Supported Configurations for WebLogic Platform 8.1

Product Support Information

The following sections provide product support information about WebLogic Platform and WebLogic Server 8.1:

Important Support Information

The following sections provides guidance about high-level support policies:

WebLogic Platform Support

BEA supports WebLogic Platform software on the configurations supported in this document. The supported configurations include multiple combinations of hardware, operating systems, SDKs, database systems, Web Servers, and browsers that can be used with WebLogic Platform software. We are working to increase the number of configurations we support, and will update this information as new supported configurations are added.

Please contact your sales representative for information about configurations not listed in this document. Note that even using a supported configuration does not guarantee that you will never encounter operating system and JVM issues while running your application. We suggest that customers regularly check their operating system and JVM vendor Web Sites for information and patches recommended by those vendors.

Supported Hardware

This section provides information about BEA WebLogic Platform's:

Support Policy for Compatible Hardware Architectures

BEA products are certified for particular hardware chip architectures, as specified in List of Supported Operating System Configurations. In some cases, a single chip architecture is provided by multiple vendors. BEA supports such implementations when they are certified for compliance by their respective owners. For example:

Fujitsu offers a line of machines called Primepower. Because Sun has certified Primepower systems for SPARC compatibility, all Primepower computers are supported for any SPARC-based system listed in List of Supported Operating System Configurations.
The IA32-compatible (that is, x86/Xeon-compatible) architecture that is supported in the same manner by AMD.
For information on supported non-Oracle Virtualization and Partitioning technologies, refer to http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/hi_av/oracleas_supported_virtualization.html.

Support for Intel 64-bit Xeon Hardware

Intel's 64-bit Xeon hardware is capable of running in either of two modes: with 64-bit extended addressing or as an IA32 (x86/Xeon) machine:

If 64-bit Xeon is explicitly listed in List of Supported Operating System Configurations, this architecture will support 64-bit extended addressing.
If 64-bit Xeon is not listed in List of Supported Operating System Configurations, this architecture will be supported only for use as an IA32 machine with the supported 32-bit operating systems and SDKs for x86-based systems listed in List of Supported Operating System Configurations.

Support for BladeFrame Architecture

WebLogic Platform supports BladeFrame architectures on any configuration of operating system, hardware chip architecture, and SDK that is listed in Summary of Supported Operating System Configurations, by Release Number.

Compatibility with Previous Releases

BEA attempts to support binary and source-level compatibility between the current version of WebLogic Server and all versions as far back as 6.1sp2 in the areas of persistent data, generated classes, API, and Protocol compatibility. For more detailed information, see Compatibility Statement for BEA WebLogic Server 8.1.

Development Platforms

WebLogic Platform supports Development Platforms for the design, development, and verification of applications; they are not supported for production server deployments. Development Platforms are identified in the detailed Supported Configurations page for each platform.

Note About J2SE 1.4.2 Support

BEA has made available an SDK/Database patch that includes WebLogic Platform support for the Sun Java 2 1.4.2 SDK on Windows and Solaris platforms. This patch is required for WebLogic Workshop, WebLogic Portal, and WebLogic Integration support for this SDK. (This patch is not required for WebLogic Server 8.1 SP2-only configurations.) Configurations of WebLogic Platform 8.1 SP2 that have this patch applied will continue to support the Sun Java 2 1.4.1 SDK. This patch is available at the following URL:

http://dev2dev.bea.com/products/wlplatform81/patch/wlplat81sp2_patch.jsp

Note that WebLogic Platform 8.1 Service Pack 3 (SP3) will include and support JVMs at the Sun J2SE 1.4.2 level only. BEA Systems wishes to bring the impending 1.4.1-to-1.4.2 upgrade to your attention because the JVM upgrade required in SP3 for WebLogic Platform 8.1 and WebLogic Server 8.1 will be larger than the JVM upgrade usually required in WebLogic Platform and WebLogic Server service packs. To make sure you are prepared for this change, you may want to consider a plan for regression testing your application and allocating resources.

Support Policy for Third-Party JVMs

A Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is required for both WebLogic Server and WebLogic Platform to run. For your convenience, in most cases the WebLogic installation program includes a JVM for creation of WebLogic domain configurations and use of WebLogic software. For details, see the installation guide for WebLogic Platform.

If the JVM used in your configuration is not the BEA JRockit JVM, but a JVM provided by a third party, BEA cannot directly resolve potential issues traced to the third-party JVM. Support for a third-party JVM must be provided by the JVM vendor.

The version of any third-party JVM bundled by BEA is recommended by the JVM vendor at the time BEA releases its product. Because the versions of JVMs supported by vendors change over time, please consult with your JVM vendor and confirm the latest configurations at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/suppconfigs/configs81/81_over/overview.html to understand the latest JVM support information before using a third-party JVM.

End-of-Life and Product Life Cycle Policy Information

For End-of-Life (EOL) information, see BEA Product Life Cycle Policy.
For notification of changes in the release life cycle for WebLogic Platform and related product components, as well as information about BEA support for third-party products reaching end-of-life, see WebLogic Platform End-of-Life Announcements.
For BEA's product life cycle policy, see BEA Product Life Cycle Policy.