Introduction

The AutoUpgrade utility is designed to automate the upgrade process, both before starting upgrades, during upgrade deployments, and during postupgrade checks and configuration migration

The Oracle AutoUpgrade Tool is part of Oracle Home since the version 12.1.0.2.
It’s a java-based program which can be download on MySupport Oracle : ID 2485457.1
It’s recommanded to use the lastest version (as usual, like for opatch by example).

The most important point is that Oracle desupport DBUA (Database Upgrade Assistant) and other manual upgrade to Oracle 23ai. AutoUpgrade is the only supported method.

This tab show the supported sources database version and the supported target database version for AutoUpgrade

Source Database Version
11.2.0.412.2.0.1 (12.2 + DBJAN2019RU and newer)
12.1.0.218c (18.5 and newer)
12.2.0.119c (19.3 and newer)
18c21c (21.3 and newer)
19c23ai (23.4 and newer)
Any future release

The AutoUpgrade workflow

Using AutoUpgrade is running four simple steps :

  • Prepare
  • Analyze
  • Fixups
  • Deploy

Prepare

The first step is about downloading all binairies that we need to patching or upgrade our databases. And to create a configuration file used by AutoUpgrade for known what to do and where do it.

  • Download lastest version of AutoUpgrade -> My Oracle Support ID 2485457.1
  • Download lastet version of opatch -> My Oracle Support ID 224346.1
  • Download DBRU + OJVM+ DPBP+ Most Important One-off Patches -> My Oracle Support ID 2118136.2 + ID 555.1

The configuration file used by AutoUpgrade must contain some informations like :

  • Source Oracle Home
  • Target Oracle Home
  • Patches repository
  • Source Database SID
  • and other advanced option

We will see that later in this blog, no worries!

Analyze

It’s the classic precheck used during all patch, upgrade process lead by Oracle.

Fixups

Automatic or manual Fixups, if necessary.

Deploy

It’s the main step where AutoUpgrade run the upgrade process on your source database.
In case of failure, AutoUpgrade is able to restart where it fails on… After have fixed the errors by yourself!

A simple example

For this labs, we have :

  • Oracle Linux Server 8
  • Oracle Database Home 19.24 installed in /u01/app/oracle/product/19.24/dbhome_1
  • Oracle standalone database : DB19

We want to patch this database to the 19.28 version, according to the Best Pratices (for this check Mike Dietrich blogs : https://mikedietrichde.com/ ).

Preparation

We download the following patches :

  • Patch 37960098 : DBRU 19.28
  • Patch 38170982 : Data Pump Bundle Patches (My Oracle Support ID 2819284.1)
  • Patch 37847857 : OJVM 19.28
  • Patch 34672698 : [VOS] DB50: ORA-800: soft external error, arguments: [set priority failed], [vktm] , dism(16)
  • Patch 34774667 : [AQ] ORA-7445 in Purge Queue Table / High CPU usage in SVCB Service
  • Patch 29213893 : [QRY OPTIMIZER] DBMS_STATS Failing With Error Ora-1422 When Gathering Stats for User$ Table

We save them in the repository /home/oracle/autoupgrade/patches (for example).

We download in the same manner the lastest version of Opatch following the Oracle MySupport ID 224346.1 :

How to install OPatch utility ?

  1. Download the latest Opatch utility
    Search for Patch 6880880 in MOS or from the URL
    https://updates.oracle.com/download/6880880.html
  2. Take a backup of older version of OPatch utility under $ORACLE_HOME and unzip the downloaded file
cd $ORACLE_HOME
mv OPatch OPatch.bkp
unzip <download directory>/p6880880_<version>_<platform>.zip
cd OPatch
./opatch version

The most recent version of AutoUpgrade, 25.3 is a fully supported version and can be downloaded via this link: version 20250509 or directly from oracle.com.
Oracle strongly recommends that you always use the latest version of AutoUpgrade. AutoUpgrade is backward compatible and can upgrade older releases of Oracle Database as well.
The latest ORDS 25.1 can be found from here which supports AutoUpgrade REST API.

The last step of the preparation is to create the configuration file used by AutoUpgrade for our patching.
An simple config file look like (/home/oracle/patch_DB19.cfg) :

global.global_log_dir=/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/log
patch1.sid=DB19
patch1.log_dir=/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/DB19/log
patch1.source_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.24/dbhome_1
patch1.target_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.28/dbhome_1
patch1.restoration=YES
patch1.drop_grp_after_patching=YES
patch1.folder=/home/oracle/autoupgrade/patches
patch1.patch=RU,OJVM,OPATCH,DPBP,34672698,34774667,29213893
patch1.download=NO

An excellent tool for building this configuration file can be found at : https://viniciusdba.com.br/autoupgrade-composer/
I must say : use it!!

Some explanation about the parameters :

  • source_home : the current Oracle Home used by the instance DB19
  • target_home : the new Oracle Home targeted
  • restoration : AutoUpgrade can create a Guaranteed Restore Point before the upgrade/patching operations
  • drop_grp_after_patching=YES : after a successful AutoUpgrade, by default, don’t suppress the GRP created before. With this parameter, it will be dropped after successful patching.
  • folder : the full path to the repository where the patches has been downloaded.
  • patch : what we want to patch :
    • RU : Release Update
    • OJVM: Oracle Java Virtual Machine
    • Opatch
    • DPBP : Data Pump Bundle Patch
    • id of specific patches
    • download : we can ask to Auto Upgrade to download itself the patches.

Now, we have all the stuff to begin our database patching!

Analyze

Just run the following command : 

java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config /home/oracle/patch_DB19.cfg -patch -mode analyze

The output look like : 

AutoUpgrade Patching 25.3.250509 launched with default internal options
Processing config file ...
+-----------------------------------------+
| Starting AutoUpgrade Patching execution |
+-----------------------------------------+
1 Non-CDB(s) will be analyzed
Type 'help' to list console commands
patch> lsj
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
|Job#|DB_NAME|    STAGE|OPERATION| STATUS|START_TIME|UPDATED|         MESSAGE|
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
| 100|   DB19|PRECHECKS|EXECUTING|RUNNING|  15:15:39|28s ago|Executing Checks|
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
Total jobs 1

patch> status -job 100
Details

	Job No           100
	Oracle SID       DB19
	Start Time       25/07/16 15:15:39
	Elapsed (min):   0
	End time:        N/A

Logfiles

	Logs Base:    /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19
	Job logs:     /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/100
	Stage logs:   /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/100/prechecks
	TimeZone:     /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/temp
	Remote Dirs:  

Stages
	PENDING          <1 min
	PRECHECKS        ~0 min (RUNNING)

Stage-Progress Per Container

	+--------+---------+
	|Database|PRECHECKS|
	+--------+---------+
	|    DB19|    98 % |
	+--------+---------+
patch> Job 100 completed
------------------- Final Summary --------------------
Number of databases            [ 1 ]

Jobs finished                  [1]
Jobs failed                    [0]

Please check the summary report at:
/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.html
/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.log

We control the success or errors that can be occured during analyze : 

# cat /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.log
==========================================
   AutoUpgrade Patching Summary Report
==========================================
[Date]           Wed Jul 16 15:17:31 GMT 2025
[Number of Jobs] 1
==========================================
[Job ID] 100
==========================================
[DB Name]                DB19
[Version Before AutoUpgrade Patching] 19.24.0.0.240716
[Version After AutoUpgrade Patching]  19.28.0.0.250715
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PENDING
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:15:39
[Duration]      0:00:00
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/100/pending
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PRECHECKS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:15:39
[Duration]      0:01:52
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/100/prechecks
[Detail]        /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/100/prechecks/DB19_preupgrade.log
Check passed and no manual intervention needed
------------------------------------------

The analyze is OK, we can proceed further and deploy the patch.

Deploy

Just run the following command : 

java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config /home/oracle/patch_DB19.cfg -patch -mode deploy

The output look like : 

AutoUpgrade Patching 25.3.250509 launched with default internal options
Processing config file ...
+-----------------------------------------+
| Starting AutoUpgrade Patching execution |
+-----------------------------------------+
1 Non-CDB(s) will be processed
Type 'help' to list console commands
patch> lsj                          
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
|Job#|DB_NAME|    STAGE|OPERATION| STATUS|START_TIME|UPDATED|         MESSAGE|
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
| 101|   DB19|PRECHECKS|EXECUTING|RUNNING|  15:34:17| 5s ago|Executing Checks|
+----+-------+---------+---------+-------+----------+-------+----------------+
Total jobs 1

Details

	Job No           101
	Oracle SID       DB19
	Start Time       25/07/16 15:34:17
	Elapsed (min):   22
	End time:        N/A

Logfiles

	Logs Base:    /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19
	Job logs:     /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101
	Stage logs:   /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/patching
	TimeZone:     /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/temp
	Remote Dirs:  

Stages
	PENDING          <1 min
	GRP              <1 min
	PREACTIONS       <1 min
	PRECHECKS        1 min
	PREFIXUPS        1 min
	EXTRACT          <1 min
	INSTALL          <1 min
	ROOTSH           <1 min
	DBTOOLS          <1 min
	OPATCH           12 min
	PATCHING         ~5 min (RUNNING)
	POSTCHECKS      
	POSTFIXUPS      
	POSTACTIONS     

Stage-Progress Per Container

	The Stage PATCHING does not have any data to show
Job 101 completed
------------------- Final Summary --------------------
Number of databases            [ 1 ]

Jobs finished                  [1]
Jobs failed                    [0]
Jobs restored                  [0]
Jobs pending                   [0]

---- Drop GRP at your convenience once you consider it is no longer needed ----
Drop GRP from DB19: drop restore point AU_PATCHING_9212_DB191928000


Please check the summary report at:
/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.html
/home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.log

We control the success or errors that can be occured during the deploiement: 

# cat /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/cfgtoollogs/patch/auto/status/status.log
==========================================
   AutoUpgrade Patching Summary Report
==========================================
[Date]           Wed Jul 16 15:56:46 GMT 2025
[Number of Jobs] 1
==========================================
[Job ID] 101
==========================================
[DB Name]                DB19
[Version Before AutoUpgrade Patching] 19.24.0.0.240716
[Version After AutoUpgrade Patching]  19.28.0.0.250715
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PENDING
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:34:18
[Duration]      0:00:00
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/pending
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    GRP
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:34:18
[Duration]      0:00:01
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/grp
[Detail]        Please drop the following GRPs after {0} completes:
                 AU_PATCHING_9212_DB191928000
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PREACTIONS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:34:19
[Duration]      0:00:00
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PRECHECKS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:34:19
[Duration]      0:01:21
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/prechecks
[Detail]        /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/prechecks/DB19_preupgrade.log
                Check passed and no manual intervention needed
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PREFIXUPS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:35:40
[Duration]      0:01:20
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/prefixups
[Detail]        /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/prefixups/prefixups.html
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    EXTRACT
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:37:00
[Duration]      0:00:49
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/extract
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    INSTALL
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:37:50
[Duration]      0:00:52
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/install
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    ROOTSH
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:38:43
[Duration]      0:00:00
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/rootsh
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    DBTOOLS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:38:43
[Duration]      0:00:02
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/dbtools
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    OPATCH
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:38:45
[Duration]      0:12:19
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/opatch
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    PATCHING
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:51:05
[Duration]      0:05:37
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/patching
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    POSTCHECKS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:56:42
[Duration]      0:00:00
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/postchecks
[Detail]        /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/postchecks/DB19_postupgrade.log
                Check passed and no manual intervention needed
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    POSTFIXUPS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:56:43
[Duration]      0:00:02
[Log Directory] /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/postfixups
[Detail]        /home/oracle/autoupgrade-patching/simple-patching/log/DB19/101/postfixups/postfixups.html
------------------------------------------
[Stage Name]    POSTACTIONS
[Status]        SUCCESS
[Start Time]    2025-07-16 15:56:46
[Duration]      0:00:00
------------------------------------------

Checking

sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 19.0.0.0.0 - Production on Wed Jul 16 16:05:31 2025
Version 19.28.0.0.0

Copyright (c) 1982, 2024, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 19c Enterprise Edition Release 19.0.0.0.0 - Production
Version 19.28.0.0.0

SQL> col oracle_home format a60
select sys_context('USERENV','ORACLE_HOME') as oracle_home from dual; 

ORACLE_HOME
------------------------------------------------------------
/u01/app/oracle/product/19.28/dbhome_1

SQL> col comp_id format a10
col version_full format a15
col status format a15    
select comp_id,
       version_full,
       status
from dba_registry
order by comp_id;  

COMP_ID    VERSION_FULL    STATUS
---------- --------------- ---------------
CATALOG    19.28.0.0.0	   VALID
CATPROC    19.28.0.0.0	   VALID
OWM	   19.28.0.0.0	   VALID
RAC	   19.28.0.0.0	   OPTION OFF
XDB	   19.28.0.0.0	   VALID

Conclusion

Finaly in few simple steps, we have patching our database. The AutoUpgrade utility is a very powerful tool, easy to use and manage.

I hope this blog help you to understand how AutoUpgrade works.
And I will encourage you to be familiar with this wonderful tool!

In Part II, I will show you some advanced patching that AutoUpgrade can handle!

See you soon!

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Xavier Franck Godard