Recently I upgraded my Oracle VM Manager from 3.0.1 to 3.0.2.
This blog entry will outline the upgrade steps and also
attach some of results of the each step:
1. Download the Oracle VM Manager 3.0.2 upgrade software
V28586-01_ovm_mgr_3.0.2_x84_64.zip from e-delivery:

http://edelivery.oracle.com/oraclevm

2. unzip V28586-01_ovm_mgr_3.0.2_x84_64.zip to
ovmm-3.0.2-upgrade-b73.iso file and copy the iso file to
Oracle VM manager server
3. Mount the iso file to as a CD image as the root user:
mkdir /OVMUP
mount -o loop ovmm-3.0.2-upgrade-b73.iso /OVMUP
4. Do a full database backup of the Oracle VM repository
database
5. As the root user, ensure the Oracle VM Manager is running:
service ovmm status
if not, start it up: service ovmm start
5. Run the upgrade as the root user:
cd /OVMUP
[root@kovmmgr2 OVMUP]# ./runUpgrader.sh
Oracle VM Manager 3.0.2.73 upgrade utility
Upgrade logfile : /tmp/upgrade-2011-12-22-36.log

It is highly recommended to do a full database repository
backup prior to upgrading Oracle VM Manager …

Press any key to continue …

Oracle VM Manager is running …
Verifying installation status …
Read Oracle VM Manager config file …
Found Oracle VM Manager install files …
Found Oracle VM Manager upgrader …
Found Oracle WebLogic Server …
Found Java …
Using the following information :
Database Host : localhost
Database SID : XE
Database LSNR : 1521
Oracle VM Schema : ovs
Oracle VM Manager UUID : 0004fb0000010000905d254d353ebd0c
Current Build ID : 3.0.1.1361
Using /tmp/workdir.CdRiy10342 for backup and export location.
Using /tmp/patchdir.kZYy10343 for patching.
Enter password for user ovs :
Please re-enter the password :
Undeploying previous version of Oracle VM Manager application …
Undeploying Oracle VM Manager help …
Undeploying Oracle VM Manager console …
Undeploying Oracle VM Manager core …
Waiting for Oracle VM Manager core to fully undeploy…
Waiting…
Finished undeploying previous version …
Exporting Oracle VM Manager repository …
Please wait as this can take a long time …
Oracle VM Manager repository export completed …
Creating backup file …
Oracle VM Manager repository backup in /tmp/ovm-manager-3-backup-2011-12-23.zip
Deleting Oracle VM Manager repository …
Oracle VM Manager repository delete completed …
Upgrading Oracle VM Manager …
Removing old files …
Unpacking Oracle VM Manager 3.0.2.73
Patching Oracle VM Manager repository …
Please wait as this can take a long time …
Oracle VM Manager repository patching completed …
Importing Oracle VM Manager repository …
Oracle VM Manager repository import completed …
Redeploying Oracle VM Manager core container …
Redeploying Oracle VM Manager console …
Redeploying Oracle VM Manager help …
Completed upgrade to 3.0.2.73 …
Writing updated config in /u01/app/oracle/ovm-manager-3/.config
Done …

4. It took more than 12 hours to complete the upgrade.
I can’t belive it needs such a long time for the upgrade.
5. After the upgrade, login to VM manager, and you will see the the following :

On Sept 21, 2011, Saar Moaoz from Oracle RAC Pack Team and I co-
presented an IOUG Virtualization online education session:
“Virtualizing Oracle 11g/R2 RAC Database on Oracle VM: Methods/Tips.”
This presentation was based on Oracle VM 3.0 technology, which was
released a few weeks before this presentation. After the presentation,
we have recieved a few questions about Oracle VM and RAC. Both of Saar
and I provided the answers for these questions. IOUG has posted the
QAs and the actual presentation video recording on IOUG IOUG Webinar
Archieve. I copied some of these quesions and answers as follow. For
more details and the actual presentation recording, please visit this link. You also can download the presentation pdf here.

Copy of the some Questions and Answers:

Q: Is there any written tutorials/white papers on how to setup a RAC
on an Oracle VM?
A: To use the RAC OVM Templates, http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/clustering/overview/rac-template-11grel2-166623.html. For whitepaper on RAC/OVM: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/clustering/oracle-rac-in-oracle-vm-environment-131948.pdfFor RAC support on Vmware, it is supported, just not certified, see My
Oracle Support Note: https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=249212.1

Q: Is it supported to increase the size of System.img file (plenty of
approaches is available in the internet), since it is based on block
device and not LVM, which could eliminate this problem?
A: Yes, the templates are a starting point, you are welcome to tune/
tailor them further to your environments.

Q: Why should in production support template shared disk be on a local
disk? How different node from multiple host can access them?
A: Test deployment allows a special case, where the DB files are on
localdisks, in that case all VMs forming the cluster must run on the
same Dom0/OVS server. For production, shared disks must be used and
accessible from all Dom0/OVS Servers. “lsinventory” output is available
inside the zip file of each template, no need to create a VM, simply
unzip and look at lsinventory output.

Q: Can RAC on VM use ASM instead of OCFS?
A: RAC inside the guests uses ASM, not OCFS2. On Dom0, for the
repository, OVM may use NFS or OCFS2, but this places only the
OS/Oracle VM files, not the database which is in ASM as said before.

Q: Will there be an OVM setup for RAC One Node?
A: The current RAC OVM Templates support RAC ONE NODE. Simply follow
note# 1232802.1. Create a service, then use the convert database
command. Note the troubleshooting section at bottom of that article.

Q: Does the template work when you deploy virtual images on different
physical boxes and club them as nodes in RAC implementation?
A: Yes, the templates work for production (where each VM is on different
Dom0),or for test (where some or all VMs may be on same dom0).

Q: Installation instruction for installing RAC11g2 under OVM3?. pdf files
are for ovm 2.
A: The basic steps are the same. Import the template w/Manager, create
the VMs, attach shared disks, adjust CPU/Memory. The only catch is to
remove the xenbr0/1 on the template and map it to the bridge names in
OVM3. We will have a reference document to highlight only these
differences in some time.

Q: Do I need to install OVM 3.0 before I start applying my VM
templates for RAC database?
A: Yes. You need to install Oracle VM servers and VM manager
and configure the virtual infrastructure before using VM template.

Q: I am not clear how to proceed if I have bare bone server
A: Here is an outline of the steps.
1. Install Oracle VM server,
2. Install Oracle VM manager
3. Configure shared storage and networks on VM servers
4. Download and import the VM templates including RAC VM
template
5. Create VMs using templates
6. configure the virtual networks and virtual storage on VMs
7. following the step given by Saar to configure RAC on the
VMs. The first part of the presentation covers the virtual
infrastructure configuration (step 1-6) .

Sunday Oct 2, 2011:

1. Gave IOUG presentation: Ensure the High Availability and Stability of Oracle RAC: Storage and Network Side Story , Session #09385, at 01:30 PM. the session was held at 192 seats Moscone West – 2005 conference. Around 75%-80% seats were full.

2.Launching the IOUG Virtualization SIG: 360 Degrees of Virtualization for Oracle DBA… , session #28900, IOUG Virtualization panel, 10/2, Sunday, 04:00 PM, Moscone West – 2009

3. Attend Larry’s Sunday welcome Keynote at 5:30pm.

As a tradition, Oracle ACE diretor briefing is held in Oracle HQ in Redwood Shores . This product briefing covers some of the latest development of Oracle Technology that will be announced on coming Oracle OpenWorld.  It is very exciting to see this new technology. It is also an Oracle ACE director family reunion. Greate  to see all these good friends from all over the world.

Oracle Executive Vice President Tomas Kurian gave an opening address.

 

Oralce Vice President Database Product Manageemnt Mark Townsend  talked about Database products.

The IOUG vritualization Webinar presented by Saar Maoz and myself
was very well recieived. Accoriding to the IOUG statistics, there
were 444 registrants and 192 people attending the sessoion. In the
first part, I spent 30 minutes showing some of new features
of Oracle VM 3.0 and how to build the virtual infrasturcture for
deploying and running RAC with Oracle VM server 3.0 and Oracle VM
Manager 3.0.

In the second half of session, Saar presented Oracle RAC templats
and did a live demo how to build a two node 11gR2 RAC database on
Oracle VMs using RAC VM template in less than one hour.

If you are interested in reviewing the presentation again, IOUG has
posted the live recording of this presentation click here:  

http://www.ioug.org/BestPracticesSolutions/Webinars/Virtualization/VirtualizationWebinar92111/tabid/260/Default.aspx

At this coming Oracle OpenWorld, Oracle will announece the new release
of Oracle Enetrprise Manager. In last few months, as a beta partner,
we have actively involved on the POC project of upgrading our current
version of Oracle Enterprise Manager to this new release.

I would recommend we should attend the following Oracle OpenWorld Sessions to learn the new release of Oracle Enterprise Manager and the best way to upgrade from your current Oracle Enetrprise Manager to this
new release Oracle Enterrpise Manager:

1) Session #20000, Oracle Enterprise Manager Upgrade Best Practices MosconeS, Wednesday, 05:00 PM, Moscone South – 309 by Akanksha Sheoran Kaler, the senior product manager for Oracle Enterprise Manager at Oracle.

Description: The latest release of Enterprise Manager has arrived. While you may be eager to put it in action, you are also concerned about how to upgrade your current system without disrupting your ongoing monitoring. This session will cover the best practices for upgrading Enterprise Manager and how to make the upgrade seamless and uneventful.

2) Session 07633 – Upgrading Oracle Enterprise Manager, Using Best Practices,Thursday, 01:30 PM, InterContinental – InterContinental Ballroom A-, Roger Lopez (Dell), Kai Yu (Dell), Akanksha Sheoran Kaler (Oracle)

Description: This session examines options and methods available for performing Oracle Enterprise Manager upgrades with minimal downtime and that fit your business needs. You will learn about upgrade approaches and best practices. The presentation highlights the worst mistakes you can make, the key steps you can skip, and common errors that will cause your upgrade to fail.

Recently I have completed a virtualization infrasturecture configuration based on Oracle VM3.0.

This virtualization includes Oracle VM3.0 Manager, two Oracle VM 3.0 servers running on Two
Dell R710 servers and Dell Compellent Fibre Channel SAN.

I will share my Oracle VM 3.0 experience on my presentation for IOUG Virtualization Webinar.
The followings are the presenntation infomration:

IOUG Virtualization Webinar
*** Wednesday, 21-Sept-2011, 12:00pm Central / 1:00 pm Eastern

==========

Title: Virtualizing Oracle 11g/R2 RAC Database on Oracle VM: Methods/Tips
**** Presented by Saar Maoz, Oracle Corp and Kai Yu, Dell Inc***

Virtualization technology provides the solution to enable the server
partition and consolidation for improving the resource utilization
and archiving the great flexibility and high availability. Combining
Oracle VM with Oracle RAC provides the grid ready architecture to
consolidate the data center infrastructure. Recently released Oracle
VM 3.0 has introduced a lot of new features for scalability, manageability
and ease-of-use. This presenter covers the configuration of such an
architecture based on Oracle VM and Oracle 11g R2 RAC. You will learn
the basic Oracle VM architecture as well as the tips and tricks
of configuring networks and shared storage in Oracle VM 3.0 for the
multiple layers virtual infrastructure to support 11g R2 RAC database
deployment. Another focus area of this presentation is Oracle RAC VM
templates and how to use it for the rapid deployment of Oracle
RAC cluster on Oracle VM.

(Refer to IOUG online Education at : http://www.ioug.org/Events/OnlineEducationSeries/tabid/85/Default.aspx)

Start time: Wednesday, Sept 21, 2011, 12:00pm Central / 1:00 pm Eastern.
The presentation will last one hour.

Register the webinar here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/243968153

I will present or participlate as a panellist of the following OOW sessions:

1. Ensure the High Availability and Stability of Oracle RAC: Storage and Network Side Story  , Session #09385,  10/2/2011, Sunday, 01:30 PM, Moscone West – 2005

2.Launching the IOUG Virtualization SIG: 360 Degrees of Virtualization for Oracle DBA… , session #28900, IOUG Virtualization panel,  10/2, Sunday, 04:00 PM, Moscone West – 2009

3. Consolidate Oracle E-Business Suite Databas in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Grid: Case Study,  session#08945, 10/4/2011, Tuesday, 10:15 AM, Intercontinental – Intercontinental Ballroom A

4.  Configuring and Managing a Private Cloud with Oracle Enterprise Manager , Oracle OpenWorld 2011 session#06980 ,  10/4/2011, Tuesday, 05:30 PM,   Moscone South – 309, San Franscio

5.   Upgrading Oracle Enterprise Manager, Using Best Practices , Oracle OpenWorld 2011 session#0733, 10/6/2011, Thursday, 01:30 PM, Intercontinental – Intercontinental Ballroom A 

For details, please refer to the Oracle OpenWorld 2011 Content Catalog: https://oracleus.wingateweb.com/scheduler/eventcatalog/eventCatalog.do?ts=1313274714855

From July 5^th to July 23^rd, 2011, the 2011 Oracle Technology Network (OTN)Latin America Tour covered multiple countries ranging from Central America to South America.  The tour’s purpose was to give a series of presentations on various areas of Oracle Technology.  Led by Tom Kyte, the vice president of Oracle Corporation, the OTN tour speaker team consisted of world leading experts on Oracle Technology from Oracle Corporation as well as from the industry technology community.  It was a great honor to be invited to join this speaker team  to travel  and speak with  some of the  industry’s legendary speakers:   Graham Wood, Debra Lilley, Hans Forbrich , Francisco Munoz Alvarez, Ronald Bradford, Kuassis Mensah, Arup Nand and the great speakers from the local Oracle user group of each country.

The 2011 OTN Latin America Tour Speaker Team

On this OTN Latin America tour, I gave the following technology presentations at three South American conference sites: Sao Paulo, Brazil;  Montevideo, Uruguay and Santiago, Chile:

1. Virtualized Oracle 11g/R2 RAC Database on Oracle VM: Methods/Tips
2. Oracle 11gR2 Clusterware: Architecture and Best Practices of Configuration and Troubleshooting

Through these two presentations,  I  discussed  the Oracle RAC and Oracle VM technology with the Oracle user communities of these three countries, and also introduced the engineering work we do at the Dell Oracle solutions engineering lab on Oracle databases, and  Oracle VM and Cloud infrastructure. Additionally, I explained how the people in the  user communities in these quickly growing economic regions can take advantage of these solutions to meet their business needs.

At first thanks OTN for the sponsorship of the tour. And I want to expecially  thanks the event organizer Francisco Munoz Alvarez  for his admirable efforts,  and thanks  the local user group leaders and team members who hard work  made this great opportunity possible. It was delightful to see that the people in the Oracle communities in these three countries were very eager to explore  the new Oracle technology.  In two of my sessions in Sao Paulo, the audience filled the entire conference rooms. Brazil user group leader Eduardo Hahn and his team did an excellent job organizing this conference.  I was also amazed by the excellent work and great hospitality of the wonderful Uruguay user group  leaders Nelson  Calero and  Edelweiss  Kammermann and their team. The conference in Chile was  held in a great facility provided by a local private university. The conference’s audience was very attentive to the presentation content and they were very active in the QA  sessions. Somtime the QA and discussions were even extended to after  the sessions. Some of people  brought up the related questions from their current systems to discuss.

The highlights also include the hospitality of the great friends and wonderful culture experiences and the incredible sightseeing in these countries.  These also made this tour really memorable.  

Really want to thank everyone for this wonderful memory and hope I can join the tour again next year!

The following sideshows are the memory of the tour.

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IOUG  is currently providing three online presentations on virtualization technology. The schedules are:
1) July 27: 360 Degrees: Everything to know about Virtualization for Oracle DBAs 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT Mike Ault Tariq Farooq, BrainSurface

2) August 24: Virtualizing Oracle Database Servers on VMware
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT Bert Scalzo, PhD George Trujillo, VMware

3) September 21: Virtualized Oracle 11g/R2 RAC Database on Oracle VM: Methods/Tips, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT Kai Yu, Oracle Solutions Engineering Lab, Dell Inc.
For more information and how to register to these online webinars, please go to this IOUG event link: http://www.ioug.org/Events/OnlineEducationSeries/tabid/85/Default.aspx