7 Upgrading a Java EE and Web Server Environment

This chapter provides information for users who installed and integrate Oracle HTTP Server with their Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 (10.1.3.1.0) OC4J instances.

Specifically, if you are using Oracle HTTP Server or Oracle Web Cache as a front-end to your deployed applications, use the following sections to upgrade those components to the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Web Tier Suite:

7.1 Task 1: Understand the Differences Between Using Oracle HTTP Server with OC4J and Oracle WebLogic Server

Review the following information about the differences between using Web servers with OC4J and using Web servers with Oracle WebLogic Server:

7.1.1 Configuring Web Sites and AJP Connections in Oracle WebLogic Server

OC4J provided users with the ability to define multiple "Web sites" for each OC4J instance. In other words, you could define a unique listener, with its own port and protocol. Each Web application deployed to the OC4J instance could be bound to a specific OC4J web site, which directed any requests to that specific port and protocol to the desired application.

By default, every OC4J instance provided a default Web site that was preconfigured by the default-web-site.xml configuration file. You could then modify the default Web site configuration or define additional Web sites for specific applications.

Oracle WebLogic Server does not support the concept of a Web site. Instead, each Oracle WebLogic Server managed server is assigned a unique listening port. This listening port can be modified, but it always listens on this port for all supported protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, RMI, and so on. You can also configure a second, secure (SSL) port for each managed server.

However, unlike OC4J, Oracle WebLogic Server does not support the AJP or AJPS protocol, which is used in OC4J environments for communications between a front-end Web server and the OC4J instance. For more information, see Section 7.1.2, "Installing and Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for Oracle WebLogic Server".

To accommodate multiple listeners in Oracle WebLogic Server, you can do one of the following:

  • Create multiple Oracle WebLogic Server managed servers and configure them to listen on unique ports. You can then deploy applications to each server and each application will listen on the listening port assigned to its host managed server.

  • Configure multiple network channels per managed server. An Oracle WebLogic Server network channel is a configurable resource that defines the attributes of a network connection to a managed server. For each network channel, you can configure a set of attributes that are similar to those provided by OC4J Web sites.

    For more information, see "Configuring Network Resources" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuring Server Environments for Oracle WebLogic Server.

7.1.2 Installing and Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for Oracle WebLogic Server

This section includes the following information about using Oracle WebLogic Server with a Web server:

7.1.2.1 How Oracle HTTP Server Is Configured for OC4J

In previous versions of Oracle Application Server, it is common (and often recommended) to configure your environment with a front-end Web server. The Web server receives user requests and routes specific requests, based on the context root of the URL, to the applications deployed on the OC4J server.

Most OC4J users configure Oracle HTTP Server as the front-end to their Java EE server environment. Oracle HTTP Server is a component of the Oracle Fusion Middleware product set. The Advanced installation options in Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) automatically configure the Oracle HTTP Server to serve as a front-end to the OC4J server.

The connection between Oracle HTTP Server and OC4J is managed by the mod_oc4j module that is included with the Oracle HTTP Server software, and is transferred over the AJP protocol.

7.1.2.2 How Oracle HTTP Server is Configured for Oracle WebLogic Server

The same topology can be configured with Oracle WebLogic Server. However, in Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g, you install Oracle HTTP Server separately from Oracle WebLogic Server, as part of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web Tier installation. The Web Tier installation can also include Oracle Web Cache, which adds improved performance and caching capabilities to the Web tier.

After you install Oracle HTTP Server as part of a Web Tier installation, you can then configure the new mod_wl_ohs module, which allows requests to be proxied from Oracle HTTP Server to Oracle WebLogic Server. The mod_wl_ohs module provides similar capabilities for Oracle WebLogic Server as mod_oc4J did for OC4J.

For more information, see "mod_wl_ohs" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle HTTP Server.

Note that Oracle HTTP Server is installed and configured automatically for certain Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g components that require a Web server. For example, Oracle HTTP Server is automatically installed and configured with the following Oracle Fusion Middleware components:

  • Oracle Identity Federation in the Oracle Identity Management software suite

  • Oracle Portal and Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer in the Oracle Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer suite

However, for a Java EE environment, such as those described in this guide, you must install and configure Oracle HTTP Server separately from Oracle WebLogic Server.

7.1.3 Using Web Servers Other than Oracle HTTP Server with Oracle WebLogic Server

Oracle WebLogic Server supports other Web servers, as well as Oracle HTTP Server.

For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Web Server Plug-Ins with Oracle WebLogic Server.

7.1.4 Understanding Oracle HTTP Server Interoperability Issues When Upgrading to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g

Before you proceed with an Oracle HTTP Server upgrade, be sure to review the section, "About Oracle HTTP Server Interoperability During Upgrade" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Planning Guide.

7.2 Task 2: Install and Configure an Oracle Fusion Middleware Web Tier

The following sections describe the options available for installing, configuring, and upgrading a Web tier environment as a front end to your upgraded Oracle WebLogic Server environment:

7.2.1 Deciding Upon a Location for Your Web Tier Components

Before you install and configure Oracle HTTP Server as part of a Web Tier installation, consider where you want to install the Oracle HTTP Server. If you plan to use the Upgrade Assistant to upgrade your configuration settings from a previous version of Oracle HTTP Server, then you must install the Oracle HTTP Server on the same host as the Oracle Application Server 10g Oracle HTTP Server Oracle home.

If upgrading the configuration is not a requirement for your environment, then you can install and configure Oracle HTTP Server on a separate host and configure it later to send HTTP requests to your Oracle WebLogic Server domain.

For more information, see Task 4: Configure the Web Tier To Route Requests to Your Oracle Fusion Middleware Environment.

7.2.2 Associating the Web Tier Components with an Oracle WebLogic Server Domain

When you install Oracle HTTP Server as part of a Web Tier installation, you can choose whether or not to associate the Web Tier components with an Oracle WebLogic Server domain. Consider the following possible topologies:

  • Configure the Web tier components as part of an Oracle WebLogic Server domain.

    With this option, you can add Oracle HTTP Server and (optionally) Oracle Web Cache to an existing domain.

    For example, you can add the Web tier components to the Oracle SOA Suite, WebCenter, or Application Developer domain you are using to deploy your Java EE applications.

    This can be an advantage because you can then easily configure the Web tier components as a front end to your deployed applications, and you can then use Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control to manage the domain, as well as the applications you deploy on the domain.

    Note:

    Oracle does not support associating your Web tier components with a development domain created with Oracle JDeveloper. For more information, see Section 5.1, "Task 1: Install and Configure an Oracle WebLogic Server Development Domain".
  • Configure the Web tier components without a domain.

    With this option, the Oracle HTTP Server and (optionally) the Oracle Web Cache instances are installed "standalone" in a separate Oracle home and are not associated with a domain.

    Consider this topology if you are installing the Web tier components on a separate host, you are not planning to upgrade your previous Oracle Application Server 10g configuration settings, and you are not planning to manage your Web tier components with Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control.

7.2.3 Locating the Web Tier Installation and Configuration Documentation

When you are ready to install and configure Oracle HTTP Server and (optionally) Oracle Web Cache, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Web Tier for complete instructions.

If you are not planning to associate the Web tier components with an Oracle WebLogic Server domain, you can optionally use the Oracle Fusion Middleware Quick Installation Guide for Web Tier.

7.3 Task 3: Upgrade Your Oracle Application Server 10g Web Tier Components to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g

If you used Oracle HTTP Server previously, you can use the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Assistant to upgrade specific Oracle HTTP Server configuration settings from Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) to your new Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Oracle HTTP Server instance.

Alternatively, if you are using a Web server other than Oracle HTTP Server, or if you have installed Oracle HTTP Server on a separate host from the host where your Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) environment resides, then you must manually reconfigure your new Oracle Fusion Middleware environment.

Refer to the following sections for information on using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Assistant to upgrade your Oracle HTTP Server configuration to 11g:

7.3.1 Task 3a: Start the Upgrade Assistant for an Web Tier Upgrade

To start the Upgrade Assistant using the graphical user interface:

Note:

You can also use the Upgrade Assistant command-line interface to upgrade your Oracle Application Server 10g Oracle homes. For more information, see "Using the Upgrade Assistant Command-Line Interface" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Planning Guide.
  1. Change directory to the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory of the Oracle Fusion Middleware installation.

  2. Enter the following command to start the Upgrade Assistant.

    On UNIX system:

    ./ua
    

    On Windows systems:

    ua.bat
    

    The Upgrade Assistant displays the Welcome screen as shown in Figure 7-2

    Figure 7-1 Upgrade Assistant Welcome Screen

    Description of Figure 7-1 follows
    Description of "Figure 7-1 Upgrade Assistant Welcome Screen"

  3. Click Next to display the Specify Operation screen (Figure 7-2).

    The options available in the Upgrade Assistant are specific to the Oracle home from which it started. For example, when you start Upgrade Assistant from an Web Tier Oracle home, the options shown on the Specify Operation screen are the valid options for the components in a typical Web Tier Oracle home.

    Figure 7-2 Specify Operation Screen When Upgrading a Web Tier Installation

    Description of Figure 7-2 follows
    Description of "Figure 7-2 Specify Operation Screen When Upgrading a Web Tier Installation"

7.3.2 Task 3b: Use the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Web Tier Components

The following sections provide information about upgrading your Oracle HTTP Server to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g:

7.3.2.1 Upgrading the Web Tier Components

To upgrade your Web tier components to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g:

  1. Start the Upgrade Assistant as described in Task 3a: Start the Upgrade Assistant for an Web Tier Upgrade.

  2. Select Middle Tier Instance on the Specify Operation screen (Figure 7-2).

  3. Refer to Table 7-1 for a description of the Upgrade Assistant screens that require input from you during a middle-tier instance upgrade and the options on each screen.

    The Upgrade Assistant performs the following tasks and provides the progress on each task:

    • Examines the components and schemas to be upgraded and verifies that they can be upgraded successfully.

    • Provides a summary of the components to be upgraded so you can verify that the Upgrade Assistant is upgrading the components and schemas you expect.

    • Provides a progress screen so you can see the status of the upgrade as it proceeds.

    • Alerts you of any errors or problems that occur during the upgrade.

      See Also:

      Section B.1, "Troubleshooting Upgrade Assistant Problems and Issues" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Planning Guide for specific instructions for troubleshooting problems that occur while running the Upgrade Assistant
    • Displays the End of Upgrade screen, which confirms that the upgrade was complete.

Table 7-1 Upgrade Assistant Screens That Require Input During a Middle-Tier Instance Upgrade

Upgrade Assistant Screen Description

Specify Source Home

Select the 10g Release 2 (10.1.2) or 10g (10.1.4) Identity Management instance source Oracle home.

If the Oracle home you want to upgrade does not appear in the drop-down lists, see Section B.1.2.1, "Source Oracle Home Not Listed by OracleAS Upgrade Assistant" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Planning Guide.

Specify Destination Instance

Enter the complete path to the 11g Oracle instance, or click Browse to locate the instance directory.

Specify WebLogic Server

Enter the host and Administration Server port for the Oracle WebLogic Server you configured in Task 2: Install and Configure an Oracle Fusion Middleware Web Tier.

Specify Upgrade Options

Select the upgrade options you want to apply to the Oracle Portal, Forms, Reports, and Discoverer upgrade:

  • Use source Oracle home ports in destination: If you want to migrate the port assignments used by your Oracle Application Server 10g Oracle home to your new Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle instance.

    For more information, see Section 7.3.2.2, "Important Notes When Using the Source Oracle Home Ports in the Destination Oracle Instance".

    If you do not select this option, and you are upgrading Oracle Web Cache, see Section 7.5.2, "Verifying and Updating the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache Ports After Upgrade"

  • Stop source components before upgrade: By default, this check box is selected and all the components in the Source Oracle home will be stopped before the upgrade process begins. Stopping the source components is necessary to avoid any port conflicts when you select the Use source Oracle home ports in destination option.

  • Start destination components after successful upgrade: if you want the Upgrade Assistant to automatically start the components in the destination Oracle home after the upgrade is complete. If you do not select this option, then you will have to manually start the destination instance after the upgrade.

Click Help to display more information about the upgrade options on this screen.


7.3.2.2 Important Notes When Using the Source Oracle Home Ports in the Destination Oracle Instance

When you select the source Oracle home ports in destination option in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Assistant, note the following:

  • If you select this option, then you will not be able to run both the 10g and 11g middle tiers at the same time; otherwise, port conflicts will occur.

  • If you are upgrading to multiple instances of a particular Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g component, note that you can select this option only once for each component that you upgrade on a host; otherwise port conflicts will result.

    For example, suppose you upgrade and Oracle HTTP Server in one Oracle instance on MYHOST1.

    If you use the option again while upgrading another Oracle HTTP Server instance in another Oracle instance on MYHOST1, then the same listening ports are assigned to the second Oracle HTTP Server instance. Two instances of Oracle HTTP Server on the same host cannot use the same listening ports.

  • If you install and configure both Oracle Web Cache and Oracle HTTP Server 11g as part of a Web Tier and Utilities installation, and you use this option to upgrade a 10g Oracle home where only Oracle HTTP Server is installed, then you must modify the Oracle Web Cache instance after the upgrade.

    Specifically, since you are now using the 10g ports, you must modify the Oracle Web Cache instance so it sends requests to the port that was used in 10g, rather than the Oracle HTTP Server listening port assigned during the WebTier and Utilities installation and configuration.

    For more information, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Web Cache.

7.4 Task 4: Configure the Web Tier To Route Requests to Your Oracle Fusion Middleware Environment

To configure Oracle HTTP Server to route requests to Oracle WebLogic Server, use the instructions in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle HTTP Server.

In particular refer to these sections in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle HTTP Server:

7.5 Task 5: Perform Any Required Post-Upgrade Tasks for the Web Tier Components

The following sections describe some configuration tasks that you might have to perform after upgrading to your Web tier components to 11g:

Note:

If you configured Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache with Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On, then additional post-upgrade tasks are necessary.

For more information, see "Web Tier Component Post-Upgrade Tasks When Using Oracle Single Sign-On" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Guide for Oracle Portal, Forms, Reports, and Discoverer.

7.5.1 Verifying the Location of the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache Wallets After Upgrade

If you configured a secure socket layer (SSL) wallet for Oracle Web Cache 10g, then consider the following information about the Oracle Web Cache upgrade process:

  • If you stored the wallet in a directory inside the Oracle Web Cache 10g Oracle home, then during upgrade, the wallet files in the directory are moved to the following new directory in the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Instance home:

    ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/WebCache/component_name/keystores/wallet_dir_name10g
    

    For example:

    ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/WebCache/webcache1/keystores/wc_wallets10g
    
  • If you stored the wallet in a directory outside of the Oracle Web Cache 10g Oracle home, then you can continue to use the original pre-upgrade location after you upgrade to Oracle Web Cache 11g.

If you configured an SSL wallet for Oracle HTTP Server 10g, then the Upgrade Assistant upgrades the Oracle HTTP Server 10g wallets to the new 11g format. The Oracle HTTP Server 11g wallets are saved in the following location in the 11g Oracle instance directory:

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/component_name/keystores/default/

If you have defined specific wallets for each user, then the wallets are saved in subdirectory of the keystores directory. The name of the directory is based on the name of the directory where you stored the 10g wallets.

For example, if you stored your 10g wallets in a directory called /home/jones/security/mywallets/, then after the upgrade, you can find the upgraded wallets in the following directory:

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/component_name/keystores/security_mywallets/

7.5.2 Verifying and Updating the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache Ports After Upgrade

If you did not select Use source Oracle home ports in destination on the Specify Upgrade Options screen of the Upgrade Assistant, then after the upgrade of the Web tier components, you should verify the ports used by the upgraded Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache 11g instances.

Specifically, you should verify the listening ports, origin servers, site definitions, and site-to-server mapping settings, and make changes if appropriate.

If the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache components reside in the same instance and you upgrade them together, no modifications should be necessary.

However, in the following circumstances, you must re-configure the ports and connections between your Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache instances:

  • If you have upgraded the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache instances separately--for example, if you upgrade Oracle HTTP Server on one host and later upgrade an associated Oracle Web Cache instance on another host.

  • If you are using an Oracle Web Cache cluster, or you typically configure multiple Oracle Web Cache instances routing to multiple Oracle HTTP Server instances.

For more information about configuring the connections between Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Web Cache.

7.6 Task 6: Verify the Web Tier Upgrade

To verify that your Web Tier upgrade was successful:

  1. Run the Upgrade Assistant again and select Verify Instance on the Specify Operation page.

    Follow the instructions on the screen for information on how to verify that specific Oracle Fusion Middleware components are up and running.

  2. If you associated the Web Tier with an Oracle WebLogic Server domain and the Oracle Enterprise Manager template was applied to the domain, then use the Fusion Middleware Control to verify that the Web Tier components are up and running.

    For more information, see "Getting Started Using Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.