Multi Node to Single Node Cloning

With Oracle Applications 11.5.10 the ability to clone from a multi node to a single node system using rapid clone has now been certified.

This is accomplished by the Shared APPL_TOP and Merging APPL_TOP features.
In this post i am listing out the steps to perform a multi note to a single node cloning from scratch. The information mentioned here is the steps which i have used and found them to be successful for a more elaborate explanation you might want to refer to the metalink note Sharing the Application Tier File System in Oracle E-Business Suite 11i (233428.1).

Source System here refers to the multi node system to be cloned
Target System refers to the newly to be created single node system
Applications Version 11.5.10
Operating System Linux ES 4

The following Steps are required to be performed on the source system
1. Apply application tier patches using adpatch
Apply patch 4038964
Apply patch 4175764
Both the above patches are include in the consolidated update 2 or CU2 so in case you are on 11.5.10.2 or later you can ignore this step.

2. Maintain snapshot information
This explanation was from http://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=535869
There are two types of snapshots:
1) APPL_TOP snapshots –> lists patches and versions of files in the APPL_TOP
2) Global snapshots –> lists patches and latest versions of files in the entire Applications system (that is, across all APPL_TOPs)
Both APPL_TOP snapshots and global snapshots may be either current view snapshots or named view snapshots. A current view snapshot is created once and updated when appropriate to maintain a consistent view. A named view snapshot is a copy of the current view snapshot at a particular time (not necessarily the latest current view snapshot) and is not updated.
Patch Wizard uses the information contained in the global current view snapshot to determine which patches have already been applied. AutoPatch uses the APPL_TOP current view snapshot to determine if all prerequisite patches have been applied to that APPL_TOP. Snapshot information is stored in the AD_SNAPSHOTS, AD_SNAPSHOT_FILES, and AD_SNAPSHOT_BUGFIXES tables.
A complete current view snapshot is required for automatic prerequisite patch checking to operate. During the installation, Rapid Install created a current snapshot as a baseline. And, each time you run AutoPatch, it automatically creates a new (updated) snapshot so that the information is current as of the application of the patch. However, after an upgrade to Release 11i, you must update the current snapshot by running this AD Administration task.
Log in as the applications user on each application tier node and run ‘Maintain Snapshot Information’ by using adadmin
Go to APPL_TOP
$ . APPSORA.env
$ adadmin
Choose Maintain Applications Files menu
Choose Maintain Snapshot Information

3. Merge existing APPL_TOPs
Log in to the primary node of your application tier as the application user user and run:
$ cd [COMMON_TOP]/admin/scripts/[CONTEXT_NAME]
$ perl adpreclone.pl appsTier merge
This will prompt you with option to merge secondary nodes
Now log in as the applications user to each of the secondary application tier nodes being merged and run:
$ cd [COMMON_TOP]/admin/scripts/[CONTEXT_NAME]
$ perl adpreclone.pl appltop merge

4. Prepare the source system database tier.
Log on to the database tier of the source system as the oracle user and run the following commands:
$ cd [RDBMS ORACLE_HOME]/appsutil/scripts/[CONTEXT_NAME]
$ perl adpreclone.pl dbTier
With this all the pre clone tasks on the source system have been completed.
The next sets of tasks are required to be carried out on the target system that is the system on which you wish to place the merged single node instance.

1. Create OS user accounts
Create a OS user account for your applications
$ useradd -g dba -d [home_directory] -p password username
Similarly create a OS user account for your database

2. Modify the orainventory to reflect the new location
$ vi /etc/oraInst.loc

3. Copy the following application tier directories
Copy the following application tier directories from the primary node of your source system to the target application tier node, retaining the original directory structure:
– [APPL_TOP]
– [OA_HTML]
– [OA_JAVA]
– [COMMON_TOP/util]
– [COMMON_TOP/clone>
– [806 ORACLE_HOME]
– [iAS ORACLE_HOME]

4. Copy the required files for merging
Log in as the applications user to each of the secondary source nodes and recursively copy:
directory [COMMON_TOP]/clone/appl
– to –
directory [COMMMON_TOP]/clone/appl on the target system node
Before proceeding with the next steps you must shutdown your oracle applications services and the database on the source system

5. Copy the database tier file system
Log on to the source system as the database user
Copy the database (DBF) files from the source to the target system
Copy the source database ORACLE_HOME to the target system
After this you can now startup the database and applications services on your source system and release it for use.

6. Configure the target system database server
Log on to the target system as the database user and type the following commands to configure and start the database:
$ cd [RDBMS ORACLE_HOME]/appsutil/clone/bin
$ perl adcfgclone.pl dbTier
This will prompt for new ORACLE_SID,ORACLE_HOME,Port Pool,JAVA_TOP and DATA_TOP give the appropriate values matching your target system
Once successful this should start your database and listener

7. Configure the application tier server nodes
The database and its listener should remain up before executing the next set of commands.
Log in to the merged APPL_TOP node as the applications user and execute the following commands:
$ cd [COMMON_TOP]/clone/bin
$ perl adcfgclone.pl appsTier
This will prompt you new port pool for applictaion tier services as well as new APPLTOP,COMMON_TOP,ORACLE_HOME and IAS_TOP
Successful completion of this task will bring up your application tier services on the target or the cloned node.

8. Post Clone Tasks
Log in to the target system application tier node as the APPLMGR user.
Run the following tasks in adadmin for all products:
o generate JAR files
o generate message files
o relink executables
o copy files to destination

9. Clean up of the target system
Remove the temporary directory [COMMON_TOP]/clone/appl to reduce disk space usage.
Note: The version of Oracle Applications used is 11.5.10 and the operating system is Linux ES 4