Fusion Middleware 12.2.1.0 Released

Just in time for Oracle OpenWorld, a bunch of Fusion Middleware 12.2.1.0 products have been released, including:

The Forms one was a bit of a surprise, especially considering what we were told yesterday. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

WebLogic 12cR3 articles

WebLogic 12cR3 was released towards the end of last week, so this weekend I had an install-fest.

I also did some minor amendments to some existing articles.

From a newbie administrator perspective, like me, there is very little difference between WebLogic 12cR2 and 12cR3, so most of the time it is business as usual.

To coincide with this new release, Packt are doing a $10 promotion for WebLogic eBooks (WebLogic Partner Community EMEA).

Cheers

Tim…

WebLogic 11g, Forms, ADF, Oracle Linux and VMware

Following on from my recent batch of “what I’m doing at the moment” style posts, I just thought I would mention some of the infrastructure I’ve been installing and configuring recently…

We are still part way through a migration from Oracle Application Server to WebLogic 11g. There are many applications to migrate and test, fortunately not by me, but they fit into two main categories.

Some of our high profile applications of each type are already running in production on WebLogic and the general feedback has been very positive. I guess most of this comes down to the hardware refresh. 🙂

There are still a few more apps to migrate, but everything is pretty close to the end of testing now, so hopefully it won’t be long before we can say a not-so-fond farewell to Oracle Application Server!

All of these WebLogic installations are running on top of Oracle Linux 6 inside VMware virtual machines. So far we’ve seen nothing untoward about this setup and I would have no reservations about recommending this approach to others.

If you have any questions/concerns about Oracle Linux, you might want to read my Oracle Linux : Frequently Asked Questions article. If you have any concerns about Oracle’s stance as far as VMware support goes, you might want to read this.

Cheers

Tim…

Oracle WebLogic 12cR2 : ADF, Domains, Clusters and Stuff

Following on from yesterday’s post about these WebLogic 12cR2 articles,

I’ve spent today creating ADF enabled domains and clustered domains on WebLogic 12cR2. That has spawned some new articles that are effectively updates of the old WebLogic  11g and 12cR1 articles.

With a bit of luck I will now be able to get through next week without looking like a complete idiot…

WebLogic 12cR2 is similar enough to 11g and 12cR1 to feel familiar, but there are tweeks here and there that make life interesting. The GUI screens have been prettied a little too.

As I keep warning, I’m a complete WebLogic newbie, so the content of these articles will evolve as I learn more and realise all the mistakes I’m making… 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Oracle WebLogic 12cR2 and ADF Runtime Installations…

The new versions of the WebLogic 12cR2 and ADF could not have come at a worse time for me. My top priority is learning about the 12cR1 version of the database. Second, is getting to grips with Cloud Control 12cR3. Third on the list is getting up to speed with the changes in WebLogic 12cR2 and ADF. Unfortunately, my personal priorities don’t quite match my work priorities, so WebLogic 12cR2 has moved up the list for a while. As a result, I did some installations last night.

I’ll have to play with this for a few days to get my head round it as I may be doing a test installation at work early next week.

A word of warning. I am a self-confessed WebLogic newbie. If you ask me questions about it I will be redirecting you to people who actually know what they are talking about…

Cheers

Tim…

Not “how”, but “why” should we upgrade to JDeveloper & ADF 11.1.1.7.0 ?

Followers of the blog know I’m an Oracle database guy, but my current job also has me honing my newbie WebLogic 11g skills, setting up a number of servers to deliver ADF and Forms & Reports 11gR2 applications.

As you’ve no doubt heard, Oracle have just released the 11.1.1.7.0 version of JDeveloper and ADF. I tried applying the 11.1.1.7.0 patch to a WebLogic 11g (10.3.6) installation and it worked without any problems (see here).

The real issue is, we currently have developers working hard to get applications converted from AS10g to ADF (11.1.1.6) running on WebLogic 11g (10.3.6). As much as I would like to “force” them to upgrade to 11.1.1.7, it has to be justified. So why should we upgrade to JDeveloper & ADF 11.1.1.7.0?

One of the great things about the Oracle ACE program is the level of access you get to experts in a variety of Oracle technologies. This network of people includes both Oracle ACEs and Oracle employees.

So how did I go about answering my question? Simple! I emailed my buddy Chris Muir (Oracle ADF Product Manager at Oracle), who is far better qualified to answer than me. 🙂 In that email I asked the following three questions:

  1. Assuming we don’t need the extra functionality in ADF 11.1.1.7, what is the advantage of moving to it? Are the bug fixes and maybe browser compatibility changes enough to warrant the upgrade?
  2. Is there a significance as far as support lifecycle is concerned?
  3. Is the upgrade likely to break anything that has already been converted for 11.1.1.6?

I suggested Chris might want to write a blog post based on these questions. He suggested a remote Q&A style post, so this is the “Q” and Chris will supply the “A” here!

Cheers

Tim…