1. Enable Observability and Management Stack Monitoring for PeopleSoft
  2. Get Started with the Deployment Process

Get Started with the Deployment Process

Deploying observability and management stack monitoring for PeopleSoft applications requires three major steps:

  1. Configure licensing for your chosen edition, Standard or Enterprise, and for any resources or compartments used in your deployment.
  2. Discover and promote the resources used in your deployment.
  3. Use the OCI command-line interface (CLI) to discover new resources, create required associations between Stack Monitoring resources, or refresh the entire topology.

Configure Licensing

Stack Monitoring offers two editions: Standard and Enterprise. The Standard Edition monitors on-premises and cloud-deployed applications and tech stacks, including WebLogic, Tomcat, Oracle Database, and hosts. The Enterprise Edition adds advanced features like Metric Extensions, performance baselines, anomaly detection, and OCI resource integration for enhanced monitoring.

In addition to these two editions, licenses must be configured either at the individual resource level or at the compartment level, as described below.

Note:

The steps for assigning licenses at either level are beyond the scope of this playbook. You can access the relevant procedures required for each assignment level, identified in the specific section, below, from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.

Configure Licensing for Compartment-Specific Features

You can set the resource license auto-assignment to Enterprise or Standard for all newly resources discovered or promoted resources within a compartment. Configuring license auto-assignment is a convenient way to automatically assign a license instead of applying it on a per resource instance basis. Additionally, you can enable or disable enterprise extensibility for an entire compartment.

Procedures for configuring licensing for compartment-specific features are described in "Licensing Assignment", in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure documentation, which you can access from "Explore More".

Configure Licensing for Resource-Specific Features

Resource license assignment can done at the individual resource level during discovery or after discovery by using the Licensing UI. License changes applied to a composite apply to all children; that is, when applying Enterprise Edition License to a WebLogic Domain, all WebLogic Servers associated to the domain will also receive the Enterprise Edition.

During discovery, you can assign a license to the resource by selecting the corresponding radio button. You can also modify a resource license after a resource has been discovered by using the License UI. These procedures are described in "Licensing Assignment", in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure documentation, which you can access from "Explore More".

Discover and Promote Resources for PeopleSoft

To monitor resources by using Stack Monitoring, you must first discover and promote these resources. Promotion prepopulates information related to the resource. You should validate this information to make sure that it is correct. The prerequisites and input parameters for promotion are the same as those for user-initiated discovery.

PeopleSoft discovery involves three mandatory resource families: the application server domain, process scheduler domain, and PeopleSoft Internet Architecture (PIA) with its underlying Weblogic domain(s). Each resource family may include one or more of these resources, which can span several servers.

To discover and promote resources for PeopleSoft applications, you need to do the following:
  • Discover the PeopleSoft database.
  • Establish database grant privileges for PeopleSoft monitoring.
  • Enable PeopleSoft Performance Monitor for Pure Internet Architecture (PIA).
  • Meet prerequisites for the application server and process scheduler domains.
  • Identify domains to be discovered.
  • Add domains manually.
  • Enable Elasticsearch discovery.
  • Enable process monitor discovery.

Note:

The steps for discovering and promoting resources are beyond the scope of this playbook. You can access the relevant procedures required for each assignment level, identified in the specific section, below, from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.

Discover the PeopleSoft Database

You need to discover the Oracle Database containing the PeopleSoft schema before discovering the PeopleSoft application.

By discovering the database first, it becomes automatically associated with PeopleSoft application once PeopleSoft resource discovery completes. If you perform PeopleSoft application discovery before the database is discovered, you'll need to create the association manually. See Application Topology for more information. To discover the Oracle database, see "Oracle Database", which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook..

Establish Database Grant Privileges for PeopleSoft Monitoring

In order to monitor PeopleSoft, you need specific privileges to access the PeopleSoft database schema. The setup differs depending on type of database (non-container database versus container database and pluggable database) used as your PeopleSoft datastore.

When discovering PeopleSoft Stack Monitoring, you can use the PeopleSoft schema owner, typically SYSADM, as the database credentials. You should create a monitoring user with only the privileges necessary to monitor a PeopleSoft application. Use the same database user to monitor both the Oracle database containing the PeopleSoft schema and the PeopleSoft application.

To create a database monitoring user, see the MOS Note: 2857604.1. For further information, also see "DB Grant Privileges for PeopleSoft Monitoring" in the OCI documentation. You can access both of this documents from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.

Enable the PeopleSoft Performance Monitor for Pure Internet Architecture (PIA)

This is an optional procedure and is only required for PeopleSoft discovery and refresh; however, for regular monitoring and metric collection, the PeopleSoft Performance Monitor agent is not needed. If you chose not to enable PPM agent for any reason, use either of these alternatives:
  • Enable the PPM agent until the discovery or refresh is finished, then disable it and restart the domains.
  • Manually INSERT/DELETE all PeopleSoft domain information. This will eliminate the need to enable Enable PPM agent.
If you need to enable the PPM for PIA, do the following:
  1. Navigate to PeopleTools, go to Web Profile, click Web Profile Configuration, and search for the profile in use; for example, PROD.
  2. If not checked already, select Enable PPM Agent.
  3. Restart all PIA domains.

Meet Prerequisites for Application Server and Process Scheduler Domains

Next. you need to meet the prerequisites for each application server and process scheduler domains. PeopleSoft discovery assumes that the remote administration user ID/password for JMX access is the same for all application server domains, and also for all process scheduler domains.

The prerequisites you need to complete are:
  • Enable the PeopleSoft Performance Monitor agent.
  • Enable JMX agents.
  • Enable the Performance Collator Property.

The following topics provide high-level steps for completing these tasks. For detailed procedures, see "Prerequisites for Application Server and Process Scheduler Domains" in the Stack Monitoring OCI documentation, which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.

Enable the PeopleSoft Performance Monitor Agent

To enable the PeopleSoft Performance Monitor Agent, do the following:

  1. Open up the domain configuration files in edit mode. From the PSADMIN command-line interface. select Application Server (Option 1) or Process Scheduler (Option 2) then Administer a domain (Option 1) then Select Domain then Edit configuration/log files menu(option 6) then Edit domain configuration file (Option 1).
  2. Under the PSTOOLS section, check the value for EnablePPM Agent.
  3. Enable the PPM Agents, set the value to 1, and save the file.
Enable JMX Agents

This prerequisite enables Stack Monitoring to collect availability and performance data for a PeopleSoft application. Here are the high-level steps:

  1. Open up the domain configuration files in edit mode from the PSADMIN command-line interface. Select Application Server (Option 1) or Process Scheduler (Option 2) then Administer a domain (Option 1) then select domain then Edit configuration/log files menu(option 6) then Edit domain configuration file (Option 1).
  2. Locate settings for PSTOOLS section and do the following:
    1. Ensure the Remote Administration Port you intend to use is not being used by any other process on the host.
    2. Set the user ID in a text format. Use the same user ID and password for all application server domains and process scheduler domains.
    3. Encrypt the passwords by using the PSCipher utility.
    4. After configuring the Performance Collator Property change (as described in the following topic), restart the application server and process scheduler domains.
  3. Set Remote Administration Port and RMI port values.
    • If you are using PeopleSoft version 8.59 and earlier you only need to set Remote Administration Port. The RMI port value is set automatically, by incrementing the Remote Administration Port value by one.
    • For PSFT version 8.60 onwards, RMI port is controlled by one additional parameter in the config file. Ensure the value is set explicitly. Restart the Application server and Process Scheduler domains after configuring the Performance Collator property.
  4. Ensure that the settings you saved appear correctly in the configuration file.
For more detailed instructions, see "Enable JMX Agents" in the OCI documentation, which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.
Enable the Performance Collator Property

Before enabling the Performance Collator property, check the current value of Performance Collator in the domain template files psprcsrv.ubx (Process scheduler) and psappsrv.ubx (Application Server) located under $PS_CFG_HOME.

If the Performance Collator is enabled, you will see this entry: 
{PPM} Do you want Performance Collators configured (PSPPMSRV) (y/n)? [y]:
If the Performance Collator is disabled, you will see this entry: 
{PPM} Do you want Performance Collators configured (PSPPMSRV) (y/n)? [n]:
If the Performance Collator is already enabled and changes were implemented to EnablePPM Agent or JMX values, you can restart all domains. If the Performance Collator is not already enabled, do the following:
  1. From the PSADMIN command-line interface, select Application Server (Option 1) or Process Scheduler (Option 2) then Administer a domain (Option 1) then select domain then Configure this domain (Option 4) .
  2. Enter y for the question Do you want to continue (y/n). This option will shut down the domain.
  3. Check value of Performance Collator property.
    • If the value set to Yes, the Collator is already enabled and no action is required. 
      Load config as shown
      You can select Option 14 for Application Server or Option 7 for Process Scheduler.
    • If you set the value to No, enter Option 10 for Application Server or Option 3 for Process Scheduler to toggle the value to Yes.
  4. After confirming the Performance Collator is set to Yes, select Load config as shown (Option 14 for Application scheduler or Option 7 for Process Scheduler ).
  5. Finally, select Boot this domain Option 1 to start the domain.

Identify Domains to be Discovered

Stack Monitoring leverages the information stored within the Oracle Database to identify domains to be discovered or refreshed.

To validate the list of current domains, use this query:
SELECT * FROM PSPMAGENT;
Before discovering or refreshing the PeopleSoft application, you should remove any domains returned by the query that no longer exists.

Note:

If you need to add a domain that is not listed, see the following topic, "Adding domains manually".
To remove the stale domains, log in as SYSADM or an equivalent user and run the following SQL query. Repeat the query until you've removed all stale domains. Be aware of these considerations:
  • Back up the PSPMAGENT table prior to making changes. 
    create table PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE as select * from PSPMAGENT;

    where DATE with the current timestamp

  • Verify the back-up table you created has same content as parent table. 
    select * from PSPMAGENT 
MINUS 
select * from PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE;
If the count of rows from PSPMAGENT match PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE, proceed removing stale domains: 
delete from PSPMAGENT WHERE PM_AGENTID='&enter_agent_id_of_stale_domain'; 
Commit;

Add Domains Manually

Next, check whether all valid domains are visible from the PSPMAGENT table. If any valid domains are not showing up, use the queries in the following topics. The agent host should be able to reach all other hosts using the hostname from the PM_HOST_PORT column stored in PSPMAGENT table.

The domains you need to add manually are:
  • Process Scheduler domain
  • Application Server domain
  • PIA Server
Before proceeding, do the following to back up the PSPMAGENT table:
  1. Prior to making changes, log in as the system administrator or equivalent userand back up the table: 
    create table PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE as select * from PSPMAGENT;
    where DATE is the current timestamp.
  2. Verify the back-up table you created has same content as parent table. The rows count from PSPMAGENT should match the rows count from PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE:
    select * from PSPMAGENT 
MINUS 
select * from PSPMAGENT_BKP_DATE;
    where DATE is the current timestamp.
Use the following commands to add the domains:
  • Process Scheduler domain
    INSERT INTO  PSPMAGENT values
('&AGENT_ID','&PM_JMX_RMI_PORT','PSMONITORSRV','&DOMAIN_NAME','04','&DOMAIN_DIR','Y','&HOST_PORT:','1','1','N');
  • Application Server domain
    INSERT INTO  PSPMAGENT values
('&unique_agent_id','&JMX_RMI_PORT','PSMONITORSRV','&DOMAIN_NAME','01','&DOMAIN_DIR','Y','&host_name:&jolt_port','1','1','N');
  • PIA Server
    INSERT INTO  PSPMAGENT values
('&unique_agent_id','-1','WEBRESOURCE','&DOMAIN_NAME','02','&DOMAIN_DIR','Y','&host_name:&http_port:&https_port','1','1','N');

Enable Elasticsearch Discovery

Elasticsearch discovery is optional. If Elasticsearch is already integrated then you can include it in the initial discovery. To integrate Elasticsearch in the future, use the PeopleSoft CLI refresh command, and add the Elasticsearch database grants to the monitoring user. For more information regarding grants, see "Establish Database Grant Privileges for PeopleSoft Monitoring", above, and for more information regarding CLI refresh commands, see "Refresh PeopleSoft Instances", elsewhere in this playbook.
Completing these prerequisites will enable Elasticsearch Integration in PeopleSoft:
  • Stack Monitoring only supports monitoring Elasticsearch configured with SSL. Its endpoint must be HTTPS. For more information on the setup of Elasticsearch, see "Configuring SSL between PeopleSoft and Elasticsearch", which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.
  • Before discovering Elasticsearch, create a JKS truststore (JKS is the only supported trust store) on the monitoring agent host to store the certificate from Elasticsearch. This truststore's location and password are required parameters in the discovery UI or in the discovery JSON when attempting discovery via CLI. Additionally, the trust store location has to be accessible on the agent host.
    For example: 
    keytool -keystore truststore.jks -alias ALIAS -import -file ELASTICSEARCH_CERTIFICATE

Enable Process Monitor Discovery

The Process Monitor is discovered alongside PeopleSoft and is enabled by default when discovering a PeopleSoft application. Selecting No under the Discover Process Monitor section excludes Process Monitor from the PeopleSoft discovery.

Process Monitor discovery is optional. If the Process Monitor is enabled already then you can include it in the initial discovery. To integrate the Process Monitor in the future, use the PeopleSoft CLI refresh command, and add the Process Monitor DB grants to the monitoring user. For more information regarding grants, see "Establish Database Grant Privileges for PeopleSoft Monitoring", above, and for more information regarding CLI refresh commands, see "Refresh PeopleSoft Instances", elsewhere in this playbook.

There are no properties required for Process Monitor discovery.

Process Monitor discovery is included by default. To opt out, select No on the Discover Process Monitor in the Resource discovery panel.

For more information, see "Enable Process Monitor discovery for PeopleSoft", which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.

Update Application Topology

You can use the OCI CLI to discover new resources, create required associations between Stack Monitoring resources, or refresh the entire topology. Specifically, you can use the CLI to create associations between the database and PeopleSoft.

For PeopleSoft, updating application topology requires these tasks:
  • Manage PeopleSoft domains.
  • Refresh PeopleSoft instances.

Manage PeopleSoft Domains

Stack Monitoring leverages domain information contained in the PSPMAGENT table for discovery. If your PeopleSoft domain is missing, you can create the necessary domain information manually by following the steps outlined in "Add Domains Manually", elsewhere in this playbook.

Refresh PeopleSoft Instances

PeopleSoft application refresh refreshes of the following Stack Monitoring resource types:

oracle_psft
oracle_psft_appserv
oracle_psft_prcs
oracle_psft_pia
weblogic_domain (including members)

Refresh will not validate the credentials for new domains found during the refresh process. If, during the discovery process, any failed domains were discovered, these could be stale domains, they might not be accessible for JMX connections from the agent, or for other reasons. Once the underlying issues are resolved, ensure that the common credentials are valid for each of the new domains that you intend to add by validating via a JMX connection from the agent host and then performing a refresh operation. Once the refresh succeeds, the new domains are added. These domains use the same common credentials with which the previoiusly discovered domains are configured.

A refresh will also refresh the existing associated WebLogic domains and their members.

When new PIA instances are added, performing PeopleSoft refresh will discover the newly added PIA resource but it will not discover the underlying new WebLogic domain. You need to discover the WebLogic domain manually by using the CLI to associate that new WebLogic Domain with the newly discovered PIA.

You can refresh the PeopleSoft instance either from the UI or by using the CLI.
  • To refresh from the UI, from the home page of the resource, click Refresh below the resource name. On the confirmation message, click OK to open the Resource Discovery panel in a new tab. You can track the status of submitted refresh job here.
  • To refresh by using CLI, you must run discovery-job create. This option involves a JSON file. To allow resource deletion during the refresh operation, you must add the allow_delete_resources property to the payload, along with the resource_id property and the monitoring agent ID property. The resource_id is the ID of the PeopleSoft resource needing to be refreshed.
    To refresh PeopleSoft instances by using the CLI, use this command:
    oci stack-monitoring discovery-job create --compartment-id "Compartment_OCID" --discovery-type REFRESH --discovery-details file:///tmp/psft_refresh_dev.json

For more details on refreshing PeopleSoft instances, see "PeopleSoft Refresh" in the OCI documentation, which you can access from "Explore More", elsewhere in this playbook.