Senthilkumar Rajendran's Blog

Very large customers with many interconnected Oracle Databases may need to follow the CPU Patch

2012-01-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

Came across an article from InfoWorld http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/fundamental-oracle-flaw-revealed-184163-0 If you are supporting very large customers with many interconnected Oracle Databases then there is a possibility of getting a strange bug with SCN. Was wondering if this has ever happened at any customer base or just at the InfoWorld

Good Bye 2011 and Welcome 2012

2012-01-02T02:53:00.000-08:00

I wish every one a Happy New Year 2012.

2011 for me was great. It was fun and a thrilling year. I was busy with my one year old son and could not blog much. He kept me busy and took away all my spare time which I used to learn and blog.

Yet with the left over time I was able to master Fusion Middleware 11g Technologies.

Otherwise I saw the big event from Oracle "Open World 2011".
Oracle was very bold in introducing the Exadata , Exalogic and Exalytics hardware.
Oracle got a foot into Cloud Computing and Social Networking.

Oracle and Competitors that kept me very busy. It also gave me a better understanding of what the future is going to be.
- Netezza TwinFin started a lots of discussion explaining and comparing their product with Exadata.
- EMC Greenplum doing the same as Netezza (but more of from storage)
- To join them Teradata gave their explanation for their Exadata Replacement at a Japanese Customer Place.
- Salesforce.com vs Oracle Cloud (everybody who followed Open World will know it better).

Some new products which excited me are Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c and Weblogic 12c.

Wish that I have more time to start blogging this year.

Beware of false clouds

2011-10-11T00:45:00.001-07:00

“Beware of false clouds,” Ellison warned. Larry is talking about Salesforce.com

This is the one key slide from his presentation which I am more interested and I do not want to write about the dirty talks between Ellison and Benioff.

Separate Virtual Machines are going to run Database and Applications as per the Customers needs. These virtual machines are running on Exadata and Exalogic.

Migration from an in-house Data Center to Oracle Clould or from another Cloud Service to Oracle Cloud are going to be easier as per Oracle's Statement.

Oracle Public Cloud

2011-10-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Oracle on the Open World 2011 announced their offering towards Cloud and Larry did it in his way.

Oracle sounds serious with its cloud offering. Oracle cloud is unlike the other cloud services available on the market. Oracle Exadata and Oracle Exalogic appliances are the back end for this offering. There are going to be various services offered by Oracle on the Cloud running on Oracle Data Centers.

PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) are mixed together to form Larry's foot print on Cloud Computing. Its competitors are Salesforce, Microsoft , IBM and many others.

With the power of Exadata and Exalogic I think Oracle Cloud is going to make a change.

In the end I could see a new definition for the Cloud. It is a new Season "Oracle Cloud"

FMW 11g IDM Setup Part 11

2011-09-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After completing the middle ware upgrade I am starting with the Identity Management Upgrade to 11g

Oracle Internet Directory was in version 10.1.2.3.0 and this version is certified and recommended by Oracle Support to start with the upgrade. Oracle Support and Development has tested upgrading from this version of 10g to 11g. It is also recommended to move from any earlier version of OID 10g to the supported starting point version.

The first step towards the IDM Upgrade is to configure WebLogic. I have already documented the installation of WebLogic here which was part of the Middleware Upgrade.

Download the latest available IDM Installation Setup and Patchset
Here when I did the install IDM 11.1.1.4.0 was the latest and so I had to download the 11.1.1.2.0 Setup and Patchset 11.1.1.4.0

Below are the steps for the installation
1. Install WebLogic
2. Install IDM 11.1.1.2.0
3. Apply Patchset IDM 11.1.1.4.0

Screenshot from IDM Install

Next I will document about the Config Assistance and Upgrade Assistance

Recommended Book for Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control 11g

2011-08-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Recommended Book for Oracle Grid Control 11g specially for people who are in large organization where complete oracle stack in managed in Grid or for people who are at Data centers.

The book goes in-depth on Business Service Management using Oracle Grid Control 11g and also its importance. It deals with the challenges in managing today's data centers. The book also covers the concept of modeling IT infrastructure as systems and services. It also covers in managing IT resources and also how to share it to get more use of them.

Hope this book helps people to know more about Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g and its usability.

FMW 11g Discoverer Version 11.1.1.4.0 Check

2011-08-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Upgrading Portal+Discoverer Middletire from 11.1.1.3.0 to 11.1.1.4.0
Patch Set p11060983_111140_Linux-x86-64.zip

Using the runInstaller updated the Oracle Home and it was successful.
Then as per the Readme (http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/doc.1111/e16793/patch_set_installer.htm#CCHBCCGB) , I updated the Schema

Reference FMW 11g Upgrade : MiddleTire 11.1.1.4.0 PatchSet Part 10

Version Check

SQL> SELECT version, status FROM schema_version_registry WHERE owner='PORTAL';

VERSION STATUS
------------------------------ -----------
11.1.1.4.0 VALID

SQL> SELECT version, status FROM schema_version_registry WHERE owner='DEV_DISCOVERER';

VERSION STATUS
------------------------------ -----------
11.1.1.3.0 VALID

SQL>

Now I am seeing that PORTAL has been upgraded to 11.1.1.4.0 but Discoverer keeps in version 11.1.1.3.0 even though 11.1.1.4.0 Patchset is appled.

The reason is documented in the below node
Review Why Does Discoverer Version On Weblogic Console Shows 11.1.1.2 Where As It Should Be 11.1.1.4? (Doc ID 1324782.1)

Applies to:

Oracle Discoverer - Version: 11.1.1.4.0 and later [Release: 11g and later ]
Information in this document applies to any platform.
Discoverer, 11g, Fusion Middleware

Goal

Why Does Discoverer Version On Weblogic Console Shows 11.1.1.2 Where As It Should Be 11.1.1.4?

Solution

If patch 11060983 to patch from version 11.1.1.2 to 11.1.1.4 completed successfully, then your install is fine and it is at the correct version.

The release notes of this patch discuss the fact that some components do not have version numbers that get successfully upgraded with the patch but that does not represent a problem.

Version 11.1.1.2 represents the base version although it was also originally a patch. Version 11.1.1.4 is a patch level but the fact that your version numbers were not updated is not a problem as other Fusion Middleware components have the same problem.

So no need to worry , but I feel Oracle should give a simple script which can be run after post verification to update the version.

FMW 11g Upgrade : MiddleTire 11.1.1.4.0 PatchSet Part 10

2011-08-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After the successful installation of FMW MiddleTire 11.1.1.3.0 Portal and Discoverer , here are the steps to get them on the latest patchset level 11.1.1.4.0

Pre Steps
- Make a backup of the Oracle Home
- Make a backup of the Database or a Snapshot of the Database before the upgrade

Step 1: Installing the Middletire Software
Step 2: Upgrading the Schema

Installing the Middletire Software

Download the 11.1.1.4.0 Portal and Discoverer Patchset and start the installer. The runInstaller has only the option to upgrade the Oracle Home.

Upgrading the Schema

Schema Upgrade is not done from the UI and instead there is a Patch Set Assistance Script to do it.
The PSA Script is going to only update the PORTAL Schema and there are no upgrade required for the Discoverer Schema.

Set ORACLE_HOME
Go to $ORACLE_HOME/bi
./psa -dbConnectString //fmwserver:1521/INFDB -dbaUserName sys -schemaUserName portal
Watch the logfile of PSA and you should be able to see if there are any errors.
Recompile the Invalids
Complete all the post upgrade steps as per the patch readme.

PSA Log

oracle@testas[]$ cd $ORACLE_HOME/bin

oracle@testas[]$ ./psa -dbConnectString //fmwserver:1521/INFDB -dbaUserName sys -schemaUserName portal

Oracle Fusion Middleware Patch Set Assistant 11.1.1.4.0

Enter the database administrator password for "sys":

Enter the schema password for schema user "portal":

Log file is located at: /oraapp/tst/ora/as/app/products/middleware/as_portal_discoverer/upgrade/logs/psa2011-07-14-06-48-09AM.log

Updating the Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Schema to release 11.1.1.4.0.

Updating schema for component Oracle Portal.

The command completed successfully

oracle@testas[]$

FMW 11g Discoverer Plus Error Loading Applet

2011-08-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After Upgrading to Discoverer 11g 11.1.0.3.0 , loading Discoverer Plus gave the below error message on the Java Console and there was a blank screen with Discoverer Plus

Java(TM) Plug-in: Version 1.4.2_06

Using JRE version 1.4.2_06 Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM

User home directory = C:\Documents and Settings\skrajend

----------------------------------------------------

c: clear console window

f: finalize objects on finalization queue

g: garbage collect

h: display this help message

l: dump classloader list

m: print memory usage

o: trigger logging

p: reload proxy configuration

q: hide console

r: reload policy configuration

s: dump system properties

t: dump thread list

v: dump thread stack

x: clear classloader cache

0-5: set trace level to

----------------------------------------------------

Cache size is: 67562695 bytes, cleanup is necessary

Registered modality listener

Invoking JS method: document

Invoking JS method: URL

Referencing classloader: sun.plugin.ClassLoaderInfo@d9896e, refcount=1

Loading applet ...

Initializing applet ...

Starting applet ...

Connecting http://fmwserver.fmwdomain.com:80//discoverer/plus_files/disco5i.jarjar with no proxy

Connecting http://fmwserver.fmwdomain.com:80//discoverer/plus_files/disco5i.jarjar with cookie "oracle.uix=0^^GMT+2:00^p; orasso=9.0.3+en-us+us+AMERICA+A36002EB37016180E04400237DAA5065+95F5182D2C78A0B6F5A78AFEF9CB7A5542EA593FA7ED2475C5B2EC03A1427E422F1144EF1C5236C6B815D469CB8627CBB3CE975E3AA04CDF73C94A8A12EE4A9D898890AF6D5A17DFC0CBA436896C8B592E4F43974FA9C623; OHS-fmwserver.fmwdomain.com-443=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; ORA_WX_SESSION=41C7467683D747E4A69EA4A3314B506C2D5D6A47-0#1; ORA_PORTAL_SESSION_portal=11.1+en-us+us+AMERICA+A3601804D3816AC5E04400237DAA5065+73099B9AFD251A5F32BE723EDCDD0BA8B91EAE0A43D7715C028CA3C0C4457BB0443C0EA139E7F9D27CE939298CF623F42BF8C6FA9DC516BAF862693E809448EA711EA838F6EC1F18D6B52371D6906BD7E0D0814278585A6D"

Downloading http://fmwserver.fmwdomain.com:80//discoverer/plus_files/disco5i.jarjar to cache

Cached file name: disco5i.jarjar-47421506-2d051c7a.zip

Loaded Root CA certificates from C:\PROGRA~1\Java\J2RE14~1.2_0\lib\security\cacerts

Loading JPI certificates from C:\Documents and Settings\skrajend\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\security\deployment.certs

Loaded JPI certificates from C:\Documents and Settings\skrajend\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\security\deployment.certs

Loading certificates from JPI session certificate store

Loaded certificates from JPI session certificate store

Checking if certificate is in JPI permanent certificate store

java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: oracle/disco/DiscoApplet (Unsupported major.minor version 50.0)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass0(Native Method)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source)

at java.security.SecureClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.access$100(Unknown Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source)

at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletClassLoader.loadCode(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletPanel.createApplet(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin.AppletViewer.createApplet(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletPanel.runLoader(Unknown Source)

at sun.applet.AppletPanel.run(Unknown S

Cause

JRE 1.4 is not supported

Solution

Upgrade or Install the latest JRE 1.6 which is Supported.

FMW 11g Post Install using the Verify Option in Upgrade Assistance gives failure message for Discoverer

2011-08-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Upgraded Portal and Discoverer to FMW 11g

Post Install using the Verify Option in Upgrade Assistance gives failure message for Discoverer

[2011-05-06T08:20:04.037+00:00] [Verify] [ERROR] [UPGAST-02004] [upgrade.Verify] [tid: 12] [ecid: 0000Iz4P5zs52jk5Oz_Aid1DkuvX000004,0] Error sun.security.validator.ValidatorException: PKIX path building failed: sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException: unable to find valid certification path to requested target while requesting http://testserver.tdomain.com:80/discoverer/viewer(7799,7781,80).
[2011-05-06T08:20:04.037+00:00] [Verify] [ERROR] [] [upgrade.Verify] [tid: 12] [ecid: 0000Iz4P5zs52jk5Oz_Aid1DkuvX000004,0] Cause: The server was unavailable. Action: Review the log file for the server. Verify that the source of the URL is correct.
[2011-05-06T08:20:04.038+00:00] [Framework] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.Framework] [tid: 12] [ecid: 0000Iz4P5zs52jk5Oz_Aid1DkuvX000004,0] All web checks failed
[2011-05-06T08:20:04.038+00:00] [Verify] [ERROR] [] [upgrade.Verify] [tid: 12] [ecid: 0000Iz4P5zs52jk5Oz_Aid1DkuvX000004,0] Test of Discoverer named discoverer failed

Here is what Oracle Support has to say about it.

For some upgrade scenarios, the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Assistant provides a Verify feature that attempts to analyze the upgraded 11g environment. When you run the Verify feature, the Upgrade Assistant automatically reports any problems it finds with the upgraded environment.

However, there are cases where the Verify feature incorrectly identifies a problem. For example, when single sign-on is enabled, the Verify feature might report that it cannot access specific URLs for the upgraded components.

In these cases, you should enter the URL directly into a Web browser to verify the URL. In those cases, the URL might indeed be valid and you can ignore the errors generated by the Verify feature.

This information has been published by development in the FMW release notes 11.1.1.4

ref. Oracle® Fusion Middleware Release Notes 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) for Linux x86-64
3.1.16 Inaccurate Results When Running the Upgrade Assistant Verify Feature
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/doc.1111/e14770/upgrade.htm#BABJGJBG

Today India celebrates its Independence Day

2011-08-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Portal and Discoverer Post Upgrade verification failed with ORA-7445

2011-08-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After upgrading Discoverer and Portal to 11g logging on the portal or discoverer results in ORA-7445 in the database.

Manual verification of the SSO component failed.

Fri May 06 09:19:16 2011

Exception [type: SIGSEGV, Address not mapped to object] [ADDR:0x7573FFFFBF387C52] [PC:0x400000000429ED11, pfrinstr_BRNCNULL()+177] [exception issued by pid: -1086817198, uid: 0]

Errors in file /oracle/base/diag/rdbms/infdb/INFDB/trace/INFDB_ora_5858.trc (incident=721877):

ORA-07445: exception encountered: core dump [pfrinstr_BRNCNULL()+177] [SIGSEGV] [ADDR:0x7573FFFFBF387C52] [PC:0x400000000429ED11] [Address not mapped to object] []

Fri May 06 09:19:19 2011

Sweep Incident[721877]: completed

The cause for this issue is seen as a Bug 9210925 - AFTER MANUAL UPGRADE TO 11.1.0.7 PL/SQL CALLS INCORRECT FUNCTION

Incorrect fast-validation would happen when a parent of a library unit was modified in an incompatible way and the parent was referenced via a synonym. Symptoms could include wrong results and ORA-7445s.

Unfortunately the BUG is fixed in 11.2 and I am running 11.1 , so had to follow the workaround

Workaround Solution

Connect to the INFDB Database as SYSTEM

alter system set "_disable_fast_validate"=TRUE;

Connect to the INFDB Database as ORASSO User

alter package WWCTX_SSO compile;

alter package WWCTX_SSO compile body;

alter package WPG_SESSION_PRIVATE compile;

alter package WPG_SESSION_PRIVATE compile body;

Validate the ORASSO and OIDDAS Pages

https://dev.server.com/pls/orasso/htp.p?cbuf=test

and login to

https://dev.server.com /pls/orasso/

https://dev.server.com /oiddas

Reference ORASSO DAD Fails After Upgrading Application Mid-tier and Repository DB to 11g (Doc ID 1094047.1)

FMW 11g Discoverer Upgade Failed while updating ptm5_instance

2011-08-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

While trying to upgrade metadata repository schema (checked the Discoverer Schemas and Portal schemas checkbox) using Oracle FMW Upgrade Assistant, it fails while upgrading Discoverer Repository Schema.

Filename = ua2011-07-13-06-57-10AM.log
See the following error:
[2011-07-13T06:59:34.874+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [ERROR] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Cause: Specified Discoverer 10g metadata record is corrupt. Action: Delete the corrupted record and rerun metadata repository upgrade.
[2011-07-13T06:59:34.875+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigrationException: Error while executing query: UPDATE TST_DISCOVERER.ptm5_instance SET ins_property = EMPTY_BLOB() WHERE ins_surrgt_pk = ? [[
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigration.executeQuery(PortletMetadataMigration.java:320)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigration.migrateInstance(PortletMetadataMigration.java:164)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigration.migrateInstanceKey(PortletMetadataMigration.java:153)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigration.migrate(PortletMetadataMigration.java:122)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.DiscovererPlugin.massageData(DiscovererPlugin.java:615)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.DiscovererPlugin.discoUpgrade(DiscovererPlugin.java:560)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.DiscovererPlugin.doUpgrade(DiscovererPlugin.java:145)
at oracle.ias.mrua.MRUA.executePlugins(MRUA.java:2711)
at oracle.ias.mrua.MRUA.internal_driver(MRUA.java:1757)
at oracle.ias.mrua.MRUA.driver(MRUA.java:1205)
at oracle.ias.upgrade.gui.UAUpgradeThread.run(UAUpgradeThread.java:380)
Caused by: java.sql.SQLException: SQL string is not Query
at oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleStatement.doExecuteWithTimeout(OracleStatement.java:1442)
at oracle.jdbc.driver.OraclePreparedStatement.executeInternal(OraclePreparedStatement.java:3752)
at oracle.jdbc.driver.OraclePreparedStatement.executeQuery(OraclePreparedStatement.java:3806)
at oracle.jdbc.driver.OraclePreparedStatementWrapper.executeQuery(OraclePreparedStatementWrapper.java:1667)
at oracle.ias.mrua.plugin.discoverer.PortletMetadataMigration.executeQuery(PortletMetadataMigration.java:316)
... 10 more

]]
[2011-07-13T06:59:50.995+00:00] [FrameworkMR] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.FrameworkMR] [tid: 14] [ecid: 0000J4YIq9K52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000003,0] finalize() instance 2 of 3
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.087+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Query to verify existence of named tables and columns
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.091+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Number of columns in the schema TST_DISCOVERER : 50
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.093+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Number of columns in the schema TST_DISCOVERER_PS : 30
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.275+00:00] [DISCOVERER] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.DISCOVERER] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Discoverer upgrade phase finished
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.275+00:00] [FrameworkMR] [ERROR] [UPGAST-01006] [upgrade.FrameworkMR] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Schema upgrade failed for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer.
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.275+00:00] [FrameworkMR] [ERROR] [] [upgrade.FrameworkMR] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Cause: Repository Upgrade framework detected that schema upgrade of the component named in the error message failed. Action: Examine the upgrade log files for additional error messages. It may be possible to correct the problem and retry the upgrade.
[2011-07-13T07:00:31.275+00:00] [FrameworkMR] [NOTIFICATION] [] [upgrade.FrameworkMR] [tid: 13] [ecid: 0000J4YITMq52jk5Ozg8yd1E7K76000002,0:12] Upgrading component Oracle Portal.

Possible Reason for the Issue
The issue could have been caused by the change in jdbc execution method used in Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

From the error message it suggests that the FMw 11.1.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant is trying to execute a DML statement(UPDATE TST_DISCOVERER.ptm5_instance SET ins_property..) using executeQuery method and it is unable to execute it as it is not a Query.

Solution
1. Install Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g(11.1.1.2.0) - Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer (11.1.1.2.0)
2. Install Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g(11.1.1.3.0) - Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer (11.1.1.3.0)
3. Run Config.sh (available under /bin directory)
4. Run UA (Oracle FMw Upgrade Assistant , available under /bin directory)

Now Discoverer Metadata repository schemas will upgrade fine without any issues.

5. Then can apply FMw patchset 11.1.1.4.0 - Patch 11060983: FMW 11G PS3 (11.1.1.4) FOR PORTAL, FORMS, RPTS, DISCO

FMW 11g Upgrade : MiddleTire Schema Upgrade Assistance - Part 9

2011-08-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Before I begin explaining the schema upgrade will update some of the pre-steps that will make the upgrade easier.

0. In Part 6. Installing Portal and Discoverer Middletire I have explained that I could not apply the 11.1.1.4.0 patchset since there were issues. Instead I applied 11.1.1.3.0 and after the upgrade is over I applied the 11.1.1.4.0 patchset.

1. Make a Database Backup or create a Restore Point. Oracle support always asks to restore the database if there are some issues with the portal upgrade. So keeping a restore point would be the easiest way to handle it.

2. Restart the Database so that there are no Portal Sessions running.

3. After the restart make sure that there are no active portal sessions.

4. If there are it should be the Portal Application. Follow the below note and stop the Portal Server
Upgrading from Portal 10g to 11g WWU-00011 There are concurrent sessions running [ID 1202638.1]

5. In some cases the upgrade assistance will fail to migrate the Discoverer Portlet information from the old PTM5_CACHE to the new 11g Discoverer Schema. The reason in my case was the length of the CCH_URL column. It will be by default VARCHAR2 (3000 Bytes) and you can modify it to VARCHAR2(4000 Bytes)

Invoke the UA Upgrade Assistance from the Oracle Home of the Portal and Discoverer Instance
Select the second option Upgrade Metadata Repository Schema and make sure that Discoverer and Portal is selected.

Then provide the information for Oracle Internet Directory Server connections details.
Then provide the database connection details where the metadata repository resides.

Select the new 11g Discoverer Schema

The examine process will verify if Portal and Discoverer are fine to upgraded.

Proceed next and you should see that all the components will be upgrade.

Note : For any failures I recommend to contact Oracle Support. If they ask to redo the upgrade you can flashback the database to the Pre-Upgrade restore point and then continue doing the same.

FMW 11g Upgrade : MiddleTire Upgrade Assistance - Part 8

2011-08-08T23:34:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After completing the installation and configuration of 11g Portal/Discoverer, now the upgrade assistance will be invoked to upgrade the 10g OH to 11g FMW

The first step would be to Upgrade the MiddleTire Instance. Here select the 10g Oracle Home for Discoverer

After completing the Oracle Home upgrade , the installer prompts with the below success message.

The next step would be to upgrade the Schema.

FMW 11g Upgrade : MiddleTire Configuration Assistance - Part 7

2011-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

After installing the MiddleTire software necessary for Portal and Discoverer , now it is the time to configure the system.

Under ORACLE_HOME/bin/config.sh is the utility which is helping to configure the system.

Configuration Assistant

Create a Domain using the Configuration Assistance

Provide the necessary SCHEMA details and OID Details , then the installer takes to the Configuration Screen

Make sure that there are no errors during the configuration process.

The configuration assistance creates the Domain , Managed Servers for Portal and Discoverer.
The next process would be to upgrade the 10g Portal and Discoverer to 11g FMW

FMW 11g Upgrade : Installing Portal and Discoverer MiddleTire - Part 6

2011-07-25T02:37:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Download the following software's for Portal and Discoverer

Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer (11.1.1.2.0)

Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer (11.1.1.3.0)

Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer (11.1.1.4.0)

We can apply 11.1.1.2.0 and then apply the 11.1.1.4.0 patchset. But there was bug when using the upgrading assistance to upgrade the discoverer component. I will post the details of the bug here(to be documented).

So the plan is as follows

- apply 11.1.1.2.0 with install software only option

- apply patchset 11.1.1.3.0 with install software only option

- run configuration assistance

- run upgrade assistance

- upgrade the system to 11.1.1.4.0 or the latest patchset available.

The above steps might be completely replaced with 11.1.1.5.0 is available as it would be a one time installation.

A screenshot after applying 11.1.1.2.0

A screenshot from 11.1.1.3.0 patchset installer

I did not install Portal and Discoverer to 11.1.1.4.0 since there were some issues with the Upgrade Assistance.

FMW 11g Upgrade : WebLogic Installation for Portal and Discoverer MiddleTire - Part 5

2011-07-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Depending on the Fusion Middleware version download the WebLogic Server Installation Software.
Ex: In my case I am installing Portal and Discoverer version 11.1.1.4.0 and so I downloaded WebLogic 10.3.4

Export the JDK Home on to a environment variable.
export JDK_HOME=/app/tst/ora/as/app/products/java/jdk1.6.0_26
$JDK_HOME/bin/java -d64 -jar wls1034_generic.jar
Extracting 0%.......................................................................................

Select the MiddleTire Home where the WebLogic has to be Installed.

De-Select the QuickStart and complete the Installation.

FMW 11g Upgrade : JDK Installation - Part 4

2011-07-20T03:13:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Download the latest JDK which is certified with the version of fusion middleware getting installed.

Go to the JDK Staging Area
Run as oracle user ./ jdk-6u26-linux-x64.bin
This process will unzip the JDK under a folder in the same directory
Move the directory to the JDK desired location

oracle@testas[]$ pwd
/app/tst/ora/as/app/products/java
oracle@testas[]$ mv jdk1.6.0_26 /app/tst/ora/as/app/products/java
oracle@testas[]$

Verify the Java Version and look it is compatible with 64bit

oracle@testas[]$ cd /app/dev/ora/as/app/products/jdk
oracle@testas[]$ cd bin
oracle@testas[]$ ./java -d64 -fullversion
java full version "1.6.0_26-b03"
oracle@testas[]$

FMW 11g Upgrade : RCU for Discoverer 11g - Part 3

2011-07-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Before starting with the RCU I wanted to share that Discoverer 11.1.1.4.0 is the latest supported version. In the future a new version will be available and so RCU utility has to be download accordingly.

The DISCOVERER5 schema in 10g AS will be replaced with a new schema , but the PORTAL schema will not have any change and the same schema will be used.

After installing the RCU you should see TST_DISCOVERER schema in the database.

FMW 11g Upgrade : Portal Schema Validation Pre-Requisite Check - Part 2

2011-07-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

Portal Schema has to be validated before the FMW 11g upgrade. I am installing the SVU patch but it fails that OUI is not compatablie.

oracle@devas[MiddleTire]$ opatch apply /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/work/patch/10302032 -pre -s portal -p xxxxxxxxxx -c devserver:1524:infdb1 -opatch_pre_end -post -s portal -p xxxxxxxxxxxxxx -c infdb1

Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 1.0.0.0.63
Copyright (c) 2009 Oracle Corporation. All Rights Reserved..

Oracle recommends you to use the latest OPatch version
and read the OPatch documentation available in the OPatch/docs
directory for usage. For information about the latest OPatch and
other support-related issues, refer to document ID 293369.1
available on My Oracle Support (https://myoraclesupport.oracle.com)

Oracle Home : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid
Oracle Home Inventory : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/inventory
Central Inventory : /home/ouastst/oraInventory
from : /etc/oraInst.loc
OUI location : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/oui
OUI shared library : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/oui/lib/linux/liboraInstaller.so
Java location : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/jre/1.4.2/bin/java
Log file location : /dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/.patch_storage//*.log

Creating log file "/dev/ora/as/app/products/mid/.patch_storage/10302032/Apply_10302032_04-21-2011_11-41-18.log"

OPATCH_JAVA_ERROR=OUI Version: 10.2.0.5.0
OPATCH_JAVA_ERROR=OUI Version: 10.2.0.5.0
OPatch requires OUI 10.1 or earlier.
Cannot set up OUI inventory session.

ERROR: OPatch failed because of Inventory problem.
oracle@devas[MiddleTire]$

There are two paths now to go further with the SVU either fix it following note 736658.1 or do a manual run.

OPatch failed because of Inventory problem (Doc ID 736658.1)
Cause

Oracle Universal Installer 10.1.0.x.x is the default installer in Oracle Application Server 10.1.2.x.x and includes OPatch utility 1.0.0.0.xx. However, since upgrading the Oracle Universal Installer in the middle-tier to10.2.0.4.x, the OPatch utility is also upgraded to 10.2.0.4.x.

Above error is reported because of incompatibility between the newer versions of Oracle Universal Installer and the OPatch utility. This error is a result of a pre-check executed by the OPatch utility to determine the Oracle Universal Installer prior to updating the patch information to the Inventory.

Solution

Downgrade the Oracle Universal Installer to default version bundled with the Oracle Application Server or install the latest version of Oracle Universal Installer compatible with the version of Oracle Application Server.

If this is not possible, install the Portal patch manually. Contact Oracle Support if manual installation of Portal patch is a viable option.

Since the downgrade would take sometime and not sure if that would lead to a successful patch, so I decided to run the suv report manually.

Followed instruction on note SCHEMA VALIDATION UTILITY (SVU) [ID 286619.1]

After running the cleanup script now the database portal schema is ready for the upgrade.

FMW 11g Upgrade Changing the Characterset to AL32UTF8 - Part 1

2011-07-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

FMW 11g Upgrade Master Index

One of the pre-requisite task in moving to fusion middleware 11g is converting the existing 10g Infrastructure Database to AL32UTF8 character set.

This document has all the information to do it.

Changing the NLS_CHARACTERSET to AL32UTF8 / UTF8 (Unicode) [ID 260192.1]

I had to follow the instructions as per the above doc.
There were two issues for me

1. Package PORTAL.WWCTX_API_PROXY and ORASSO.WWCTX_API_PROXY has to be dropped and recreated after the upgrade.
Solution to solve this is drop the packages and convert the database to AL32UTF8 character set. Then recreate it using note 751442.1

2. Some Portal Tables and ODS Tables were marked as CONVERTABLE by the CSSCAN utility.
Proposed solution as per the document is to export the tables , truncate the rows , convert the database and then import the tables back.

Looks simple but I was worried since some tables where from PORTAL and ODS

ODS.CT_CN(ATTRVALUE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.CT_DN(RDN) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.CT_MIDDLENAME(ATTRVALUE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.CT_ORCLNORMDN(ATTRVALUE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.CT_SN(ATTRVALUE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.CT_UID(ATTRVALUE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ODS.DS_ATTRSTORE(ATTRVAL) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
ORASSO.WWSSO_PSEX_USER_INFO$(SSO_USERNAME) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWA_FORM$(JS_CODE) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWA_FORM$(JS_LIB) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWA_FORM$(LAYOUT_BODY) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWA_FORM$(LAYOUT_FOOTER) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWA_FORM$(LAYOUT_HEADER) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWV_TEXT(TEXT) - CLOB - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWV_THINGS(NAME) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE
PORTAL.WWV_THINGS(TITLE) - VARCHAR2 - CONVERTIBLE

Here is what I did
- exported the tables using expdp
- portal tables were giving zero rows in the export
- security policy was stopping from expdp to export the rows
- ran "grant exempt access policy to system;"
- exported the portal tables as system user
- tried to truncate the tables but constraints were stopping me
- so disabled all the constraints for the relevant tables
- truncated the rows
- converted the database to AL32UTF8 characterset
- imported the tables using impdp with exist action as truncate
- all tables went fine except WWV_THINGS
- there were some triggers on that table so disabled them
- re-imported wwv_things
- verified the exported and imported tables row count
- enabled the triggers
- enabled all the constraints that were disabled
- started the middletire
- validated portal and oid

Infra DB Looks good now for the FMW Upgrade 11g.

Fusion Middleware 11g Upgrade

2011-07-08T00:57:00.000-07:00

I am recently working on a Fusion Middleware 11g Upgrade Project and in the up coming posts I will share my experience on the same.

Here I will highlight some of the tasks

Current System
- Oracle Application Server 10.1.2
- Discoverer 10.1.2.0.2
- Portal 10.1.4.2.0
- Oracle Internet Directory 10.1.2.3.0
- SSO 10.1.2.3.0

Proposed System
- Weblogic 11g
- Discoverer 11.1.1.4.0
- Portal 11.1.1.4.0
- Oracle Internet Directory 11.1.1.4.0
- Oracle Access Manager 11.1.1.3.0 ( later moved to Oracle Access Manager 11.1.1.5.0 because of BUGs)

Moving higher version means more complex the environment as Fusion Middleware 11g has a complete new architecture.

I did the upgrade on the development system and the upgrade process was long. There were a lot of bugs and it took a lot of time to resolve them with Oracle Support. But overall the upgrade is a success. The documented procedures and work around would help me to do the upgrade on Test and Production in a short time frame.

Here are the list of tasks
Part 1. Converting the existing 10g Infrastructure Database to AL32UTF8 Character Set
Part 2. Portal Schema Validation Pre-Requisite Check
Part 3. Discoverer 11g Schema creation with RCU
Part 4. Setting up JDK
Part 5. WebLogic Setup for Portal and Discoverer Middletire
Part 6. Installing Portal and Discoverer Middletire
Part 7. Running Middletire Configuration Assistance
Part 8. Middletire Upgrade Assistance
Part 9. Middletire Schema Upgrade Assistance
Part 10. Middletire 11.1.1.4.0 PatchSet Installation
Part 11. IDM Setup

List of Issues
FMW 11g Discoverer Plus Error Loading Applet
FMW 11g Post Install using the Verify Option in Upgrade Assistance gives failure message for Discoverer
FMW 11g Portal and Discoverer Post Upgrade verification failed with ORA-7445
FMW 11g Discoverer Upgade Failed while updating ptm5_instance
FMW 11g Discoverer Version 11.1.1.4.0 Check

Further steps to be updated

Cricket Cricket Cricket Cricket

2011-04-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am big fan of Cricket. On 02-April-2011 it became a 22 years of dream which came true for 1.2 billion Indians. We won the match in a classic style and I am really proud of the team.

Just wanted to share some picture

The whole Indian Team when they lifted the World Cup.

again the team

master blaster Sachin with the team

on the moment of win , srilankan captain watching the happy moment which he missed.

relaxed Sachin

victorious Sachin

Post Win Celebration

Fans from India

Out on the roads

Recommended Book for Oracle GoldenGate 11g Implementers

2011-03-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

Replication has been a major requirement now-a-days as the business requirements are growing. Oracle had Streams but they wanted to have a robust replication tool and it is GoldenGate which they acquired to enhance their replication strategy.

Oracle GoldenGate is the best replication software which is very easy to configure and implement in a large scale. It is widely know to support as a replication tool or a data warehousing tool or a disaster recovery solution.

Those who are looking to start with Golden Gate I would recommend Oracle GoldenGate 11g Implementers Guide from PACKT.

The book details about GoldenGate evolution , technology overview and architecture for beginners. It leverages Installation of GoldenGate with the Prerequisites and Hardware Requirement. Then the books details through various process of configuration and implementing GoldenGate effectively. Overall a complete guide and a better understanding of GoldenGate.