OUI and OPatch What Are They Used For?

OUI and OPatch What Are They Used For?

August 3, 2017 Off By dianarobete

The last two weeks I’ve been talking about the Central Oracle Inventory and the Local Oracle Inventory.

I have mentioned two Oracle tools that are reading/updating some files within these inventories:

  • Oracle Universal Installer (OUI)
  • OPatch

If you are new to the Oracle world, then understanding what OUI, and opatch is, is a must.
A Good DBA must know when to use these tools, and for what operations. That is why today’s topic focuses on OUI and opatch utilities.

1.What Is The Oracle Universal Installer?
2.Where Is OUI Installed By Default?
3.What Operations Can You Do With OUI?
4.What Is OPatch?

What Is Oracle Universal Installer?

Oracle Universal Installer aka OUI is a Java based GUI, that can be used to install Oracle Software, or Oracle components, either from CD, disk or the web.
This tool can be used on Windows or Unix platform, and it has the same look and feel.
In order to use OUI, you need to have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which is automatically installed with the OUI. Different versions of OUI, require different versions of JRE.

How do you know what JRE gets installed with the OUI? Once you download the software and unzip it, go to <software_download_directory>/database/stage/Components/oracle.jdk/ . You will see the java version that comes with the installation:

<12.1.0.2.0_DB_downloaded_software/database/stage/Components/oracle.jdk> ls
       1.6.0.75.0/

Where Is OUI Installed By Default?

With each Oracle database software you install (and not only), the OUI gets also installed.
Starting with version 10, and all the way to the current version, OUI is installed under the Oracle Home.

On Windows to start the OUI, you use setup.exe, and on Unix you use runInstaller. See below for location of these files:

DB Version 10x -12x: 
Windows:  %ORACLE_HOME%\oui\bin\setup.exe
Unix:     $ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/runInstaller  

DB Version 9.2: 
Windows:  C:\Program Files\ORacle\oui\bin\setup.exe
Unix:     /oui/bin/runInstaller

What Operations Can You Do With OUI?

Have you ever wondered what can you do with OUI?
Here are some of the operations you can do:

  • install Oracle software
  • install Oracle components (components that were not installed in the first place)
  • install patchsets/base releases (ie. deploying 10.2.0.5 patchset on top of the 10.2.0.4 installation)
  • detach/atach Oracle homes to the the central inventory.

What files is OUI reading/updating inside the Central Oracle Inventory? Answer: <oraInventory>/ContentsXML/inventory.xml
Also OUI will write the action logs to the Central Oracle Inventory Directory, when you perform an install or other actions.

4.What Is OPatch?

Opatch is Oracle’s utility used mainly for installing patches and interim patches (bug fixes). Opatch requires that OUI is installed.

Beside installing patches, you can also use OPatch to rollback patches, check for conflicts between patches, and check what patches you have installed in the Oracle Home.

Opatch is installed under each ORACLE HOME in $ORACLE_HOME/OPatch directory, however it can be placed anywhere else.

What files is OPatch reading/updating? Answer: Components File, which is located here: $ORACLE_HOME/inventory/ContentsXML/comps.xml

Now you have a better understanding of these tool and how they relate to the Oracle Inventory (Central and Local)!

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CategoryDatabase Oracle
TagsOpatch Oracle oracleDBA OUI