Oracle WebLogic Server Virtual Edition

Nearly silent Oracle announce this time a really cool new stuff: Oracle WebLogic Server Virtual Edition

The concept is really simple but cool: Install a JRockit Virtual Edition directly (native) on Oracle VM (without any Operating System) and run your WebLogic without any overhead of a Operating System directly on the JRockit Virtual Edition.

The download can be found under: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/htdocs/wlsve.html

A datasheet of the Oracle WebLogic Server Virtual Edition can be found under http://www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/application-server/wls-virtualization-ds-067888.pdf
Within the next days I will test this cool new stuff :-)

Update January 2011: Oracle has moved the download page of the Oracle WebLogic Server Virtual Edition to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/wlsve-083102.html

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Oracle Grid Control 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.1.0) - First Screenshots

In my last post "Oracle Grid Control 11g (11.1.0.1.0) for Linux available" you could see that almost one week before the official launch of Oracle the new Release of Oracle Grid Control / Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.1.0) is available for download.

Today I will show you some screenshots of the new Grid Control / Enterprise Manager. If you are expecting a complete new layout and look'n feel, you will be dissappointed. The layout remains the same.
The startpage in Grid Control looks the same like the previous release:

Under the link "About Oracle Enterprise Manager" you will see, thats really a 11.1.0.1.0 release :-)

The database section looks the same like before.

Only if you click the tab "Performance" you can see that the webpage has been changed to ADF.

Under section Middleware you will find your Oracle WebLogic Server, as the Oracle WebLogic Server is a prerequirement to install the new Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1.

If you access the Oracle WebLogic Server included in your section Middleware, you will find the classical WebLogic Server Administration Console

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Oracle Grid Control 11g (11.1.0.1.0) for Linux available

I just discover that the new Oracle Grid Control / Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.1.0) is available for download for Linux x86 and Linux x86-64.

The download is only available at the moment under http://edelivery.oracle.com/ :-)

Addendum 15.04.2010 19:00 CET:

One of my colleague mentioned to me, that he also try to download the Grid Control 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.1.0) from http://edelivery.oracle.com, but he only receives "500 Internal Server Error". I am right now check it by myself and I receive the same error message and I saw that the download buttons are now disabled with a grey background.

It seems, that Oracle placed the Grid Control 11g Release 1 downloads by mistake on edelivery :-) Anybody who downloaded the installation software already: BE HAPPY :-) I am happy, I got the software :-)

Addendum 15.04.2010 22:45 CET:

Now the download of Grid Control 11g Release is working again even if the download buttons are in grey background colour, so happy downloading :-)

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How To Series: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Part 2

Within this post I will continue the "How To Series Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g" with the installation of the Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.2 on a Oracle Linux Enterprise Server 5 x86-64.

The Oracle WebLogic Server is the base for every installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g components, e.g. Oracle Forms & Reports 11g, WebCenter Suite and so on.

In order to install a Oracle WebLogic Server on a 64 bit Operating System we will need at first a JDK, therefore we can choose between the SUN JDK or the Oracle JRockit. In the shown example here I'll use the Oracle JRockit 3.1.2 for Java 1.6.
The necessary software can be found under following links:

• Oracle JRockit 3.1.2: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/jrockit/index.html
• Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.2: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/htdocs/wls_main.html

I will show here only the important screenshots, the full screenshots you will find under the slides shown at the end of this post.

Download the 2 necessary files (JRockit & "Oracle WebLogic Server - Generic") and transfer them to your server to any directory which is accessable for your oracle installation user.

At first we must install the JRockit 3.1.2 for Java 1.6. My personal directory structure is as follows:

• ORACLE_BASE=/u00/app/oracle
• FMW_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw-11.1.1

The JRockit software target directory will be under the $FMW_HOME/jrrt-3.1.2-1.6.0, but you are free to adapt the directory settings to your personal preferences :-)

Just start the JRockit installation with the command ./jrrt-3.1.2-1.6.0-linux-x64.bin, aknowlegde the Welcome Screen and after choose your installation directory.

On the screen Optional Components we don't have to choose anything. Wait some time until the software is copied to your target directory and we are finish with the installation of the JRockit 3.1.2 for Java 1.6

As next we can install the Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.2
For this we change to the directory where we transfer the installation software and set 2 environment variables:

• export JAVA_HOME=/u00/app/oracle/product/fmw-11.1.1/jrrt-3.1.2-1.6.0
• export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

After that we can start the Oracle WebLogic Server installation with:

• java -jar wls1032_generic.jar

Aknowledge the well known Welcome Screen and choose your Fusion Middleware Home (FMW_HOME)

If you are choosing my prefered directory structure, the installer will prompt you, that your choosen Fusion Middleware Home is not empty, just aknowledge this popup.
As next choose, if you want to receive security updates through Oracle Support (Metalink). After choose the Installation Type, here you can choose "Typical"

The JDK selection will have automaticly detected the before JDK JRockit 3.1.2

Then we must define the Oracle WebLogic Server target directory, normally this will be under the Fusion Middleware Home directory

Aknowledge the Installation Summary and wait some minutes, if the installation is finish, deselect the option "Run Quickstart" as the necessary WebLogic Domain will be created within the installation of the specific Fusion Middleware components. And we are ready with the installation of the Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.2

In the next part, I'll show how to install the Oracle Identity Management 11g.

Under slideshare.net you will find the full presentation with all screens to install the Oracle JRockit and the Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.2

Fusion Middleware 11g How To Part 2

View more presentations from Dirk Nachbar.

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How To Series: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Part 1

Today I will start my How To Series for installing and configure the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g (11.1.1.2.0).
The first part will be about how to install the Metadata Repository for the Fusion Middleware 11g.

Why we need a Metadata Repository? Most components of the Fusion Middleware 11g have to store informations in a repository, therefore we will need a database for creating the necessary schemas.

The Metadata Repository must be created for following components:

• Identity Management
• Enterprise Content Management
• WebLogic Communication Services
• SOA and BPM Infrastructure
• WebCenter Suite
• Portal and Business Intelligence

For Oracle Forms & Reports we will not need the Metadata Repository.

As preparation for the Metadata Repository, we will need an Oracle Database, my personal recommendation is use a Oracle 11.1.0.7.0 (but its also possible to use an Oracle 11.2.x). The database should be configured with following options:

• Oracle Text
• Oracle Ultra Search
• Spatial

The SGA sizing should be at least 1.5 GB and the init.ora parameters processes and sessions should be at least 500.

Download the Repository Creation Utility (RCU) from http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/middleware/htdocs/fmw_11_download.html for your platform (available for Windows or Linux). As the RCU can configure a remote database your target database can even reside on e.g. a Solaris server.
Just extract the RCU to any directory, no additional software is required as the RCU contains a full Oracle Client. Change to the directory rcuHome/bin and run for Linux "./rcu" or Windows rcu.bat.

In the following I will just show the important screens (a link to a slideshow with all the screens is given at the end).

At first the famous Welcome Screen comes up. After this you can choose between either to "Create" or to "Drop" a Metadata Repository, just choose "Create".
As next we must define the database connection to our target database:

The connection to the target database must be done with SYSDBA privileges.

Directly at the database connect the RCU will execute some prerequirement checks. After sucessfully passing these checks we can choose the components we want to install and configure in the Metadata Repository. In my example I will just install everything. Normally you should only install the components you really need.

Within the selection of the components, we also have to define the general schema prefix for the created schemas. Normally you should choose a naming convention like "DEV" for development environments, "PRD" for production environments and so on. After the selection of the components/schemas to be installed another prerequirement check is running, just aknowledge them.
As next we must define the passwords for the new schemas, here we can define one password for all schemas or we can define own passwords per schema.
After this we have to manage the new tablespaces which will be created. Aknowledge the next 2 Popup's, the first one warns you, that the tablespaces will be created if they are not already existing and the second popup is a validation for the tablespace creation. Then we are nearly at the end, just review the summary page and lets start with the creation of the choosen components/schemas.
Time for a small coffee :-) Anybody who knows the previous version of the Oracle Application Server knows that the creation of the Metadata Repository tooks quite a long time, but with the Fusion Middleware 11g it's really fast now. The reason is simply, it's just a "basic creation" of the schemas, the huge data load and so on will come when we are installing the Fusion Middleware Components himself later. So at the end: no time saving :-(

At the end of the creation process you should see a screen like this:

And ready is our Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository.

Thats all for today, the next part will contain, how to install the Oracle WebLogic Server 11g Release 1 (10.3.2), as this will be the base for all following installation.

Under slideshare.net you will find the full presentation with all the screens to install the Metadata Repository.

Fusion Middleware 11g How To Part 1

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Oracle 11.2.0.1.0 for Windows Platforms available

Since this weekend the Oracle Database 11.2.0.1.0 is for Windows Platforms (32 bit and 64 bit) available.

The software can be found under http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/database/index.html

The Grid Infrastructure Software is only available for 64 bit platforms.

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Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Launch 22nd April

On 22nd April 2010 the official launch of Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g will take place in New York.
For details look look here http://www.oracle.com/dm/10q4field/46982_em11g_sales3.html?msgid=partner160oem

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My second Blog - Web 2.0 Technologies

I decided to split now my Blog post into technical Oracle stuff and stuff about Web/Enterprise 2.0.

Therefore I created a new Blog under http://web20technologies.wordpress.com.

I hope you will enjoy it :-)

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The Sixt Sense

Incredibale :-) Enjoy it - real future technology ;-)

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Enterprise Information Management - Presentation by Billy Cripe

I just see a new presentation by Billy Cripe from Fishbowl Solutions about "Enterprise Information Management 7 Trends & Why They Matter".

I can strongly recommend this presenation.

Enterprise Information Management

View more presentations from Billy Cripe.

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How To Series: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g

As now the new Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g becomes common within the Oracle World, I will start within this week a small series with some How To's:

• Concept of Oracle Fusion Middleware
• Installation of simple and complex Fusion Middleware environments
• Configuration of Fusion Middleware Components
• and a focus on Web Center Suite (which is in my opinion a really cool Product Stack, but the price is also cool :-) )

If you have any special request for a How To, drop me here a comment or follow me on LinkedIn (see button on the left side)

Hope you will enjoy this series and hopefully it will help some people to see a little bit more clear about the "Mega" Fusion Middleware 11g :-)

• How To Series: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Part 1 - Metadata Repository
• How To Series: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Part 2 - Oracle WebLogic Server

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Oracle WebLogic Security Patch CVE-2010-0073 released

A few days ago Oracle released a security patch for the Oracle WebLogic Server, mainly all releases of the Oracle WebLogic Server are affected

• Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.1 & 10.3.2
• Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.0
• Oracle WebLogic Server 10.0
• Oracle WebLogic Server 7.0 & 8.1 & 9.0 & 9.1 & 9.2

The CVSS Base Score for this security hole is 10 (!!), but only on Windows Platforms. On Unix Platforms the Base Score is just 7.5 (which is still high enough).

So it's really advisable to install this Security Patch, detailed informations can be found under http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/alerts/alert-cve-2010-0073.html

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Web 2.0 - Blessing or Curse?

Nearly everbody is using Web 2.0 in one way or another, mostly with Social Networking like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on.

Normally I should be a maintainer of Web 2.0 technologies due to my job, but if you are really getting tired of all your Social Networking accounts and what to get ride of them and return into the real world :-) here is a really good solution: http://suicidemachine.org/

If you are sitting in a bar with some friends and you communicating with them through your mobile phone, then maybe it's time to click the link above :-)

N.B.: At the moment the website is a little bit overloaded, so be patient

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How to create a valid tnsnames.ora from Oracle Internet Directory (OID)

Many of customers are using now an Oracle Internet Directory (OID) to store the tnsnames.ora entries in order to avoid a rollout to every client workstation, if a tnsnames.ora entry has been changed, deleted or added.
From time to time my customers asking me, how to spool out / create a tnsnames.ora file out of the entries of the Oracle Internet Directory.

Here two commands which you can use:

ldapsearch -b "" -s sub '((objectclass=orclNetService)(objectclass=orclService))' orclnetdescstring '((objectclass=orclNetService)(objectclass=orclNetServiceAlias))' orclnetdescstring aliasedobjectname > /tmp/temp_tnsnames.txt

sed -e 's/orclnetdescstring=/ /' -e 's/cn=//' -e 's/,dc=/./g' -e 's/,cn=OracleContext//' -e '/^$/d' -e 's/$/=/g' -e 's/)=/)/' -e '/)))/G' /tmp/temp_tnsnames.txt > /tmp/tnsnames.ora

Be aware both commands must be each in one line !

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Oracle WebCenter Suite: People Connection Service

Nearly silently Oracle integrates in the latest Release of Oracle WebCenter Suite 11.1.1.2 a new service: People Connection Service.

People who are registered with Services like Linkedin or Xing will feel really familiar :-) So now Oracle is also providing a complete Social Networking Stack.

More details on People Connection Service can be found in the Documentation, just search for "People Connection"
A sample in Oracle TechNet is also availabile, click here :-)

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Enterprise Content Management Superstar Billy Cripe moved to Fishbowl Solutions

The first entry for this year will just be a small notice on that Billy Cripe (formerly working for Oracle) has been moved to Fishbowl Solutions.

If you got ever the chance to join a presentation of him: JUST DO IT !!! :-) If you don't got the possiblity to see him live, checkout his presentations at http://www.slideshare.net/billycripe

His new blog can be found under following link: http://cfour.fishbowlsolutions.com/

N.B.: @Billy: If you read this: good luck in your new position

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Happy New Year

So, that's the last entry for this year.

Happy new year, guten Rutsch (german) and bonne et joyeuse année 2010 (french) to all my readers.

Next year I will continue with more stuff about Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g and Enterprise Content Management. So stay tune ... :-)

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Fun with DUAL Table

Try this "little hack":

connect to Database as sysdba and execute following commands:

select * from dual;
D
-
X
select count(*) from dual;
COUNT(*)
--------
1
insert into dual values ('Y');
commit;

Connect in another session with a normal user and try to drop one table:

conn scott/tiger
drop table t1;
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00604: error occurred at recursive SQL level 1
ORA-01422: exact fetch returns more than requested number of rows
select * from dual;
D
-
X

Cool the dual just shows one row as expected

Go back to the session with the connect as sysdba

select * from dual;
D
-
X

Upps, here is the same, one row in the dual.

create table copy_dual as select * from dual;
select * from copy_dual;
D
--
X
Y

And here we can see the two rows :-)
To clean up, just delete the second row in dual table

delete from dual where dummy = 'Y';
commit;

Addendum: Under Oracle 11.2.0.1.0 the error with the drop table command doesn't come up again

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Explaining Enterprise 2.0

Today I discover a really cool presentation from Oracle concerning Enterprise 2.0 http://getsocial.oracle.com/?id=d2d

I can strongly recommend this interactive presentation to you, it's one of the best presentations I ever see from Oracle.

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DOAG Conference 2009 - Training Day

From the 17th until 19th November is in Nürnberg/Germany the DOAG Conference and in access on the 20th November 2009 I will give on the Training Day a workshop for "Identity Management for DBA's", details can be found under http://www.doag.org/konferenz/doag/2009/konferenz/schulung.

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