How to apply MLR ,OPATCH related issue

MLR's are merge level request on top of basic installation.

10.1.3.1 SOA Suite,10.1.3.3 SOA Suite ,10.1.3.4 SOA Suite are patch set.

Applying MLR on top of patch set means applying bug fixes for some issue.

Each MLR contains almost more than 20 bug fixes.

That is why it is always recommended to be on the latest release because it will always provide you bug fixes for many issues.


so if any one want to start i would recommend to use the latest version.

There are few things to note that

it is recommended to have the version of jdeveloper and SOA Suite in sync i.e if you are using 10.1.3.4 version of SOA Suite then you must be using 10.1.3.4 version of jdeveloper also.




Regarding application of MLR
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A lot of issues are faced while applying MLR however it can be removed if you will follow all the pre and post installation steps and keep in mind few things.

So the first important thing to keep in mind is

When ever you download a MLAR from metalink ,never extract in a folder which has blank space

e.g if you will extrace the Patch in a folder like "Latest MLR" the opatch will not work.

YOu should extract it in a folder which has no blank space in between so you can use either of the two option

LatestMLR or Latest_MLR

The next important thing to keep in mind is the version of opatch.

YOu might often get some error like

Opatch_java_error=Opatch Exception While Trying To Check For Mini Patchset

This occurs if you don't have the right version of the opatch.

so once you will apply MLR you migh get some error like this and it will point you to a document 224346.1 which can be accessed via metalink.

So follow the document and use the Opatch accordingly.

So if you fulfill these condition you are good to go.

now we will see how to apply MLR
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First of all we will download the MLR in a folder and extract.

then in the command console we will move up to the MLR number

The patches are generic but you need to change the platform id in

following file

Patch/etc/config/inventory

platform id

By default it is set to 0 ,you need to change it according to your Platform id

OPATCH_PLATFORM_ID

Let suppose if i have downloaded MLR#7 then in the command window i will navigate to MLR number like this.




The next step is to set the oracle home and set the oracle Path.

If you are using windows then the commands will be like

set ORACLE_HOME=Path to SOA home

set PATH=$ORACLE_HOME\OPatch;%PATH%

SOA_home is the path up to the directory where opmn folder exists

and if using Linux it will be like this

export ORACLE_HOME=Path to SOA home

export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch:$PATH


I have done it diffently and have given the whole path to OPatch.YOu can do it as per your wish

Once completed the path set up you have to do Opatch lsinventory in order to check if the inventory is good or not to apply MLR.



Please make sure that you are not giving semicolon after setting oracle_home

if you will use semicolon after setting oracle home it will not work

you have to do it exactly as shown in the diagram.

so we will rum opatch lsinventory.

It will give you the details of which OPatch version the installation is currently using and whether Opatch succedded completly or not.








so once opatch lsinventory works fine you are good to go ahead and apply the patch so go ahead and use the command

opatch apply



So now i believe you can go ahead with this because it will only ask you to type yes Y

once done your opatch is applied.

Thats the overall process of applying patch.

There are more issue in opatch but may be i will cover it later.For the time being keep applying patches. ;)

Just one important point about 10.1.3.3.1 bundle patch set

All MLR also include previous Bundle Patches , so you only need to apply the latest MLR on top of the main AS 10.1.3.3.0 Patch Set or any previous 10.1.3.3.1 MLR.the OC4J version is 10.1.3.3.0 so don't confuse you can apply any MLR on top of 10.1.3.3.0.It is not necessary to apply 10.1.3.3.1 bundle patch set and then apply any MLR.


If you want to rollback MLR you can use command

opatch rollback -id patch number.

Yes do follow the readme for pre and post installation task for any MLR