Do we need to upgrade to 8.1.7.4 ?

[htanga]

Hi everyone !
I'm wondering if we have to patch our 8.1.7.0 production database (Sun Os 5.8) absolutly ...
We haven't encountered any problem or Oracle's bug yet.
So, do we need to upgrade to 8.1.7.4 release ?
And can we upgrade directly to this release (8.1.7.0 to 8.1.7.4
Thanks a lot in advance for your advices !

[marist89]

Yes, you can upgrade directly. You will have to apply the patches via the oracle installer and run some data dictionary scripts.

There are several bugs in the 8.1.7.0 release on Solaris. However, if you haven't encountered any, there may be no immediate rush to upgrade. You should, IMHO, make a plan to apply the patches as there may be fixes for bugs you have hit but just don't know about.

[JMac]

I'm planning to upgrade 8.1.5 on NT4 to 8.1.7 in the next month or so.

Should I go straight to the latest patchset when I upgrade or what? What's your advice?

[marist89]

Personally, I've gone from 8.1.5.0 directly to 8.1.7.2 using ODMA without any problems. However, some members of the forums have had problems going to the patched version instead of the base release of 8.1.7.0. In fact, either the upgrade documentation or the patch documentation state you should upgrade to the base release (8.1.7.0) and then apply patches.

To be safe, I would upgrade to 8.1.7.0 and then immediately apply the 8.1.7.4 patches.

[TimHall]

I've tried both ways with no problems. The biggest issue is that of support. The supported route to upgrade is via the base release, then the patch. If you do not do this you may get issues with support should something go wrong.

On my development and test instances I always go direct. On production I always do base release then patch.

If you cut corners and do need support you may want to consider carefully what you say to Oracle. This happened to me recently:

I upgraded a Designer 1.3.2 repository on 7.3.4 to a Designer 6i Rel 4.2 on 8.1.7.4. I cut a few corners due to time pressures. The system worked fine but on a later date when I contacted support they made me downgrade all the way back to 1.3.2 on 7.3.4 and follow the proper upgrade path before they would give me the time of day. The final fix they gave me worked fine on my old (quick upgrade) instance and the new (3 day upgrade) instance. This all relates to politics and supported procedures, not what the final result of the upgrade was. If in doubt, follow the supported route

Cheers

[marist89]

Originally posted by TimHall

On my development and test instances I always go direct. On production I always do base release then patch.

Yikes! I do it the same way on both dev and production. If you do something different on your production db, it is essentially un-tested.

[TimHall]

I need trouble-free support for the production instances so I don't take a chance. I know both ways give the same results, after all the most time-consuming bit is rebuilding the catalog etc.

[grjohnson]

Originally posted by htanga
We haven't encountered any problem or Oracle's bug yet.
So, do we need to upgrade to 8.1.7.4 release ?

If you aren't encountering any issues, you don't necessisary need to upgrade at this point. Mind you if you do have an issue in the future.. Oracle standard recommendation will be.. "Upgrade to 8.1.7.4 and let us know if the issue persists"