Oracle Database Appliance (ODA) patching is a critical operational activity to ensure system stability, security, performance, and long-term supportability.

With ODA 19.29, Oracle follows a two-stage patching procedure. In this article, we will walk through the two major stages of ODA 19.29 patching and provide the required commands.

Why ODA Patching Is Divided into Two Stages

ODA is an engineered system, combining:

• Hardware
• Operating System
• Firmware
• Kernel
• Grid Infrastructure (GI)
• Oracle Database software

Because these components operate at different layers of the stack, Oracle intentionally separates patching into Server Components and Grid Infrastructure to:

• Reduce risk
• Allow controlled reboots
• Avoid cluster-wide failures
• Maintain high availability
• Enable better rollback strategies

Stage 1: Server Components Patching

What Are Server Components?

Server components include:

• Linux OS packages
• Kernel updates
• Device drivers
• Firmware (BIOS, ILOM, storage controllers, NICs)
• Low-level system libraries

These components operate below Oracle Grid Infrastructure which means they require server reboots.

Step 1: Pre-Check for Server Components

Before applying any patch, Oracle strongly recommends running a pre-patch readiness report

odacli create-prepatchreport -sc

Step 2: Update Server Components

Once the pre-check passes, you can proceed with updating server components.

odacli update-servercomponents

Stage 2: Grid Infrastructure (GI) Patching

After server components are fully updated and the system is stable, the next stage is Grid Infrastructure patching.

Step 1: GI Pre-Patch Check

Just like server components, GI patching also requires a pre-patch report.

odacli create-prepatchreport -gi

Step 2: Patch the Grid Infrastructure Home

Once the GI pre-check completes successfully, apply the patch.

odacli update-gihome