Readers Question – Which Driver (c, d, g, u) to apply on which Node ?
Let suppose below is the read me file of one patch says:
This patch contains one or more driver files to be applied with AutoPatch.
Please apply the driver files in the following order (if they exist) :
c3196140.drv (This is the copy driver)
d3196140.drv (This is the database driver)
g3196140.drv (This is the generate driver)
How can I identify that this patch (which driver file) is to be applied for which application node (forms & web) tier or concurrent manager tier ?
_________________________________________
Oracle Apps Patch drivers are broadly classified in to two category split driver and unified driver
.
1. Split Driver – means patch actions are divided by function i.e.
a) cXXXXX.drv – Copy Driver to change product files
b) dXXXXX.drv – Database Driver to change Database Objects
c) gXXXXX.drv – Generate Driver to generate new forms, messages, graphics
2. Unified Driver – contains all three functions (copy, database & generate) into single driver
a) uXXXXX.drv – Contains all three functions Copy, Database and Generate
.
Where to apply which driver file in Multi Node Environment ?
1. For split patch, You must run copy driver (cXXXXXX.drv) on all APPL_TOP containing one or more files being replaced by patch. If confused or not sure which files are being replaced by patch then its good idea to apply c driver on all tier i.e. Web, Forms, Concurrent Manager, Administration Server.
2. For split patch, You must run database driver (dXXXXXX.drv) on Administration (Admin) Node. (This is usually same as Concurrent Manager Node). To find where is your Admin Node run sql
SQL> select node_name, support_admin from apps.fnd_nodes;
3. For split patch, You must run generate driver (gXXXXXX.drv) on all APPL_TOP containing one or more files generated by patch. If confused or not sure then its good idea to apply g driver on all tier i.e. Web, Forms, Concurrent amd Administration Server.
4. For unified patch (uXXXXXX.drv) , run it on all tier containing APPL_TOP i.e. Web, Forms, Concurrent Manager and Administration Server.
5. If you are using shared APPL_TOP/Application Tier then run split patch (c,d,g) or unified patch (u) from any one node.
and finally
6. If you are confused about any driver file (to apply or not) then run all driver on all nodes and AutoPatch (adpatch) will determine appropriate action based on tier (forms, web, concurrent manager) and ignore steps not required on that tier.
.
Order of application for split driver (c,d,g)
For split patch (with c, d and g driver) apply then always in following order – Copy Driver (cXXXXX.drv), Database Driver (dXXXXX.drv) and Generate Driver (gXXXXX.drv)
**Unified drivers (uXXXXXX.drv) will eventually be used by most Oracle Applications patches.