Upgrade Assistant.

   5. After you have made your choices, click Next.

8. At the Database Credentials screen, secure your database with passwords for the Enterprise Manager accounts. You can set a single password, which will be applied to each of the listed Enterprise Manager user accounts, or enhance the security of the accounts by providing unique passwords for each user.

9. At the Recovery Configuration screen, specify a flash recovery area and enable archiving. When you are managing your database, it is important to configure the database so you can recover your data in the event of a system failure.

   The Flash Recovery Area can be used to recover data that would otherwise be lost during a system failure; this location is also used by Enterprise Manager if you have enabled local management and daily backups on the Management Options screen shown previously in the Database Upgrade Assistant.

10. At the Network Configuration for the database screen, you have two tabs:

    The Listeners tab is displayed if you have more than one listener in the release 10.2 Oracle home. Select the listeners in the release 10.2 Oracle home for which you would like to register the upgraded database.

    The Directory Service tab shows up if you have directory services configured in the release 10.2 Oracle home. You can select to either register or not register the upgraded database with the directory service.

11. At the Summary screen, make sure all of the specifications are correct. If anything is incorrect, then click Back until you can correct the specification. If everything is correct, then click Finish.

    The Database Upgrade Assistant lists the initialization parameters that will be set for the database during the upgrade. The COMPATIBLE initialization parameter will be set to at least 9.2.0.

    See Also:

    Chapter 5, "Compatibility and Interoperability" for information about setting the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter after the upgrade

12. A Progress dialog appears and the Database Upgrade Assistant begins to perform the upgrade.

    You may encounter error messages with Ignore and Abort choices. If other errors appear, then you must address them accordingly. If an error is severe and cannot be handled during the upgrade, then you have the following choices:

    • If Ignore is presented as a choice in the message, then clicking the button will ignore the error and proceed with the upgrade. The errors ignored are logged and shown later in the summary.

      This causes the Database Upgrade Assistant to display the step as skipped and move on to the next step in the upgrade, ignoring this and any dependent steps. After the upgrade is complete, you can fix the problem, restart the Database Upgrade Assistant, and complete the skipped steps.

    • If Ignore is not presented as a choice in the message, then you need to abort the process by clicking the Abort button.

      This will abort the upgrade process. The Database Upgrade Assistant prompts you to restore the database if the database backup was taken by the Database Upgrade Assistant.

      After the database has been restored, you need to correct the cause of the error and restart the Database Upgrade Assistant to perform the upgrade again.

      If you do not want to restore the database, then the Database Upgrade Assistant leaves the database in its present state so that you can proceed with a manual upgrade.

    After the upgrade has completed, the following message is displayed in the Progress dialog:

    Upgrade has been completed. Click the "OK" button to see the results of the upgrade.
    

    Click the OK button.

13. At the Checking Upgrade Results screen, you can examine the results of the upgrade, manage the passwords in the upgraded database, and, if necessary, restore the original database settings.

    The upgrade results summary includes a description of the original and upgraded databases and changes made to the initialization parameters. The upgrade results also include a Step Execution Summary that describes the steps performed during the database upgrade. For each step in the process, the summary provides the step name, the log file for the step, and the status. In some cases, you can click the status to display details about the execution step. The Step Execution Summary also includes the directory where the various log files are stored after the upgrade. You can examine any of these log files to obtain more details about the upgrade process.

    Note:

    An HTML version of the Upgrade Results is also saved in the log files directory.

    The Password Management section of the screen allows you to unlock and set passwords for various users in the newly upgraded database. Click Configure Database Passwords to display the Password Management dialog box. The Password Management dialog box allows you to change the default password for a user after you upgrade the database. For security reasons, all users are locked except for the following users:

    • SYS

    • SYSTEM

    If you have enabled Local Management with Enterprise Manager, then the SYSMAN and DBSNMP accounts are also unlocked. These accounts provide Enterprise Manager with access to the database so it can gather monitoring data and so you can perform administration tasks with Enterprise Manager.

    If you have enabled Central Management with Enterprise Manager, then the DBSNMP account is unlocked, as well as the SYS and SYSTEM user accounts.

    Note:

    To prevent unauthorized use of the database, Oracle recommends that you change all user passwords immediately after you upgrade your database.

    If you are not satisfied with the upgrade results, then click Restore. Depending on the method you used to back up your database, the Restore operation performs one of two tasks:

    • If you used the Database Upgrade Assistant to back up your database, then clicking Restore will restore the original database and the original database settings from the backup.

    • If you used your own backup procedure to back up the database, then clicking Restore will restore only the original database settings. To restore the database itself, you must restore the backup you created with your own backup utilities.

    If you are satisfied with the upgrade results, then click Exit to quit the Database Upgrade Assistant and use your newly upgraded database. The Database Upgrade Assistant removes the entry of the upgraded database from the old listener.ora file and reloads the listener of the old database.

14. At the Changes in Default Behavior screen, the Database Upgrade Assistant displays some changes in behavior of Oracle Database 10g from that of previous releases. In some cases the default values of some initialization parameters have changed. In other cases some new behavior/requirement has been introduced that may affect current scripts or applications.

15. Complete the procedures described in Chapter 4, "After Upgrading a Database".