Cloning Steps in Oracle Applications

Hello all,

Troubleshooting RapidClone issues with Oracle Applications 11i [ID 364565.1]

The above ID will be more helpful for Depth process of cloning.

As per the request and with experience I am again returning to Cloning of Oracle Application. I know most of them know what exactly happens in cloning but still here I am trying to touch the depths.

Before starting I want to ask question. Why you need to do cloning ? Why we need to duplicate Oracle Application.

We need cloning for various of reasons. suppose I have got production instance and want to test some application. Now here I want to test the application, need to apply some product specific patches which might affect whole application then I have to give downtime which will affect business. So if I had the same this on which I can play and test my application or code or say I can apply some patches and at the same time business also run then nothing like it. This can be achieved by cloning or duplicating the application.

Duplicating the application is not easy or its just not simply copy the application, it wont work in any case. Logically it sounds fine just to copy the file system and re-link it and start the application but its not that easy.

Basically for cloning Oracle Application it can be categorized into three major categories.

-Preparing the Source System

-Copy the file System

-Preparing or say Configuring the Target System

You can achieve first and third steps using a Rapid Clone utility which Oracle provides for cloning

There can be many ways and methods to clone Oracle Application which many organisations follows but the only supported method provided by Oracle is using Rapid clone.

Rapid Clone is the new cloning utility introduced in Release 11.5.8. Rapid Clone leverages the new installation and configuration technology utilized by Rapid Install.

Basically there are two cloning methodology using Autoconfig and without using autoconfig. First one that is using autoconfig is completely replaced by Rapidclone.

Non-autocofig cloning methodology was generally used before 11.5.5 that is non autoconfig enabled system.

Here I will discuss Rapid Clone method of cloning and also throw some light on cloning 11.0.3 oracle application as some users are still using that.

So first about the Rapid clone method.

In Category 1 that is first you need to make source for clone. You need to dress up Source system so that only configuration files and not the whole file system is copied.

Pre-requisite Steps

To start with cloning you need to first check about some pre-requisites some utilities should be of required version

Here are they,

Oracle Universal Installer should be of 2.2.0.19 version

Perl should be of 5.005 version minimum

JRE 1.1.8 and 1.3.1

JDK 1.3.1

Zip utility of version 2.3 minimum

Latest Autoconfig Templates patches are applied. TXK-O is the latest till date.

Latest Rapid Clone patches should be applied. Latest is ADX.F till date.

After checking the pre-requisites now your system is ready to clone.

Preparing the Source system:

After checking the above mentioned pre-requisites now you have to prepare the source system which need to be cloned.

In a broad way what this step will do is this will create the staged clone directory which will be having the driver files and configuration file of the source.

So what exactly is going to happen in this step. Lets get in more details

Basically you have to run the adpreclone.pl script once for Application tier and one for the datbase (even if you are on single node ! )

Lets first check for the Database tier

On Source system, run following as ORACLE user

cd <RDBMS Oracle_Home/appsutil/scripts/context_name/

perl adpreclone.pl dbTier

After running this it goes in two stages

dbTechstack and Database

What exactly it will do is

It will create stage cloned area at $ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/clone This clone directory has got following main directories

data,jre,bin,db,html,context

It will prepare datbase techstack at dbTechStack stage. Major activities it will take care of at this stage.

-Creates template files at $ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/template

-Creates driver files at $ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

-Converts inventory from binary to xml

It will prepare datbase at the database stage. Major activities includes

-Create datbase control file script

$Oracle_Home/appsutil/clone/context/data/stage/addbhomsrc.xml

$Oracle_Home/appsutil/clone/context/data/stage/adcrdb.zip

adcrdbclone.sql

-Generates database creation driver file

$Oracle_Home/appsutil/clone/context/data/driver/data.drv

-Copy JDBC Libraries

$Oracle_Home/appsutil/clone /clone/jlib/classes111.zip

So all this happens on database side

Now lets concentrate on Application tier side. Again it goes almost in the same way that is in two stages.

As a APPLMGR user on application tier this script is run

cd $COMMON_TOP/admin/scripts/_perl ./adpreclone.pl appsTier

It will also create the staged clone directory at $COMMON_TOP/clone

It goes in two stages. Lets see one by one

atTechStack that is Application tier techstack.

- Creates template files for

Oracle_iAS_Home/appsutil/template

Oracle_806_Home/appsutil/template

-Creates Techstack driver files for

Oracle_iAS_Home/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

Oracle_806_Home/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

appltop preparation

-It will create application top driver file

$COMMON_TOP/clone/appl/driver/appl.drv

-Copy JDBC libraries

$COMMON_TOP/clone/jlib/classes111.zip

So this all happens in dressing the source system

After then we need to copy the files.

Copy following files

APPL_TOP

OA_HTML ($COMMON_TOP/html)

JAVA_TOP

COMMON_TOP/util

COMMON_TOP/clone

8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME

iAS ORACLE_HOME

DB ORACLE_HOME

dbf files

After this stage now you need to configure the Target node. Basically you will run adcfgclone.pl same for databse tier and for application tier.

Let go in bit more detail:

First we will see for the database tier

On the target node you will run

ORACLE_DB_HOME/appsutil/clone/bin/perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier

Again there are two stages :

First will look at dbTechstack

It will use the driver files and templates which were created at source and has been copied to target.

Following scripts are run

-adchkutl.sh

-adclonectx.pl

-runInstallConfigDriver —- located in $Oracle_Home/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

-Relinking $Oracle_Home/appsutil/install/adlnkoh.sh

Now for database

-Driver file

$Oracle_Home/appsutil/clone/context/data/driver/data.drv

-Create database adcrdb.zip

-Autoconfig is run

-Control file creation adcrdbclone.sql

Now on application tier

from COMMON_TOP/clone/bin/perl adcfgclone.pl appsTier

Stage at TechStack

-Creates context file for target adclonectx.pl

-Run driver files

$Oracle_806_Home/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

$Oracle_iAS_Home/appsutil/driver/instconf.drv

Relinking of Oracle Home

$Oracle_806_Home/bin/adlnk806.sh

$Oracle_iAS_Home/bin/adlnkiAS.sh

at the end for ApplTop stage

It runs driver and then autoconfig

So this will totally configure your application which has been copied.

At the end you have to some finishing tasks

-Update Printer settings

-Update Workflow Configuration settings

-Update Profile options

This completes you application cloning completely.

So Happy reading folks !!!!

Ref : http://onlineappsdba.com/index.php/2008/04/10/back-to-basics-of-cloning/