Do we need to relink Oracle binaries after kernel upgrade?

Issue

• Looking at Database Administrator's Reference, it seems like we need to relink Oracle binaries after kernel upgrade (e.g. RHEL6.2 --> RHEL6.4).

3.2 Relinking Executables

You can relink the product executables manually by using the relink shell script located in the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory. You must relink the product executables every time you apply an operating system patch or after an operating system upgrade.

Note:
Before relinking executables, you must shut down all executables that run in the Oracle home directory that you are relinking. In addition, shut down applications linked with Oracle shared libraries.

The relink script does not take any arguments.

Depending on the products that have been installed in the Oracle home directory, the relink script relinks all Oracle product executables.

See Also:
"Accessing Oracle Database with SQL*Plus" in Oracle Database Installation Guide for Linux for more information on how to use the relink script with Automatic Storage Manager.

To relink product executables, run the following command:

$ relink

• Do we really need to relink Oracle binaries after upgrading kernel and why?