Ever since Metalink was decommissioned, Oracle also decommissioned the ftp site updates.oracle.com. Since then many DBAs have asked me how to download patches directly on the server.
Oracle has mentioned in Article ID 468460.1:
It is possible to download Oracle software directly to the local machine.
----->It is possible only by using a web browser (like Firefox or Internet Explorer).
----->It is not possible to use FTP, because Oracle does not provide software via FTP.
----->It is not possible to use wget, because downloading software requires a browser that accepts cookies.
In summary, downloading Oracle software directly to the local machine is possible only through a web browser.
I had devised a way to use wget which used to work fine with old metalink but doesn’t work properly with the new My Oracle Support.
You can use Firefox or Opera installed on your Unix server to download patches. Here are the steps to use Opera to download patches.
Set DISPLAY to your vnc port
opera &
Click on Tools > Preferences > Advanced > Network > Proxy Servers button
Enter the values for your proxy server.
I have found that Opera is unable to launch flash on Solaris 10, even after installing flash player on unix. So here's how you do it without flash:
Go to site: http://supporthtml.oracle.com
Login with your “My Oracle Support” username and password.
Once you login, type this in the address bar:
https://updates.oracle.com/Orion/SimpleSearch/get_form?email=vikramdas@justanexample.com&userid=O-vikramdas@justanexample.com&
Replace vikramdas@justanexample.com with your email/My Oracle Support userid
You’ll get the patch search page from where you can search and download patches.
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4 comments:
Hi Vikram,
Thankfully, it is still possible to download patches from My Oracle Support using wget. I blogged about this little while ago: http://only4left.jpiwowar.com/2009/02/retrieving-oracle-patches-with-wget
This method still requires the use of a web browser, but the web browser doesn't need to be installed on the server, which means Flash also doesn't need to be installed on the server.
Regards,
John P.
Hi Mr.Vikram,
Thanks for your reply.
Really nice.
My Server are located in Remote location. So it easy to me download the patch from FTP software.
And I am using SSH to Access my server. So there Browser will not work.
The Difficult I am facing is
I wnt to download patch in my Desktop after I wnt to Move to server currently i am doign this .. .
Before I wll download patch in Server Directly using FTP.
I am accessing VNC to open Browser after I am downloading patch
in solaris flash palyer s not there.
I hope html wll work in server,
Thanks for your Doc.
Can you find any other option to download patch using FTP......
or wht s the reason Oracle Closed FTP connection So it easy convince my management about the FTP
Once again Thanks .. :) Nice Work
Keep it up
Regards
Yaseen AR
Hi Yaseen,
If you noticed, I have given the steps to access http://supporthtml.oracle.com and not http://support.oracle.com.
http://supporthtml.oracle.com is not flash based and doesn't require flash.
Once you access your Solaris box with VNC you can start Firefox or install Opera (lets you resume broken downloads). You don't need to install flash. Follow the steps and you should be able to download patches direct to the server.
Oracle discontinued FTP because FTP is a plain text protocol and is frowned upon by security groups everywhere. Anything that is transferred through ftp can be read by a network sniffer. Oracle will never revert to ftp again. It will remain sftp for security. SFTP ensures that everything that passes over the wire is encrypted.
I am posting another article with detailed steps of how to use vnc on Solaris and install Opera or use the in-built Firefox.
- Vikram
Hi John,
Thank you for your comments. I had also found this way to download with wget. However I found that it is too complicated for most DBAs, and they always invovled me personally whenever they had to use wget. That's why I never published this method on my blog.
I think it is way more simpler to download with Opera or Firefox, if you just install Opera or use the in-built Firefox in most Unix OS. I have found that installing flash on Linux works without issues. In Solaris, after installing flash, it still doesn't work with Opera and Firefox. That's why I gave the solution to use the HTML interface of My Oracle Support: http://supporthtml.oracle.com and not the flash based http://support.oracle.com
- Vikram
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