Before You Begin

This 30-minute tutorial describes the high-level steps to upgrade a standalone WebLogic Server 10.3.6 single-server domain to be compatible with 12.2.1.4. 

Background

WebLogic Server 10.3.6 has been a widely adopted release of WebLogic Server, successfully meeting user requirements for many years. However, Oracle encourages customers to upgrade to a more current release of WebLogic Server at this time. 

Upgrading from WebLogic Server 10.3.6 to WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4 specifically offers compelling benefits for WebLogic Server users:

• Java EE 7 support, including additional support for RESTful applications, JSON processing, use of annotations and dependency injection, WebSocket support, Web Services improvements, JPA updates and more.
• Support for running in cloud native Kubernetes environments, with a set of tools for migrating, deploying, monitoring and managing WebLogic Server applications in Kubernetes.
• New capabilities in areas such as Maven support, automated scaling of WebLogic Server clusters, and management of WebLogic Server configurations using REST, which enable broader automation and DevOps support for the full application development lifeycle.
• Improved scalability of WLS applications, particularly using cloud-friendly unicast protocols.
• High availability enhancements, such as Application Continuity integration, Zero Downtime Patching, and Maximum Availability Architecture solutions.
• Certification with updated environments, allowing for integration with more current operating systems, JDKs, database versions, Web servers and load balancers enabling users to leverage the benefits if these updated products.
• Integration with standard Oracle installation and patching technologies to facilitate product maintenance.

Many of the above benefits can be leveraged by upgrading existing applications without requiring application changes. And development teams can use new API support to enhance these existing applications and build new applications.

This tutorial serves as a quick start for testing the upgrade process. For detailed information about this upgrade, see Upgrading Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.2.1.4).

Summary of Changes

The following list describes some of the changes to the upgrade process since Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.6:

• JDK 8 (1.8.0_211+) is the only JDK certified for use with Oracle WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4. For more information, see JDK 8 and Server JRE 8 Certification.
• Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) replaces the WebLogic Server installation program and the Upgrade Installer. 
• Oracle Reconfiguration Wizard replaces the WebLogic Upgrade Wizard. The Reconfiguration Wizard modifies the existing 10.3.6 domain home so that it is compatible with WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.
• The Reconfiguration Wizard does not automatically back up the domain being upgraded like the WebLogic Upgrade Wizard. You must manually back up your domain directory prior to upgrading the domain. If you encounter an issue during the upgrade, you will need to restore your system from backup - there is no rollback option once the process has started.
• The default Node Manager configuration has changed from per host to per domain.
  The per domain configuration allows multiple domains on a given machine to have different Node Manager configurations.
  If you want to continue using a per host Node Manager configuration, then after the domain reconfiguration you must manually reconfigure Node Manager as described in Completing the Node Manager Configuration.

For a complete list of changes, see What's New in Oracle WebLogic Server.

Known Issues and Workarounds

The following issues are among the most commonly cited issues when upgrading, and are listed below for convenience.

• Changes to JVM Settings
  After you upgrade to Oracle WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.0, you may have to reconfigure some of the JVM settings. See JVM Settings in Upgrading Oracle WebLogic Server.
• Thread deadlock detected causing servers to go Into Warning state
  Stuck threads in weblogic.wsee.jaxws.spi.ClientIdentityRegistry are causing the Managed Server to go into the Warning state with the Deadlock Detected error message. Apply patch 30965440.
• Limitation on the size of JSP files
  The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) limits the amount of code to 65536 bytes per Java method, post upgrade. Therefore, when redeploying applications after upgrading to Oracle WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.0, if the JSP files are embedded with too many scriptlets, the compiler fails to optimize the code, causing the deployment to fail with CompilationException.
  Reduce the size of the JSP files with minimal scriptlets and redeploy the application.
• Changes to Apache Commons FileUpload jar file
  Changes to the Java class org.apache.commons.fileupload.disk.DiskFileItem in the Weblogic Server bundled Apache Commons FileUpload jar file has changed, and no longer implements java.io.Serializable in order to prevent the potential security vulnerability.
  See "How to Configure Filtering Class Loader in Weblogic.xml?" (Doc ID 1163020.1).
• If your application uses APIs that have been deprecated or removed, then you might encounter warnings or exceptions at run time if the applications are not recompiled.

For a complete list of issues, see Known Issues and Workarounds in the Oracle WebLogic Server Release Notes for 12.2.1.4.0.

What Do You Need?

• A test environment with a cloned version of your 10.3.6 domain.
• An account on either Oracle Software Delivery Cloud or Oracle Technical Resources. The WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4 downloads are available from both sites.

Verify System Configurations

Verify that your JDK, operating system, database and other configurations meet the minimum 12.2.1.4 certification requirements.

For the complete list of 12.2.1.4 certified system configurations, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations.

Create a Backup of Your Existing Domain

Before any upgrade you'll want to create a complete backup of your existing domain and copy the files to a safe location. Make sure that your backup includes any customized startup scripts. You will need to reapply these scripts after the upgrade.

You cannot roll back the upgrade once the process has started. You will need to restore the system from your backup files.

For this tutorial, use the domain backup files to create a cloned 10.3.6 domain environment. You'll perform the upgrade on the cloned environment.

Download Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.2.1.4)

Download the installer package from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud or Oracle Technical Resources.

If you already have a commercial license, you should download your software from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud at https://edelivery.oracle.com.

1. Sign in to the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud portal.
2. Select Download Packages from the Categories drop-down menu.
3. Enter WebLogic Server 12c and click Search.
4. Select Oracle WebLogicServer 12.2.1.4.0 (Weblogic Server12c ) to add the package to your Download Queue.
5. Click Continue (upper right corner) to select the products you want to install.
6. Specify the platform for each product, then click Continue and accept the terms and restrictions.
7. Click Continue and review the list of products.
8. Click Download (lower right corner) to begin the download process.

Developer and production downloads are also available from Oracle Technical Resources (Formerly Oracle Technology Network) at https://www.oracle.com/middleware/technologies/weblogic-server-downloads.html

There are several installer options available from Oracle Technical Resources:

• Generic Installer (579 MB)

  Recommended installer for most production deployments.

• Quick Installer for Mac OSX, Windows and Linux (225 MB)

  For Oracle WebLogic Server and Oracle Coherence development only.

• Slim Installer (182 MB)
  

  For development and production usage of slim Docker or CRI-O images and containers, including usage with WebLogic Kubernetes tools, in cases where WebLogic console monitoring and configuration is not required. The Slim Installer does not contain examples, WebLogic Server Administration Console, WebLogic clients, Maven plug-ins or Java DB.

Install Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.2.1.4)

Use the Oracle Universal Installer to install 12.2.1.4 into a new Middleware home.

1. Launch the installation program by running java -jar from the JDK 8 directory on your system. Specify the full name of the installer you downloaded. For example:
   

   $ ORACLE_HOME/jdk/jdk1.8.0_211/bin/java -jar fmw_12.2.1.4.0_wls_lite_generic.jar

2. When the installation is complete, deselect the option to automatically launch the Configuration Wizard. You do not need to configure a new 12.2.1.4 domain.

For more information about using the Oracle Universal Installer, see Starting the Installation Program in Installing and Configuring Oracle WebLogic Server and Coherence.

Upgrade the Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.6 Domain

Use the Reconfiguration Wizard to upgrade the WebLogic Server 10.3.6 domain to be compatible with 12.2.1.4. After the upgrade you will continue to use the 10.3.6 domain home, but the WebLogic Server version will be updated to 12.2.1.4.

1. Start the Reconfiguration Wizard from the 12.2.1.4 Middleware home directory.
   

   $ MW_HOME/wls12.2.1.4/oracle_common/common/bin/ reconfig.sh

2. Select the domain directory that has the cloned version of your 10.3.6 domain. The 10.3.6 domain is upgraded in-place and will be overwritten during this phase of the upgrade.
3. Continue through the screens as instructed.
4. When the upgrade is complete, restart the WebLogic Server from the 10.3.6 Middleware home directory. If you used customized startup scripts in your previous environment, you will need to re-apply them after the upgrade. See Re-apply Customizations to Startup Scripts.

   $ MW_HOME/user_projects/domains/<1036_domain> startWebLogic.sh

Validate the Security Configuration

SSL and TLS Support

You may need to configure WebLogic Server to limit the lowest supported versions of SSL and TLS that are enabled for SSL connections. Oracle recommends using TLS V1.1 or later in a production environment.

For more information, review the security standards in Administering Security for Oracle WebLogic Server:

• Supported Security Standards
• Specifying the SSL Protocol Version

SSL Certificate Validation

If SSL communications that worked properly in WebLogic Server 10.3.6 start failing unexpectedly, see Troubleshooting Problems with Certificate Validation. The SSL certificates may need to be renewed or replaced after an upgrade.

For detailed information about renewing an expired or expiring SSL certificate configured on Oracle WebLogic Server, see SSL Certificate Validation in Administering Security for Oracle WebLogic Server.

RDBMS Security Store in a WebLogic domain

If you plan to use the RDBMS security store in a WebLogic domain, Oracle recommends that you create a new domain in which the RDBMS security store is configured. If you have an existing domain in which you want to use the RDBMS security store, you should create the new domain, and then migrate your security realm to it. Oracle does not recommend "retrofitting" the RDBMS security store to an existing domain.

For more information, see Managing the RDBMS Security Store in Administering Security for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Certificate Chains (Deprecated)

The use of file-based certificate chains is deprecated. In the current release of WebLogic Server, the whole certificate chain is imported into the keystore.

For more information, see Configuring Keystores with WebLogic Server.

Compatibility Security (Deprecated)

Make sure your 10.3.6 domain is not using Compatibility security.

For more information about security changes in 12.2.1.4, see Configuring Security for WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.

Deploy Your Applications to the New Domain

WebLogic Server applications can typically run without modifications in the new WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.0 application environment.

To determine whether any feature changes affect the applications in your environment, review the compatibility information in WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4.0 Compatibility with Previous Releases.

Want to Learn More?

• Oracle WebLogic Server Technical Details
  
• Release Notes for Oracle WebLogic Server 12c (12.2.1.4.0)