Provisioning the EBS AppsTier

Procedure

Perform the following steps to provision EBS AppsTier VDB.

1. Login to the Delphix Management application using Admin credentials.

2. Click Manage.

3. Select Datasets.

4. Select the AppsTier dSource.

5. Select a dSource snapshot.
   All snapshots will have staged configuration prepared by adpreclone.pl and any hook operations placed on the dSource.

6. Click Provision.
   The Provision VDB wizard will open.

7. Select an Environment.
   This environment will host the virtual AppsTier and be used to execute hook operations specified in a few steps. This environment will also run the WebLogic Admin server (Web Administration service) for the virtual AppsTier.
   If you are provisioning a multi-node AppsTier, you will be able to specify additional environments to host the virtual AppsTier in a few steps.

8. Select E-Business Suite R12.2 AppsTier from the Installation dropdown.

9. Select an Environment User.
   This user should be the applmgr user-outlined in Requirements for Oracle EBS target databases for provisioning

10. Enter a Mount Path for the virtual AppsTier VDB.If you are provisioning a multi-node AppsTier, this mount path will be used across all target environments.

11. Enter the EBS-specific parameters for the virtual AppsTier. A subset of these parameters are discussed in more detail below.

    

12. Privileged OS Account (Optional) field should contain a high privileged user when a low privileged user is being used for provisioning.

13. The Target APPS Password is the new apps password that is required to configure and manage the virtual AppsTier.
    This password is encrypted when stored within the Delphix Continuous Data Engine and is available as an environment variable to the adcfgclone, adstrtal, and adstpall processes.

14. The Weblogic AdminServer Password is the new WebLogic password required to configure the virtual AppsTier. A password change will be performed if this password does not match that of the source EBS instance. This password is encrypted when stored within the Delphix Continuous Data Engine and is available as an environment variable to the adcfgclone, adstrtal, and adstpall processes.

15. The SYSTEM Password is required to configure the virtual AppsTier with the new apps password. This password is not required if the Target Apps Password is the same as the source.

16. Provide the Target Application hostname.

17. The Target DB/PDB SID is the new database SID (PDB SID in case of 19c) that is required to configure and manage the virtual AppsTier.

18. Provide the Target DB server node hostname.

19. Provide Target DB Domain Name, this will be provided to the adcfgclone.

20. Delphix recommends specifying an Instance Home Directory under the Mount Path so that instance-specific EBS files live on Delphix-provided mount path. Instance Home Directory(Absolute Path) should be the same as Mount Path as mentioned in the first input field.

    

21. For example, if the provided Mount Path is /u01/oracle/VIS, then providing an Instance Home Directory of /u01/oracle/VIS would allow EBS to generate virtual application INST_TOP in /u01/oracle/VIS/fs1/inst/apps/<CONTEXT_NAME  > and /u01/oracle/VIS/fs2/inst/apps/<CONTEXT_NAME >.

    1. If you are provisioning a single-node AppsTier, this recommendation is OPTIONAL; putting instance-specific EBS files on Delphix-provided storage merely eases the administration of the virtual EBS instance.

    2. If you are provisioning a multi-node AppsTier, this recommendation is REQUIRED; the Delphix Continuous Data Engine's automation requires that all nodes in the AppsTier have access to instance-specific files via Delphix-provided storage.

22. Ensure that the Target Application Hostname and Target DB Server Node values are the short hostnames, not the fully-qualified hostnames.

23. Select Services, by default all the Root, Web Entry Point, Web Application and Batch Processing would be checked. In case you are using a multi-node environment and want to start a few services on a secondary node then this field is going to be very useful for you.

24. Provide DISPLAY Variable, the default value is hostname:0.0
    For example - ukapps99.delphix.com:0.0

25. [Optional]Provide the Custom Database Port Number  on which the database listener must run.

Note: Enter the numeric port value in this field only if you want to use DB port customisation, and this value should match with the custom database port number given during the DBTechstack provisioning. Leaving this field blank automatically uses the default port based on the port pool. The custom database port number is applicable only for Oracle 19c database.

26. Provide Target Run Edition Port Pool, the value of this field should be 0 to 99. This should match with the port pool value given during the DBTechstack provisioning if the Custom Database Port Number input field is left blank.
    Provide Target Patch Edition Port Pool, the value of this field should be between 0 to 99.
    Target Run Edition Port Pool and  Target Patch Edition Port Pool ranges shouldn't intersect with each other.
    For example: if Run Edition Port Pool is 9 then the patch FS port pool value can be anything between 0 to 99 except 9.

Note: In case, the database listener is running on a Custom Database Port Number then Target Apps server’s RUN Edition Port Pool and PATCH Edition Port Pool value cannot have  the same port pool value of source Application server.

27. The EBS AppsTier Timeout is required to terminate all the long-running AppsTier processes which have exceeded the timeout value when stopping the applications as part of a refresh. This timeout will be calculated in minutes. For example, if set to 30, then we run adstpall at the start of the refresh, and if after 30 minutes the application has not stopped, then the processes will be terminated to allow the refresh to continue.

28. The EBS AppsTier Provision/Refresh Timeout is required to terminate configure and cloning via adcfgclone process which have exceeded the timeout as part of a provision/refresh. This timeout will be calculated in hours and the default value will be 8 hours. For example, if set to 9, then the connector will detect a timeout after 9 hours instead of getting in a hung state and UI error for the same will be prompted.

29. The Java Color Scheme is an optional parameter and is used to change the JAVA color for provisioned Oracle EBS JAVA based form interface. Please choose any of the following colors (Swan, Blue, Khaki, Olive, Purple, Red, Teal, Titanium) to set Java Color Scheme for EBS AppsTier java-based forms interface.

30. Provide Target System Proxy Hostname (Optional), This is an optional parameter that will be used if adcfgclone requires it.

31. Provide Target System Proxy Port (Optional), This is an optional parameter that will be used if adcfgclone requires it.

32. Enable the Cleanup Before Provision Option if you want to permit the Delphix Continuous Data Engine to automatically clean up stale EBS configuration during a refresh. This option is recommended, but only available if your Oracle Home is patched with Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) version 10.2 or above.

    1. With this option enabled, the Delphix Continuous Data Engine will inspect the target environment's oraInventory prior to refreshing this virtual AppsTier. If any Oracle Homes are already registered within the specified Mount Path, the Delphix Continuous Data Engine will detach them from the inventory prior to running adcfgclone. These homes must be detached/unregistered prior to running post-clone configuration. If they are not detached/unregistered, adcfgclone will fail, citing conflicting oraInventory entries as an issue. The Delphix Continuous Data Engine will also remove any conflicting INST_TOP directories left in the environment. Non-conflicting INST_TOP directories will not be modified.

    2. Without this option enabled, Oracle Homes or INST_TOP directories that conflict with the specified Mount Path or desired INST_TOP location will be reported in errors instead of automatically cleaned up. For refresh to succeed, you must manually detach/register conflicting Oracle Homes and manually remove conflicting INST_TOP directories prior to refresh.

33. Enable the Start Services After Provision option if you want to permit the Delphix Continuous Data Engine to automatically start the services for EBS AppsTier after provisioning.

    1. With this option enabled, the Delphix Continuous Data Engine will start all the services of EBS AppsTier after provisioning.

    2. Without this option enabled, the Delphix Continuous Data Engine will NOT start the services of EBS AppsTier after provisioning. This will allow customers to prevent EBS services from being started at the conclusion of provisioning or refreshing. That way, customers can perform post-clone processing automation using a configure-clone hook without having to stop services first.

34. If you are provisioning a multi-node AppsTier, enter additional AppsTier nodes as Additional Nodes.

    1. Select the Environment for the secondary node.

    2. The Environment User for each node should be the applmgr user-outlined in Requirements for Oracle EBS target databased for provisioning

    3. Ensure that the Hostname value for each node is the short hostname, not the fully-qualified hostname.

    4. Provide DISPLAY Variable, the default value is hostname:0.0.

35. The Mount Path is not configurable for each node individually. The Mount Path provided for the primary environment will be used for each additional node.

36. Click Next.

37. Enter a VDB Name.

38. Select a Target Group for the VDB.
    If necessary, click the Plus icon to add a new group.

39. (Optional)When provisioning a new VDB in the VDB Provisioning wizard, check the Auto VDB Restart box. Reference - Automatic VDB restart on target server after reboot

40. Select a Snapshot Policy for the VDB.
    If necessary, click the Plus icon to create a new policy.

Note: When Snapshot is running against the DBTechstack, database, or AppsTier, the Delphix Continuous Data Engine also executes pre-clone logic to ensure the latest configuration is staged in the captured snapshots. Unfortunately, if multiple Snapshots are running against the same EBS instance concurrently, this pre-clone logic may fail and produce bad snapshots.
To avoid SnapSync conflicts, spread out your SnapSync policies for an EBS instance by one hour or more.

41. Click Next.

42. Enter any custom hook operations that are needed to help correctly manage the virtual AppsTier.
    The Configure Clone hook will be run after the  adcfgclone.pl  tool has both mounted and configured the AppsTier.
    All hook operations run against the environment specified for provision. For a multi-node AppsTier, hook operations never run against additional nodes specified.

43. Click Next.

44. Click Submit.

Warning: dbTier must be accessible during AppsTier provisioning
Info: Post-clone configuration will fail if the AppsTier cannot connect to the database. Ensure the target dbTier is accessible to the AppsTier during the provisioning process. Ensure both the virtual database and database listener are running.

Note: If your source setup is EBS ISG enabled, then during virtual AppsTier creation on the target server, perform post cloning steps as described in Installing Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway, Release 12.2 (Doc ID 1311068.1).

45. When provisioning starts, you can review the progress of the job in the Datasets panel, or in the Job History panel of the Dashboard. When provisioning is complete, the AppsTier VDB will be included in the group you designated and listed in the Datasets panel. If you select the AppsTier VDB in the Datasets panel and click the Configuration tab, you can view information about the virtual files and its Data Management settings.

46. For tips on monitoring the progress of AppsTier provisioning, see Monitoring EBS R12.2 AppsTier Provisioning Progress
    Once all three EBS virtual datasets have been provisioned successfully, your virtual EBS instance should be running and accessible.

Note: AppsTier topology Is configurable. The AppsTier topology of the virtual EBS instance does NOT need to match the AppsTier topology of the source EBS instance. The Delphix Continuous Data Engine will automate scale up or scale down logic as required during provisioning.