3 Planning an Enterprise Deployment Upgrade

This chapter provides an overview of the steps required to upgrade an Oracle Application Server 10g enterprise deployment.

The information in this chapter should be considered after you review the general planning guidelines in Chapter 1, "Developing an Upgrade Strategy".

This chapter contains the following sections:

3.1 What Is an Enterprise Deployment?

An enterprise deployment typically consists of more than just the application server middle tiers, which are used to deploy your applications.

Instead, an enterprise deployment typically consists of the following:

  • The databases that support the application server and Identity Management components, as well as your deployed applications.

  • One or more application server installations, which consists of the middle-tier system components and the applications you develop and deploy on the application server tier.

  • Identity Management installations, which provides security and directory services for the Oracle Fusion Middleware components and the applications you deploy.

For more specific information about typical enterprise deployments supported by Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g, refer to the following documentation resources:

The goal of an Oracle Fusion Middleware upgrade is to upgrade your entire enterprise to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g.

3.2 Upgrading the Databases Where Your Metadata Repositories Are Installed

Each release of Oracle Fusion Middleware has specific requirements for database features and capabilities. As a result, before you begin any upgrade, you should review the databases you are currently using and verify that they are supported by the Oracle Fusion Middleware software you are about to install.

For information on the supported database versions, as well as the guidelines and procedures for upgrading your databases, refer to Chapter 5, "Upgrading and Preparing Your Databases".

3.3 Upgrading Your Identity Management Components

Depending upon the Oracle Identity Management components you are using in your environment, the Oracle Identity Management upgrade involves upgrading one or more of these components:

  • Oracle Internet Directory

  • Oracle Single Sign-On

  • Oracle Directory Integration Platform

  • Oracle Identity Federation

  • Oracle Virtual Directory

  • Oracle Access Manager

  • Oracle Adaptive Access Manager

  • Oracle Identity Navigator

  • Oracle Authorization Policy Manager

The Oracle Identity Management components can be upgraded independently of the application server installations. In many cases, a single Oracle Identity Management environment can support multiple application server installations. As a result, you might choose to upgrade all of your middle tiers first and then upgrade your Oracle Identity Management environment.

For example, if you upgrade your Oracle SOA Suite 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) components to 11g, then you can continue to use your existing Oracle Identity Management 10g components until there is an opportunity to upgrade your centralized Oracle Identity Management environment.

For more information, refer to the following:

3.4 Upgrading Your Application Server Middle-Tier Installations

Upgrading the application server installations in your environment involves not only upgrading the application servers and the system components that comprise the middle tiers, but also upgrading:

  • The Oracle Fusion Middleware database schemas that are required for your Oracle Fusion Middleware components

  • The custom applications you have deployed on the application servers

  • The Web tier components (Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache) that route requests to the middle tiers

Depending upon the types of applications you have, the order that you upgrade these elements of the application server installation will vary. For example:

  • In an Oracle SOA Suite environment, you should install and configure your 11g environment first, and then upgrade your applications in Oracle JDeveloper. This allows you to set up your 11g data source and application server connections in Oracle JDeveloper before you upgrade the applications.

  • In a Java EE environment, where you are not using Oracle SOA Suite, WebCenter, or Oracle ADF, you can upgrade the applications first. Then you can configure an environment with the resources and services required by each application after the applications are modified.

Refer to the upgrade guide for your specific Oracle Fusion Middleware software environment for more information:

3.5 System Availability During an Enterprise Deployment Upgrade

In general, you can upgrade your Oracle Identity Management and application server environments independently. In other words, you can keep your Oracle Identity Management components up and running while you upgrade your application server installations.

However, when you start the process of upgrading your application server installations, there are specific requirements for each type of middle tier that will determine whether or not you will have any downtime during the upgrade process.

For example, when you upgrade your Oracle SOA Suite middle tiers, you must also upgrade the metadata repository that contains the Oracle SOA Suite schemas and the custom Oracle SOA Suite applications you have developed and deployed on the Oracle SOA Suite middle tier.