Dirk Nachbar: Oracle Fusion Middleware & Application Server

Oracle WebLogic Server 11g: Interactive Quick Reference

2012-09-04T10:41:00.000+02:00

Oracle has published a really nice and useful Oracle WebLogic Server 11g Interactive Quick Reference under the following link http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/tutorials/obe/fmw/wls/Poster/poster.html

The Quick Reference shows you an architecural overview of the Oracle WebLogic Server processes, tools, configuration files, log files and so on including a short description of each section and the corresponding link to the Oracle WebLogic Server Documentation.

In addition you can also download the architecural overview picture as a PDF under following link http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/tutorials/obe/fmw/wls/Poster/pdf/Oracle-WebLogic-Server-11g.pdf

Its really a quite useful Quick Reference for everybody who is working with Oracle WebLogic Server.

Startup or Shutdown of multiple WebLogic Managed Servers via WLST script

2012-08-15T10:19:00.000+02:00

Normally you will have multiple Managed Servers within one WebLogic Server Domain. The classical approach to startup or shutdown these multiple Managed Servers are:

using the WebLogic Server provided scripts startManagedWebLogic.[sh|cmd] and stopManagedWebLogic.[sh|cmd] in your Domain Directory
using a WLST script with the command shutdown()

The first option by using the startManagedWebLogic.[sh|cmd] and stopManagedWebLogic.[sh|cmd] requires that you provide the name of the Managed Server and the AdminURL, which is not quite flexible. The second option has a small disadvantage in case you run the command shutdown() against a Managed Server which is currently not running. You will receive error messages like:

weblogic.server.ServerLifecycleException: Can not get to the relevant ServerRuntimeMBean for server DemoManaged

Specially when you are trying to shutdown multiple Managed Servers within such a WLST script that uses the command shutdown(), if you hit such an error the WLST script will terminate and the potential following shutdown() commands for other Managed Servers will not be executed.

With below WLST script, you can avoid this problem and perform your startup or shutdown tasks in a more elegant way.

The WLST script is using a properties file, in my case named domain.properties which contains following:

adminurl=t3://localhost:7001
adminusername=weblogic
adminpassword=weblogic
serverlist=DemoManaged,ManagedServer

The property serverlist is containing a comma seperated list of Managed Servers which you want to control.

The WLST script is moreover using an input value (start or stop). Before performing either the start() or the shutdown() command, the script will check for the MBean ServerRuntimeMBean if its existing or not for the given Managed Server.

import getopt
# Load the properties file with all necessary values
loadProperties('domain.properties')
# Split the provided Server List String for the FOR LOOP in start and stop command
serverlistSplit=String(serverlist).split(",")
 
# Get the command, must be 'start' or 'stop'
getcommand=sys.argv[1]

# Check the provided command
if getcommand != 'start' and getcommand != 'stop':
  print 'usage: <start stop="stop">'
  exit()

# Connect to the Weblogic Admin Server
# Connection Details are retrieved from properties file
connect(adminusername, adminpassword, adminurl)

# Change to the root of the MBean hierarchy
domainRuntime()

# Start Block
if getcommand == 'start':
   # Loop over the splitted Server List string
   for s in serverlistSplit:
     # Is a ServerRuntime MBean existing for current Managed Server?
     # If yes, the current Managed Server is already running and we dont need to do anything
     bean = getMBean('ServerRuntimes/' + s)
     if bean:
       print 'Server ' + s + ' is ' + bean.getState()
     else:
       start(s, 'Server', block='false')
       print 'Started Server ' + s

# Stop Block
if getcommand == 'stop':
   # Loop over the splitted Server List string
   for s in serverlistSplit:
     # Is a ServerRuntime MBean existing for current Managed Server?
     # If no, the current Managed Server is already down and we dont need to do anything
     bean = getMBean('ServerRuntimes/' + s)
     if bean:
       shutdown(s, 'Server')
       print 'Stopped Server ' + s
     else:
       print 'Server ' + s + ' is not running'

disconnect()
exit()

Place the properties file domain.properties and the WLST script start_stop_managedservers.py in one directory, adjust the properties file to your landscape.

To call the WLST script start_stop_managedservers.py just source the required script setWLSEnv.[sh|cmd] out of your WLS_HOME/server/bin directory and then execute following command:

java weblogic.WLST start_stop_managedservers.py [start|stop]

DOAG Conference 2012 - Call for Papers

2012-06-07T11:08:00.000+02:00

As every year the DOAG (German Oracle User Group) Conference will take place Nürnberg/Germany from the 20th November until 22nd November 2012.

The Call for Papers is already open and ends on 30th June 2012:

German Link: http://www.doag.org/de/events/konferenzen/doag-2012/fuer-referenten.html
English Link: http://www.doag.org/en/events/konferenzen/doag-2012/fuer-referenten.html

Once again, I will be in the election board for the streams (MySQL & Fusion Middleware) to rate/choose the presentation which will be shown on the conference.

Oracle Traffic Director available for download

2012-04-19T17:07:00.001+02:00

During the official announcement of Oracle WebLogic Server 12c on 1st December 2011, Oracle also announced the new Oracle Traffic Director.

Oracle Traffic Director 11g is a high-performance caching HTTP proxy server. It is designed to take advantage of the unique engineered systems features of Oracle's Exalogic computing platform, providing a highly-available, on-board load-balancing reverse proxy for Oracle Fusion Middleware and Applications

Today I saw, that the Oracle Traffic Director 11.1.1.6.0 is available for Linux x86-64 in Oracle TechNet:

The Software can be found under: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/webtier/downloads/traffic-director-1373931.html
The Oracle Traffic Director Documentation can be found under: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23389_01/index.htm

asmcmd non-interactive commands in MS-DOS Batches

2012-04-05T16:40:00.000+02:00

In the last days I was fighting with a nice behaviour of the asmcmd non-interactive mode in MS-DOS batches.

I wanted to delete several files located in ASM within a MS-DOS batch:

REM Script: asm_cleanup_DB112.cmd
set ORACLE_BASE=E:\oracle
set ORACLE_HOME=E:\oracle\product\grid-11.2.0
set ORACLE_SID=+ASM
set PATH=%ORACLE_HOME%\bin;%PATH%
asmcmd rm -f +TEMP/db112/temp_01.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +TEMP/db112/temp_02.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog1m1.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog2m1.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog3m1.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog1m2.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog2m2.dbf
asmcmd rm -f +REDO1/db112/redog3m2.dbf

As soon as I run the batch, the first file got deleted, but then the batch execution stops without continuing the next steps :-( I try to place the files into Single-Quotes, into Double-Quotes, but nothing helps, after the first asmcmd command the batch execution stops ...
This behaviour even occurs with "ls" commands and so on.

Oracle Metalink search = 0
Oracle Technet Forums = 1 thread with the same problem, but no answer since more then 2 years

After a little playing and re-thinking, I only found following solution: Build a FOR Loop in my batch.
I just created a textfile with my files which I want to delete:

# Content of File asm_file_list.txt
+TEMP/db112/temp_01.dbf 
+TEMP/db112/temp_02.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog1m1.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog2m1.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog3m1.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog1m2.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog2m2.dbf
+REDO1/db112/redog3m2.dbf

Then I changed my batch to the FOR loop, which simple reads my above textfile with the list of my files to be delete and executed for each line the "asmcmd rm -f" command:

REM Script: asm_cleanup_DB112.cmd
set ORACLE_BASE=E:\oracle
set ORACLE_HOME=E:\oracle\product\grid-11.2.0
set ORACLE_SID=+ASM
set PATH=%ORACLE_HOME%\bin;%PATH%
for /f %%a in (asm_file_list.txt) do ( 
asmcmd rm -f %%a
)

Run the batch again and be happy :-)

Long live Oracle Forms - New Statement of Direction

2012-03-15T13:34:00.001+01:00

Oracle (Grant Ronald) published today (15th March 2012) an updated Statement of Direction for Oracle Forms and Reports.

The major statement within this Statement of Direction is:

Oracle has no plan to discontinue support of Oracle Forms. Furthermore, a new version of Forms, Oracle Forms 12c, is planned for delivery as a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c.

Thats really a clear and positive statement from Oracle :-)

The complete Statement of Direction can be found under following link: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/issue-archive/2010/toolssod-3-129969.pdf

Lets wait for Oracle Forms & Reports 12c :-)

ASM-00203 and Windows 2008 R2

2012-02-06T15:22:00.000+01:00

I was fighting right now with my favorite Operating System and ASM :-)

I just installed Oracle Grid Infrastructure on a standalone Windows 2008 R2 server (successfully) and wanted to stamp some disks with the tool asmtoolg.exe. After I started the asmtoolg from a command prompt, I receive immediately an error message:

ASM-00203: No valid devices found

Cool :-) Oracle Metalink brings back following result:

After a little bit playing, I found following solution:
Open your Windows Explorer, navigate to your %ORACLE_HOME%\bin and do a right-click on the tool asmtoolg.exe and chose the Option "Run as administrator" and be happy :-) Now I could run the asmtoolg.exe without any error messages.

I was logged in as a local administrator and the above error message came up for me, only after I used above method I could stamp my disks. I really love my favorite Operating System ...

Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.1.1) for download available

2011-12-11T13:14:00.002+01:00

Since Friday 9th December 2011 the latest release of the Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.1.1) is available for download in the Oracle Technology Network under following link: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/weblogic/downloads/wls-main-097127.html

Following Versions are available:

Installer with Oracle WebLogic Server 12c, Oracle Coherence and Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse (for Linux x86 with JVM 32bit, Windows x86 with JVM 32bit and Mac OS X with 32bit)
Installer with Oracle WebLogic Server 12c and Oracle Coherence (for Linux x86 with JVM 32bit, Windows 32bit with JVM 32bit and a generic version for 64bit platforms)
Zip Distribution with Oracle WebLogic Server 12c only intended for WebLogic Server development only (for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X)

The documentation for the new Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.1.1) can be found under following Link: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24329_01/index.htm

Bye bye WebCache - Welcome Oracle Traffic Director

2011-12-01T21:06:00.001+01:00

I am currently sitting here and listen to the WebCasts for the new Oracle WebLogic Server 12c Release.

Some highlights:

More then 200 new features
Java EE 6 fully profile certified
Seamless upgrades (let's see the reality :-) )
Introduction of Oracle Traffic Director

In my opinion one of the highlights is the introduction of the Oracle Traffic Director, which will be the replacement of the Oracle WebCache on Exalogic platforms. I will miss the WebCache, I really learnt over the years to love this tool ;-)
Oracle Traffic Directory will be officially supported only with Exalogic platforms, but also runable on 64bit OEL platforms ;-)

The downloads for the new Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.1.1.0) should be available on Oracle Technology Network from the 5th of December 2011 going.

Note 2nd December 2011: There is also a Data Sheet for the new Oracle Traffic Director available http://www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/application-server/oracle-traffic-director-ds-1389582.pdf

Oracle Weblogic Server 12c Launch announced

2011-11-16T16:35:00.000+01:00

The Oracle Weblogic Server Release 12c is coming soon :-)

Oracle will unveiling the Oracle Weblogic Server 12c on 1st December 2011.

For the Online Launch Event registration just go here: http://tinyurl.com/cfpud2v

Why you should never create own objects under SYS

2011-11-03T09:50:00.000+01:00

I got many times the request by developers to create objects under the SYS schema and my comment is normally "NO". Here is a nice showcase, why the creation of own objects under the SYS schema can become really dangerous:

conn / as sysdba
select count(*) from dba_objects where status = 'INVALID';
COUNT(*)
----------------
        0
-- Now lets create a simple table named SYSTEM under the SYS schema
create table SYS.SYSTEM (id number);
Table created.
-- Now check for invalid objects again.
-- Note: I didnt do anything special after the creation of the table SYS.SYSTEM
select count(*) from dba_objects where status = 'INVALID';
COUNT(*)
----------------
      149

The critical point here is the name of the created table. As soon as you are creating a table named SYSTEM under the SYS schema, you will get immediately a huge number of invalid objects under SYS, most of them are DBMS-Packages, ALL-Views and DBA-Views. The number of invalid objects you will get is depending on your Oracle Release, even a recompile with utlrp.sql will not validate all objects, there will still be invalid objects.

To get ride of this problem, just drop the table SYS.SYSTEM and recompile all with the utlrp.sql script.

This shows clearly why you should not allow the creation of application related objects under the SYS schema.

Oracle Forms 11g Release 2 (11.1.2.0.0) now for Linux x86-64 available

2011-10-25T12:12:00.000+02:00

Last week you could read in my blog post "Oracle Forms 11g Release 2 (11.1.2.0.0) available" that Oracle Forms 11g Release 2 is available for Linux x86 and Windows x86. Now Oracle released also the Linux x86-64 version of Oracle Forms & Reports 11g Release 2 (11.1.2.0.0).

The download can be found under http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/forms/downloads/index.html

Oracle Forms 11g Release 2 (11.1.2.0.0) available

2011-10-20T09:32:00.002+02:00

Oracle released the latest version of Oracle Forms 11g Release 2 (11.1.2.0.0) for Windows x86 and Linux x86 today.

The download can be found under: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/forms/downloads/index.html

There is also a short new features paper available under http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/forms/forms11gr2newfeatures-497502-en-gb.pdf

The necessary installation documentation can be found under http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E24269_01/index.htm

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c for Linux x86 available

2011-10-06T13:30:00.002+02:00

Since today in addition the Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c (12.1.0.1.0) for Linux x86 is available in OTN and in Oracle Edelivery.

OTN Download: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/downloads/index.html

The Oracle Edelivery: https://edelivery.oracle.com/

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c - First screenshots

2011-10-04T13:45:00.016+02:00

In my post from yesterday "Download available for Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1) for Linux x86-64" you could see that the new Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c 12.1.0.1.0 for Linux x86-64 is available for download.

Here are some first impressions:

According to a presentation from Oracle "What's New in Enterprise Manager 12c Install" the installation should be really simplified now: TRUE :-) It's only 6 screens (under optimal conditions) !!!
The fight with a correct WebLogic Server Release and which JDK to use is now eliminated :-) Everything is bundled in the installation sources
The only pre-requirement what you will need is an Oracle Database

My starting position:

Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 Update 3 x86-64
Oracle Database Enterprise Edition 11.2.0.1.0 (no additional patches)

Extract the 2 zipfiles em12_linux64_disk1of2.zip and em12_linux64_disk2of2.zip on your server and start the runInstaller:
At first the typical Welcome screen with the optional declaration of my My Oracle Support credentials

As next we can define if we want to download directly possible available patches from My Oracle Support.

Then the prerequirement checks are running, I receive an error due to a minor version of my installed glibc-devel, so I decided to ignore it and everything works for me well :-)

After that we have to chose the installation type. The Simple option is really simple, it installs you all the necessary stuff (JDK, WebLogic Server, OMS and Agent) and configures your new Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c.

As next we have to define the Password for the adminstrative Users (Weblogic Admin-User, SYSMAN and OMS registration) and the Database Connectivity for the Enterprise Manager.

After the connectivity check you normally get some errors/warnings (eg. that a Stats Gathering Job must be disabled and that some Database Settings are not aligned). The Stats Gathering Job can be disabled directly from the Installer :-) the other warnings in my case were minor and could be aligned after the installation.

As last step we can review the summing up and start with the installation and configuration. This all what we have to do :-) Really simple and straight forward !!!

As last the Installer shows us the Finish screen with a small summing up of the necessary URL's.

To access the new Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c just go to the URL displayed in the Finish screen. The new login screen looks now more blue and from the look'n feel like the Fusion Middleware Login Screens. For the Login you have to use the username SYSMAN.

The first new feature you will see directly after the login. You can now chose your preferred "home page view", e.g. Databases, Middleware, SOA and so on.

The Website of an Oracle Database:

The Website of a WebLogic Server:

The Website of a Host (Oracle Enterprise Linux):

Conclusion: Installation simplified :-) Look'n Feel cool :-) preferred home page view great idea. Seems to be a great new Release from the first look. So let's test deeper ...

Additional Note: For everybody who is searching for the documentation (like me :-) ): http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E24628_01/index.htm I just found the documentation, sometimes its better to read the documentation before you start with the installation, according to the installation guide, I had to apply for my Oracle Database 11.2.0.1.0 two additional patches :-)

Download available for Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1) for Linux x86-64

2011-10-03T17:09:00.002+02:00

3rd and most important post for today about Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c: Enterprise Manager 12c is available for download in Oracle Technet !!!

Under the link http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/downloads/linuxx8664soft-085949.html is the Linux x86-64 Release available:

My download is already started :-)

Next Next update on Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 Launch

2011-10-03T15:33:00.000+02:00

Just some hours ago, I posted "Next update on Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 Launch" and here we go with the next update on Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 (Grid Control) :-)

I just saw in My Oracle Support a Note (ID 1363757.1) dated from 3rd October 2011 which is related Oracle Enterprise Manager 12.1.0.1.0 (12c). Seems that the naming convention is confirmed with 12c

Next update on Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 Launch

2011-10-03T10:07:00.000+02:00

On 4th August 2011, I posted "Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 Launch - 15.11.2011 on DOAG Conference". Now some more proofs, that the new Oracle Enterprise Manager (Grid Control) 12 will come soon :-)

In My Oracle Support you can find already under the Patch Section a selection for Oracle Grid Control 12.1.0.1.0 (see last line in the drop down list). So we know at least the Release Number, but if the new release will be named "12c" is still unconfirmed.

So stay tuned for the next updates ...

Mobile My Oracle Support available

2011-09-30T16:43:00.000+02:00

I just saw that the My Oracle Support (MOS) website offers now a Mobile Support :-)

Just go to http://support.oracle.mobi/

Oracle Database 11g XE not longer BETA

2011-09-02T10:35:00.000+02:00

In my blogposts from 1st April 2011 and 2nd April 2011 I was talking about the newly released Oracle Database 11g XE BETA (11.2).

The BETA is now removed for the Oracle Database 11g XE :-)

The downloads can be found under http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/express-edition/downloads/index.html

But still are only 2 versions available, one release for Linux x64 and one release for Windows x32.

Tanel Poder's Oracle Troubleshooting TV show available

2011-08-11T12:12:00.001+02:00

For anybody who has missed Tanel Poder's "Secret Hacking Session - about full scans, direct path reads, object level checkpoints, ORA-8103s" its now available under:

http://blip.tv/tanel-poder-oracle-troubleshooting-tv/oracle-troubleshooting-tv-show-season-1-episode-2-5459181

This show is really a must-see :-)

Oracle Enterprise Manager 12 Launch - 15.11.2011 on DOAG Conference

2011-08-04T13:33:00.002+02:00

During the DOAG (German Oracle User Group) Conference on 15.11.2011 to 17.11.2011 Oracle will present the new Oracle Enterprise Manager Release 12 (Oracle Grid Control 12) within a keynote. The presentation will be done by Richard Sarwal, Oracle Corporation.

Link to the Conference Program (unfortunally in german language) can be found here: http://mydoag.doag.org/konferenz/2011-konferenzplan.php

I am really curious what will be the new features/options, I am expecting them as it will be a new major release :-)

Oracle Virtual Developer Day REA Material available for download

2011-06-19T13:59:00.001+02:00

Some time ago the Oracle Virtual Developer Day Rich Enterprise Applications (REA) took place. For anybody who couldn't attend, here is a link to the presentations, On-Demand-Sessions, Lab Materials and so on.

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/community/developer-day/virtual-dev-day-rea-369353.html

You will find there presentations by people like Frank Nimphius, Grant Ronald and so on. The presentations are covering topics like:

From Forms to ADF - When, Why, How?
Rich Web UI made simple - an ADF Faces Overview
ADF Bindings Internals
Introduction to Developing with Oracle WebCenter
and much more

DOAG Conference 2011 - Call for Papers

2011-05-30T12:58:00.001+02:00

And once again this year the largest european Oracle User Group (Deutsche Oracle User Group - DOAG) is calling for papers for the DOAG Conference 15th til 17th November in Nürnberg / Germany.

Details for the upcoming conference can be found under http://www.doag.org/konferenz/doag/2011/

The Call for Papers form can be found under http://mydoag.doag.org/termine/cfp.php?id=422990 The Call for Papers is still open until 15th June 2011, so hurry up ... :-)

I am proud that the DOAG asked me once again after last year to be in the selection commitee of the submitted presentations for the stream "Databases - MySQL"

I hope, I will see a lot of submitted presentations for the stream "Databases - MySQL"

Oracle JRockit is now free, but ...

2011-05-18T16:12:00.002+02:00

Oracle announce that the usage of the Oracle JRockit JVM is now free :-) See Oracle News: http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/173782

Sounds really good, but ... there is a small restriction inside this news announcement:

Premium offerings such as JRockit Mission Control, JRockit Real Time, Java for Business and Enterprise Support will continue to be made available for an additional charge

So only the core functionalities are free of charge, the cool features like Mission Control or Real Time still have to be paid :-(