Presentation given at the 2002 IOUG Conference in San Diego, CA

1. 707- Tips on Successfully
Upgrading Applications 11i for
the Non-Apps DBA
Christina Zanoni
ALAS, Inc.

2. Introduction
 Upgrade of Non-customized Oracle
Applications version 10.7NCA to 11.5.3
on Windows NT
 Useful Experience
– Oracle Applications
– Oracle 9i Application Server (9iAs)
ALAS, Inc.

3. Agenda
 What is Oracle Applications?
 Understanding the Upgrade Process
 Preparing for the Upgrade
 Server Configuration for Apps 11i
 Performing the Upgrade
 Tips on Solving Upgrade Issues
 The Importance of Documentation
ALAS, Inc.

4. What is Oracle Applications?
 Set of financial management and accounting
applications
 Provides over 150 modules
 Uses stored procedures and functions
 “Concurrent managers” - execution queues
that process reports and complex tasks
ALAS, Inc.

5. Oracle Applications Modules
 Data and code stored in individual schemas
 Dependent on other more general schemas
 Users access data in modules through
granted “Responsibilities” (e.g. System
Administrator, Receivables Manager)
ALAS, Inc.

6. Oracle Applications Modules -
Dependencies
Note: This diagram does
not include all
dependencies!
APPS
AP AR
GL CE
ALAS, Inc.

7. Understanding the Upgrade
Process
 Pre-upgrade Steps (Categories 1-3)
 AutoUpgrade
– Acts as a manager that coordinates WORKERS
– Assigns workers jobs to convert, compile, translate,
or upgrade objects
– Workers need to be monitored with the AD
Controller utility (ADCTRL) and fixed if necessary
 Post-upgrade Steps (Categories 4-6)
 Finishing Steps (After Post-upgrade steps)
ALAS, Inc.

8. Preparing for the Upgrade –
Required Reading
 Oracle Applications Concepts Manual
 Oracle Applications Upgrade Manual
 Maintaining Oracle Applications Manual
 Oracle Applications Release 11i Notes –
download most recent version from Metalink
 Oracle Applications Installation Manual
 Oracle Applications Installation Update
Notes
 Applications Issues Document on Metalink
ALAS, Inc.

9. Preparing for the Upgrade –
Upgrade Resources
 11i Upgrade Section of Oracle Appsnet
http://www.oracle.com/appsnet/technology/upgrade
 Attend local Oracle Applications User
Group meetings
http://www.oaug.org/geo/geoweb.html
 Join listserv -
http://www.oaug.org/public/oaugnet/oaugnet.html
ALAS, Inc.

10. Applications 11i Server
Configuration – 3 Tier
Database Database Server (Oracle8i Enterprise Edition)
Tier
Applications Technology Stack (8.0.6
Middle
Oracle Home)
Tier
(Includes the Admin, Concurrent Processing, Forms, Reports,
and Apache Web Servers)
Desktop JInitiator within a Standard Web Browser
Tier
ALAS, Inc.

11. ALAS’ Server Configuration –
Single Node Install
Database Server & Applications
Technology Stack (dual 500Mhz CPU,
1 GB RAM, 54 GB of hard disk space)
JInitiator within a Standard Web Browser
(IE 5.5 & 256 MB RAM for desktops)
 Advantages
– Simple Maintenance
 Disadvantages
– Complex Application Tuning
– Fail Over Server does not exist
ALAS, Inc.

12. Applications Release
Maintenance
 Required tools for Release Maintenance on Windows
NT/2000
– Microsoft Visual C++
– MKS Toolkit – emulates the Unix environment
– gnu make 3.79.1
 Applications Patching Steps
– Back up Oracle Applications and database servers
– Shut down all forms services, web listener services, and concurrent
manager services
– Verify that the database and database listeners are running
– Execute command file under APPL_TOP to set Applications
Environment
– run ADPATCH
ALAS, Inc.

13. Servers Used during Upgrade
Applications 10.7NCA/Oracle 7.3.4 database server
(dual 350Mhz CPU, 1 GB RAM, ~30 GB of hard disk space)
Applications 10.7NCA/Oracle8i database server
(dual 500Mhz CPU server, 500 MB RAM, ~30 GB of hard
disk space)
Applications 11i server (dual 500Mhz CPU server, 1 GB
RAM, 54 GB of hard disk space – added an additional 18 GB
after upgrade)
ALAS, Inc.

14. Performing the Upgrade
Apps 10.7NCA/7.3.4 Apps 10.7NCA/8.1.6 Apps 11i
1. Create full 1. Install Oracle 8.1.6 1. Install Release
export of Maintenance Tools
Oracle 7.3.4 1. Import Oracle 7.3.4 2. Run Rapid Install
database database export into 3. Apply most current AD
2. Copy export Oracle 8.1.6 database and family consolidated
to 8.1.6 2. Run adprepdb & patches in pre-install
mode
server apply Interop Patches 1. Autoupgrade
3. Categories 1-3 steps 2. 11.5.0 to 11.5.3 database
4. Copy dbf files to Apps driver
11i server 3. Categories 4-6 steps
4. Final upgrade steps
ALAS, Inc.
5. Production!

15. Performing the Upgrade
Apps 10.7NCA/7.3.4 Apps 10.7NCA/8.1.6 Apps 11i
 Create full  Install Oracle 8.1.6
 Install Release
export of Maintenance Tools
Oracle 7.3.4  Import Oracle 7.3.4  Run Rapid Install
database database export into  Apply most current AD
 Copy export to Oracle 8.1.6 database and family consolidated
8.1.6 server  Run adprepdb & apply patches in pre-install
mode
Interop Patches  Autoupgrade
 Categories 1-3 steps  11.5.0 to 11.5.3 database
 Copy dbf files to Apps driver
11i server  Categories 4-6 steps
 Final upgrade steps
ALAS, Inc.
 Production!

16. Summary of Upgrade
 Started at 6:00pm on Friday and
completed at Noon on Wednesday
 Data file sizes
– ~7 GB prior to upgrade
– ~ 14 GB after upgrade
 8 weeks of acceptance testing prior to
Upgrade found most issues
 6 weeks of parallel testing after Upgrade
found very few issues
ALAS, Inc.

17. Upgrade Timing by Category
(Production Upgrade)
 Oracle 8.1.6 database upgrade – 8 hrs
 Categories 1 and 2 steps – 4 hrs
 Category 3 steps – 8 hrs
 AutoUpgrade – 13 hrs
 Database driver for 11.5.3 upgrade– 15 hrs
 Post Category and Finishing Your Upgrade Steps – 3 hrs
 Fix Acceptance testing issues – 5 hrs
 Run Gather Schema Statistics for All Schemas – 4 hrs
 Address new issues during production upgrade – 36 hrs
 Total Time : 96 hours
ALAS, Inc.

18. Solving Upgrade Issues
 Search Metalink notes and bugs for
solutions
 Example of solving an upgrade issue
– Received an oracle error: ORA-25150 that
caused all the workers to fail during
AutoUpgrade
– Logged on to Metalink and searched on
“ORA-25150”
ALAS, Inc.

19. Solving Upgrade Issues
(continued)
 Creating an iTar
– Information to submit
Category Step
Log files, including adpatch.log & adwork0x.log
Script name and header information that caused
error
 List of patches applied
 Updating an iTar
– 3 updates = immediate call back status
ALAS, Inc.

20. The Importance of Documentation
 Document each pre-category, category, and
post-category step of the upgrade in detail
 Document the amount of time that each step
took to complete
 Document every issue and solution
 Follow the exact steps in your
documentation during the production
upgrade
ALAS, Inc.

21. Summary
 Prepare before starting the upgrade
 Have a solid understanding of the
components and configuration for Apps
11i server
 Document each upgrade step and timing
in detail
 Allow enough time to address any issues
that arise during the upgrade
 Practice, Practice, Practice
ALAS, Inc.

22. Lessons Learned
 Gather schema statistics on a frequent basis for
Cost Based Optimizer (CBO)
– Beginning with 11i, all query optimization uses
CBO
– Tables must be analyzed for CBO to effectively
determine the best execution plan for SQL
statements
 Upgrade database to Oracle 8.1.7 to avoid
Ora-3113 errors when gathering schema statistics
 Allow enough disk space for growth of data files
and Applications maintenance packs
 Monitor growth of Locally-managed Tablespaces
ALAS, Inc.

23. Questions?
cmzanoni@alas.com
ALAS, Inc.