Cloning Oracle Applications Environments

by Robert Townsend Database Specialists, Inc. About Database Specialists, Inc.

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Introduction Cloning Oracle Applications 11i instances can be a daunting task. Developers are constantly asking for refreshes of both the database and code trees. With the advent of Oracle Applications 11i and its myriad port numbers, meeting cloning schedules can be challenging to say the least. The good news is that once you have upgraded to Oracle Applications patch level 11.5.8, you have at your disposal an advanced method of cloning the application tree (called Rapid Clone) and you stand a greater chance of making your customers happy. Many customer sites have implemented earlier versions of Oracle Applications11i, including 11.5.6 and 11.5.7. Many of these sites are satisfied with the functionality of the current release and have no interest in moving to a higher level. Others can't upgrade due to the combination of applications they have already installed. DBAs responsible for supporting these sites need not despair. Patch number 2926786 allows you to apply Rapid Clone on your application environment without upgrading the Oracle Applications modules. Rapid Clone requires the foundation to be upgraded to patch 2942559. As a side benefit, this patch includes AutoConfig, which manages system configuration. It is advisable to read Oracle's Metalink note 230672.1, which details how to set up and run Rapid Clone, and note 165195.1, which outlines the use of AutoConfig. Of course, since we live in such rapidly changing environments, it is strongly recommended that you double check patch

numbers and ensure that you have all prerequisites for your particular installation before applying any patches. The Basic Steps for Cloning After installing the Rapid Clone and AutoConfig patches, you are ready to clone an instance. There are ten basic steps involved. I have outlined them below:
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Run system configuration on the Application tier: <COMMON_TOP>/admin/scripts/<SID>/adautocfg.sh Use the APPS password when prompted. Run system configuration on the database tier: <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/<SID>/scripts/adautocfg.sh Use the APPS password when prompted. Copy AutoConfig to the RDBMS ORACLE_HOME: Apply patch 2952369 to acquire adchkcfg utility. Create appsutil.zip file by: perl <AD_TOP>/bin/admkappsutil.pl. Copy appsutil.zip file to the <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME> unzip -o appsutil.zip Generate the database context file: cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/bin adbldxml.sh tier=database appsuser=<APPSuser> appspasswd=<APPSpwd> Output log is written to: $ORACLE_HOME/appsuti/out/<SID>/cfgcheck.txt Generate and apply AutoConfig configuration file: cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/bin adconfig.sh contextfile=<CONTEXT> appspass=<APPSpwd> Prepare for source database clone: cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/scrips/<SID> ./perl adpreclone.pl dbTier Prepare for source application clone: cd <COMMON_TOP>/admin/scripts/<SID> ./perl adpreclone.pl appsTier Copy the application tier file system: Logon to the source system as APPLMGR and shut down the server processes.

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Copy the following application directories from the source to the target node/file system: <APPL_TOP> <OA_HTML> <OA_JAVA> <COMMON_TOP/util> <COMMON_TOP/clone> <806 ORACLE_HOME> <iAS ORACLE_HOME> Shut down the source database and copy it to the target node/file system. Restart the source database and source application server processes.
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Configure the target system database sever: cd <RDBMS ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/clon/bin ./perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier Configure the target system application tier: cd <COMMON_TOP>/clone/bin ./perl adcfgclone.pl appsTier

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Note: These steps are for a single node install. If you are using Oracle Workflow, you must update wf_notification_attributes and wf_item_attribute_values. Version 2.1.0.17 of the Oracle Universal Installer and Perl 5.005 should be installed and included in your path. Be sure to review your install logs after cloning to make sure there are no errors. After you have verified connectivity in the cloned environment, have a user navigate through the system to verify the clone is functional and complete.