What's New in Oracle Application Server Administration?

This preface introduces the new administrative features of Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.2). This information is mostly useful to users who have managed previous releases of Oracle Application Server, including Oracle Application Server 10g Release 1 (9.0.4) and 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.0).

New Features for 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.2)

The new administrative features of Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.2) include:

New Application Server Control Feature for Backup and Recovery

You can use the Application Server Control Console to manage backup and recovery of an application server instance. You can perform all of the backup and recovery functions using the Application Server Control Console, instead of entering commands on the command line.

New Backup and Recovery Features

New backup and recovery features include:

• If your Oracle Application Server installation has a Metadata Repository database with a registered Portal middle-tier, you can run the Portal Schema Validation/Cleanup Utility (SVU) during a backup of the Metadata Repository database. Running SVU provides a way to ensure the integrity of your data whenever you perform a backup of your database.

  
  

  See: Section 20.4, "Running the Portal Validation/Cleanup Utility"

  
  

• The Backup and Recovery Tool provides an automatic recovery service to a new host when a loss of host occurs.

  
  

  See: Section 21.3, "Recovering a Loss of Host Automatically"

  
  

New Port Numbers for Some Components

To guard against conflicts with Windows ephemeral port number assignments, default port numbers and ranges have been changed for Application Server Control Console, OracleAS Web Cache, OracleAS Integration B2B, OC4J, Oracle Internet Directory, and Oracle Application Server Certificate Authority.

New SSL Configuration Tool

The SSL Configuration Tool simplifies and automates SSL configuration for common Oracle Application Server configurations. It is designed to automate many of the manual steps currently required for configuring SSL.

Support to Enable and Disable Oracle Internet Directory Anonymous Binds

In this release, you can disable anonymous binds in Oracle Internet Directory. In past releases, anonymous binds were enabled, but you could not disable them. Now, anonymous binds are enabled by default, but you can disable them for your runtime environment. Note that you must enable anonymous binds for most configuration changes.

OracleAS Metadata Repository Uses Oracle Database 10g

In this release, the installer creates an Oracle Database 10g (10.1.0.4.2) for the OracleAS Metadata Repository.

New Command for Starting and Stopping Application Server Instance

The runstartupconsole command starts and stops Application Server instances. Depending upon which parameters you use, you can start or stop an entire middle tier or its Infrastructure, individually or both at the same time. In addition, you can start or stop Application Server Control Console on the middle tier or Infrastructure or both.

Support for Copying a Production Environment to a Test Environment

Oracle Application Server provides support for changing from a test environment to a production environment. You can develop and test applications in a test environment, and then eventually roll out the test applications and, optionally, test data to your production environment. You can also use this approach for testing and rolling out upgrades.

New Features for 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.0)

The new administrative features of Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2 (10.1.2.0.0) include:

Quick Administration Guide

The Oracle Application Server documentation now includes a Quick Administration guide, which contains quick reference material for common administration tasks.

New Library Path Variables

The value of the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable has changed, and a new environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH_64 has been introduced with this release.

New Application Server Control Features

New features in Application Server Control include:

• Topology view of the Application Server environment

  A visual representation of the application server environment is essential for administrators to understand component relationships, such as where applications are deployed across the OracleAS Farm or OracleAS Cluster. The Application Server Control Console satisfies this requirement by providing Topology Viewer. Topology Viewer provides a graphical, real-time view of application server processes managed by Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (OPMN). From Topology Viewer, you can perform various tasks such as:

  • Viewing the status of the farm, cluster and member components

  • Starting, stopping or restarting processes

  • Monitoring performance across the application server environment

  • Drilling down to component home pages for details

  See Section 2.4.1, "Reviewing the Application Server Component Topology".

• Support for viewing and configuring a file-based repository

  Using the Application Server Control, you can view and configure the file-based repository that is used by an Application Server instance. A wizard guides you through the steps of configuring the instance with either an existing or new file-based farm repository. See Section 7.5.5 and Section 7.5.6.

• Support for viewing and changing Infrastructure Services for Identity Management

  Using the Application Server Control, you can view, configure, and change the Infrastructure Services (Identity Management and Metadata Repository) used by Application Server components. A wizard guides you through the steps of changing the Metadata Repository configured for Identity Management. See Chapter 9.

• Views of all performance metrics and metric details

  For each component, you can view a list of performance metrics that Application Server Control is monitoring. For each performance metric being monitored, you can drill down to view a brief history of its performance. See Section 2.4.4.

• Complete integration of OracleAS Web Cache administration into Application Server Control

  Now, you can fully manage and administer OracleAS Web Cache instances through Application Server Control, instead of using a separate tool (OracleAS Web Cache Manager). The Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator's Guide describes how to use Application Server Control to manage OracleAS Web Cache.

• Support for starting and stopping Application Server Control from the Windows Start menu

  Now, you can start and stop the Application Server Control from the Windows Start menu. See Section A.1.

• Support for querying from a database log repository

  Now, the log repository feature of Application Server Control supports using a database repository, not only a file-based repository, as the log repository. However, you cannot use Application Server Control to create the database log repository; you must manually create it. See Section 5.1.2.

• Ability to change the port values of Application Server Control framework components

  Now, you can change port numbers of Enterprise Manager components, such as Application Server Control and Oracle Management Agent, by using the emctl command-line utility. See Section 4.3.1.

Automation of Configuration Steps to Modify Oracle HTTP Server Listen Port

You can modify port values for Application Server components. When some component port values are changed, other components can be affected by those changes. In this release, you can run a command-line program to modify the Oracle HTTP Server listen port value. This command-line program performs additional steps that are required because of the port change, such as configuring OracleAS Web Cache to use the new Oracle HTTP Server port.

OracleAS Metadata Repository Uses Oracle Database 10g

In 10g (9.0.4), the installer created an Oracle9i Release 1 (9.0.1.5) database and loaded the OracleAS Metadata Repository into that database. In 10.1.2.0.0, the installer creates an Oracle database 10g (10.1.0.3) for the OracleAS Metadata Repository.

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control

When you install the 10g (10.1.2) OracleAS Metadata Repository, Oracle Application Server now installs a Oracle Database 10g,which includes Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control, which you can use to manage your new Metadata Repository database.

Enhancements to Cloning an Installation of Oracle Application Server

Now you can clone a Portal and Wireless installation and a Business Intelligence installation, as well as a J2EE and Web Cache installation. The command-line interface is improved and the cloning scripts automatically perform many of the necessary tasks.

Support for Changing from a Test to a Production Environment

Oracle Application Server provides support for changing from a test environment to a production environment. You can develop and test applications in a test environment, and then eventually roll out the test applications and, optionally, test data to your production environment. You can also use this approach for testing and rolling out upgrades.

Consolidated SSL Instructions

This guide contains a new section about enabling SSL across Oracle Application Server.