Exadata Critical Issues with 11.2.2.4.0 Patch

Oracle has upgraded the supplemental note for 11.2.2.4.0 (1348647.1) with a handful of critical issues.  First, there is an issue mentioned by Vishal Gupta here regarding 10 gigabit ethernet on the database servers.  Currently, there is no workaround for this bug, and it is advised that customers utilizing 10 GbE on the database servers should stay on 11.2.2.3.5 for the minimal pack, while upgrading the storage servers to 11.2.2.4.0.

Additionally, there is a new issue that can be seen if the firmware on a disk fails to upgrade correctly during the patching process.  If the firmware does not update correctly, it is possible that cellsrv will drop the celldisk (and corresponding griddisks), causing a loss of data on those disks.  Before upgrading a cell to 11.2.2.4.0, check the status of your physical disks from cellcli with the following command:

cellcli -e 'list physicaldisk attributes luns where physicalInsertTime = null'

The command should return no output.  If it does, Oracle recommends to reboot each cell that returns output from this command.  After the reboot has completed, run the command again to verify that the disks are ready to be patched.  Here is the output from one of Enkitec's quarter rack systems (note that there is no output given, so the disks are ok to be upgraded):

[enkcel01:root] /root 
> dcli -g cell_group -l root cellcli -e 'list physicaldisk attributes luns where physicalInsertTime = null'

[enkcel01:root] /root 
>

Remember that these issues are not mentioned in the standard README files included in the 11.2.2.4.0 patch.  Before applying any Exadata Storage Server patches, always consult the supplemental note that is referenced in the supported versions for Exadata note (#888828.1), as these notes are updated after a patch has been released.