In one of my lab environments where an Oracle 19c database is up and running, it was time to upgrade it to 21c by AutoUpgrade. The new ORACLE_HOME was ready, the software extracted. But when running the OUI installer in silent mode, it stops working: [FATAL] [INS-32035].
runInstaller – 1st run
$ cd /u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1 $ ./runInstaller -ignorePrereq -waitforcompletion -silent \ -responseFile /u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1/install/response/db_install.rsp \ oracle.install.option=INSTALL_DB_SWONLY \ ORACLE_HOSTNAME=heckenweg.kestenholz.net \ UNIX_GROUP_NAME=oinstall \ INVENTORY_LOCATION=/u01/app/oraInventory \ SELECTED_LANGUAGES=en,en_GB \ ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1 \ ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle \ oracle.install.db.InstallEdition=EE \ oracle.install.db.OSDBA_GROUP=dba \ oracle.install.db.OSBACKUPDBA_GROUP=dba \ oracle.install.db.OSDGDBA_GROUP=dba \ oracle.install.db.OSKMDBA_GROUP=dba \ oracle.install.db.OSRACDBA_GROUP=dba \ SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT=false \ DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=true
The error from the OUI logfile:
SEVERE: [Aug 24, 2021 5:11:55 PM] [FATAL] [INS-32035] The location (/u01/app/oraInventory) specified for the central inventory is not empty. CAUSE: The specified central inventory location is either locked by different install session, or the location specified does not have write permissions for the logs.
Quick Solution
An opatch lsinventory command from the existing 19c installation shows, that there is a file called oraInst.loc is located in the 19c ORACLE_HOME. But for existing RDBMS installations, the OUI has to verify the inventory location in /etc/oraInst.loc or depending on the OS in /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc. But: NO FILE THERE.
The quick and simple solution was as OS user root to copy the existing file which points to the inventory directory to /etc and re-start the OUI.
# cp /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1/oraInst.loc /etc # chmod 644 /etc/oraInst.loc
runInstaller – 2nd run
./runInstaller -ignorePrereq -waitforcompletion -silent \ -responseFile /u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1/install/response/db_install.rsp \ oracle.install.option=INSTALL_DB_SWONLY \ ORACLE_HOSTNAME=heckenweg.kestenholz.net \ ... ... You can find the log of this install session at: /u01/app/oraInventory/logs/InstallActions2021-08-25_07-34-17AM/installActions2021-08-25_07-34-17AM.log As a root user, execute the following script(s): 1. /u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1/root.sh Execute /u01/app/oracle/product/21.0.0/dbhome_1/root.sh on the following nodes: [heckenweg] Successfully Setup Software.
Why this happened?
During the old 19c installation, I did not run /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh which creates this file. Extract from the 19c runInstaller log:
installActions2021-05-31_10-05-29PM.out:As a root user, execute the following script(s): installActions2021-05-31_10-05-29PM.out:Execute /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh on the following nodes: installActions2021-05-31_10-05-29PM.out:Execute /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1/root.sh on the following nodes:
Alternative solution
Just run /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh again – it creates the file /etc/oraInst.loc for you and sets the correct permissions. Take a look here in this My Oracle Support note for a detailed description what the script does:
- What Are Root.sh And OrainstRoot.sh Scripts In A Standalone RDBMS Installation? (Doc ID 1493121.1)
Summary
This was really a stupid error. Lesson learned: read the f* terminal output – even in lab environments. AutoUpgrade can start now 🙂