Best Practices for Maintaining Oracle Fusion Middleware

2. Best Practices for Maintaining Oracle Fusion Middleware Rafael RamirezSenior Principal Support Engineer

3. The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

4. Program Agenda • Introduction • Best Practices and Recommendations • Q&A

5. Oracle Services Enabling the success of your Oracle hardware and software investments • Oracle Experts Helping You Succeed withYour Oracle Investments Complete Support for Oracle Hardware, Software, and Engineered Systems Mission Critical Support Services for All Oracle Applications and Technologies Your Complete Training Source for Oracle Hardware and Software Extend Your Oracle Investments to the Cloud with Value, Choice, and Confidence

6. Oracle Premier Support Comprehensive Coverage Tools and Resources Service and Support Product Innovation Quickly diagnose and resolve issues • Expert technical support • Rapid-response field service • Lifetime Support Get the most of your Oracle products with proactive services • Oracle knowledgebase • Product health checks • My Oracle Support Community Keep pace with change and capitalize on new opportunities • Updates • New releases • Tools to assist with patching and upgrades

7. Get Proactive Portfolio—an integral component of your Premier Support Contract Helping you get the most value fromOracle Premier Support

8. Oracle SupportBest Practices and Recommendations for Maintaining Oracle Fusion Middleware

9. Best Practices and Recommendations • Proactive Tools • Upgrade Assistance • Maintenance Resources • High Availability • Built-in Diagnostic Features

10. Oracle Premier Support: Get Proactive! (Doc ID 432.1) • This note is index page to most of the topics discussed in this presentation • Help you solve problems without having to log a SR • Streamline and simplify your daily operations • Reduce risks and maximize up-time and lower your organizations costs through preventative maintenance • Get Proactive

11. Remote Diagnostic Agent (RDA) • RDA is a command-line diagnostic tool that provides a unified package of support diagnostics tools and preventive solutions • Captured data provides Oracle Support with a picture of your environment aiding in problem diagnosis • Can reduce Service Request resolution time • RDA code is readable. You can see what will be executed and what is collected before you upload it to My Oracle Support • Latest RDA version is 8.1

12. Configure RDA with Fusion Middleware 11g/12c (Doc ID 1498376.1) • RDA installed in ORACLE_HOME/rda with all Fusion Middleware 11g products (Except standalone WebLogic Server) • RDA installed in ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/rda with all Fusion Middleware 12c (12.1.2+). (Including standalone WebLogic Server) • RDA will be automatically updated quarterly if using Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM) in connected mode • To configure RDA refer to: • Get Proactive with Fusion Middleware : Resolve Problems Faster! Use Remote Diagnostic Agent (Doc ID 1498376.1)

13. Oracle Configuration Manager(Needs Image) • Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM) captures configuration data from your installation and uploads it to Oracle • Oracle Configuration Manager Collection Overview (Doc ID 728985.5) • Configuration details displayed in My Oracle Support. • OCM

14. Oracle Configuration Manager • Security Concerns? • OCM does not collect: • Business transactions, production data or passwords • Customer may choose between manual or automated uploads • Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and HTTPS are used for all communications • Data only visible for users with your Customer Support Identifier • Oracle Configuration Manager Security Overview (Doc ID 728982.5)

15. Oracle Configuration Manager • Take advantage of Service Request Priority Handling if your Service Request has OCM data associated with it • Make use of Configuration Change History • Historical data OCM uploads for your system is always available and any two snapshots can be compared to report differences • Data collected is used to display targeted Patch and Health recommendations customized to your system • Health Checks monitor configuration data automatically • Patch Recommendations list patches and updates for your Oracle software

16. Configure OCM with Fusion Middleware 11g/12c • OCM is installed with all Fusion Middleware 11g/12c products including WebLogic Server 10.3.1 and later • OCM is configured during installation/configuration if you select “Yes” to Receiving Security Updates • To configure OCM post installation/configuration refer to: • Fusion Middleware RDA/OCM Documentation (Doc ID 1419273.1) • Configuring OCM in Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g? A Quick and Easy Guide (Doc ID 1096871.1) • Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c’s Harvester is an alternative

17. Learn more about Oracle Configuration Manager • Click on the Collector tab • Download the latest OCM release if you aren’t using OCM in connected mode • Review the OCM documentation • My Oracle Support

18. My Oracle Support Certify • Certification • A certification is any combination of Oracle, third-party products and operating systems that Oracle has tested and confirms work together. • Certified is not the same as supported • Certify Tool in My Oracle Support accessed via Certifications tab • Simple, easy to use, source of truth for certified Oracle Products • A must use tool for planning maintainable Oracle ecosystems • My Oracle Support Certification Tool for Oracle Fusion Middleware Products (Doc ID 1368736.1)

19. My Oracle Support Certify (Doc ID 1368736.1) • Fusion Middleware 11g Certification details have always been published in the Certification Central Hubhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-certification-100350.html • For release 11.1.1.6+, 11.1.2+ and 12.1.1+ certification details are published in Certify as well as in the Central Hub spreadsheets • Certification details for some Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.4 & 11.1.1.5 Products are available in the My Oracle Support Certify application • The data in My Oracle Support Certify is a subset of that contained in the Central hub, so you may need to continue referring to both

20. My Oracle Support Certify • Certification questions after using Certify? Please ask your question in the new Middleware Certification Community, without the need to submit a Service Request. The Middleware Certification Community is staffed with Oracle Support Engineers. • https://communities.oracle.com/portal/server.pt/community/middleware_certification/571 • Certifications

21. Best Practices and Recommendations • Proactive Tools • Upgrade Assistance • Maintenance Resources • High Availability • Built-in Diagnostic Features

22. Upgrade Lifecycle Advisors (Doc ID 250.1) • Upgrade Lifecycle Advisors follow a typical customer use case upgrading from Oracle Application Server 10g or WebLogic Server 9.2 to Fusion Middleware 11g. • The documentation assistance within the Advisor is targeted and limited in scope to a specific system configuration. • Although the configuration may not exactly match your own environment, the content, flow and advice given should be helpful to your upgrade • Six phases - Evaluate, Plan, Configure, Test, Implement, Accept • Refers you to other Doc IDs, Multimedia & Manuals as required

23. Upgrade Lifecycle Advisors • Six Phases of Upgrade • Check of steps as you review them. Progress tracked between visits • Available Multimedia content • Lifecycle Advisors

24. Upgrade Lifecycle Advisors (Doc ID 250.1) • Premier Support ended for Oracle WebLogic Server 9.2.x, Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2 (10.1.2), Oracle Identity Management 10g Release 3 (10.1.4) • Advanced Customer Support Services can also be engaged for Upgrade projects

25. Fusion Middleware Upgrade Information Center(Doc ID 1343825.2) • Specific to Fusion Middleware Upgrades • Collection of Knowledge Articles FAQs, Production Documentation and Communities • List of available Upgrade Lifecycle Advisors • Information Centers

26. WebLogic Server Upgrade Information Center(Doc ID 1349251.2) • Collection of Knowledge Articles FAQs, Production Documentation and Communities • WebLogic Server Upgrade Lifecycle Advisor • Information Centers

27. Best Practices and Recommendations • Proactive Tools • Upgrade Assistance • Maintenance Resources • High Availability • Built-in Diagnostic Features

28. Patch Recommendations (Doc ID 859115.1) • My Oracle Support Patch Recommendations list patches and updates for Oracle software • Based on version and currently installed patches • Recommended Patches include Security Patch Updates (SPU), PatchSet Updates (PSU), Patch Bundles and Performance related patches • My Oracle Support Recommended Patches for Oracle WebLogic Server & Oracle Fusion Middleware Products (Doc ID 859115.1)

29. Patch Recommendations (Doc ID 859115.1) • If OCM (or Enterprise Manager Harvester) is used, review the Patch Recommendations Region in My Oracle Support • WebLogic Server patch recommendations are now available starting from OCM version 10.3.7 • If OCM is not used, manually search in My Oracle Support • If Enterprise Manager Could Control 12c used onsite, review the Patch Recommendations on the Enterprise Summary page

30. Patch Recommendations 1. Click here for Manual Search 2. Click Patch Advisor • Click the Patches & Updates Tab • Click the Recommended Patch Advisor in the Patch Search Region • Select your Product and Version then search • My Oracle Support 3. Select Product & Version Recommendations across all Systems (OCM only) 4. Search

31. Patching & Maintenance Lifecycle Advisor (Doc ID 305.1) • Walks you through the lifecycle of patching Fusion Middleware 11g. It covers patching tools and concepts such as: • Fusion Middleware 11g Patch Sets and Patch Set Installers • Fusion Middleware 11g Interim, Merge, Bundle and Backport Patches • OPatch • Smart Update • Critical Patch Updates (CPU) • PatchSet Updates (PSU)

32. Patching & Maintenance Lifecycle Advisor • Helps you to establish a patching strategy. Takes you through four phases of Evaluate, Plan, Test and Implement • Contains inline Multimedia Content & Manuals as required • My Oracle Support

33. Additional Patching Resources • Oracle Fusion Middleware Patching Guide 11g Release 1 • Details on using OPatch, Patch Set Installers, Patch Set Assistants • Part of the official Documentation Set • Patching Guide

34. Additional Patching Resources • Steps to Maintain Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) (Doc ID 1073776.1) • Steps to Maintain Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 2 (11.1.2) (Doc ID 1373061.1)

35. Additional Patching Resourceshttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23104_01/download_readme.htm • Download, Installation, and Configuration Readmes details patchset numbers which must be downloaded from My Oracle Support • Downloading Patchsets

36. Best Practices and Recommendations • Proactive Tools • Upgrade Assistance • Maintenance Resources • High Availability • Built-in Diagnostic Features

37. High Availability Best Practices Documentation • High Availability Guide • Instructions for configuring Fusion Middleware products for high availability • Enterprise Deployment Guides • Available for most Product Suites • An enterprise deployment is an Oracle best practices blueprint based on proven Oracle high-availability and security technologies and recommendations for Oracle Fusion Middleware • The best practices described in these blueprints span the entire technology stack including the database

38. Maximum Availability Architecturehttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/availability/fusion-middleware-maa-155387.html • White papers describing the Oracle best practices blueprint for implementing Oracle high availability technologies • Maximum Availability

39. Best Practices and Recommendations • Proactive Tools • Upgrade Assistance • Maintenance Resources • High Availability • Built-in Diagnostic Features

40. Diagnostic Framework • Aids in detecting, diagnosing, and resolving problems • Problems that are targeted are critical errors such as those caused by code bugs, metadata corruption, customer data corruption, deadlocked threads, and inconsistent state. • Examples: Deadlock, StuckThread, Unchecked Exceptions (NullPointerException, StackOverFlowError, OutOfMemoryError, etc.) • When a critical error occurs, it is assigned an incident number, and diagnostic data for the error (such as log files) are immediately captured and tagged with this number. Flood control limits how many incidents are captured within a short period of time

41. Diagnostic Framework (Doc ID 1525027.1) • The goals of the Diagnostic Framework are: • First-failure diagnosis • Limiting damage and interruptions after a problem is detected • Reducing problem diagnostic and resolution time • Simplifying customer interaction with Oracle Support • Get Proactive with Fusion Middleware : Capture Diagnostics At First Time of Failure Using Diagnostic Framework (Doc ID 1525027.1)

42. Quick Tracing (Version 11.1.1.5+) • Fine-grained logging to memory • Trace from specific loggers • No Performance Overhead • Save messages in memory to a file using FMW Control or WLST • To enable QuickTrace • Create a QuickTrace handler and associate a logger with it • Set the level and type of information to be written to memory.

43. Selective Tracing (Version 11.1.1.5+) • Fine-grained logging for specified users or other attributes of a request • Avoids generating large volume of log messages • Can specify the logger to narrow the scope

44. Using Selective Tracing (Version 11.1.1.5+) • Requires one time configuration change to the setDomainEnv.sh/cmd scripts and a complete domain restart before using the feature • If upgrading from a previous version to 11.1.1.5.0 additional configuration steps are required before using it • Configure selective tracing using FMW Control or WLST • Reproduce the issue • View selective traces using FMW Control or WLST • Disable selective tracing using FMW Control or WLST

45. While You’re at Oracle OpenWorld… • Support Stars BarMoscone West, Level 2 • Oracle experts • Live demos • Mini-briefings • Videos • Support Breakout Sessions • Oracle Database • Oracle E-Business Suite • SQL Tuning • Oracle Exadata • Siebel CRM • PeopleSoft • JD Edwards • Oracle Business Analytics • Oracle Fusion Middleware • Oracle Solaris • Oracle RAC Cluster • Oracle Communications Solutions • Sun Server and Storage Systems

46. Recap Recommendations • Get familiar with Proactive tools (RDA, OCM, Certify) • Take advantage of Upgrade Advisors and Information Centers • Make use of Patch Recommendations and the Patching Advisor to develop a patching strategy • Become aware of the built-in diagnostic features that can assist with troubleshooting

47. Q&A and Important Support Resources • Discover more about Get Proactive: • http://www.oracle.com/goto/proactivesupport • MOS Community:https://communities.oracle.com/portal/server.pt/community/middleware_certification/571 • Product Information Center (PIC):https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=945741.2 • Upgrade/Maintenance Advisors:https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=250.1

48. Thank you!