1. Installing Oracle Forms
  2. Upgrading Oracle Forms

4 Upgrading Oracle Forms

This chapter describes how to upgrade Oracle Forms from 11g or previous 12c version to the latest version.

Regardless of the version currently in use, first create a backup of the existing installation and then proceed with installing the latest version in a new Oracle Home.

When upgrading from version 11.1.1 or older, you can follow one of the following methods:
  • Follow the instructions and first upgrade to v11. Then, follow the steps provided in this section to upgrade to v12.
  • Perform a fresh installation of v12 and manually configure the new environment, as required.
Upgrading Oracle Form from a previous release is an out-of-place upgrade (software must be installed to a new Oracle Home directory location) performed by using the Upgrade Assistant.

Note:

Although Oracle Reports is included in this release, it has been deprecated. Refer to the 12.2.1.3.0 Documentation Library for upgrade information specific to Oracle Reports.

The following topics are covered:

Planning an Upgrade of Oracle Forms

Upgrading Oracle Forms to 12c requires careful preparation, planning, and performing series of steps.

If you are running any of the following versions, follow the steps provided in this chapter to upgrade Oracle Forms:

  • Oracle FMW 11.1.1.7 Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

  • Oracle FMW 11.1.2.2 Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

  • Oracle FMW 12c (12.2.1.0) Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

  • Oracle FMW 12c (12.2.1.1.0) Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

  • Oracle FMW 12c (12.2.1.2.0) Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

  • Oracle FMW 12c (12.2.1.3.0) Forms to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0)

Preparing to Upgrade Oracle Forms from 11g

Before you begin to upgrade to the current version from Oracle Forms 11g, you must run the Forms upgrade extension script on the remote Forms nodes to extract Forms configuration artifacts residing on the remote nodes.

Note: Perform these steps only if you have any remote Forms nodes, which you may have added using extend domain or expand cluster scenario.

To run Forms upgrade extension on remote Forms nodes:

  1. Locate the forms-upgrade-ext.sh (forms-upgrade-ext.bat) script in the following directory.

    $ORACLE_HOME/forms/plugins/upgrade

  2. Run the forms-upgrade-ext.sh (forms-upgrade-ext.bat) script on each remote node with the collect option to pass in the location to save the artifacts.

    collect <arg1: location to save the artifacts>

    Note: Run the collect option in the source environment on each one of the remote Forms nodes. The script will extract and package Forms configuration files on that remote node to the specified location.

  3. Copy the collected artifacts from all the remote nodes to the Admin Server node.
  4. Run the forms-upgrade-ext.sh (forms-upgrade-ext.bat) script on the Admin Server node with the apply option to pass in the location of the saved artifacts and the Domain directory.

    apply <arg1: location of the saved artifacts> <arg2: domain dir>

    Note: Run the apply option only once on the Admin Server machine. The script will extract the Forms configuration from the remote node artifacts and apply it to the Domain.

Create Copy of Oracle Forms Template Files

Before you start an upgrade to the latest 12c release, it is recommended that you create copies of existing Forms template files.

This includes all files in the following directory: ORACLE_HOME\user_projects\domains\base_domain\config\fmwconfig\components\FORMS\instances\<INSTANCE NAME>\server. If you are upgrading from a previous 12c release to the latest release, the files are located in the same directory as mentioned in the previous line. If you are upgrading Oracle Forms from a release earlier than 12c (for example, 11g) to the latest 12c release, the files may be located in different directory.

The copy of template files will help you to restore user-specific customization in the new forms template files.

After have you completed the upgrade process, you should manually copy or merge user-specific customizations created in the earlier version to the new Forms template files.

Upgrading Oracle Forms from 11g to 12c

Before you begin the upgrade, it is important to make sure you have read the complete upgrade process so that your existing setup is not impacted during or after the upgrade.

The upgrade process for Oracle Forms from 11g to 12c includes two steps.

Reconfiguring the 11g Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard

You have to use the WLS 12c Reconfiguration Wizard for configuring the 11g Domain.

To reconfigure the 11g Domain:

  1. Run the Reconfiguration Wizard from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/reconfig.sh

  2. Provide the location of the 11g FMW Domain for upgrade.
  3. Enter the RCU schema information.
  4. Select only the Topology option in the Advanced Configuration in the Reconfiguration Wizard.

    Do not select the system components option. Those will be automatically configured/upgraded by the Upgrade Assistant.

  5. Leave the default selections on the Node Manager screen. Enter user name and password if needed.
  6. Select JRF-MAN-SVR and FORMS-MAN-SVR server groups for all the Forms managed servers, including the default Forms managed servers WLS_FORMS, WLS_FORMS1, etc., and any other Forms managed servers users that may have been added after the 11g installation.
  7. Click Next until you get to the last screen of the Reconfiguration Wizard.

Note:

In 11g, Forms does not require the Repository Creation Utility (RCU) schemas, but starting with 12c all the WebLogic Server 12c domains require RCU schemas to be setup. Hence, before you perform these steps, ensure that you create the required schemas (see Configuring the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure Domain) in RCU before you run the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard.

Using the Upgrade Assistant

To complete the upgrade from 11g to 12c, you have to run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

To upgrade:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Configuration Used by the Domain option.
  3. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  4. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  5. Click Upgrade.

Upgrading Oracle Forms from a Previous 12c Release

This section describes the process to upgrade Oracle Forms to the latest 12c from a previous Oracle Forms 12c release.

The following topics are included in this section:

Upgrading to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0) from 12c (12.2.1)

To upgrade Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0 from 12.2.1 you have to complete three main steps.

The steps are as follows:

Note:

Running forms-upgrade-ext.sh on remote nodes is not required when upgrading from 12.2.1.

Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Domain Schema

Perform the following steps to upgrade the Domain Schema using the 12.2.1.4.0 upgrade assistant.

To upgrade the Domain Schema:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Schemas Used by the Domain option.
  3. Select the Schema components to Upgrade.
  4. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  5. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  6. Provide the RCU Database connection information.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Click Finish.
Reconfiguring the 12.2.1 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard

You have to reconfigure the 12.2.1 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard.

To reconfigure the 12.2.1 Domain:

  1. Run the Reconfiguration Wizard from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/reconfig.sh

  2. Provide the location of the 12.2.1 FMW Domain for upgrade.
  3. Enter the RCU schema information.
  4. Select only the Topology option in the Advanced Configuration in the Reconfiguration Wizard.

    Do not select the System Components option. Those will be automatically configured/upgraded by the Upgrade Assistant.

  5. Leave the default selections on the Node Manager screen. Enter user name and password if needed.
  6. Click Next until you get to the last screen of the Reconfiguration Wizard.
Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Components Configuration

To upgrade the Components configuration, complete a series of steps using the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

To upgrade the Components configuration:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Configuration Used by the Domain option.
  3. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  4. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  5. Click Upgrade.

Upgrading to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0) from 12c (12.2.1.1.0)

To upgrade Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0 from 12.2.1.1.0 you have to complete three steps.

The steps are as follows:

Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Domain Schema

Perform the following steps to upgrade the Domain Schema using the 12.2.1.4.0 upgrade assistant.

To upgrade the Domain Schema:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Schemas Used by the Domain option.
  3. Select the Schema components to Upgrade.
  4. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  5. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  6. Provide the RCU Database connection information.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Click Finish.
Reconfiguring the 12.2.1.1.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard

You have to reconfigure the 12.2.1.1.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard.

To reconfigure the 12.2.1.1.0 Domain:

  1. Run the Reconfiguration Wizard from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/reconfig.sh

  2. Provide the location of the 12.2.1.1.0 FMW Domain for upgrade.
  3. Enter the RCU schema information.
  4. Select only the Topology option in the Advanced Configuration in the Reconfiguration Wizard.

    Do not select the System Components option. Those will be automatically configured/upgraded by the Upgrade Assistant.

  5. Leave the default selections on the Node Manager screen. Enter user name and password if needed.
  6. Click Next until you get to the last screen of the Reconfiguration Wizard.
Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Components Configuration

To upgrade the Components configuration, complete a series of steps using the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

To upgrade the Components configuration:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Configuration Used by the Domain option.
  3. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  4. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  5. Click Upgrade.

Upgrading to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0) from 12c (12.2.1.2.0)

To upgrade Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0 from 12.2.1.2.0 you have to complete three steps.

The steps are as follows:

Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Domain Schema

Perform the following steps to upgrade the Domain Schema using the 12.2.1.4.0 upgrade assistant.

To upgrade the Domain Schema:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Schemas Used by the Domain option.
  3. Select the Schema components to Upgrade.
  4. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  5. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  6. Provide the RCU Database connection information.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Click Finish.
Reconfiguring the 12.2.1.2.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard

You have to reconfigure the 12.2.1.2.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard.

To reconfigure the 12.2.1.2.0 Domain:

  1. Run the Reconfiguration Wizard from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/reconfig.sh

  2. Provide the location of the 12.2.1.2.0 FMW Domain for upgrade.
  3. Enter the RCU schema information.
  4. Select only the Topology option in the Advanced Configuration in the Reconfiguration Wizard.

    Do not select the System Components option. Those will be automatically configured/upgraded by the Upgrade Assistant.

  5. Leave the default selections on the Node Manager screen. Enter user name and password if needed.
  6. Click Next until you get to the last screen of the Reconfiguration Wizard.
Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Components Configuration

To upgrade the Components configuration, complete a series of steps using the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

To upgrade the Components configuration:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Configuration Used by the Domain option.
  3. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  4. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  5. Click Upgrade.

Upgrading to Oracle Forms 12c (12.2.1.4.0) from 12c (12.2.1.3.0)

To upgrade to Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0 from 12.2.1.3.0 you can perform a Zero Downtime (ZDT) upgrade or a non-ZDT upgrade. After you upgrade, complete the applicable configuration steps.

ZDT or Zero Downtime Upgrade is intended for multi-node environments. It allows administrators to patch or upgrade multi-node environments with minimal to no downtime.

The steps are as follows:

Performing a ZDT Upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0

To perform a ZDT upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0 to Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0, complete a series of steps.

When upgrading from the 12.2.1.3.0 version, we recommend that you use the ZDT upgrade when one the following conditions is met.
  • For multi-node load balanced Forms deployment
  • To install FMW 12.2.1.4.0 in same the Oracle Home path as FMW 12.2.1.3.0
Consider a two-node scenario for the scope of this procedure. A primary node, named node1, with Admin Server, Forms (managed Server WLS_FORMS and System component forms1) and OHS. A secondary node, named node2, with Forms Instance (managed Server WLS_FORMS and System component forms1).
  1. Shutdown system components, including Admin Server and the managed servers on node 1.
  2. Rename the 12.2.1.3 Oracle Home parent directory on node 1. For example, you can rename it to Oracle_Home_Old.
  3. Install Oracle Forms version 12.2.1.4.0 on node 1 to the same Oracle Home path as used in 12.2.1.3.0 (before we renamed it in Step 2).
  4. If the WLS Domains directory (user_projects) and its subdirectories are located within the old Oracle Home, copy these directories to the new Oracle Home in the same location as they were previously.
  5. Start system components, including Admin Server and the managed servers on node 1.
  6. Shutdown system components and the managed servers on node 2.
  7. Repeat steps 2 to 4 to install Oracle Forms on node 2.
  8. Start system components and the managed servers on node 2.
  9. After completing the 12.2.1.4.0 installation and starting the servers correctly, delete the Oracle_Home_Old directories from nodes 1 and 2. Before deleting, make sure you copy any custom files you need from the Oracle_Home_Old directory.
Performing Non-ZDT Upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0

To complete a non-ZDT upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0 to Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0, you have to complete three steps.

The steps are as follows:

Install 12.2.1.4 Software in a New Oracle Home

Install the WebLogic Server Infrastructure 12.2.1.4 and Forms 12.2.1.4 software into a new Oracle home directory.

Refer to Installing Oracle Forms in a New Oracle Home for more information about installing the software.
Reconfiguring the 12.2.1.3.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard

You have to reconfigure the 12.2.1.3.0 Domain using the WLS Reconfiguration Wizard.

To reconfigure the 12.2.1.3.0 Domain:

  1. Run the Reconfiguration Wizard from the following location in the new Oracle home:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/reconfig.sh

  2. Provide the location of the 12.2.1.3.0 FMW Domain for upgrade.
  3. Enter the RCU schema information.
  4. Select only the Topology option in the Advanced Configuration in the Reconfiguration Wizard.

    Do not select the System Components option. Those will be automatically configured/upgraded by the Upgrade Assistant.

  5. Leave the default selections on the Node Manager screen. Enter user name and password if needed.
  6. Click Next until you get to the last screen of the Reconfiguration Wizard.
Running the Upgrade Assistant to Upgrade the Components Configuration

To upgrade the Components configuration, complete a series of steps using the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant.

To upgrade the Components configuration:

  1. Run the 12.2.1.4.0 Upgrade Assistant from the following location:

    $ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/upgrade/bin/ua

  2. Select the All Configuration Used by the Domain option.
  3. Provide the location of the reconfigured 12c domain.
  4. Select the prerequisite check boxes.
  5. Click Upgrade.
Complete Upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0

After you complete the steps to perform a ZDT or non-ZDT upgrade from 12.2.1.3.0 to Oracle Forms 12.2.1.4.0, perform these steps to complete the upgrade.

After completing the upgrade steps, perform these steps.

  1. If FADS was configured in the 12.2.1.3.0 domain, complete these steps.
    1. Run the fads_config.py script with the upgrade option.
      ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/wlst.sh fads_config.py upgrade

    2. Complete the prompts.
  2. After the FMW domain is upgraded from 12.2.1.3.0, complete the following steps to enable encryption for the userid parameter.

    Note:

    The userid parameter in formsweb.cfg file is encrypted by default when you create a new 12.2.1.4.0 domain.
    1. If you used the non-ZDT upgrade, set the forms.userid.encryption.enabled server parameter to true for the Admin Server and the Forms managed servers.

      Refer to Customizing Domain Wide Server Parameters in Administering Server Startup and Shutdown for Oracle WebLogic Server.

      Here is a sample of the setUserOverridesLate.sh file (use setUserOverridesLate.cmd for Windows), where the forms.userid.encryption.enabled parameter is enabled. 

      echo ""
echo "*****************************************************"
echo "** Executing setUserOverridesLate.sh"
echo "*****************************************************"
 
# specify additional java command line options for all servers

EXTRA_JAVA_PROPERTIES="${EXTRA_JAVA_PROPERTIES} -Dforms.userid.encryption.enabled=true"
export EXTRA_JAVA_PROPERTIES

echo "USER_MEM_ARGS=\"${USER_MEM_ARGS}\""
echo "EXTRA_JAVA_PROPERTIES=\"${EXTRA_JAVA_PROPERTIES}\""
echo ""
echo "*****************************************************"
echo "** End of setUserOverrideLate.sh"
echo "*****************************************************"
echo ""
    2. For both ZDT and non-ZDT upgrades, run the following commands using WLST (online mode) to provide grants to the forms application or mbeans to access the Forms application keystore. 
      
grantPermission(codeBaseURL="file:${common.components.home}/../forms/provision/forms-config-mbeans.jar",
permClass="oracle.security.jps.service.keystore.KeyStoreAccessPermission",permTarget="stripeName=formsapp,
keystoreName=formsks,alias=*", permActions="*") 

grantPermission(codeBaseURL="file:${domain.home}/servers/${weblogic.Name}/tmp/_WL_user/formsapp_12.2.1/-",
permClass="oracle.security.jps.service.keystore.KeyStoreAccessPermission", permTarget="stripeName=formsapp,
keystoreName=formsks,alias=*",permActions="*")
    3. For both ZDT and non-ZDT upgrades, restart the Admin Server and Forms managed servers.

Post-Upgrade Steps after Upgrading Oracle Forms

After using the Upgrade Assistant to upgrade Oracle Forms, perfrom a series of post-upgrade tasks.

You have to complete the following tasks:

  • When upgrading from 11g Forms, regenerate the Forms application files: fmx's, mmx's, and plx's to run on Oracle Forms Services 12.2.1.4.0. This is not required when upgrading from Oracle Forms 12.2.1.3.0

  • If you deployed the Oracle Forms Services J2EE custom application ear file (formsapp.ear) file to override the context root or Forms servlet alias, you should perform similar steps in the 12.2.1.4.0 Oracle WebLogic Server domain, see Custom Deployment of Forms Java EE Application. For more information, see Oracle Forms Configuration Helper Script in the Working With Oracle Forms guide.

  • Manually copy any customizations made to provided shell script to the new environment as necessary.

  • Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c (12.2.1.4.0) does not support Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.7 or older. If necessary, upgrade the client JRE to a certified version of Java 8. Refer to the Product Certification Matrix for a list of certified versions.