12 Using JDBC XA Drivers with WebLogic Server

Get an overview of XA JDBC drivers with WebLogic Server in distributed transactions. These drivers provide connectivity between WebLogic Server connection pools and the DBMS. Drivers used in distributed transactions are designated by the driver name followed by /XA; for example, Oracle Thin/XA Driver.

An XA data source DB user requires certain DBA table grants in order to recover pending transaction branches from the Oracle database. We now provide the ability to use two different DB credentials one for XA recover processing (with DBA privileges) and different DB credentials for application processing (no DBA privileges).

Data Source configuration allows specification of a database user and password that are used to create JDBC connections for XA recover processing. These credentials can be different from the database user and password used for JDBC application data. Configuration of separate XA recover credentials is optional and existing data source configurations will continue to support XA recovery as long as the database user is granted the appropriate permissions.

The XA recover credentials will be specified in a XA data source configuration using the WLS-internal driver properties weblogic.jdbc.xaRecoverUser and weblogic.jdbc.xaRecoverPassword. If XA recover credential properties are defined in a non-XA data source configuration they are ignored.

Using Oracle Thin/XA Driver

WebLogic Server ships with the Oracle Thin Driver pre-configured and ready to use.

If you want to update the driver or use a different version, see Using API Extensions in JDBC Drivers in Developing JDBC Applications for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Set the Environment for the Oracle Thin/XA Driver

The following sections explain how to set the environment for the Oracle Thin/XA Driver.

Configure WebLogic Server

For information on how to configure WebLogic Server for use with the Oracle Thin/XA Driver, see Using API Extensions in JDBC Drivers in Developing JDBC Applications for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Enable XA on the Database Server

To prepare the database for XA, perform these steps:

  1. Log on to sqlplus as system user, for example, sqlplus sys/password@<DATABASE ALIAS NAME>
  2. Execute the following command: @xaview.sql

    The xaview.sql script resides in the $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin directory

  3. All database users for which XA data sources are defined need to be granted the following permissions individually or through one or more roles:

    • grant select on dba_pending_transactions to <user/role>;

    • grant execute on dbms_xa to <user/role>;

    Where <user/role> is either a data base user or a role.

If the above steps are not performed on the database server, normal XA database queries and updates may work fine. However, when the WebLogic Server Transaction Manager performs recovery on a re-boot after a crash, recover for the Oracle resource fails with XAER_RMERR. Crash recovery is a standard operation for an XA resource.

Oracle Thin/XA Driver Configuration Properties

For information on how to configure data source properties, see Configuring JDBC Data Sources in Administering JDBC Data Sources for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Using Other XA Drivers

To use other XA-compliant JDBC drivers, you must include the path to the driver class libraries in your CLASSPATH and follow the configuration instructions provided by the vendor.

Using WebLogic-branded Data Direct Drivers

For information on how to configure WebLogic Server for use with WebLogic-branded Data Direct drivers, see Using WebLogic-branded DataDirect Drivers in Developing JDBC Applications for Oracle WebLogic Server

Additional Considerations

Your data base vendor may provide instructions to perform steps to prepare your environment for XA. These steps may include how to:

  • Enable your data base server for XA. This may include granting additional user permissions.

  • Compensate for vendor-specific transactional behavior, such as threading, timeout, and rollback behavior.

  • Use vendor-specific connection properties.

Consult your data base vendor documentation for specific details.