CRC press oracle11i EBusiness suite from the front lines dec 2003 ISBN 0849318610

Oracle11iE-Business
SuiteFromtheFrontLines
ISBN:0849318610
byAprilJ.
Wells(ed)
CRCPress©2004(504pages)
Thisbookdetailsthestepsin
installinganew11i
environment,andexplains
theprocessofupgrading
froma10.7oran11.0.3
release;italsoexploresthe
techniquesandresultsof
migratingfromone
maintenancereleaseof11i
toanother.

TableofContents
Oracle11iE-BusinessSuiteFromthe
FrontLines
Introduction
Chapter1 - IntroducingApps
11i,8i,and9iNew
Chapter2 Features
TheSurrounding
Chapter3 Environment
Chapter4 - Apache
Chapter5 - JServ


Chapter6 - OtherServices

Chapter7 - Printing
Chapter8 - ADandOtherUtilities
Chapter9 - InstallationandMigration
Chapter10 - Patching
Chapter11 - Cloning
ConcurrentManagersand
Chapter12 ConcurrentPrograms
AutoConfig,Oracle
Chapter13 - ApplicationManager,and
OtherManagementTools
Chapter14 - OddsandEnds
Index
ListofFigures
ListofTables


BackCover
Oracle11iE-BusinessSuitefromtheFrontLinesisthe
firstbooktocompilethetips,techniques,andpractical
adviceforadministeringOracleE-BusinessSuite11i.
TheauthorexaminesActiveDirectoryUtilities,
patching,cloning,andthenewfeaturesthat11ibrings
tothemarket.Thebookbenefitsthosewithlimited
experiencewithOracleApplicationbutwithmore
extensivebackgroundinOracleDatabase
Administration.Thisvolumeisvaluabletosystems
administratorsorDBAswhohaveexperiencewitholder
versionsofOracleFinancialsandwanttoexpandtheir
knowledgetoincludethechangesinherentin11i.
Thebookdetailsthestepsininstallinganew11i

environment,andexplainstheprocessofupgrading
froma10.7oran11.0.3release.Italsoexploresthe
techniquesandresultsofmigratingfromone
maintenancereleaseof11itoanother.
Thisanalysisoffersyoureal-worldhintsand
recommendationstohelpyouwithday-to-daytuning,
troubleshooting,andmaintenanceandwillhelpyou
deliverreliableservicetoyourendusers.Itisalsoa
helpfultoolformanagersandco-workersto
understandthedailychallengesthatAppsDBAsface.


Oracle11iE-BusinessSuiteFromtheFront
Lines
AprilJ.Wells

AUERBACHPUBLICATIONSACRCPressCompany
BocaRatonLondonNewYorkWashington,D.C.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Wells,AprilJ.
Oracle11iE-BusinessSuitefromthefrontlines/AprilJ.Wells.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN0-8493-1861-0
1.Oracle(Computerfile)2.OracleE-businesssuite.3.Electronic
commerce—Computerprograms.I.Title
HF5548.323.O73.W452003
005.75'65—dc222003062864
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Therehavebeenmanypeoplewhohavehelpedandencouragedmein

bringingthisbooktolife.ThisisthebookthatIwouldhavegiven
anythingtohavebeenabletofindwhenIwaslookingdownthelongroad
togolive.
ToTriciaMaupin,Iwouldliketosaythankyouforlettingmelearnthe


hardwayandforstandingbehindmeandstandingupformewhenit
matteredmost.AndtoArnieGoetz,thankyouforsavingmefrommy
owngoodintentions.
IwouldliketothankRichO'HanleyfromCRCPressforgivingmethe
chancetobringthisdreamtolife.Youhavegivenmemybigbreak,a
chancethatIneverthoughtIwouldget.Youhavebeentherethroughall
thequestions.Ihopethisisjustthebeginningofourrelationship
together.
RachelCarmichael,thankyouforbeingbrutallyhonest,butIdidit
anyway!
Mom,youtoldmeIcoulddoanythingifIputmymindtoit.Ididit.
Mostofall,Iwouldliketothankmyhusband,Larry,andmychildren,
AdamandAmandya.Theyhaveputupwithmegettingupearlyinthe
morningsandwritingwhennooneelseinthehousewasawakeand
goingtosleepearlierthanIneededtosoIcouldgetupanddoitagain.
Youhaveputupwithmeputtinginlonghoursonmydaysoffand
weekendswritingandworkingonthisbookwhenIknowyouwantedme
todootherthingswithyou.Larry,youhavealwaysencouragedme.Even
whenIwasnotsurethatIcoulddoit,youneverdoubtedme.You
pushedmewhenIdidnotthinkIcouldgoonwithit.ToAdamand
Amandya,Iwouldliketosay,thisbookisproofthatifyouhaveadream
andyoualwaysholdontothatdream,nomatterhowlong,itreallycan
cometrue.Nevergiveuponyourdreamsandneverletanyonemake
youbelievethatyoucannotaccomplishthem.

Introduction
Whenyouaredealingwithaproductthesize,complexity,andflexibility
oftheOracle®E-BusinessSuite,Version11i,theideasofwheretostart,
whattodo(andwhatnottodo),andwheretoturnforanswerscanbea
dauntingprospect.Throughtheprocessofbringingthisbooktolife,I
havecometorealizethatmuchofwhatyoudealwithinthenewversions
ofwhatusedtobelooselythoughtofasOracleFinancials(Financials)is
somewhatlikedealingwithadesertorthesurroundings;OracleEBusinessSuite11icanlooklikeableak,frightening,anddesolateplace.
Buttothosewithatrainedeyeandanopenmind,itcanbeseenforthe
thingofefficiencyandbeautythatitis.Alloftheshapes,textures,pieces,
andpartsworktogethertocreateanenvironmentthatisperfectlysuited
towhatitwascreatedfor.Andifyouarepatientenough,youwillbeable
toseethebrightshiningbeautyofthedesertinspringtime,inflower,inall
itsglory(sometimesyoureallyhavetolookforit,butitwillbethere).
Thosearethetimeswhenyouquestionlessthesanityofthedecisionto
existinthisenvironmentandenjoyyoursurroundings.
Thatisnottosaythatthingsdonothappentoradicallychangethe
landscape.Thewindsofchangeblowendlesslyinbothenvironments.
Bothareacteduponbytheirsurroundings,andbotharerobustenough
tobeabletosurviveeventhecruelestcircumstancesandcomebackto
thrive.Sometimesstormswillalterthelandscapeinsuchawaythatyou
arelefttryingtorediscoveryournavigationpath.Othertimesthepathis
clearandeasilynavigable.
Thisbookisdesignedtohelpyoutofindyourpaththroughthe
sometimesbleak,sometimesbeautiful,alwaysinconsistentdesert
landscapethatcanbeOracleE-BusinessSuite11i(11i).Itwillhelpyou
throughyourday-to-dayadventuresinadministrationandincludestips,
techniques,andpracticaladvicefromsomeonewhohashadhershareof

cactusspinesandexposurealongthetrail.IncludedisinformationonAD
(ActiveDirectory)Utilities,patching,cloning,andseveralofthenewer
featuresthat11ibringstomarket.Itwillassistyouinfindingyourown
paththroughthesometimespainfulworldthatyounowarewalking
throughandhopefullywillhelpyoufindtheeleganceinyour


surroundings.


AudienceandScope
ThisbookisintendedforanyonefacingthetaskofadministeringOracle
E-BusinessSuite11i.Itiswrittenprimarilyforthosewithlimited
experiencewithOracleApplicationsbutwithsomebackgroundinOracle
DatabaseAdministration.Itis,however,agoodreferenceforanyone
wantingtolearnmoreaboutthetechnicalinsandoutsofOracle
Applications(Applications),howitrunsandhowtolivethelifeofanApps
DBA(databaseadministrator).Fromthenewestpersonwhose
managementjustaskedherifshethoughtshecouldtakeoverasthe
administratorforthenewOracleAppsinstallationtotheveteranof
severalyears,weallhavethingswecanlearn,thingsthatwecanhave
refreshedinourminds.Sometimeswejustneedahandycentral
referencetolooktowhenasituationarises.Muchoftheinformationwill
beofparticularinteresttothoseadministratorswhohavesome
backgroundinolderversionsofFinancialsinhelpingtobringtheir
existingknowledgebasetheaddeddepthofhowthingshavechangedin
11i.


HowtoUsethisBook

ThisbooktouchesallaspectsofwhatanAppsadministratordoesdayto
day.Wewilllookatwhatisinvolvedininstallinganew11ienvironment,
whatgoesintoupgradingfroma10.7oran11.0.3release,andwhat
happensduringamigrationfromonemaintenancereleaseof11ito
another.Onceyouhaveitinstalled,whatisentailedinpatching,cloning,
andexactlywhatareallofthoseADUtilitiesthateveryoneisalways
talkingabout?Whatarealloftheservicesthatwillberunningonmy
middletierandwhatdoIdowiththesefinickyConcurrentManagers?
Thisbookwillprovideyouwithrealworldhintsandtipstohelpyouwith
yourday-to-daytuning,troubleshooting,andmaintenanceandwillhelp
youefficientlyprovidereliableservicetoyourendusers.
Managers,co-workers,andthosewhohavetodealonaday-to-daybasis
withtheAppsDBAwillfindthisbookhelpfulasatooltounderstandwhat
theAppsadministratoristalkingaboutandwhatthatjoblookslikefrom
theinside.

Chapter1:IntroducingApps
Thisintroductorychapterexplainswhatexactlythisnewsuiteofproducts
(thathavebeenpackagedtogetherandlaunchedtobeaccessible
throughanybrowseranywhere)hastoofferandwhatitmeanstothe
companyandtotheAppsDBA.Itdiscussesthetechnicalarchitecture
andgivesthereaderabackgroundinthefundamentallanguageofthe
OracleE-BusinessSuiteaswellasthelanguageofthecorporate
environmentinwhichitisused.Italsotouchesontheresponsibilitiesof
theAppsDBAandhowthisrolediffersfromthatofatypicalOracleDBA.

Chapter2:WhatIsNewin11i,8i,and9i
ThischapterdiscusseswhatnewfeaturesnotonlytheOracleEBusinessSuitebroughtwithit,butthefeaturesof8iand9ithatittakes
advantageof,aswellasthosefeaturesthatanAppsDBAcantake
advantageofindailydealingswiththesystem.Manyofthenewfeatures

arethosewhichaDBAmightdealwithinday-to-daylife,stressingthe
factthatanAppsDBAstillmaintainsalloftheawarenessofthedatabase
anditsoperationsasanyotherDBAdoeswiththeaddedattentiontothe
detailsofApplications'middletierofproducts.

Chapter3:TheSurroundingEnvironment
OracleE-BusinessSuitedoesnotliveinavacuumandthischapter
stressesthoseportionsoftheenvironmentthattouchtheOracleEBusinessSuiteandallowittofunctiontoitsfullest.Manyoftheseare
thingsthatyoumayhavehadtodealwithorhavereadaboutpreviously,
buttheyarenowimpactingyourlifeinanentirelynewway.Someof
thesearethingsthatyouwillprobablyneverhavedealtwithbefore,but
theywillmakeyourdealingswithOracleE-BusinessSuiteinsomeways
easierandmoreintuitive,andinsomewaysmorechallengingand
confusing.Someofthesurroundingenvironmentalpiecesaregeared
particularlytothoseoperatinginaWindows®environment;someare
universaltoalloperatingsystems.

Chapter4:Apache
ApacheisthecoreoftheOracle9iASservices.Withitsratherin-depth
andflexibleconfigurationfiles,directives,andcontainers,casual
familiaritywiththeinnerworkingsissomethingthattheApps
administratorneeds.Thischapterwillgiveyouanoverviewoftheinner
workingsoftheApacheserverthatisattheheartoftheOracle
ApplicationsHTTPserver.

Chapter5:JavaandJServ
ExtendingthecapabilitiesofApachebymeansofthemod_jserv
module,JavaServerpages,andotherJavacomponents,OracleEBusinessSuitemakesextensiveuseofthenewerWebprogramming

standards.Withoutsomeunderstandingofwhattheseareandwhatthey
couldmeantoyou,yourjobasadministratorcouldbecomesignificantly
moredifficult,especiallywhenitcomestodebuggingproblems.Youwill
wanttolooktothischapterforinformationthatwillgiveyouabetterbasic


understandingofthewaythatOracleusesJavaandhowitcanimpact
yourlife.

Chapter6:OtherServices
InadditiontoJServandApache,therearemoreservicesin11ithatyou
willworkwithfrequently.Oncerunning,manywillcauseyoufew
concerns.Othersmaybemoreproblematic.Severalhavebeenaround
foralongtime.Severalarenewcomponentsofthecoreproduct,but
wereavailableasadd-onsinpreviousreleases.Inthischapter,youwill
findinformationdealingwiththesecomponents.

Chapter7:Printing
PrintingisoftenoneofthemostmisunderstoodpartsofhowOracleEBusinessSuiteworks.Everyonetakesforgrantedthatwhenyoutella
documenttoprint,itisalmostmagicallygoingtoshowupattheprinter.In
manyprogramsthatyouuseeveryday,thisisalmosttrue.With11iyou
havetohaveabasicunderstandingoftheinnerworkingsofthewaythat
theapplicationandtheprinterinterfaceviatheoperatingsystem.While
notanall-inclusiveexplanationofalloftheseinnerworkings,Chapter7
willallowyoutohaveabasicunderstanding,enoughofanunderstanding
thatyoucansetupandtroubleshootprintingasitoccursonthe
application.

Chapter8:ADandOtherUtilities
Chapter8addressesthemysticalsoundingADUtilitiesandsomeofthe

otherhandyutilitiesthatyouwillfindyourselfdealingwithoftenasyou
maintainyoursystem.Theseutilitiesareoftenseensprinkledthroughout
resumesandjoblistingsforAppsprofessionals,andtheylookimpressive
andcomplicated.Thischapterwillacquaintyouwiththeutilitiesthatyou
willfindbecomingyourfriendsasyounavigateyourwaythroughthelife
ofyoursystem.Afterreadingthischapter,youtoowillbeabletoliberally
usewordslikeADADMINandADPATCHwitheaseandunderstandwhat
youaretalkingabout,whattheydo,andwhattolookforwhenagood
utilitygoesbad.


Chapter9:Installing,Upgrading,andMigrating
Howdoyouactuallygetthethingontoyoursystem?Chapter9willgive
youhintsonwhattoplanforinanupgradeoramigration.Itwillgiveyou
hintsandtipsonwhattodotostaysaneinaninsaneworldandhowto
rememberwhatyoudidlater.Therearedifferentthingstotakeinto
considerationwiththedifferentapproachestogettingyoursystemtothe
latestreleaseoftheApplication.Thepaththatyoufollowwillhaveits
ownsetofopportunitiesandproblemsandwiththehelpofthischapter
youwillbereadytodealwiththem.

Chapter10:Patching
PatchingisthemainstayofmanyAppsDBAs'existence.Chapter10
addressesthepiecesofapatch,whateachdoes,whatcanbreak,and
howtomakethebestuseofyourpatchinghours.Therearesuggestions
onwhattolookforinthelogsandhowtomanagewhatcanquickly
appeartobecomeanunmanageableprocess.Inthischapteryouwillfind
outhowtomergemanypatchesintoasinglepatchtominimizeimpactto
yoursystemandfindoutwhenyoucannotmergeapatchnomatterhow
enticingitlooks.YouwillalsolookatpatchesthatdonotuseADPATCH

todotheirinstallationandfindoutthenewmannerofinstallingdatabase
patches.

Chapter11:Cloning
Plantsdoit,sheephavedoneit,anditisoneofthemorecommonthings
tooccuronanOracleE-BusinessSuitesystem—cloning.InChapter11
welookatlogicaltimestoclone,themainOraclemannersofcloning,
andalternativewaystoproceedthroughmakinganexact(ornear)
duplicateofonesystemintoanotherenvironment.Wealsolookatsome
ofthewaysthataclonecanbreakandwhattodoifonedoes.Thereare
somealmostsupportedmethodstofixingaclonegonebadandthemore
supported(butoftenlesspractical)waytoaccomplishthesameends.

Chapter12:ConcurrentManagersandConcurrent
Processing


OneofthemostpowerfulfeaturesoftheApplicationsproductsuiteisthe
abilitytodoConcurrentProcessing.ConcurrentManagers,Concurrent
Programs,andtheabilitytodoConcurrentProcessingisoneoftheways
toturnyourOnlineTransactionProcessingsystemintoabatch
processingenvironmentwithouthavingtomakeanychangestothe
parametersandwithouthavingtorestarttheinstancesorportthedatato
anotherenvironment.ConcurrentManagersareoftenquirky,sometimes
difficulttotune,andoftentrickytoreporton.Chapter12givesyousome
ideasonhowtotuneyourConcurrentProcessesandmakeanalready
powerfulfeatureworkevenbetterforyou.

Chapter13:AutoConfigandOracleApplicationManager
Twoofthelatecomerstothe11isuiteofproductsaretheabilitytorun

AutoConfig(automaticconfiguration)tomaintainyoursystem's
configurationsettingsandusetheOracleApplicationManagertomonitor
andmanagedifferentpartsofyoursystem.Throughoutthischapterwe
lookatthenewfeaturesthathelpmakeyourlifeeasierandhowyoucan
makeuseofthetoolsthatyouarealreadypayingfor.Chapter13also
providesyouwithsomeinformationonthealternativesthatareavailable
throughthird-partyproviders.

Chapter14:OddsandEnds
Chapter14bringsyouthingsthatdonotelegantlyfitanywhereelse,but
donotreallyrequireachapteroftheirown.Inthischapterwelookat
dealingwithOracleSupportandeffectivetuningmethodsyoucanuseto
determinebottlenecksinyoursystemandprinting,tonameafew.Inthis
chapter,youalsogetideasofotherplacestolookforinformation,where
(otherthandirectlyfromOracle)toaskthepressingquestionsandgetan
answerfromsomeonewhohasreallybeenthere,andwhatgroupsare
availabletoassistyouinyourjourneydowntheroadtosuccessfulApps
administration.
Lettheadventurebegin.


Chapter1:IntroducingApps


WhatareERPandCRM?
Tobegintounderstandmoreabouttheanimalthatyouaregoingtobe
dealingwith,andpotentiallyberesponsiblefor,itwouldhelptohavea
basicunderstandingofERP(EnterpriseResourcePlanning)andCRM
(CustomerRelationshipManagement)—thetwomaincomponentsin
Oracle'sE-BusinessSuite.

ERPisaprocessthathelpsyouputanyandallresourcesinvolvedwith
anorganizationtothebestpossibleuse.ERPhashadothernamesinits
pastiterations:MaterialsResourcePlanningandManufacturing
ResourcePlanning.ManufacturingResourcePlanningshowsthat,atits
roots,itwasusedasatoolmostofteninamanufacturingenvironment.
Typically,itwasusedinreferencetoaprocesswithseveraldiscrete
operationsordiscreteobjects,manyofwhichcanbebrokendownfurther
intoatomiclevelobjectsorprocesses.Anexamplewouldbeasimple
woodenbarstool.Abarstoolwiththreelegs,threedowelsconnecting
thoselegsatapredefinedspaceinterval,andaroundwoodenseat.A
processmightbetodrilltheholeforlegoneintothebottomoftheseat
piece.Therewouldbethreesimilarprocesseslikethatone,oneforeach
legintotheseat.Eachlegmighthaveaprocessassignedtoitofdrilling
twoholes,eachholehasadepthandadiameterandananglein
referencetothelegandanangleinreferencetotheotherlegs.The
finishedproduct(barstool)asawholehasademandforeach
component(e.g.,legs,screws,seat)andyouhaveapredefinedamount
thatisallocatedtowaste.Trackingallofthisinformation,aswellas
trackingthosetimeswhentheprojectednumbersfalloutsideofthe
expectedrangesareallthingsthathistoricallyweretrackedbyaMRP
systemeitherinaspreadsheet,inanotebook,orinearlydatabases
(usuallywithhomegrownapplicationsbuiltasafrontend).
ERPmethodologyhasgrownsignificantlyfromitsmanufacturingroots,
althoughmanytimesMRPisstillthebasisfromwhichthe
implementationofanERPsystemgrows.TodaytheconceptofERP
oftenreferstoabroadsetofactivitiesthatacompanyoranenterprise
performs,bothinternallyandexternally.Thecomputerizedsystemthatis


oftenreferredtowhendiscussingthemanagementofplanningofan

enterprise'sresources(allresources,includingmoney,physical,and
people)isanintegratedsolution.Suchasoftwaresystemistypically
madeupofmultiplemodulesthatinteracttogether,shareinformation
amongstthemselvesandeachother,andprovidemanagementwitha
broad,all-encompassingpictureoftheentireenterprise.Thesesystems
cannowbeusedtomeetneedsinanyindustry.
Withinthesoftwareisstoredtheinformationthatmanagementneedsto
operateitsbusinessdaytoday.ERPsoftwaresystemsbreakdownthe
departmentalbarriersthatsometimesstillexistinorganizationsandallow
theinformationthatmayhavebeeninsilosbeforetobesharedacross
theenterprise.Further,ittakesaprocess-orientedviewofthe
organizationandusesthatviewtoallowtheorganizationtomeetits
goalsbytightlyintegratingallaspectsoftheorganization.WithERP
software,acompanycanbetterintegrateitsentiresupplychain,
automatemanyofitsprocesses,andreduceitsleadtimesand
exceptionstotheprocessalongtheway.
CRMistheprocessoffinding,getting,andretainingcustomers.It
encompassesthemethodologies,strategies,andothercapabilitiesthat
helpacompanyorenterpriseorganizeandmanageitscustomer
relationships,aswellasthesoftwaretoolstohelpachievethoseends.
Today,manycompaniesfocusonthewantsandneedsofthecustomer,
sotheabilitytotrackinformationaboutthecustomer,learnfromthat
information,andusethatinformationtobetterservethecustomeris
crucial.CRMhelpsacompanylearnwhatworksandwhatdoesnot.It
helpsthecompanyidentifytheprofileofthemostprofitablecustomers,
gainadeeperunderstandingofthemostandleastprofitablecustomers,
andwillallowthecompanytotargetthemostprofitablecustomerprofile
whenitissearchingfornewbusiness.Forcompaniesthatareforming
allianceswithbusinesspartners,CRMiscentralizinginformationonthe
customerbaseinawaythatcanbesharedbetweenpartnerstohelpto

createproductstobetterservetheenduser.Before,customer-centric
informationwaslikelyalreadystoredwithinthecompany.Itwasunlikely,
however,thatthisinformationwasstoredinacentrallocationorthatit
waseasilyaccessiblebymultipledepartmentsthereforereportingon
customerinformationinanenterprisewidemannerwasnearly


impossible.Ifitisdifficulttoreporton,itislikelynearlyimpossibleto
performanalysison.
CRMwillhelpyourcustomerbase,andyourreputationwithinthatbase,
byallowingfasterresponsetocustomer'sinquiriesbecausethe
informationiscentrallystoredandaccessiblebythepeoplewhoare
interfacingwiththecustomer.


WhatisOracleE-BusinessSuite?
OracleE-BusinessSuite(i.e.,OracleApplications,OracleApps,Oracle
Financials,OracleManufacturing,OracleCRM)isthesuiteofproducts
thatusedtobecalledOracleFinancials.OracleFinancialswasfirst
releasedinthelate1980sandhasevolvedintoafull-fledgedsolutionfor
enterpriseprocessesforcompaniesofnearlyanysize.TheOracleEBusinessSuitecontainsover55integratedmodulesforfinancial
management,supplychainmanagement,manufacturingmanagement,
projectmanagement,humanresourcesmanagement,andsalesforce
automationallpulledtogethertoprovidebusinessautomation.OracleEBusinessSuitecombinesERPandCRMintoonefullyintegrated
packagethatcanmeetallofacompany'sneeds.OracleE-Business
Suitecanprovideacompanywithbusinessperformancemetrics,current
financialratios,profitandlossreportsummaries,andotherinformation
thatcanbetrackedacrossdepartments,acrossproductlines,even
acrossgeographies.Itallowsinformationtobesharedacrossthe
enterprise.Itfurtherallowsacompanytocentralizeasingledefinitionof

whatacustomeris,whatasupplieris,whatanemployeeis,abusiness
partneris,orproductis,andmaintainingthisdefinitionanditsconnected
informationacrosstheenterprise.OracleE-BusinessSuiteallowsupper
managementtoaccessitsbusinessintelligenceinformationandtake
immediateactionwhensituationswarrantit.TheCustomerResource
Managementmoduleallowsacompanytomanagecustomerinformation,
fromleadstosalestorevenuethroughmultiplechannelsofinput(e.g.,
Web,phone,mailorder,ore-mail).
OracleE-BusinessSuitealsoincorporatesapowerful,flexible
combinationofstate-of-the-arttechnologyintegratedtoaidinrapid
implementation.Variousimplementationsinvaryingconfigurationscan
befoundinshopswithfewerthan200employeestomanyoftheFortune
500companies.OracleApplications11ialsobringstheevolutionofthe
coretechnology,whichsawitsstartwithterminalemulation,totrue
Internetcomputingarchitecture.Where,inpastreleases,usersneeded
somespecialpieceofsoftwareinstalledontheirworkstationstorun
Financials(thesecouldhaveincludedaterminalemulationpackageor


FormsandReportsexecutablesorthelike),nowtheonlypieceof
softwarethatisreallynecessarytouseApps11iisaJava-compliant
browser.TheonlyOracleE-BusinessSuitespecificsoftwaretodaythat
endsupontheenduser'scomputerisaJavaapplet(JInitiator™client
platform)thatisdownloadedandcachedthefirsttimethePCconnectsto
applications.Thisnew,evolvedarchitecturehasopenedthedoorfornew
modulesandnewfunctionality.

DifferencebetweenanAppsDBAandaRegularDBA
Thequestionisoftenraised:Whatisthedifferencebetweenaregular
OracleDBAandanAppsDBA?Whiletheanswermaysoundtrite,the

differenceiswhatyoumakeit.Therearemanydifferentthoughtsonthis
frommanydifferentpeople.Somepeoplesuggestthatthereisno
differenceandtoanextentthatisprobablytrue.Inreality,AppsDBAsare
regularDBAswhohavetorememberandbeconcernedwithavarietyof
additionalinfluences.Further,AppsDBAswilllikelyworkcloserwith
otherpeople,orteamsofpeople,withwhomtheymayneverhavebeen
involved,before.
You,theApplicationsDBA,willberesponsibleformanaging,sizing,
maintaining,andtuningthedatabase(justlikeanyDBA).YourApps
databaseisanOLTP(onlinetransactionprocessing)system.Alongwith
theotherresponsibilities,goallofthewaitandlockconcernsthatyou
wouldhaveinanytransactionalsystem.OracleE-BusinessSuitealso
hassomefairlyheftybatchjobs(e.g.,somecreatingreports,others
bringingdatainfromoutsidesources,andstillothersdoingmassive
calculationsontheexistingdata).Theschedulingandspecificsofthese
jobsarenotgoingtobeunderyourcontrol.Youwillhavelittletosay
aboutwhentheyarekickedofforrun.Thesejobswillberunatthe
discretionofthefinanceoraccountingdepartments;therefore,itis
importanttomaintainaharmoniousworkingrelationshipwiththemand
anopenlineofcommunication.OracleE-BusinessSuiteisalso,
potentially,aBusinessIntelligenceSystem(BIS)andcanhavemanyof
thesamekindsofreportsrunagainstitthatcouldberunonadata
warehouse.Afterall,youaredealingwithyourcompany'sfinancialdata
overtime.Thiswillbethekindofinformationthattheexecutiveswantto


runhistoricreports,trends,andwhatifscenarioson.Tuningwillbecome
aproblematsomepointforyou.Thesefactorscombinetobringmany
sizingandperformanceconcernsthatgoalongwithareportinganda
batchenvironment,anin-depthanalysissystemandatransactional

system.Whatfollowsisalistof11thingsthatyoumaywanttoconsider
aspartofwhatitmeanstoadministerOracleApplicationsandjustafew
ofthejobsthatyouwillhaveasyouproceedthroughtheoftenthorny
environmentthatyounowfindyourself.
1. GetfamiliarwithConcurrentManagers;therearenofriendly
manualsthatyoucanreadtohelpyouwiththeseoranyindepthdocumentstohelp.Chapter9—Installationand
Migrationwillhelpyoualongthewayandwillpointyouatsome
otherinformationthatmaybeofassistance.
2. Rememberthat,whileyourunmostlyatransactionalsystem
withtheendusersenteringrowatatimeinformationthrough
theinterface,youarenotdealingwithatrueOLTPsystem.
Whenabatchgetskickedoffthroughaconcurrentrequestis
notusuallyunderyourcontrol.Anenduserfromthefinance
departmentmaydecidewhentosubmitapaymentbatchand
notrealizethattheremayberamificationstothatdecision.The
moremodulesthatyouimplementandthemorepeoplewho
havereasontosubmitaresourceintensivebatchprocess,
resultsinagreaterimpactthattheseprocesseswillhaveon
yoursystem.Excellentcommunicationsandcoordination
betweenyouandallofthestakeholderswillmakeyourlife
easier.
3. Neverapplyapatchtotheproductiondatabasesunlessyou
havetesteditmultipletimesandgetuseracceptancetesting
doneandendusersignoffthatthepatchinquestionbothfixed
theproblemthatitwasmeanttofix(forapatchthatisapplied
tofixaproblem)andthatitdidnothaveanyunforeseenside
effectsorbreakanythinginthesystem(forallpatchesthatare
applied).Remember,itisquitelikelyyourfaultifapatchbreaks
production.

4. Documentallthepatches:thedayapplied,thereasonfor
applying,theerrorsthattheyweresupposedtosolve,andthe
errorscreatedafterapplying.Keepthelogsofallthepatches
anddonotevererasethem;Oraclewillaskforthatpatchlog
aftermaybesixmonthswhenoneofyourcurrentpatches
bombs.Moreonpatchdocumentationandpatchingcanbe
foundinChapter10.
5. RememberthatOracleApplicationsisheavilyindexed;
rebuildingtheindexesperiodicallywillimproveperformance
significantly.ThereisaConcurrentProcessthatwillhelpyou
withperformingthisaction.Trytoscheduleitforatimewhen
thereisaminimumofusersonthesystem.
6. Monitortherollbacksegments.Thisisprobablyoneofthemost
importantandoneofthetrickiestparts.Thisisparticularlytrueif
youhavenotimplementedAutomaticUndoManagement.(See
Chapter2—11i,8i,and9iNewFeaturesformoreonthis
Oracle9ifeature.)If,forexample,aConcurrentProgramfails
becauseitisnotabletoallocaterollbacksegments,thewhole
programisrolledbackandthiscanclogtheCPU(central
processingunit)becauseoftheextremebackupofother
programsintheconcurrentqueue.Often,thiswillleavebehind
interimtablesandindexesthathavetobecleanedupcarefully
andmanually.Extremecaremustbetakenwiththeinterim
tablesasotherprogramsmayreusethemforreporting,posting,
purging,orotherfunctions.
7. Neverattempttoaddadditionalindexesforperformance
withoutfirstaskingOracleSupport.ItisOracle'sapplicationand
OracleSupportshouldknowbetterthananyoneiftheaddition
ofyourproposedindexisliabletomakethecoreapplication

performworse.Ifyoudoattemptsomechanges,makesurethat
youdocumentexactlywhatyoudid.Thenextpatchyouapply
wouldquiteprobablyidentifythechangesthatyoumadeand
replacethemwiththecannedfunctionality,placingyoubackat
squareone.


8. Understandhowpatchapplicationworks.Youwillbespending
agreatdealoftimeinvolvedwithsomeportionofpatching:from
planningwhichpatchestoapply,toacquiringthepatches,to
applyingthepatches,totestinganddocumentingpostpatching,
justintimeforthenexttimeyoustartplanningwhichpatchesto
applynext.Chapter10—Patchingwillhelpwiththis.
9. Knowthattherewillbemanyinvalidobjectsanytimethatthere
areanychangesmadetothedatabase.Anytimeyoudo
anythingthatmighthaveanaffectonthedatabase,checkthe
numberofinvalidobjects,andperiodicallyrunutlrpto
recompilethem.Utlrp.squ,locatedintheOracleHome
Directory'srdbms/adminsubdirectory,isresponsiblefor
compilinginvalidobjects.Whenrunasthe'SYS'user,it
attemptstorecompileallinvalidobjectstoallschemaowners.
Anytimethatyouencounteranewerror,checkforinvalidsand
recompilethedatabasefirstbeforeinitiatinganiTAR(Internet
createdTechnicalAssistanceRequest).
10. UnderstandAlerts.EspeciallyunderstandPeriodicandEvent
Alertsandunderstandhowtheydifferfromdatabasetriggers.
11. Remember,beinganAppsDBAisprettysimple.Withthe
exceptionofsettingupprinters(whichcanbetrickydueto
initializationsettings)everythingisfairlystraightforwardandyou
willlearnquickly.Youwillsoonbecomeateaseinyour

environment.
Youwillcreatetestanddevelopmentdatabases(maybemore)andyou
willkeepthemrefreshedbycopying(cloning)theproductiondatabase.
Howmanyinstancesyouchoosetocreateandmaintainisenterprise
dependent.Muchofthedecisiononexactlyhowmanydatabaseswill
dependonwhatthebusinessdictates.Minimally,Isuggesthavingat
leastthreecompleteandseparateenvironmentsandfourcompletesets
isevenbetter.First,haveadevelopmentenvironmentwhereyour
developerscandevelopcustomreportsandcustomPL/SQL(Procedure
LanguageextensiontoStructuredQueryLanguage)packagestosupport
thosereports.Thisenvironmentcanberefreshedonamoveupcycleor


wheneverthedevelopersfeelthatthedataisnolongerrepresentativeof
whatisinproduction.Thisislikelythefirstenvironmentintowhichto
applypatches.Next,haveatestenvironmentwhereyouapplypatches
beforefinaluseracceptancetestingandusersignoff.Testshouldbeas
closeaspossibletoproductiondatabeforeapatchingcyclestarts,so
thattheenduserscantestwithdataasfreshaspossible.Finally,youwill
haveyourproductionenvironment.Productionisself-explanatory.
Optimally,youwillhaveafourthenvironment:Iwillcallitpatching(ifyou
installedthevisionenvironment,youcanusethisforthepatching
environment).Patchingiswhereyoucanapplypatchesandfixthem
whentheybreakwithouthavinganyimpactonanyoftheusersofthe
system.Thisisaplaceyoucanconsideryourplayground.Youcantest
outchangestothesystemwithoutworryingifyourchangesarebreaking
anythingoriftheyarehavingilleffectsonwhatanyoneelseisdoing.
Cloning(seeChapter11)ismakinganexactduplicateenvironment(both
theapplicationslayerandthedatabaselayer)againstwhichpatchesare
appliedandtested,reportsarewrittenandtested,upgradesstartandare

tested,andinwhichproblemsarefixedandthefixestestedallbefore
anyofthesegoestoproduction.
Patches,bothORACLEApplicationsandRDBMS(relationaldatabase
managementsystem)patches,willneedtobeappliedandtested.These
shouldstartinthedevelopmentdatabase(unlessyouhaveonejustfor
patching)andmigratedtotestandlatertoproduction.Youwillneedto
haveahandleonhowtopatch,patchmanagement,andversioncontrol
ofallofyourindividualsystems.
Further,inyourcapacityasapplicationsadministrator,youcanlikelyfind
yourselfinvolvedinthefollowingroles:
OracleApplicationsDBA
Capacityplanningandsizingthehardware
ArchitectureanddesignoftheApplicationssystem
InstallationofApplications11iwithrespecttoplanned
architecture


Instancemanagement
CloningApplications11iandscripts
Splittingandmergingthenodes,singlenodetomultiplenodeand
viceversa
Workflowinstallationandconfigurationandsettinguptest
workflow
OracleWebServer(OWS),OracleApplicationServer(OAS)
tuning
TuningApache
Applicationsecurity,post-implementation
TuningConcurrentManagers
TuningapplicationUNIXserverandidentifyingissues
TuningscriptsandotherApplicationtroubleshooting

Finally,installsandupgradeswillbeyourresponsibility,aswellasmaking
surethoseupgradesandinstallsaresupported.OracleSupportdoesnot
supportmanyreleaseconfigurationsandifyouchoosetoinstalloneof
theseconfigurations(e.g.,11.5.8withaVersion8.0.6database),youwill
likelynotbeabletorelyonOracleSupportifsomethinggoeswrong.
OracleSupport'ssolutionwillbetoupgradetoasupportedconfiguration.
Alwaysmakesurethatanyinstallationorupgradeisasupported
combination.Thismeanstheoperatingsystem(OS)versionwiththe
middletier,theOSversionwiththedatabase,andthemiddletierwiththe
database.Alongwithdealingwithupgrades,youwillneedtoknowhow
tohandleanycustomizationsthatweredonetoyoursystem,sotheycan
behandledintheupgradeprocess.Thisincludesprogramunits,interim
tables,customreports,andcustomforms.
Youalsoneedtodeterminethetimingandtype(e.g.,hot,cold,Recovery
Manager,oranycombination)ofbackupsandwhenyoucanpractice
yourrecoveries.Remember,ifyoudonotknow(havenotpracticed)that