On this post we are going to go step-by-step thorugh the process of upgrading Oracle Restart from 19c to 26ai.
We are going to install here:
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# mkdir -p /u01/app/26ai/grid
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# chown oracle:oinstall /u01/app/26ai/grid
copy software:
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# cp -p /software/26ai/LINUX.X64_2326100_grid_home.zip /u01/app/26ai/grid
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# chown oracle:oinstall /u01/app/26ai/grid/LINUX.X64_2326100_grid_home.zip
You can download the Grid Home from here.
On Oracle 26ai, ASMFD is not supported, so make sure if you are using it, migrate using this guide.
First we are going to install 26ai preinstall packages and update the system:
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# yum install oracle-ai-database-preinstall-26ai
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# yum update
** reboot
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# uname -a
Linux oraclelinux8 5.15.0-324.217.5.2.el8uek.x86_64 #2 SMP Fri Sep 4 06:49:07 PDT 2026 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]#If you have role separation for ASM/RDBMS, make sure both users are on the limits conf. On this case we use oracle for both GRID and RDBMS:
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# grep "^[^#;]" /etc/security/limits.d/oracle-ai-database-preinstall-26ai.conf
oracle soft nofile 1024
oracle hard nofile 65536
oracle soft nproc 16384
oracle hard nproc 16384
oracle soft stack 10240
oracle hard stack 32768
oracle hard memlock 134217728
oracle soft memlock 134217728
oracle soft data unlimited
oracle hard data unlimited
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]#
Make sure Disk Group minimum compatibility is 19.0.0.0.0:
col NAME format a10
col COMPATIBILITY format a20
col DATABASE_COMPATIBILITY format a30
select name, compatibility, database_compatibility from v$asm_diskgroup;
NAME COMPATIBILITY DATABASE_COMPATIBILITY
---------- -------------------- ------------------------------
DATA 19.0.0.0.0 10.1.0.0.0
FRA 19.0.0.0.0 10.1.0.0.0
SQL>
If not, update with this:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ asmcmd setattr -G DATA compatible.rdbms 19.0.0.0.0
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ asmcmd setattr -G FRA compatible.rdbms 19.0.0.0.0
col NAME format a10
col COMPATIBILITY format a20
col DATABASE_COMPATIBILITY format a30
select name, compatibility, database_compatibility from v$asm_diskgroup;
NAME COMPATIBILITY DATABASE_COMPATIBILITY
---------- -------------------- ------------------------------
DATA 19.0.0.0.0 19.0.0.0.0
FRA 19.0.0.0.0 19.0.0.0.0
It is recommended to have the enviroment on a relatively recent patch levels, on this case we are on Jul 26:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ $ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch lspatches
39526364;OCW RELEASE UPDATE 19.32.0.0.0 (39526364)
39503034;ACFS RELEASE UPDATE 19.32.0.0.0 (39503034)
39472050;Database Release Update : 19.32.0.0.260721 (39472050)
39107855;TOMCAT RELEASE UPDATE 19.0.0.0.0 (39107855)
39107825;DBWLM RELEASE UPDATE 19.0.0.0.0 (39107825)
OPatch succeeded.
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$As Software owner (oracle) unzip software:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ cd /u01/app/26ai/grid
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ unzip -q LINUX.X64_2326100_grid_home.zipGet the current group names used on the current install, it should be an response file created during the install under current home:
[root@oraclelinux8 grid]# grep "^[^#;]" /u01/app/19c/grid/install/response/grid_2024-04-21_05-41-37PM.rsp | egrep "ORACLE_BASE|asm.OS"
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/grid
oracle.install.asm.OSDBA=oinstall
oracle.install.asm.OSOPER=asmdba
oracle.install.asm.OSASM=asmdba
[root@oraclelinux8 grid]#Lets run the Prereqs first:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ cd /u01/app/26ai/grid
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ ./gridSetup.sh -silent -upgrade -OSDBA oinstall -OSASM asmdba -OSOPER asmdba -ORACLE_BASE /u01/app/grid -executePrereqs
Launching Oracle Grid Infrastructure Setup Wizard...
Prerequisite checks ran successfully.
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$
Make sure you stop any DB’s running on the server before running the upgrade.
Run Upgrade:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ ./gridSetup.sh -silent -upgrade -ORACLE_BASE /u01/app/grid -OSDBA oinstall -OSASM asmdba -OSOPER asmdba
Launching Oracle Grid Infrastructure Setup Wizard...
[WARNING] [INS-40436] An earlier version of Oracle Automatic Storage Management (ASM) instance is already configured. Before proceeding with the upgrade you must shutdown all Oracle Databases that are using Oracle ASM for storage.
You may ignore this message and continue with the upgrade, if the database(s) are already in shutdown state.
The response file for this session can be found at:
/u01/app/26ai/grid/install/response/grid_2026-09-22_11-32-27AM.rsp
You can find the log of this install session at:
/u01/app/oraInventory/logs/GridSetupActions2026-09-22_11-32-27AM/gridSetupActions2026-09-22_11-32-27AM.log
As a root user, run the following script(s):
1. /u01/app/26ai/grid/rootupgrade.sh
Run /u01/app/26ai/grid/rootupgrade.sh on the following nodes:
[oraclelinux8]
Successfully Setup Software.
Run the 'gridSetup.sh -executeConfigTools' command to complete the configuration.
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ROOT SCRIPT:
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# /u01/app/26ai/grid/rootupgrade.sh
Check /u01/app/26ai/grid/install/root_oraclelinux8_2026-09-22_11-42-06-112416583.log for the output of root script
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]#
CHECK LOGS:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ tail -f /u01/app/26ai/grid/install/root_oraclelinux8_2026-09-22_11-42-06-112416583.log
.......
2026/09/22 11:47:57 CLSRSC-595: Executing upgrade step 9 of 11: 'ConfigOHASD'.
2026/09/22 11:48:29 CLSRSC-329: Replacing Clusterware entries in file 'oracle-ohasd.service'
2026/09/22 11:49:05 CLSRSC-595: Executing upgrade step 10 of 11: 'UpgradeSIHA'.
oraclelinux8 2026/09/22 11:51:32 /u01/app/grid/crsdata/oraclelinux8/olr/backup_20260922_115132.olr 2107015493
oraclelinux8 2024/04/21 19:28:20 /u01/app/grid/crsdata/oraclelinux8/olr/backup_20240421_192820.olr 2204791795
2026/09/22 11:51:35 CLSRSC-595: Executing upgrade step 11 of 11: 'InstallACFS'.
2026/09/22 11:53:58 CLSRSC-327: Successfully configured Oracle Restart for a standalone server
EXECUTECONFIGTOOLS:
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$ ./gridSetup.sh -executeConfigTools -silent
Launching Oracle Grid Infrastructure Setup Wizard...
You can find the logs of this session at:
/u01/app/oraInventory/logs/GridSetupActions2026-09-22_12-16-14PM
[ Start ] CRSFLAG - 2026-09-22 12:16:22.777
[ Exit Code ] 0
[ End ] CRSFLAG - 2026-09-22 12:16:29.255
[ Start ] CVU - 2026-09-22 12:16:29.39
Command: /bin/sh -c /u01/app/26ai/grid/bin/cluvfy stage -post hacfg
This software is "256" days old. It is a best practice to update the CRS home by downloading and applying the latest release update. Refer to MOS note 756671.1 for more details.
Performing following verification checks ...
Oracle Restart Integrity ...PASSED
OLR Integrity ...PASSED
Post-check for Oracle Restart configuration was successful.
CVU operation performed: stage -post hacfg
Date: 22 Sep 2026, 12:16:29
CVU version: 23.26.1.0.0 (010926x8664)
CVU home: /u01/app/26ai/grid
Grid home: /u01/app/26ai/grid
User: oracle
Operating system: Linux5.15.0-324.217.5.2.el8uek.x86_64
Successfully Configured Software.
[ Exit Code ] 0
[ End ] CVU - 2026-09-22 12:16:40.507
[oracle@oraclelinux8 grid]$At this point upgrade is done, just restart HAS to make sure all starts ok and no surprises, also start the DB’s stopped prior the upgrade
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# crsctl stop has
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# crsctl start has
CRS-4123: Oracle High Availability Services has been started.
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]#
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]# crsctl stat res -t
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Target State Server State details
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ora.DATA.dg
ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
ora.FRA.dg
ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
ora.LISTENER.lsnr
ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
ora.asm
ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 Started,STABLE
ora.ons
OFFLINE OFFLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cluster Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ora.cssd
1 ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
ora.dbtest.db
1 ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 Open,HOME=/u01/app/o
racle/product/19c/db
_1,STABLE
ora.diskmon
1 OFFLINE OFFLINE STABLE
ora.evmd
1 ONLINE ONLINE oraclelinux8 STABLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[root@oraclelinux8 ~]#
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ $ORACLE_HOME/bin/crsctl query has releaseversion
Oracle High Availability Services release version on the local node is [23.0.0.0.0]
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ $ORACLE_HOME/bin/crsctl query has softwareversion
Oracle High Availability Services version on the local node is [23.0.0.0.0]
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ srvctl config listener
Name: LISTENER
Type: Database Listener
Home: /u01/app/26ai/grid
End points: TCP:1521
Listener is enabled.
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$ $ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch lspatches
38743682;MICRONAUT RELEASE UPDATE 23.26.1.0.0 (GOLD IMAGE) (38743682) Gold Image
38743695;RHP RELEASE UPDATE 23.26.1.0.0 (GOLD IMAGE) (38743695) Gold Image
38743706;ACFS RELEASE UPDATE 23.26.1.0.0 (GOLD IMAGE) (38743706) Gold Image
38743688;OCW RELEASE UPDATE 23.26.1.0.0 (GOLD IMAGE) (38743688) Gold Image
38743669;Database Release Update : 23.26.1.0.0 (38743669) Gold Image
OPatch succeeded.
[oracle@oraclelinux8 ~]$
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