Keeping Up-to-Date With Oracle

[Ed Wilts]

On Wed, Nov 03, 2004 at 01:16:20PM -0500, Joe Hood wrote:
> I have a couple of Redhat AS 3.0 installations that are hosting Oracle
> 11i eBusiness Suite applilcations and databases.  Oracle has explicit
> instructions that I'm to leave the stock kernel, glibc, and compat
> libraries in place and not update them when security patches come
> available.

Please read:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/htdocs/linux_techsupp_faq.html#Kernel_Recompile

I do not see anything that prevents you from installing Red Hat provided
kernel updates.  Just don't recompile or add unsupported modules. 


7. Will Oracle provide support if a customer recompiles the kernel or
uses third-party software that modifies the kernel?

If a customer recompiles the kernel or uses third-party software that
modifies the Linux kernel, Oracle:

    * will continue to support Oracle products on supported Linux
    * distributions,
    * the customer will not be under Unbreakable Linux Support and is
    * not eligible for OS-level patches, and
    * Oracle will recommend that the customer move back into a supported
    * Kernel environment if they want to continue with the Unbreakable
    * Support model.

We cannot provide Operating System support for proprietary kernel
modules or customers that recompile or otherwise modify their Linux
distribution. We will provide support for any Open Source code that is a
part of the Linux kernel and is shipped with the Linux distribution.

Modification of kernel parameters is supported but recompiling the
kernel, with or without source modifications, is not. Oracle will only
support the kernel package as it is shipped by the supported Linux
distributor. A kernel package or kernel extension from a third party
vendor will not be supported.

The following cannot be supported by Oracle:

    * recompiling the kernel, with or without source modifications, 
    * loading of binary modules within a kernel
    * loading of any unsupported kernel modules

-- 
Ed Wilts, RHCE
Mounds View, MN, USA
mailto:ewilts at ewilts.org
Member #1, Red Hat Community Ambassador Program