Property 'FastStartFailoverTarget' updatedĮrror: ORA-16651: requirements not met for enabling fast-start failover So, we disable FSFO, change the database configuration and enable FSFO back: DGMGRL> disable fast_start failover ĭGMGRL> edit database 'A' set property 'FastStartFailoverTarget' = 'C' This requires temporarily disabling FSFO or facing the following error: Error: ORA-16654: fast-start failover is enabled Now, I start by changing the FSFO target, initially pointing to B, to point to C database. Why? Because most of the time you will be changing things or reviewing stuff, but when it comes to executing a switchover operation, a bequeath connection fails to connect to the database that goes down and the operation fails. Enable it back into the Data Guard configurationįirst things first, and this is a lesson I’ve learned the hard way: always use TNS to connect to Data Guard CLI dgmgrl.

Disable B physical standby in the Data Guard configuration.

Changed the failover target in Data Guard to point to C.

Yes we are good, not only because we are individually good, but also because we collaborate internally to make things even better, hence “the machinery” term I’ve just coined. So, the Pythian machinery started to work. This blog post is a simplification of the whole process, straight to the point and only showing possible caveats if someone faces a requirement like this one in the future, myself included. The idea of the test was to remove B from the DG setup, upgrade it to 11.2.0.4, downgrade to 11.2.0.3 and then put it back in the mix. This is part of the FSFO architecture and is a process running, ideally, out of a server that is not hosting any of the databases. There is a fourth partner in the party: the DG Observer. Let’s call these our new database friends, A (the primary), B (one physical standby) and C (the other physical standby).

To add a bit of salt to the mix, Fast-Start Failover (FSFO) is enabled.

This is a 11.2.0.3 single instance database with two physical standbys managed with Data Guard (DG). This is just to make clear that I did not have much time for planning and testing and that there may be better options to complete this task, but this is the way I found to work. I started my day at work and found out that I was tasked with running a test upgrade to 11.2.0.4 right on Friday.

Fast start failover auto reinstate