AutoUpgrade and Secure External Password Store Enables Complete Automation

Many commands that involve Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) require inputting the TDE keystore password. Also, when you use AutoUpgrade. on an encrypted Oracle Database you probably need to store the TDE keystore password using the -load_password option.

Manually inputting passwords is unsuitable for an environment with a high degree of automation. In Oracle Database it is solved by Secure External Password Store (SEPS) (as of Oracle Database 12.2). In a previous blog post, I showed how you could use it to your advantage.

This blog post is about how to use AutoUpgrade together with SEPS.

Good News

As of version 22.2 AutoUpgrade fully supports Oracle Database with a Secure External Password Store. If SEPS contains the TDE keystore password, you don’t have to input the password using the -load_password option.

If you are using AutoUpgrade in some sort of automation (like Ansible), you should look into SEPS. AutoUpgrade can use SEPS when the TDE keystore password is needed, and you can upgrade and convert completely unattended.

How To

The Oracle Database DB12 is encrypted and on Oracle Database 12.2. I want to upgrade, convert, and plug it into CDB2 on Oracle Database 19c.

  1. Ensure that your Oracle Databases DB12 and CDB2 are properly configured with a Secure External Password Store and it contains the TDE keystore password.
  2. Ensure that AutoUpgrade is version 22.2 or higher:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version
    
  3. Create your AutoUpgrade config file and set global.keystore as specified in a previous blog post:
    global.autoupg_log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade
    global.keystore=/u01/app/oracle/admin/autoupgrade/keystore
    	
    upg1.log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12
    upg1.source_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0.1
    upg1.target_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19
    upg1.sid=DB12
    upg1.target_cdb=CDB2
    
  4. Analyze:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -mode analyze
    
  5. The summary report tells me everything is fine; just go ahead. I don’t need to input the TDE keystore passwords:
    [Stage Name]    PRECHECKS
    [Status]        SUCCESS
    [Start Time]    2022-03-30 10:28:38
    [Duration]       
    [Log Directory] /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12/DB12/100/prechecks
    [Detail]        /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12/DB12/100/prechecks/db12_preupgrade.log
    				Check passed and no manual intervention needed
    
  6. Optionally, I can use the -load_password prompt to check the TDE configuration:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -load_password
    	
    TDE> list
    +----------+---------------+------------------+-----------+------------------+
    |ORACLE_SID|Action Required|      TDE Password|SEPS Status|Active Wallet Type|
    +----------+---------------+------------------+-----------+------------------+
    |      CDB2|               |No password loaded|   Verified|               Any|
    |      DB12|               |No password loaded|    Unknown|        Auto-login|
    +----------+---------------+------------------+-----------+------------------+
    
    Action Required is empty and verifies that I don’t need to input the TDE keystore passwords. AutoUpgrade checked SEPS in CDB2 and found that it works. It is impossible to check SEPS in DB12 because it is on Oracle Database 12.2. The functionality was added in Oracle Database 19c.
  7. Start the upgrade and conversion:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -mode deploy
    
  8. That’s it!

What Happens

  • You must configure an AutoUpgrade keystore. Even though you are not loading any TDE keystore passwords, it is still required. Some commands require a passphrase (or transport secret) and AutoUpgrade must store them in its keystore.
  • Whenever a database is using SEPS, and a TDE keystore password is required, AutoUpgrade will use the IDENTIFIED BY EXTERNAL STORE clause.

What Else

You can mix and match. If only one database uses SEPS, you can input the other TDE keystore password manually using the -load_password option. AutoUpgrade will check your database configuration and ask only for the needed TDE keystore passwords.

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Upgrading an Encrypted Non-CDB and Converting To PDB

Converting an encrypted non-CDB to a PDB requires the keystore passwords of the non-CDB and the target CDB. You can do it with AutoUpgrade, and you can upgrade in the same operation.

How To

The Oracle Database DB12 is encrypted and on Oracle Database 12.2. I want to upgrade, convert, and plug it into CDB2 on Oracle Database 19c.

  1. Ensure that AutoUpgrade is version 22.2 or higher:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version
    
  2. Create your AutoUpgrade config file and set global.keystore as specified in a previous blog post:
    global.autoupg_log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade
    global.keystore=/u01/app/oracle/admin/autoupgrade/keystore
    	
    upg1.log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12
    upg1.source_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0.1
    upg1.target_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19
    upg1.sid=DB12
    upg1.target_cdb=CDB2
    
  3. Analyze:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -mode analyze
    
  4. The summary report warns me that TDE keystore passwords are needed:
    [Stage Name]    PRECHECKS
    [Status]        FAILURE
    [Start Time]    2022-03-29 12:42:32
    [Duration]       
    [Log Directory] /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12/DB12/100/prechecks
    [Detail]        /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/DB12/DB12/100/prechecks/db12_preupgrade.log
                Check failed for DB12, manual intervention needed for the below checks
                [TDE_PASSWORDS_REQUIRED]
    
    There are more details in the preupgrade log file:
    ==============
    BEFORE UPGRADE
    ==============
    
    	REQUIRED ACTIONS
    	================
    		1.  Perform the specified action ...
    		ORACLE_SID                      Action Required
    		------------------------------  ------------------------
    		CDB2                            Add TDE password
    		DB12                            Add TDE password
    
  5. Add the TDE keystore passwords into the AutoUpgrade keystore:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -load_password
    
    TDE> add DB12
    Enter your secret/Password:    
    Re-enter your secret/Password: 
    TDE> add CDB2
    Enter your secret/Password:    
    Re-enter your secret/Password: 
    
  6. Save the passwords into the AutoUpgrade keystore. I choose to create an auto-login keystore:
    TDE> save
    Convert the keystore to auto-login [YES|NO] ? YES
    TDE> exit
    
  7. Re-analyze the database:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -mode analyze
    
  8. If AutoUpgrade does not report any other problems, start the upgrade and conversion. Since I chose to create an AutoUpgrade auto-login keystore, I don’t have to provide the password when AutoUpgrade starts:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -mode deploy
    
  9. That’s it!

What Happens

  • First, AutoUpgrade upgrades the database to Oracle Database 19c. This is a regular non-CDB database upgrade. It requires an auto-login keystore.
  • After the upgrade, AutoUpgrade exports the encryption keys into a file. To avoid writing the encryption keys in clear text in the export file, the database needs a passphrase (transport secret) to encrypt the encryption key. AutoUpgrade generates a passphrase and stores it in the AutoUpgrade keystore. In addition, the database needs the keystore password. This is the WITH SECRET and IDENTIFIED BY clauses of the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT EXPORT KEYS statement.
  • The encryption keys is imported into CDB$ROOT of the target CDB. To load the encryption keys from the export file, the database needs the passphrase and keystore password (of the target CDB). AutoUpgrade gets both password from the AutoUpgrade keystore. This is the WITH SECRET and IDENTIFIED BY clauses of the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT IMPORT KEYS statement.
  • The pluggable database is created from the manifest file using CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE statement.
  • AutoUpgrade executes the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT IMPORT KEYS statement again – this time while connected to the PDB itself.
  • Finally, AutoUpgrade completes the PDB conversion by running noncdb_to_pdb.sql.

The encryption keys are imported two times – first in CDB$ROOT and then in the PDB itself. AutoUpgrade must import into CDB$ROOT if the PDB has any of the system tablespaces (SYSTEM or SYSAUX) or the undo tablespace encrypted.

Fallback

AutoUpgrade fallback functionality also works for an upgrade and PDB conversion. But there are a few requirements:

  • A target_pdb_copy_option must be specified.
  • The database must be Enterprise Edition.
  • A guaranteed restore point must be created (default behavior).

It is not possible to revert the PDB conversion. To fall back the data files must be copied as part of the PDB conversion. You specify that the data files are copied by using the config file parameter target_pdb_copy_option. As an example, if I want to copy the data files during plug-in and generate OMF names, I use this parameter:

upg1.target_pdb_copy_option=file_name_convert=NONE

AutoUpgrade automatically creates a guaranteed restore point in the beginning of an upgrade. AutoUpgrade will issue a FLASHBACK DATABASE statement to revert the upgrade. The parameter restoration governs the creation of the restore point. The default value is YES, meaning AutoUpgrade creates a guaranteed restore point, and fallback is possible.

If all prerequisites are met, I can revert the entire operation and return the database to the original state (from 19c PDB back into a 12.2 non-CDB). 103 is the job id of the upgrade/PDB conversion:

$ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -restore -jobs 103

Other Blog Posts in This Series

Upgrading an Encrypted PDB

An unplug-plug upgrade of an encrypted PDB requires the keystore password of the source and target CDB, and you can do it with AutoUpgrade.

How To

The pluggable database PDB1 is encrypted and is plugged into CDB1, which is Oracle Database 12.2. I want to upgrade the PDB to Oracle Database 19c by plugging it into CDB2.

  1. Ensure that AutoUpgrade is version 22.2 or higher:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version
    
  2. Create your AutoUpgrade config file and set global.keystore as specified in a previous blog post:
    global.autoupg_log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade
    global.keystore=/u01/app/oracle/admin/autoupgrade/keystore
    
    upg1.log_dir=/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/PDB1
    upg1.source_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0.1
    upg1.target_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19
    upg1.sid=CDB1
    upg1.target_cdb=CDB2
    upg1.pdbs=PDB1
    
  3. Analyze:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -mode analyze
    
  4. The summary report warns me that TDE keystore passwords are needed:
    [Stage Name]    PRECHECKS
    [Status]        FAILURE
    [Start Time]    2022-03-29 07:58:52
    [Duration]       
    [Log Directory] /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/PDB1/CDB1/100/prechecks
    [Detail]        /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/autoupgrade/PDB1/CDB1/100/prechecks/cdb1_preupgrade.log
    		Check failed for PDB1, manual intervention needed for the below checks
    		[TDE_PASSWORDS_REQUIRED]
    
    There are more details in the preupgrade log file:
    ==============
    BEFORE UPGRADE
    ==============
    
    	REQUIRED ACTIONS
    	================
    		1.  Perform the specified action ...
    		ORACLE_SID                      Action Required
    		------------------------------  ------------------------
    		CDB1                            Add TDE password
    		CDB2                            Add TDE password
    
  5. Add the TDE keystore passwords into the AutoUpgrade keystore:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -load_password
    
    TDE> add CDB1
    Enter your secret/Password:    
    Re-enter your secret/Password: 
    TDE> add CDB2
    Enter your secret/Password:    
    Re-enter your secret/Password: 
    
  6. Save the passwords into the AutoUpgrade keystore. I choose to create an auto-login keystore:
    TDE> save
    Convert the keystore to auto-login [YES|NO] ? YES
    TDE> exit
    
  7. Re-analyze the PDB:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -mode analyze
    
  8. If AutoUpgrade does not report any other problems, start the unplug-plug upgrade. Since I chose to create an AutoUpgrade auto-login keystore, I don’t have to provide the password when AutoUpgrade starts:
    $ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -mode deploy
    
  9. That’s it!

What Happens

  • When AutoUpgrade needs to unplug the encrypted PDB into a manifest file, the source CDB will need the TDE keystore password. AutoUpgrade can get it from its keystore. This is the IDENTIFIED BY clause of the ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE ... UNPLUG INTO statement.
  • The encryption keys of the PDB go into the manifest file. The database doesn’t want to write the encryption keys in clear text in the manifest file and asks for a passphrase that can encrypt the encryption keys. AutoUpgrade generates a passphrase and stores the passphrase in the AutoUpgrade keystore. This is the ENCRYPT USING clause of the ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE ... UNPLUG INTO statement.
  • When the PDB plugs into the target CDB, the target CDB will need the TDE keystore password. This is the IDENTIFIED BY clause of the CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE ... USING statement.
  • The database must get the encryption keys of the PDB from the manifest files. The encryption keys are encrypted using a passphrase. The database asks AutoUpgrade about the passphrase which is stored in the AutoUpgrade keystore. This is the DECRYPT USING clause of the CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE ... USING statement.

Fallback

AutoUpgrade fallback functionality also works on an encrypted PDB. When it comes to unplug-plug upgrades and fallback capability, it is a requirement that the data files were copied as part of the upgrade process.

In the above example, a fallback using AutoUpgrade would not be possible. Since I did not specify a target_pdb_copy_option the data files were re-used. Other means of falling back to the original state is needed.

Had I specified a target_pdb_copy_option in my config file, a fallback would be possible. In the below example, I am specifying a copy option. file_name_convert=none means that the data files are copied and new OMF names are generated:

upg1.target_pdb_copy_option=file_name_convert=NONE

In this case, I can revert the unplug-plug upgrade and return to the original state using AutoUpgrade. 103 is the job id of the upgrade:

$ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config PDB1.cfg -restore -jobs 103

Isolated Keystore Mode

In CDBs the default way of storing TDE encryption keys is in a united keystore. The CDB has one keystore and all PDBs store their encryption keys in that one keystore.

With Oracle Database 19.14 a new option became possible: isolated keystore. The CDB still has a keystore that PDBs can use. But you can also configure each individual PDB to use its own keystore.

You can load a password for an isolated keystore using:

TDE> add <oracle_sid> -pdb <pdb_name>

Other Blog Posts in This Series

Upgrading an Encrypted Non-CDB or CDB

Upgrading a non-CDB or an entire CDB is straightforward with AutoUpgrade. There is only one requirement:

  • An auto-login keystore must be present.

Upgrade Non-CDB and CDB

The auto-login keystore enables the database to open the TDE keystore without a DBA manually entering the keystore password. During a database upgrade, the database will restart multiple times. The upgrade process embeds the restarts, and there is no way for a DBA to intervene halfway to enter the TDE keystore password. Hence, it is required to use an auto-login keystore.

You can query the database for the type of the TDE keystore:

SQL> select wallet_type from v$encryption_wallet;

AUTOLOGIN

It must be an AUTOLOGIN keystore or a LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN. I like the local autologin keystore because it adds an additional layer of security.

When a proper keystore is in place, you can start the upgrade.

Keystore Location and WALLET_ROOT

The Oracle Database must know where to find the TDE keystore. It will look in the following locations in the following order:

  • As of Oracle Database 19c, WALLET_ROOT initialization parameter.
  • ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION sqlnet.ora parameter.
  • $ORACLE_BASE/admin/DB_UNIQUE_NAME/wallet
  • $ORACLE_HOME/admin/DB_UNIQUE_NAME/wallet

Oracle recommends using the parameter WALLET_ROOT when your database is on Oracle Database 19c. The parameter is introduced in Oracle Database 19c, and all other methods have been deprecated.

It is easier to configure the TDE keystore using WALLET_ROOT than sqlnet.ora. AutoUpgrade can implement the changes needed to switch to the WALLET_ROOT parameter as part of an upgrade . I recommend doing that.

TNS_ADMIN

Often, sqlnet.ora defines the TDE keystore configuration. This means that the TNS_ADMIN location is important.

TNS_ADMIN defaults to $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin. But sometimes, it is relocated either via a profile (like .bashrc) or using srvctl setenv database. AutoUpgrade fully supports both methods.

But it does happen from time to time that there are issues with the TNS_ADMIN location. Recently, I saw it at a customer. The customer used a dedicated sqlnet.ora for each database. The parameter ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION was unique in each of the sqlnet.ora files. They had issues with their profiles and AutoUpgrade picked up the wrong sqlnet.ora. This caused AutoUpgrade to report issues with the TDE keystore during analyze phase.

Luckily, there is functionality in AutoUpgrade to override the TNS_ADMIN location:

You can put them into the config file. AutoUpgrade will set the TNS_ADMIN environment variable before executing any command. That will effectively override any other TNS_ADMIN setting:

upg1.target_tns_admin_dir=/etc/oracle/keystores/DB12

Usually, I would not recommend using these parameters. In most cases, the correct TNS_ADMIN location is set and all is good. Use only when you encounter issues.

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AutoUpgrade and Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

It is now easier to upgrade and convert your encrypted Oracle Database. The latest version of AutoUpgrade adds much better support for Oracle Databases that are encrypted with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).

You must ensure that you are using the latest version of AutoUpgrade. You can download it from My Oracle Support AutoUpgrade Tool (Doc ID 2485457.1). At the time of writing, the latest version of AutoUpgrade is 22.2:

$ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version
build.version 22.2.220324

AutoUpgrade Keystore

Dealing with TDE, also means dealing with sensitive information. AutoUpgrade must adequately protect the TDE keystore passwords. To do so, AutoUpgrade can have its own keystore to store sensitive information, i.e., TDE keystore passwords. Whenever a TDE keystore password is needed, e.g., during an unplug-plug upgrade of an encrypted PDB, it can get the password from the AutoUpgrade keystore.

You need to tell AutoUpgrade where it can create the keystore. You do so in the config file:

global.keystore=/etc/oracle/keystores/autoupgrade/DB12

When you start to use the AutoUpgrade keystore the following files are created in the directory:

$ pwd
/etc/oracle/keystores/autoupgrade/DB12

$ ll
-rw-------. 1 oracle dba 765 Mar 28 14:56 cwallet.sso
-rw-------. 1 oracle dba 720 Mar 28 14:56 ewallet.p12

It is similar to other keystores that Oracle Database use. ewallet.p12 is the keystore, and cwallet.sso is an auto-login keystore used to open the real keystore. You don’t have to create an auto-login keystore.

You should protect the AutoUpgrade keystore files like you protect any other Oracle Database keystore:

  • Apply restrictive file system permissions.
  • Audit access.
  • Back it up.

Using the Keystore

Create your AutoUpgrade config file and specify global.keystore as described above. Start an interactive prompt that allows you to add the necessary passwords:

$ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config DB12.cfg -load_password

The first time you use the AutoUpgrade keystore, you must provide a password that protects the AutoUpgrade keystore:

Starting AutoUpgrade Password Loader - Type help for available options
Creating new keystore - Password required
Enter password:       
Enter password again: 
Keystore was successfully created

In the TDE console, the following commands are available:

  • add
  • delete
  • list
  • save
  • help
  • exit

The SID references the databases. If you want to add a TDE password for the database DB12, use the following command:

TDE> add DB12
Enter your secret/Password:    
Re-enter your secret/Password: 
TDE> add CDB2
Enter your secret/Password:    
Re-enter your secret/Password: 

If you want to delete the TDE password for DB12:

TDE> delete DB12

Keystore Password is required prior to operation
Enter wallet password:   

When you save the passwords into the AutoUpgrade keystore, you must decide whether you want to have an auto-login keystore:

TDE> save
Convert the keystore to auto-login [YES|NO] ? 

I recommend using auto-login keystores. If you do not create an AutoUpgrade auto-login keystore, you will be prompted for the AutoUpgrade keystore password when you start AutoUpgrade. If you want to use AutoUpgrade in noconsole mode (-noconsole), then an auto-login keystore is required.

I will show how to upgrade and convert encrypted databases in later blog posts.

Loss of AutoUpgrade Keystore

What happens if your AutoUpgrade keystore is lost? This is fairly simple. You can re-create the keystore and load all passwords into it using the load_password command line option as described above.

Preupgrade Checks

We have added new preupgrade checks to the analyze phase in AutoUpgrade. These checks will help you to provide the needed passwords and ensure your TDE configuration meets certain standards:

  • auto_login_keystore_required
  • keystore_conflict
  • no_keystore_files
  • tde_passwords_required
  • wallet_root
  • tde_in_use
  • oracle_home_keystore

You can read more about these checks in MOS note Database Preupgrade tool check list. (Doc ID 2380601.1).

Further Reading

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Rolling Upgrades of Oracle Database on Exadata Cloud Service

If you want to minimize the downtime needed to upgrade your Oracle Database 19c on Exadata Cloud Service, one of the options is to use rolling upgrades. Our good friends in the Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) team recently posted a very good MOS note with step-by-step instructions.

Exadata Cloud Database 19c Rolling Upgrade With DBMS_ROLLING (Doc ID 2832235.1)

What Is Rolling Upgrade?

A rolling upgrade uses a standby database called a logical standby database.

A logical standby database is initially created as an identical copy of the primary database, but it later can be altered to have a different structure. The logical standby database is updated by executing SQL statements. The flexibility of a logical standby database lets you upgrade Oracle Database software (patch sets and new Oracle Database releases) and perform other database maintenance in rolling fashion with almost no downtime.

Logical Standby Databases, Data Guard Concepts and Administration 21c

With almost no downtime means the time it takes to perform a Data Guard switchover. Typically, that is a few minutes. If your application is configured properly, the downtime can be hidden from the end-user. The downtime will appear as a brown-out where the session will be waiting for the database to complete the switchover before continuing.

Rodrigo explains how the process works in this video from our webinar How Low Can You Go? Zero Downtime Operations

Pro tip: The process uses a so-called Transient Logical Standby or TLS, so you can find additional information by searching for that term as well.

Can I use rolling upgrade on my database?

Rolling upgrades using DBMS_ROLLING requires the Active Data Guard Option which is included in your ExaCS license.

In addition, there are requirements to the data types in your database and a few other prerequisites. Check the documentation for details.

In this video, Roy explains how to determine the readiness of your Oracle Database. The video is also from our webinar How Low Can You Go? Zero Downtime Operations.

Other Options for Minimizing Downtime During Upgrades

If your database is not capable of performing rolling upgrades, you can still do something to minimize downtime. You can try to tune the upgrade itself or use Oracle GoldenGate. Both options are described in detail in our webinar How Low Can You Go? Zero Downtime Operations. You can flip through the slides or watch the complete recording.

If you decide to go with Oracle GoldenGate, and since your database is in OCI, you can benefit from the OCI GoldenGate service. Now, you may think: GoldenGate, that sounds expensive! But it is not. The new OCI GoldenGate service comes at a completely new price model, which is very attractive for shorter use cases like upgrades and migrations. You don’t pay a license for the source and target CPUs but instead for usage of CPUs on the GoldenGate hub itself. And you only pay by the hour.

Conclusion

Finally, just a kudos to my colleague Sebastian Alasino for putting together a very good, easy-to-follow MOS note.

Here is a demo of rolling upgrades (not on ExaCS – but a lot is identical)

Happy upgrading!

Get Started with Autoupgrade

If you never upgraded a database or it has been a while since you did it, I suggest that you get familiar with AutoUpgrade. Other methods of upgrading still exist, but AutoUpgrade is the only recommended method!

How To

AutoUpgrade is a tool that comes in a single file named autoupgrade.jar. You find it in your Oracle Home in $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin. You should always download the latest version of AutoUpgrade from My Oracle Support and put it into your Oracle Home, thus overwriting the existing file.

AutoUpgrade is fully backward compatible, and a newer version of AutoUpgrade can upgrade databases to a previous version. In this example, AutoUpgrade is version 21.3.211115, but notice the information in build.supported_target_versions:

$ java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version

build.hash 081e3f7
build.version 21.3.211115
build.date 2021/11/15 11:57:54
build.max_target_version 21
build.supported_target_versions 12.2,18,19,21
build.type production

Version 21 of AutoUpgrade can upgrade your database to Oracle Database 21c and previous releases.

Now, you are ready to analyze your Oracle Database for upgrade readiness and eventually upgrade it. This short YouTube video explains the process.

Finally, you can watch a short demo of a database upgrade.

Try It

But the best way to learn is to do it yourself. You can use our Hands-On Lab for this purpose. You can find an overview of the lab and the lab instructions on Mike Dietrich’s blog.

You can run the lab in two ways.

VirtualBox image

The Hands-On Lab comes as a self-contained VirtualBox image that you download and run on your own computer. It requires around 100 GB of disk space and a fairly modern computer. Nothing fancy, but it doesn’t run smoothly on arcane hardware. Get started here.

LiveLabs

You can run the entire lab in just a browser using Oracle LiveLabs. You can do it in our Cloud Free Tier so that it will be completely free. Our workshop on Oracle LiveLabs is called Hitchhiker’s Guide for Upgrading to Oracle Database 19c.

Watch this video and learn how to provision a lab in Oracle LiveLabs.

Guided Tour

If you get stuck in the lab or just want to watch and let Mike Dietrich do all the typing, you can watch this recorded session of the complete hands-on lab.

Further Reading

Once done with the lab, you can start on these additional ressources:

Good luck!

P.S. Remember – it is better to fail in our lab than in production…

How To Upgrade An Encrypted Oracle Database and Convert to PDB

New functionality superseeds the functionality mentioned in this blog post. Please use the method described in Upgrading an Encrypted Non-CDB and Converting To PDB.

Using AutoUpgrade, you can upgrade your encrypted Oracle Database and convert to a pluggable database. The process is not entirely automated, so you must handle the TDE encryption key manually.

A new parameter called skip_tde_key_import is introduced. Here is what the documentation says:

(Optional) The default is NO. You can use this option for non-CDB-to-PDB and unplug/plug operations. When set to YES, the upgrade is run, but import of the source database KeyStore into the target database is skipped, without raising an error. AutoUpgrade will leave the PDB open in upgrade mode, so that you can import the keys manually yourself. After you import the keys, you must then restart the database in normal mode.

In other words, AutoUpgrade does everything except import of the TDE encryption key.

How To

This is what happens: Overview of upgrading to Oracle Database 19c of database encrypted with TDE and convert to a PDB

AutoUpgrade handles the green things – you handle the yellow thing. My environment:

  1. Non-CDB called FTEX running on Oracle Database 11.2.0.4
  2. FTEX is encrypted with TDE and has an auto-login keystore
  3. CDB called CDB2 running on Oracle Database 19c
  4. CDB2 is prepared for TDE and has a keystore defined

First, I ensure that AutoUpgrade is version 21.2 or newer:

java -jar autoupgrade.jar -version

I create a config file for AutoUpgrade. Notice, that I have specified that the database is plugged into CDB2 using the parameter target_cdb. Also, notice that I have specified the new parameter skip_tde_key_import and set it to YES:

upg1.source_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.4
upg1.target_home=/u01/app/oracle/product/19
upg1.sid=FTEX
upg1.target_cdb=CDB2
upg1.skip_tde_key_import=YES

Then, I analyze my database (FTEX) for any issues:

java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config FTEX.cfg -mode analyze

No issues are detected, so I proceed with the upgrade:

java -jar autoupgrade.jar -config FTEX.cfg -mode deploy

After the upgrade and conversion to PDB, I log on to CDB2. I want to check the outcome. Has FTEX been upgraded and converted?

SQL> select name, open_mode, restricted from v$pdbs

NAME      OPEN_MODE    RESTRICTED
PDB$SEED  READ ONLY    NO        
FTEX      READ WRITE   YES                

Open – but restricted. I check for plug-in violations:

SQL> select cause, type, message, status, action 
     from pdb_plug_in_violations 
     where name = 'FTEX' AND status not in ('RESOLVED')

CAUSE                TYPE       MESSAGE                                STATUS     ACTION
Wallet Key Needed    ERROR      PDB needs to import keys from source.  PENDING    Import keys from source.    

OK. This is expected. AutoUpgrade does not handle the TDE encryption key. See the yellow part of the arrow above. You have to do that.

I start by merging the two keystores – the keystore of the old non-CDB database (FTEX) and the keystore of the CDB (CDB2). I merge the two keystores into the one of CDB2:

CDB$ROOT SQL> administer key management 
   merge keystore '/u01/app/oracle/admin/FTEX/wallet' identified by "oracle_4U" 
   into existing keystore '/u01/app/oracle/admin/CDB2/wallet/tde' identified by "oracle_4U" 
   with backup using 'merge_keystore';

Notice that I have specified the folders of keystores and not the actually file names. I have also specified the keystore password for both the keystores. And, finally, I tell the database to create a backup of the keystore before the merge (as a precaution – and I recommend always doing that).

Now, I switch to the FTEX PDB. I need to configure FTEX to use the TDE encryption key that is merged from the old keystore. Each key in the keystore has a key ID and I tell the PDB to use the right one. I explain later on how to determine the key ID:

CDB$ROOT SQL> alter session set container=FTEX;

FTEX SQL> administer key management 
   use key 'Ad8l2SYuf0/dv+6Au9tRmAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' 
   force keystore identified by "oracle_4U" 
   with backup using 'use_key_ftex';

Now, the PDB knows the TDE encryption key and you can actually start to query data from an encrypted tablespace. However, there is still a plug-in violation saying the TDE encryption key has to be imported. The PDB insists that the encryption key is imported – rather than merged into the keystore. So I will export the key from the PDB and import it again:

FTEX SQL> administer key management 
   export keys with secret "secret-passphrase" 
   to '/etc/oracle/exported-keys-ftex' force keystore identified by "oracle_4U";
FTEX SQL> administer key management 
   import keys with secret "secret-passphrase" 
   from '/etc/oracle/exported-keys-ftex' force keystore identified by "oracle_4U" 
   with backup using 'import_key_ftex';
FTEX SQL> host rm /etc/oracle/exported-keys-ftex

The encryption key is saved in an encrypted file in the OS. The file is encrypted using a passphrase (secret-passphrase), and you should pick a better one than I did. Finally – and important – I remove the file from the OS when I am done. I don’t want my encryption keys lying around in files all over the OS.

I restart the FTEX PDB:

FTEX SQL> alter pluggable database FTEX close immediate;
FTEX SQL> alter pluggable database FTEX open;

And the PDB is now open in READ WRITE mode and unrestricted

SQL> select name, open_mode, restricted from v$pdbs

NAME      OPEN_MODE    RESTRICTED
PDB$SEED  READ ONLY    NO        
FTEX      READ WRITE   NO

I check for plug-in violations:

SQL> select cause, type, message, status, action 
     from pdb_plug_in_violations 
     where name = 'FTEX' AND status not in ('RESOLVED')

No rows selected.

Job done! Encrypted database upgraded and converted to a PDB.

Determine Key ID

Use the orapki utility to determine the key ID of the TDE encryption key. Specify the location of the old non-CDB keystore:

orapki wallet display -wallet /u01/app/oracle/admin/FTEX/wallet

Oracle PKI Tool : Version 11.2.0.4.0 - Production
Copyright (c) 2004, 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Requested Certificates: 
User Certificates:
Oracle Secret Store entries: 
ORACLE.SECURITY.DB.ENCRYPTION.Ad8l2SYuf0/dv+6Au9tRmAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
ORACLE.SECURITY.DB.ENCRYPTION.MASTERKEY
ORACLE.SECURITY.TS.ENCRYPTION.BUCsXzQga4wfJ8gNSuptAPMCAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Trusted Certificates: 
Subject:        OU=Class 1 Public Primary Certification Authority,O=VeriSign\, Inc.,C=US
Subject:        OU=Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority,O=VeriSign\, Inc.,C=US
Subject:        OU=Class 2 Public Primary Certification Authority,O=VeriSign\, Inc.,C=US
Subject:        OU=Secure Server Certification Authority,O=RSA Data Security\, Inc.,C=US
Subject:        CN=GTE CyberTrust Global Root,OU=GTE CyberTrust Solutions\, Inc.,O=GTE Corporation,C=US

The TDE encryption key is starting with ORACLE.SECURITY.DB.ENCRYPTION and doesn’t end on MASTERKEY. In the above example the key ID is Ad8l2SYuf0/dv+6Au9tRmAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

If your non-CDB is Oracle Database 12c or later you can also get the key ID using a view:

SQL> select key_id from v$encryption_keys where key_use='TDE';

Why Do I Need to Export and Import?

Above you saw that I had to export and import the encryption keys, even after merging the keystores. You might ask: Why is that even needed? Why is the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT MERGE KEYSTORE command not enough? That’s a very good question. I have reached out to our security people to get their take on it. It sounds like a bug to me.

The Future

The above solution makes it easier to handle encrypted databases. But we are not satisfied yet. A future version of AutoUpgrade will have even better support for encrypted databases, and everything will be automated.

The biggest issue for us is to find a safe way to handle the TDE keystore password. We need to have a safe way of getting the password from you and storing it in memory until we actually need it.

We are just about to start testing the very first version of AutoUpgrade with proper TDE support. If you are interested in becoming a beta tester, reach out to me to work something out.

Conclusion

Converting encrypted databases to PDB is now possible in AutoUpgrade. AutoUpgrade mainly handles the process, but you have to manage the TDE encryption keys yourself.

New functionality superseeds the functionality mentioned in this blog post. Please use the method described in Upgrading an Encrypted Non-CDB and Converting To PDB.

Upgrade with Less Downtime

You can upgrade your Oracle Database with less downtime. With the release of AutoUpgrade 21.2 we added the fast deploy option. It allows you to run the preupgrade fixups while the database is still online. Only the actual upgrade will now require downtime.

The Usual Upgrade

When you upgrade the usual way, i.e., using AutoUpgrade in deploy mode, then you:

  1. Analyze the database – java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode analyze This is non-intrusive and doesn’t change anything on the database. You get a report, and you can fix any issue that AutoUpgrade can’t fix for you.
  2. Upgrade the database – java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode deploy The database is analyzed again. Based on the findings of the analysis, a set of preupgrade fixups are executed. Finally, the database upgrade takes place.

Best practice is to use AutoUpgrade in deploy mode

During step #2, the database is not available – you have downtime. Even though the database was analyzed previously, it will be re-analyzed to catch any new issues. This is the safest approach. From the first analysis (in step #1) to the second analysis (in step #2), potentially new issues can occur.

We talked to a few of our customers who are really trying to reduce the downtime of an upgrade. For them – every second counts and has a significant impact on their business. They asked us to make the upgrade faster.

Fast Deploy Mode

One customer suggested moving the final analysis and preupgrade fixup outside of the downtime window. Shortly before the downtime would start, they would like to run an analysis and the preupgrade fixups. Next, they would wait until the downtime window starts and do only the upgrade.

I must stress; there is a risk that a new issue pops up between the fixups and the upgrade – but this one customer is willing to take the risk. In exchange, they will get upgrades with less downtime.

We call this approach fast deploy. The procedure is:

  1. Analyze the database – java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode analyze
  2. Run the preupgrade fixups – java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode fixups
  3. Now downtime starts
  4. Upgrade the database – java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode upgrade

To reduce downtime use the new fast deploy mode - with increased risk

Fast deploy requires AutoUpgrade 21.2 or newer. The target database release can be any of the target releases already supported by AutoUpgrade, meaning 12.2 or higher.

Here are the details of the feature – from the AutoUpgrade change log:

> This feature enables DBA’s to run the prechecks and prefixups while the database is still online and then run deploy to complete the upgrade. Once the fixups have been run on the source database, DBA can then skip the prechecks and prefixup stages and proceed directly to the phases that follow for example: Database can be online: java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode fixups -config yourconfig Upgrade time: java -jar autoupgrade.jar -mode upgrade -config yourconfig The -mode upgrade command proceeds directly to the phases that follow the prechecks and prefixups stages during deploy. The main goal of this feature is to reduce database downtime by running the fixups when your database is online and open for business and then skipping the fixups when your database is offline. See Oracle documentation for further details.

Conclusion

If your application is really sensitive to downtime, you can now upgrade with less downtime using fast deploy. It introduces a slight risk that the preupgrade analyze will not detect an issue that will cause troubles later on. You have to choose whether that risk is acceptable to you.

Our recommendation is to use the old approach – AutoUpgrade in deploy mode. Consider only fast deploy if downtime really hurts.

If you are interested in seeing which other things got put into AutoUpgrade 21.2, you can check the change log.

Future-proof Your Encrypted Database During Upgrade

In Oracle Database 19c, use of sqlnet.ora to define the keystore (or wallet) location has been deprecated. Instead you should use the database parameter WALLET_ROOT. If you upgrade to Oracle Database 19c with AutoUpgrade, it has become a lot easier. Let AutoUpgrade do the work for you.

How To

If you instruct AutoUpgrade to use the new encryption parameters it will not only add the parameters to the SPFile but also copy the keystore file to the location defined. This is what you have to do:

  1. Create a text file which contains the definition of WALLET_ROOT and TDE_CONFIGURATION. I call it /tmp/au-pfile-tde. Optionally, change the location of the keystore to fit your organization.
WALLET_ROOT='/etc/oracle/keystores/$ORACLE_SID'
TDE_CONFIGURATION='KEYSTORE_CONFIGURATION=FILE'
  1. Instruct AutoUpgrade to add those parameter during and after upgrade. Add the following to your AutoUpgrade config file:
upg1.add_during_upgrade_pfile=/tmp/au-pfile-tde
upg1.add_after_upgrade_pfile=/tmp/au-pfile-tde

That’s it! AutoUpgrade will detect that you are changing the keystore location, and it will copy the keystore files to the new location at the appropriate time.

Important

  • When you use WALLET_ROOT the keystore files should always be stored in a subfolder called tde. This means that the keystore files will end up in /etc/oracle/keystores/$ORACLE_SID/tde. You should not add /tde manually to WALLET_ROOT. The database will do that automatically when it looks up the keystore.
  • If you want to move the keystore into ASM, there is a special procedure that you must follow. AutoUpgrade can’t do that for you. Check How To Migrate TDE Wallet From Local OS File System to ASM ? (Doc ID 2369614.1).

Now What

Since you have moved the keystore files to a new location there are some things that you should take care of:

  • You can remove the sqlnet.ora parameter ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION. It is not used anymore.
  • The keystore files that were stored in the old location (that defined by ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION) can be moved manually to a backup location. I would never recommend that you delete keystore files – NEVER! Instead move the old files to a backup location and keep them there.
  • The keystore files are to be considered critical and contain sensitive information, so ensure that the new location has the same security measures as the old one – like:
    • Restricted file permissions
    • Auditing
    • Backup

Background

Traditionally, if you have an encrypted database, you need to define the keystore location in sqlnet.ora using the parameter ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION. You would set it to something like this:

ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION=
 (SOURCE=
  (METHOD=FILE)
   (METHOD_DATA=
    (DIRECTORY=/etc/oracle/keystores/$ORACLE_SID)))

For many reasons, sqlnet.ora was not a good location for this parameter, and especially with the introduction of isolated keystore mode, a new method was needed.

In came WALLET_ROOT and TDE_CONFIGURATION database initialization parameters. The former, WALLET_ROOT, defines the location of the keystore. The latter, TDE_CONFIGURATION, defines which kind of keystore is in use. Typically, it is set to FILE – that’s when you use a software keystore (a file in the OS). But it could also be OKV if you are Oracle Key Vault. For a software keystore you would set it to something like:

ALTER SYSTEM SET WALLET_ROOT='/etc/oracle/keystores/$ORACLE_SID' SCOPE=SPFILE;
ALTER SYSTEM SET TDE_CONFIGURATION='KEYSTORE_CONFIGURATION=FILE' SCOPE=SPFILE;
SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
STARTUP

Now, the database finds the keystore location using the WALLET_ROOT parameter which is much more smooth.

As of Oracle Database 19c, configuration the keystore using sqlnet.ora has been deprecated, and as with any other deprecated functionality, you should move to a fully supported alternative.

Further Reading

Other Blog Posts in This Series