Oracle® Retail Integration Cloud Service
Release Notes
Release 16.0.030
F19510-01
June 2019
This document highlights the major changes in this release of Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service.
Overview
The Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service (RICS) is comprised of the Oracle Retail Integration Suite of products that are cloud deployable for a customer’s integration to Oracle Retail applications, and the customer’s on-premises or hybrid configurations of third-party applications.
The integration products supported are the same as the generally-available on premises versions of the Oracle Retail Integration Bus (RIB), the Oracle Retail Service Backbone (RSB), and Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration (BDI).
The cloud-deployed versions of the integration products render some functionality and documentation not applicable. For example, installation documentation is not provided in this release because those activities are handled by the cloud provider. In addition, customization tooling documentation is no longer available because those activities are no longer supported.
In a few documents, minor changes in configuration are noted. See the section, Related Documentation, later in this document for the complete list of documents associated with this release.
Note The Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service application is based on corresponding on-premises applications. References to the on-premises application names exist throughout the application and documents. |
Note The non-sequential version number of this Oracle Retail application is intentional. |
Oracle Retail Cloud Services and Business Agility
Oracle Retail Integration Bus Cloud Service is hosted in the Oracle Cloud with the security features inherent to Oracle technology and a robust data center classification, providing significant uptime. The Oracle Cloud team is responsible for installing, monitoring, patching, and upgrading retail software.
Included in the service is continuous technical support, access to software feature enhancements, hardware upgrades, and disaster recovery. The Cloud Service model helps to free customer IT resources from the need to perform these tasks, giving retailers greater business agility to respond to changing technologies and to perform more value-added tasks focused on business processes and innovation.
Oracle Retail Software Cloud Service is acquired exclusively through a subscription service (SaaS) model. This shifts funding from a capital investment in software to an operational expense. Subscription-based pricing for retail applications offers flexibility and cost effectiveness.
A Note about On-Premises Applications and Integration Cloud Service Support
The integration between the Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service and the Oracle Retail on-premises applications below is not supported. Any mention of those applications that may exist within this documentation set is for reference purposes only.
n Oracle Retail Advanced Inventory System (AIP)
n Oracle Retail Price Management (RPM)
Note RPM and the Retail Pricing Cloud Service product that is included in the Merchandising Cloud Services release are separate entities, and RPM in this list is not a reference to the Retail Pricing Cloud Service product. |
Note that in some cases third party applications can communicate with the RIB using services.
Client System Requirements
The following technology is supported:
n Operating Systems
- Microsoft Windows 7
- Microsoft Windows 10
Note Oracle Retail assumes that the retailer has ensured its Operating System has been patched with all applicable Windows updates. |
n Browser Support
- Mozilla Firefox ESR 60+
- Internet Explorer 11.0
- Google Chrome (Desktop) 73+
Technical Enhancements
The technical enhancements below are included in this release.
Release Summary
The following changes were made to Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service:
n RICS has been enhanced so that it is a standalone entity that no longer exclusively supports the Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service product.
n The RICS Data Service is being introduced in this version as a new component.
n RICS is integrated to the Omni Channel Data Service (OCDS) in this release.
n This release includes RIB deployment configuration enhancements.
n BDI topology has been simplified to include a reduced number of Job Admin apps.
n BDI has enterprise integration flows that are designed to efficiently move data from source to multiple destinations.
Standalone RICS
Because RICS has been decoupled from RMFCS, RICS is now a standalone offering. RICS is required for RMFCS, but not vice versa. From this version forward, RICS supports both the on-premises Oracle Retail Merchandising System (RMS) and the cloud-based Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service (RMFCS) product.
RIB Enhancements
n Users can now configure the RIB datasource - connection pool attributes to suit the environment and better meet business needs.
n The application allows users to configure the RIB adapter log level at deployment time. Because of performance factors in various live environments, the logger level for rib adapter logs is set to "warn" instead of "debug."
n RDMT configuration has been enhanced with a new option, "18 - Update RIB applications password," to update the passwords of the following rib-application datasources post rib-app deployment (here the rib-applications are in active state):
- AQ datasource
- Error hospital datasource
- Application datasource
In sum, the RDMT utility supports rib-app-password updates.
BDI Enhancements
The following BDI enhancements are included in this release.
Enterprise Integration Flows
n Enterprise integration flows have been introduced in this release. These flows support data to flow to multiple destinations from RMFCS (the source application) in an efficient way.
n Only a single installation of BDI process flow for the enterprise integration is required.
n Enterprise integration flows follow Sender Side Split Topology. Sender Side Split Topology is a multiple-receiver topology in which same data to send to multiple receivers through multiple transmissions originating at the sender's side.
n For each enterprise flow, there is one master flow and multiple sub-flows (one sub flow for each destination application).
n The master flow has trigger activity for all the sub-flows. The activities for triggering the sub-flows are marked to skip at install time if an application is not in scope.
BDI Edge Job Admin
To avoid the need to maintain a separate database schema for BDI integration applications, the BDI Integration Job Admin app has been merged with the BDI EDGE Job Admin app. From this 16.0.030 release going forward, only the BDI Edge Job admin is available.
Data Source Configuration through JSON
BDI and JOS applications create and use the data sources below for various transactions. Because the datasource configurations contribute to the performance of the applications at runtime, it is important that configuration be based on realistic values suitable for each specific environment. The database connection performance is highly associated with its various configurations such as connection pool settings, transaction settings, diagnostic setting, and so on.
In 16.0.030, the BDI and JOS application deployment has been enhanced with the capability to configure the datasources through the deployment configuration file (JSON file).
RICS Data Service
RICS Data Service is a solution that allows the on-premises user to access the database on the cloud. In addition, the RICS Data Service manages to secure tables data by applying various levels of security such as read, create, update and delete.
Oracle Retail Omnichannel Cloud Data Service
OCDS is a data hub, enabling Oracle Retail Merchandising and Pricing applications to share foundation data with Oracle Retail Omnichannel applications. OCDS contains the following components:
n BDI Batch Job Admin
Enables an in-bound data flow into OCDS using BDI technology. Job Admin has a User Interface (UI) to support the management of BDI batch Jobs.
n RIB Injector
Enables an in-bound data flow into OCDS from the Oracle Retail Integration Bus (RIB).
n Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS)
Enables out-bound data flow from OCDS to Omni Channel Applications through the use of RESTful web services.
Functional Enhancements
n There are new BDI flows for Merchandise Planning and Optimization (MP & O) Oracle Retail Predictive Application Server (RPAS) foundation data and item integration.
n There are new RIB, RSB, and BDI flows for the Oracle Retail Store Inventory Operations Cloud Services.
n There are new BDI flows for the Oracle Retail Pricing Cloud Service integration flows.
Support Considerations
For product support and logged defects, the new product identifier for the Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service is 13314. Each logged defect will be analyzed to determine the source of the reported issue. Note that this Cloud Service product code also includes RSB and BDI functionality.
Related Documentation
For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service 16.0.030 documentation set:
n Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service Administration Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service Administrator Action List
n Oracle Retail Job Orchestration and Scheduler Implementation Guide
RIB Related Documentation
For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Retail Integration Bus 16.0.030 documentation set:
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Implementation Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Installation Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Operations Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Hospital Administration Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Support Tools Guide
n Oracle Retail Functional Artifacts Guide
n Oracle Retail Functional Artifacts Generator Guide
n Oracle Retail Service-Oriented Architecture Enabler Tool Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Bus Java Messaging Service Console Guide
RSB Related Documentation
For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Retail Service Backbone 16.0.030 documentation set:
n Oracle Retail Service Backbone Developers Guide
n Oracle Retail Service Backbone Implementation Guide
n Oracle Retail Integration Console (RIC) User Guide
n Oracle Retail Service Backbone Security Guide
BDI Related Documentation
For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration 16.0.030 documentation set:
n Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration Implementation Guide
n Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration Installation Guide
ORFI Related Documentation
For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Retail Financial Integration 16.0.030 documentation set:
n Oracle Retail Financial Integration for Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Management and Oracle Financials Implementation Guide
n Oracle Retail Financial Integration for Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Management and Oracle Financials Installation Guide
Oracle Retail Learning Subscriptions at Oracle University
The Oracle Retail Learning Subscription is a digital training solution for anyone on your team seeking training on Oracle Retail Products. With the learning subscription you get the key elements of an effective learning program and the conveniences of a digital format, making this training unmatched in the industry.
You get modern learning at its best, such as:
n 12 months of 24/7 access to a comprehensive set of high quality videos delivered by Oracle experts.
n Detailed coverage and step-by-step demonstrations.
n Periodic updates for new features and product enhancements.
n Flexibility to search, access and learn about specific topics of interest.
The learning subscription enables current users to continually refresh and upgrade their product skills. It also enables new employees with a self-paced learning guide to help them quickly become proficient on Oracle Retail Products.
For training opportunities, see the following web site:
http://www.oracle.com/education
Documentation Accessibility
For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.
Access to Oracle Support
Oracle customers that have purchased support have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.
Oracle® Retail Integration Cloud Service Release Notes, Release 16.0.030
F19510-01
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Value-Added Reseller (VAR) Language
Oracle Retail VAR Applications
The following restrictions and provisions only apply to the programs referred to in this section and licensed to you. You acknowledge that the programs may contain third party software (VAR applications) licensed to Oracle. Depending upon your product and its version number, the VAR applications may include:
(i) the MicroStrategy Components developed and licensed by MicroStrategy Services Corporation (MicroStrategy) of McLean, Virginia to Oracle and imbedded in the MicroStrategy for Oracle Retail Data Warehouse and MicroStrategy for Oracle Retail Planning & Optimization applications.
(ii) the Wavelink component developed and licensed by Wavelink Corporation (Wavelink) of Kirkland, Washington, to Oracle and imbedded in Oracle Retail Mobile Store Inventory Management.
(iii) the software component known as Access Via™ licensed by Access Via of Seattle, Washington, and imbedded in Oracle Retail Signs and Oracle Retail Labels and Tags.
(iv) the software component known as Adobe Flex™ licensed by Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, California, and imbedded in Oracle Retail Promotion Planning & Optimization application.
You acknowledge and confirm that Oracle grants you use of only the object code of the VAR Applications. Oracle will not deliver source code to the VAR Applications to you. Notwithstanding any other term or condition of the agreement and this ordering document, you shall not cause or permit alteration of any VAR Applications. For purposes of this section, "alteration" refers to all alterations, translations, upgrades, enhancements, customizations or modifications of all or any portion of the VAR Applications including all reconfigurations, reassembly or reverse assembly, re-engineering or reverse engineering and recompilations or reverse compilations of the VAR Applications or any derivatives of the VAR Applications. You acknowledge that it shall be a breach of the agreement to utilize the relationship, and/or confidential information of the VAR Applications for purposes of competitive discovery.
The VAR Applications contain trade secrets of Oracle and Oracle's licensors and Customer shall not attempt, cause, or permit the alteration, decompilation, reverse engineering, disassembly or other reduction of the VAR Applications to a human perceivable form. Orale reserves the right to replace, with functional equivalent software, any of the VAR Applications in future releases of the applicable program.