Monday, February 29, 2016

Changes in Oracle EBS R12.2.x from R12.1.x

There are many changes in Oracle EBS R12.2.x when compared to Oracle EBS R12.1.x version.
Few of the major architectural changes and new features are mentioned below,

1. Oracle E-Business Suite R12 (12.2) uses Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g R1 PS3 (11.1.1.4) including WebLogic 10.3.4 as its application server (Note: In previous version of R12 i.e. 12.0.X and 12.1.X this is 10g R3 i.e. 10.1.3.X). Oracle HTTP server in R12.2 is 11.1.1.4 .

2. Oracle E-Business Suite R12.2 uses Oracle Application Server 10g R3 (10.1.2.3) for Forms & Reports (Note: In previous version of R12 i.e. 12.0.X and 12.1.X, forms are reports are of same version i.e. 10.1.2.3)

3. Default Database for Oracle E-Business Suite R12.2 is 11g R2 (11.2.X) . (Note: In previous version of R12 i.e. 12.0.X, default database is 11.1 and 12.1.X, default database is 11.2.0.3)

4. 12.0.X and 12.1.X Oracle JSP Compiler (OJSP) 10.1.3.5  is replaced by WebLogic JSP Compiler 11.1.1.4 in R12 version 12.2.x

5. In 12.2.x version, a new file "EBSapps.env" is introduced to source the Environment variables that will help to navigate the system.

6. Following are few new variables,
$APPL_TOP_NE: Application top that stores product files considered data (NE: Non-Editioned)
$FILE_EDITION: Current fs edition type sourced values run or patch
$NE_BASE: Non Edition file system base directory
$PATCH_BASE: Patch file system base directory
$RUN_BASE: RUN file system base directory


7. Online Patching (OLP) introduced in Oracle Apps 12.2 , uses Oracle Database edition-based redefinition to reduce patch down time. A secondary file system for application tier (in Apps R12.2) is introduced to support OnLine Patching (OLP) .

Online patching utility is "adop" which sets it's own environment, so there is no need to source the environment before running it.

Online patching cycle consists of below phases:
PREPARE – Prepare the instance for patch application.
APPLY – Apply patches (to the patch edition).
FINALIZE – Ready the instance for cutover.
CUTOVER – Make the patch edition the new run edition.
CLEANUP – Drop obsolete objects and data from old editions.
Note: In the above phases, users are always online except during the Cutover phase.
Note: You can revert the process of applying patches with the new online patching cycle up to the cutover phase. Once you’re in the cutover phase then the roll back must be done with backup.
8. Oracle Apps R12.2 cloning will also support Fusion Middleware (11.1.1.4 – mentioned in point 1) cloning.

9. Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI) in R12.2 is now certified with Microsoft Office 32-bit and 64-bit.

10. Run the below commands on ADOP command prompt,

syntax: adop phase=<phase_name>


Prepare phase - Used to start a new online patching cycle
# adop phase=prepare


Apply phase - Used to apply a patch to the patch edition of a system, Consolidated Upgrade Patch 19796566:12.2.0 (CUP6)
# adop -phase=apply patches=19796566 workers=16


Finalize phase - Used to perform the final patching operations that can be executed while the application is still online
# adop phase=finalize

References: http://itconvergence.com/blog/oracle-ebs-e-business-suite-r12-2-4-endeca-soa-online-patching-oats-testing-upgrade

Contact me on samiappsdba@gmail.com, for queries on articles related to this blog.