Keeping Oracle Grid Infrastructure (GI) up to date is critical for database stability, cluster reliability, and security. Oracle 19c is the long-term support release, and Oracle continues to deliver quarterly Release Updates (RUs) for both Database and Grid Infrastructure components.
In this guide, we walk through a real-world Oracle Grid Infrastructure Restart Home patching to Release Update 19.30.0.0.260120 using Patch 38629535. This article is based on an actual production-style environment and follows Oracle best practices using OPatchAuto.
What Is Patch 38629535?
Patch 38629535 is the Oracle Grid Infrastructure Release Update (GI RU) for 19.30. This bundle patch includes multiple sub-patches that update different Grid and database-related components.
Patch Components Included in This Bundle
| Patch Number | Description | Applicable Home |
|---|---|---|
| 38632161 | Database Release Update 19.30.0.0.260120 | DB Home (Non-RAC) / DB + GI Home (RAC) |
| 38661284 | OCW Release Update 19.30 | Oracle Home & Grid Home |
| 38653268 | ACFS Release Update 19.30 | Grid Home only |
| 38729293 | Tomcat RU 19 (Tomcat 9.0.111) | Grid Home only |
| 36758186 | DBWLM Release Update | Grid Home only |
In a Restart (Single-Node) GI setup, these patches are applied primarily to the Grid Home, while the Database RU is applied separately to the Database Home.
Environment Overview
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Linux x86-64 |
| Oracle Grid Home: | /u01/app/19c/grid |
| Oracle Version | Oracle Database 19c |
| Target Release Update | 19.30.0.0.260120 |
| Patch Bundle | Patch 38629535 – GI Release Update 19.30 |
Step 1: Verify OPatch Version
Oracle requires a minimum OPatch version to apply 19.30 patches. The environment was already compliant:
./opatch version
OPatch Version: 12.2.0.1.49
✅ OPatch version meets the requirement.
How To Download And Install The Latest OPatch
Step 2: Verify Existing Grid Inventory
Before patching, it’s important to understand what is already installed in the Grid Home.
/u01/app/19c/grid/OPatch/opatch lsinventory -detail -oh /u01/app/19c/grid
The output confirmed:
- Oracle Grid Infrastructure 19.0.0.0.0
- Existing interim patches such as OCW RU 19.29, Tomcat RU, and DBWLM RU
This baseline ensures the new RU will supersede older patches cleanly.
Step 3: Extract Patch 38629535
All patch components were extracted under a single directory:
/home/oracle/patch/38629535/
├── 38632161
├── 38661284
├── 38653268
├── 38729293
└── 36758186
This layout is mandatory for OPatchAuto to detect and apply all sub-patches correctly.
Step 4: Run Conflict Checks (Grid Home)
Each sub-patch was validated against the Grid Home to ensure no conflicts:
/u01/app/19c/grid/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail \
-phBaseDir /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38632161
The same check was executed for:
- 38661284 (OCW)
- 38653268 (ACFS)
- 38729293 (Tomcat)
- 36758186 (DBWLM)
All checks returned:
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 12.2.0.1.49
Copyright (c) 2026, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
PREREQ session
Oracle Home : /u01/app/19c/grid
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/19c/grid/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : 12.2.0.1.49
OUI version : 12.2.0.7.0
Log file location : /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-20-56AM_1.log
Invoking prereq "checkconflictagainstohwithdetail"
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
OPatch succeeded.
✅ No conflicts detected.
Step 5: Run Conflict Checks (Database Home)
Even in Restart setups, Oracle recommends validating DB Home compatibility:
/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/OPatch/opatch prereq \
CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail \
-phBaseDir /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38632161
Result:
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 12.2.0.1.49
Copyright (c) 2026, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
PREREQ session
Oracle Home : /u01/app/19c/grid
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/19c/grid/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : 12.2.0.1.49
OUI version : 12.2.0.7.0
Log file location : /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-22-55AM_1.log
Invoking prereq "checkconflictagainstohwithdetail"
Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" passed.
OPatch succeeded.
This confirms the Database RU can be applied safely later.
Step 6: Check System Space Requirements
Oracle patches require sufficient disk space before execution.
Grid Home Space Check
/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/OPatch/opatch prereq \
CheckSystemSpace -phBaseFile /tmp/patch_list_gihome.txt
Database Home Space Check
/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/OPatch/opatch prereq \
CheckSystemSpace -phBaseFile /tmp/patch_list_dbhome.txt
Both checks returned:
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 12.2.0.1.49
Copyright (c) 2026, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
PREREQ session
Oracle Home : /u01/app/19c/grid
Central Inventory : /u01/app/oraInventory
from : /u01/app/19c/grid/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : 12.2.0.1.49
OUI version : 12.2.0.7.0
Log file location : /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-26-27AM_1.log
Invoking prereq "checksystemspace"
Prereq "checkSystemSpace" passed.
OPatch succeeded.
✅ Disk space requirements satisfied.
Step 7: Apply Grid Infrastructure Patch Using OPatchAuto
With all validations complete, the patch was applied using OPatchAuto, which is the Oracle-recommended method for GI patching.
/u01/app/19c/grid/OPatch/opatchauto apply /home/oracle/patch/38629535 -oh /u01/app/19c/grid
[root@prod oracle]# /u01/app/19c/grid/OPatch/opatchauto apply /home/oracle/patch/38629535 -oh /u01/app/19c/grid
OPatchauto session is initiated at Wed Jan 21 05:29:13 2026
System initialization log file is /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchautodb/systemconfig2026-01-21_05-29-23AM.log.
Session log file is /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/opatchauto2026-01-21_05-29-30AM.log
The id for this session is IE3P
Executing OPatch prereq operations to verify patch applicability on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Patch applicability verified successfully on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Executing patch validation checks on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Patch validation checks successfully completed on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Performing prepatch operations on CRS - bringing down CRS service on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Prepatch operation log file location: /u01/app/oracle/crsdata/prod/crsconfig/hapatch_2026-01-21_05-31-15AM.log
CRS service brought down successfully on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Start applying binary patch on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Binary patch applied successfully on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Running rootadd_rdbms.sh on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Successfully executed rootadd_rdbms.sh on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Performing postpatch operations on CRS - starting CRS service on home /u01/app/19c/grid
Postpatch operation log file location: /u01/app/oracle/crsdata/prod/crsconfig/hapatch_2026-01-21_05-38-54AM.log
CRS service started successfully on home /u01/app/19c/grid
OPatchAuto successful.
--------------------------------Summary--------------------------------
Patching is completed successfully. Please find the summary as follows:
Host:prod
SIHA Home:/u01/app/19c/grid
Version:19.0.0.0.0
Summary:
==Following patches were SKIPPED:
Patch: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/36758186
Log: /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/core/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-30-05AM_1.log
Reason: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/36758186 is not required to be applied to oracle home /u01/app/19c/grid
==Following patches were SUCCESSFULLY applied:
Patch: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38632161
Log: /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/core/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-32-12AM_1.log
Patch: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38653268
Log: /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/core/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-32-12AM_1.log
Patch: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38661284
Log: /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/core/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-32-12AM_1.log
Patch: /home/oracle/patch/38629535/38729293
Log: /u01/app/19c/grid/cfgtoollogs/opatchauto/core/opatch/opatch2026-01-21_05-32-12AM_1.logWhat OPatchAuto Does Internally
- Validates patch applicability
- Stops CRS services safely
- Applies all GI binaries
- Executes required root scripts
- Restarts CRS services
Key log highlights:
CRS service brought down successfully
Binary patch applied successfully
Successfully executed rootadd_rdbms.sh
🎯 This confirms a clean and successful GI patching cycle.
Why OPatchAuto Is Best for GI Patching
Using OPatchAuto provides major advantages:
- ✔ Automatic CRS stop/start
- ✔ Correct patch sequencing
- ✔ Reduced human error
- ✔ Safe rollback support
- ✔ Oracle-supported method
For both Restart and RAC environments, OPatchAuto should always be the first choice.
Post-Patching Validation and Health Checks
Once the Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Database binaries are patched to Release Update 19.30, post-patching validation is a mandatory step. This ensures that cluster services, ASM, listeners, and databases have restarted cleanly and that all patch components are correctly registered in the Oracle inventory.
Skipping this step can hide issues that only surface later under load, so it’s always recommended to perform a full health check immediately after patching.
Verify Cluster and Resource Status
The first validation step is to check the status of all local and cluster resources using crsctl:
crsctl stat res -t
Output:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Target State Server State details
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ora.DATA.dg
OFFLINE OFFLINE prod STABLE
ora.LISTENER.lsnr
ONLINE ONLINE prod STABLE
ora.asm
ONLINE ONLINE prod Started,STABLE
ora.ons
OFFLINE OFFLINE prod STABLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cluster Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ora.cssd
1 ONLINE ONLINE prod STABLE
ora.diskmon
1 OFFLINE OFFLINE STABLE
ora.evmd
1 ONLINE ONLINE prod STABLE
ora.testdb.db
1 ONLINE ONLINE prod Open,HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0,STABLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interpretation of the Output
This output confirms several important points:
- ASM (
ora.asm) is online and stable, indicating disk groups are mounted correctly - Listener (
ora.LISTENER.lsnr) is running and accepting connections - Core cluster services such as CSSD and EVMD are healthy
- Database resource (
ora.testdb.db) is online and open without issues - Resources like
ora.onsandora.diskmonare offline, which is normal in many Oracle Restart environments and does not indicate a problem
✅ Overall, this confirms that Grid Infrastructure services started cleanly after patching and the cluster is stable.
Verify Installed Patches in Grid Infrastructure Home
After confirming service health, the next step is to validate that all patch components are correctly registered in the Oracle inventory.
/u01/app/19c/grid/OPatch/opatch lspatches
Output:
38729293;TOMCAT RELEASE UPDATE 19.0.0.0.0 (38729293)
38661284;OCW RELEASE UPDATE 19.30.0.0.0 (38661284)
38653268;ACFS RELEASE UPDATE 19.30.0.0.0 (38653268)
38632161;Database Release Update : 19.30.0.0.260120 (38632161)
36758186;DBWLM RELEASE UPDATE 19.0.0.0.0 (36758186)
Patch Inventory Validation
This confirms that:
- Oracle Grid Infrastructure Release Update 19.30 is fully applied
- All expected sub-patches are present:
- OCW Release Update 19.30
- ACFS Release Update 19.30
- Tomcat Release Update
- DBWLM Release Update
- Database Release Update 19.30 (Patch 38632161) is correctly registered
There are no missing, inactive, or partially applied patches in the Grid Home inventory.
Overall Post-Patch Status
With the following confirmed:
- CRS resources are stable
- ASM and Listener services are online
- Database is open and running
- All patch components are visible in inventory
The Oracle 19c Release Update 19.30 patching cycle is fully successful.
This validation step provides confidence that the system is ready for production workloads and that the patching activity has not introduced hidden issues.
Closing Thoughts
Applying Oracle Patch 38632161 (Database RU 19.30) and the associated Grid Infrastructure Release Update is only complete when thorough post-patching validation is performed. By validating CRS resources and Oracle inventory immediately after patching, DBAs can ensure long-term stability and avoid unexpected incidents later.
Following this structured approach aligns with Oracle best practices and is strongly recommended for all production and mission-critical environments.
Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory – January 2026
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