Cloning Oracle Applications 11i with Rapid Clone

Cloning creates an identical copy of an existing Oracle Applications system. There are various reasons for cloning an Oracle Applications system such as:

  • Creating a copy of the production system for testing updates.
  • Migrating an existing system to new hardware.
  • Creating a stage area to reduce patching downtime.

This document is based on Oracle Metalink document 230672.1 (cloning an Oracle Applications Release 11i system).

Attention: Windows users. This document typically uses UNIX syntax when specifying directories; Please substitute the appropriate Windows syntax
  • Section 1: Prerequisites
    Tasks to perform before using Rapid Clone.
  • Section 2: Clone Oracle Applications 11i
    Tasks to prepare, copy, configure, and verify a cloned Applications System.
  • Section 3: Finishing Tasks
    Tasks to complete the cloning process.
  • Section 4: Advanced Cloning Methods
    Tasks for advanced options such as refreshing and multi-node cloning.

Conventions

Convention Meaning
Source system Applications system being cloned.
Target system Applications system being created as a copy of the source.
APPLMGR User which owns the applications file system (APPL_TOP and application tier technology stack)
ORACLE User which owns the database file system (RDBMS ORACLE_HOME and database files).
CONTEXT_NAME The CONTEXT_NAME variable refers to the name of the Applications Context file. For systems installed with Rapid Install 11.5.8 or earlier, this value will typically be set to <SID>. For new AutoConfig or Rapid Clone customers, CONTEXT_NAME will be set to <SID>_<HOSTNAME>.
Monospace Text Represents command line text. Type this command exactly as shown.
< > Text enclosed in angle brackets represents a variable. Substitute a value for the variable text. Do not type the angle brackets.

Section 1: Prerequisites

Before cloning, prepare the source system by applying patches and running AutoConfig.

1. Verify source and target nodes software versions
In addition to the Oracle Applications software requirements (see Installing Oracle Applications Release 11i Part No. B10638-01), the following software component versions must exist on the source and/or target nodes. The location column indicates the node where the software component must be present.

Software Minimum Version Location Details
Oracle Universal Installer 2.2.0.19 All source system nodes Apply OUI22 patch 4017155 on every iAS and RDBMS ORACLE_HOME to be cloned. Do not apply the patch to your RDBMS ORACLE_HOME, if you have Oracle 10g or higher installed.
Perl 5.005 Source and target database nodes Use the Perl shipped with iAS1022 and RDBMS 9i if available or download it from Perl.com. Perl must be in the PATH before cloning. Windows users: do not use Perl from MKSToolKit.
JRE 1.1.8 Source database node If the RDBMS ORACLE_HOME was not installed using Rapid Install, install JRE 1.1.8 into the <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/jre/1.1.8 directory.
JRE 1.3.1 Source database node Windows users only: install JRE 1.3.1 into the <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/jre/1.3.1 directory. See Appendix A for installation instructions.
JDK 1.3.1 Target middle-tier applications nodes Refer to Upgrading to JDK 1.3 with Oracle Applications 11i on OracleMetaLink for instructions.
Zip 2.3 All source nodes Download from InfoZip.  Zip must be in your PATH for cloning.
OS utilities N/A All target nodes OS utilities (see 11i Install Manual) must be in the the PATH when running adcfgclone.pl (Unix: make,ld,cc,ar – Windows: gnumake,link,cc,cmd)

2. Windows users only:
Apply patch 2237858 to enable long file names support.

3. Apply the Rapid Clone patch
Update the Oracle Applications file system with the Rapid Clone files by applying the patch 3453499 (11i.ADX.F) to all application tier server nodes.

4. Setup Rapid Clone on the Applications Tier

5. Setup Rapid Clone on the Database Tier
Implement AutoConfig in the RDBMS ORACLE_HOME (Follow the instructions in section Migrating to AutoConfig on the Database Tier in document 165195.1 on OracleMetaLink). Follow steps 1 and 4 of Section 5 in the AutoConfig document for all versions of RapidInstall and every time you apply a new version of the Rapid Clone patch.

Section 2: Clone Oracle Applications 11i

Use Rapid Clone to create template files for cloning on the source system. After the source system is copied to the target, Rapid Clone updates these templates to contain the new target system configuration settings. Rapid Clone will not change the source system configuration.

There are three phases to the cloning process:

1. Prepare the Source System
Execute the following commands to prepare the source system for cloning.

•a. Prepare the source system database tier for cloning
Log on to the source system as the ORACLE user and run the following commands:
cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME>
perl adpreclone.pl dbTier

•b. Prepare the source system application tier for cloning
Log on to the source system as the APPLMGR user and run the following commands on each node that contains an APPL_TOP:
cd <COMMON_TOP>/admin/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME>
perl adpreclone.pl appsTier

2. Copy the Source System to the Target System
Copy the application tier file system from the source Applications system to the target node by executing the following steps in the order listed.  Ensure the application tier files copied to the target system are owned by the target APPLMGR user, and that the database tier files are owned by the ORACLE user.

•a. Copy the application tier file system
Log on to the source system application tier nodes as the APPLMGR user.

  • Shut down the application tier server processes
  • Copy the following application tier directories from the source node to the target application tier node:
  • <APPL_TOP>
  • <OA_HTML>
  • <OA_JAVA>
  • <OA_JRE_TOP>
  • <COMMON_TOP>/util
  • <COMMON_TOP>/clone
  • <COMMON_TOP>/_pages(when this directory exists)
  • <806 ORACLE_HOME>
  • <iAS ORACLE_HOME>

•b. Copy the database tier file system
Log on to the source system database node as the ORACLE user.

  • Perform a normal shutdown of the source system database
  • Copy the database (DBF) files from the source to the target system
  • Copy the source database ORACLE_HOME to the target system
  • Start up the source Applications system database and application tier processes
Note: Unix/Linux users, make sure that the softlinks are preserved when copying.

3. Configure the Target System
Execute the following commands to configure the target system. You will be prompted for the target system specific values (SID, Paths, Ports, etc)

•a. Configure the target system database server
Log on to the target system as the ORACLE user and type the following commands to configure and start the database:
cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/clone/bin
perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier

•b. Configure the target system application tier server nodes
Log on to the target system as the APPLMGR user and type the following commands:
cd <COMMON_TOP>/clone/bin
perl adcfgclone.pl appsTier

Attention: Windows user only: add <806 ORACLE_HOME>bin to the system path before running this step.

Section 3: Finishing Tasks

This section lists tasks that may be necessary depending on your implementation and the intended use of the cloned system.

1. Update profile options
Rapid Clone updates only site level profile options. If any other profile options are set to instance specific values, you must update them manually.

2. Update printer settings
If the new cloned system needs to utilize different printers, update the target system with the new printer settings now.

3. Update workflow configuration settings
Cloning an Oracle Applications instance will not update the host and instance specific information used by Oracle Workflow. Review the following tables and columns to verify there is no instance specific data in the Workflow configuration on the target system.

Table Name Column Name Column Value Details
WF_NOTIFICATION_ATTRIBUTES TEXT_VALUE Value starts with http://<old web host> : Update to new web host
WF_ITEM_ATTRIBUTE_VALUES TEXT_VALUE Value starts with “http://<old web host> : Update to new web host
WF_SYSTEMS GUID Create a new system defined as the new global database name using the Workflow Administrator Web Applications responsibility.
WF_SYSTEMS NAME Value needs to be replaced with the database global name
WF_AGENTS ADDRESS Update database link with the new database global name.
FND_FORM_FUNCTIONS WEB_HOST_NAME Update with the new web host name
FND_FORM_FUNCTIONS WEB_AGENT_NAME Update to point at the new PLSQL listener name
FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS LOGFILE_NAME Update with the correct path to the logfile directory
FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS OUTFILE_NAME Update with the new directory path on the target system

4. Verify the APPLCSF variable setting
Source the APPS environment and review that the variable APPLCSF (identifying the top-level directory for concurrent manager log and output files) points to an acceptable directory. To modify it, change the value of s_applcsf in the contextfile and run AutoConfig.

5. Update the SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN value in ICX_PARAMETERS
If the target system is in a different domain name than the source system and SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN was not null in the source system, update that value to reflect the new domain name.

6. Windows users only reboot the target machine
Once cloning is completed reboot to enable the services.

Section 4: Advanced Cloning Options

This section describes advanced cloning procedures.

1. Refreshing a target system
You may need to refresh the target system periodically to synchronize it with changes from the source.

To refresh the target system, perform the following steps as described in previous sections:

  • a. Prepare the Source System
  • b. Copy the Source System to the Target System
  • o Copy the application tier file system if the APPL_TOP, 806 ORACLE_HOME, or iAS ORACLE_HOME needs to be refreshed. Copy the portion of the application tier file system which has been updated.
  • o Copy the database tier file system if the RDBMS ORACLE_HOME or the database needs to be refreshed. If refreshing the database, the ORACLE_HOME should be refreshed at the same time.
  • c. Configure the Target System
    Specify the existing target system context file when running adcfgclone.pl commands:
  • o perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier <Database target context file>
    where database context file is:
    <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/<Target CONTEXT_NAME>.xml
  • o perl adcfgclone.pl appsTier <Appltop target context file>
    where appltop context file is:
    <APPL_TOP>/admin/<Target CONTEXT_NAME>.xml
  • d. Finishing Tasks

2. Cloning a single-node system to a multi-node system
This procedure allows the original single-node system to be cloned into a multi-node system. An Applications system comprises five server types:

  • o Database server (database tier)
  • o Forms server (application tier)
  • o Web server (application tier)
  • o Concurrent Processing server (application tier)
  • o Administration server (application tier)

During the single-node to multi-node cloning process, each of these servers can be placed on its own node, resulting in a multi-node target system.

  • f. Perform prerequisites
    Perform these steps on all source and target nodes.
  • g. Clone Oracle Applications 11i
    Prepare, copy and configure the cloned Applications System. When creating more than one application tier server node from a single node system, the copy and configure steps must be performed on each target node. You can specify the server type for each target node while answering the prompts during the configuration step.
    The database ORACLE_HOME and database only need to be copied to the node on which the database will be run.
  • h. Finishing Tasks
Note: Another way of changing a single-node system to a multi-node system is to share the APPL_TOP. See document 233428.1 on OracleMetaLink for details.

3. Cloning a multi-node system to a multi-node system with same number of nodes
A multi-node system can be cloned provided the number of nodes and distribution of servers in the target system matches that of the source system.

To clone a multi-node system to a multi-node system, perform the cloning process on each node. For example, if the source system contains three nodes, perform the cloning process three times.

  • o Clone source system node 1 to target system node 1.
  • o Clone source system node 2 to target system node 2.
  • o Clone source system node 3 to target system node 3.
Attention: The database server node must be cloned first.

4. Adding a new node to an existing system
You can use Rapid Clone to clone a node and add it to the existing Application System. The new node will run the same or a subset of the server types running on the source node. Follow the instructions in the Application Tier part of Clone Oracle Applications 11i:

  • o Prepare the source system, copy it to the new node and configure it.
  • o After adcfgclone.pl completes, source the Applications environment and run the following commands on the target system:
  • o cd <COMMON_TOP>/clone/bin
  • o perl adaddnode.pl
Note: If the SQL*Net Access security is enabled in the existing system (enabled by default from 11i10), you first need to authorize the new node to access the database through SQL*Net. See Managed SQL*Net Access from Hosts in document 281758.1 on OracleMetalink for instructions on how to achieve this from OAM.

5. Reducing the number of nodes of a multi-node system (merge APPL_TOP)
You can use Rapid Clone to clone a multi-node system to a single-node system (or a multi-node system with fewer nodes) by merging the APPL_TOPs filesystem together. Follow the procedure for Merging existing APPL_TOPs in document 233428.1 on OracleMetaLink.

6. Cloning a RAC system
You can use Rapid Clone to clone a RAC system. While cloning, you have the possibility to remove or add nodes to the cluster in the target RAC system. To clone a RAC system, perform the following tasks:

  • a. Verify the prerequisites
  • o Apply TXK patch 3571388 (AutoConfig support for Oracle RAC instances)
  • o Migrate the source system cluster ORACLE_HOMES to AutoConfig as documented in document 165195.1 on OracleMetaLink
  • b. Prepare the Source System
    Choose one of the ORACLE_HOMEs on the source cluster. This ORACLE_HOME will be used as a master to create all the target cluster system ORACLE_HOME. Run “perl adpreclone.pl dbTier” on it.
Note: You also have the option to clone each ORACLE_HOME from the source RAC cluster to the target cluster. In that case, run adpreclone.pl on every ORACLE_HOME.
  • b. Copy the Source System to the Target Syste
    • Copy the master ORACLE_HOME from the source system to each node that will compose the target cluster. For example, if your source RAC system had 2 nodes, and you want to clone it to a 3 node target RAC system, you should copy the source master ORACLE_HOME to the 3 nodes on the target system
    • o Copy the database files from the source to target system.
  • c. Configure the Target System
    • o Log on to any ORACLE_HOME in the target cluster and run
    • o adcfgclone.pl dbTier

This step configures the first node of the target system RAC cluster and recreates the database control files. The prompts, however, will gather information about every node in the target RAC cluster and the data will be re-used when configuring each subsequent node in the next step.

o For each remaning RDBMS ORACLE_HOME in the target system, run the following command as the ORACLE file system owner:

  • § adcfgclone.pl dbTier
  • o If your database is version 10g or higher, run the following commands to register the database and the instance to the cluster manager .
  • § srvctl add database -d <database_name> -o <oracle_home>
  • § srvctl add instance -d <database_name>
    -i <instance_name> -n <host_name>
Note: If the cluster manager is not on Linux (ORACM) or the database is version 10g or higher, manually start up the cluster manager on the target system before running adcfgclone.pl
  • d. Clone the application tier
    Follow the steps in section 2 to prepare, copy and configure the application tier. When prompted for the database SID, specify any one of the RAC service names.
Note: To clone from RAC to non-RAC, follow the same above steps but copy the master ORACLE_HOME to one target node only, and answer “No” to the question “Target instance is a Real Application Cluster (RAC) instance (y/n)”, when prompted by adcfgclone.pl.

7. Adding a node to an existing RAC Cluster
You can use Rapid Clone to add one or several nodes to an existing RAC Cluster. Perform the following tasks:

  • a. Choose any one of the ORACLE_HOMEs in the existing cluster and run “perl adpreclone.pl dbTier” on it. This ORACLE_HOME will be used as a master to create the additional node(s).
  • b. Copy the master ORACLE_HOME filesystem to the new node(s).
  • c. Reconfigure the RAC Cluster to include the new node(s):
  • o Log on to the new node, or any one of the new nodes if adding more than one, and run the following command:
  • § cd /appsutil/clone/bin
  • § perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier
Note: You will be prompted for information about all the nodes forming the new cluster and asked to perform the next step before completing adcfgclone.pl on this node.
  • o When instructed so by the previous step, log on to every node from the original cluster and run the following command on each of them:
  • § cd /appsutil/clone/bin
  • § perl adcfgclone.pl addracnode <context file>
  • o Go back to the first node and complete adcfgclone.pl
  • o If you are adding more than one node to the original cluster, log on to each of the remaining new nodes and run
  • § cd /appsutil/clone/bin
  • § perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier
Note: If the cluster manager is not on Linux (ORACM) or the database is version 10g or higher, manually start up the cluster manager on the target systems before running adcfgclone.pl

8. Cloning a Shared File System
You can use Rapid Clone to clone a shared APPL_TOP system. Since all the nodes share a unique APPL_TOP you only need to fully clone one of the source system nodes to its target machine and add more nodes directly sharing the APPL_TOP on the target system. Choose one of the shared APPL_TOP nodes on source system (the rest of this section will refer to it as Node A) and perform the following tasks:

  • a. Perform prerequisites
    Perform these steps on Node A and and every target nodes.
  • b. Clone Oracle Applications 11i
    Perform a full clone (Prepare, copy and configure steps) of the Database Tier and Node A (Application tier).
  • c. Add the shared file system nodes to the target system
    On the target system, follow the instructions for adding a node to a shared APPL_TOP system in document 233428.1 on OracleMetalink and add more nodes sharing the target system APPL_TOP to match the source system topology.

Appendix A: Install JRE 1.3.1 into RDBMS ORACLE_HOME

Windows customers will need to perform the following steps:

  • Download JRE 1.3.1 from Sun Microsystems.
  • Run the install executable
  • When prompted for the location to install jre, click browse and enter the location:
    <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>jre1.3.1
  • Accept the default installation options.

JRE 1.3.1 will be installed into the <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>jre1.3.1 directory.

Appendix B: Recreating database control files manually in Rapid Clone.

This Appendix documents the steps to allow manual creation of the target database control files within the Rapid Clone process. Examples of when to use this method are for databases on raw partitions or hot backup cloning. Replace section 2.3a (Configure the target system database server) with the following steps:

  • Log on to the target system as the ORACLE user
  • Configure the <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>
  • o cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/clone/bin
  • o perl adcfgclone.pl dbTechStack
  • Create the target database control files manually
  • Start the target system database in open mode
  • Run the library update script against the database
  • o cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/install/<CONTEXT NAME>
  • o sqlplus "/ as sysdba" @adupdlib.sql <libext>
    where <libext> is “sl” for HP-UX, “so” for any other UNIX platform and not required for Windows.
  • Configure the target database (the database must be open)
  • o cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/clone/bin
  • o perl adcfgclone.pl dbconfig <target context file>
    where target context file is:

<RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/<Target CONTEXT_NAME>.xml

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Apr 1st, 2009 | Posted by Tushar Thakker | In Cloning Oracle Applications, Oracle, Oracle Applications
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