1 Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility

This chapter provides an introduction to interoperability and compatibility, and it describes how to identify areas where compatibility and interoperability considerations may arise when you are upgrading Oracle Fusion Middleware components, applying patch sets, or installing new Oracle Fusion Middleware components.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Section 1.1, "What is Compatibility?"
Section 1.2, "What is Interoperability?"
Section 1.3, "Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility with Supported Databases"
Section 1.4, "Identifying Potential Compatibility and Interoperability Issues"

1.1 What is Compatibility?

For the purposes of this guide, compatibility is defined as the ability of two Oracle Fusion Middleware components of different versions (or releases) to interoperate. It is possible that you will have compatibility considerations when upgrading Oracle Fusion Middleware or when applying Oracle Fusion Middleware patches.

When upgrading, for example, you may need to know which components must be updated so that your existing integration points continue to work. When applying a patch you may want to know if the new products will work with other products of the same release or if they will continue to work with previous versions.

Compatibility can be further broken down into the following:

Compatibility Between Oracle Fusion Middleware Software Suites
Compatibility Within Oracle Fusion Middleware Software Suites

1.1.1 Compatibility Between Oracle Fusion Middleware Software Suites

When you are upgrading your Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g environment to Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c, you will likely update one area of your environment at a time.

For example, you can upgrade the middle tiers in one department to Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c in order to support new features. At the same time, you can leave your company-wide Oracle Identity Management components at Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g.

1.1.2 Compatibility Within Oracle Fusion Middleware Software Suites

When you are upgrading to Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c, you should also consider potential compatibility issues within a specific software suite.

In most cases, issues are temporary and occur only during the upgrade process. After you finish the complete procedure for upgrading the software suite, the issues are typically resolved. However, you should still be aware of these potential concerns, because they can influence your upgrade planning.

1.2 What is Interoperability?

For the purposes of this guide, interoperability is defined as the ability of two Oracle Fusion Middleware products or components of the same version (or release) to work together (interoperate) in a supported Oracle Fusion Middleware configuration. Specifically, interoperability applies when the first 4 digits of the release or version number are the same. For example, Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g (11.1.1.6.0) components are generally interoperable with other 11g (11.1.1.6.0) components.

In some cases there may be interoperability issues between Oracle Fusion Middleware software suites. For example, you may experience issues with the co-existence of domains between Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g products such as SOA and WebCenter.

1.3 Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility with Supported Databases

Each release of Oracle Fusion Middleware is certified against specific database versions. Specifically, you can use these certified databases to host the Oracle Fusion Middleware components schemas.

In some cases, you might have to upgrade your database to a supported version before upgrading to a specific Oracle Fusion Middleware release. For more information on upgrading your Oracle Fusion Middleware components, see Planning an Upgrade of Oracle Fusion Middleware.

For the latest information about the databases supported by each Oracle Fusion Middleware release, refer to Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations on the Oracle Technology Network.

From the Supported Configurations page, you can locate the specific Oracle Fusion Middleware release you are using, as well as the target Oracle Fusion Middleware release to which you want to upgrade. For each Oracle Fusion Middleware release, there is a corresponding spreadsheet that lists the certified configurations, including the supported databases.

1.4 Identifying Potential Compatibility and Interoperability Issues

The following sections describe how to identify and answer common compatibility and interoperability issues using information from this guide, the Oracle Technology Network (OTN), and other Oracle documents:

Before You Begin
Using Oracle Certification Matrices
Understanding the Compatibility Matrices in this Guide
Collecting Your Component and Infrastructure Information
Using Release Notes
Using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Documentation Library

1.4.1 Before You Begin

If you are installing a new product or updating an existing one (either to a new major version or a patch set), interoperability and compatibility issues may arise.

During a new product component installation, interoperability considerations relate to the capability of the new product to integrate with other Oracle Fusion Middleware components of the same release.

Compatibility considerations relate to the capability of the new product to integrate with previous versions of Oracle Fusion Middleware products which may have already been installed. During product updates, the question is mainly one of compatibility and you may need to consider the other components that need to be updated so that existing integration points continue to work.

Table 1-1 provides a list of tasks that will help you collect the information necessary to plan your Oracle Fusion Middleware upgrade and installation strategy.

Table 1-1 Tasks for Preparing to Identify and Solve Interoperability Considerations

Task	Description	Documentation
Task 1 - Gather release and version information for your installed components and supporting infrastructure.	In order for you to identify potential interoperability and compatibility issues with your Oracle Fusion Middleware components, you must first collect the release and version information for each component or suite of components you have installed or plan to install or upgrade. In addition, you should also have version and release information for your operating system, database, JDKs, and third-party products.	See Section 1.4.4, "Collecting Your Component and Infrastructure Information"
Task 2 - If you are planning an upgrade, you should develop an upgrade strategy and understand the supported starting points for upgrading to Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c.	An upgrade starting point is a specific version of Oracle Fusion Middleware that you must be running in order to upgrade. If you are not running a version that is a supported upgrade starting point, then you must first upgrade to a supported starting point, by using documentation from a previous release.	Planning an Upgrade of Oracle Fusion Middleware provides detailed information for developing and implementing an Oracle Fusion Middleware upgrade plan. In addition, each of the Oracle Fusion Middleware products has an upgrade guide that details the upgrade process and identifies any post-upgrade configuration tasks that must be completed. See Section 1.4.6, "Using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Documentation Library" for more information on locating the correct documentation for your upgrade.
Task 3 - If you are applying a patch, you should understand the patching requirements for your components and supporting infrastructure.	Patching involves copying a small collection of files over an existing installation. A patch is normally associated with a particular version of an Oracle product and involves updating from one minor version of the product to a newer minor version of the same product (for example, from version 11.1.1.6.0 to version 11.1.1.7.0).	Patching with OPatch describes the tools available for you to patch your existing Oracle Fusion Middleware environment. Information about the latest patches and patch sets is located in the Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications Document.
Task 4 - If you are Installing new Oracle Fusion Middleware components, you should understand the installation requirements and the supported starting points.	Each Fusion Middleware product has an installation guide that describes prerequisites, supported starting points and post-installation configuration procedures. It is important to read and follow the installation procedures to avoid potential interoperability and compatibility issues.	To view and download installation documentation, release notes, white papers, or other collateral, go to the following URL: http://docs.oracle.com/

1.4.2 Using Oracle Certification Matrices

The Oracle Fusion Middleware Certification matrices provide important compatibility and interoperability information such as supported system configurations, database versions, and third-party products. Refer to these documents to ensure that your current environment can support an upgrade or patch set.

Note:

The information in this guide is meant to complement the information contained in the Oracle Fusion Middleware certification matrices. If there is a conflict of information between this guide and the certification matrices, then the information in the certification matrices should be considered the correct version as they are frequently updated.

Table 1-2 Oracle Fusion Middleware Certification Matrices

Document Name	Description
Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations	Each product area within Oracle Fusion Middleware maintains certification documentation that covers supported installation types, platforms, operating systems, databases, JDKs, and third-party products. From the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations page, locate the product area to review and select the appropriate certification document.
Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications Document	The Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications document covers information such as hardware and software requirements, minimum disk space and memory requirements, and required system libraries, packages, or patches.
Oracle JDeveloper and Application Development Framework Certification Information	Locate the Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle Application Development Framework (Oracle ADF) certification information to identify the various third party and Oracle products that are supported to work with the Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle ADF. Oracle ADF may support or certify with a superset of products than required for Oracle Fusion Middleware and this document serves as a reference for those cases.

Document Name

Description

Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations

Each product area within Oracle Fusion Middleware maintains certification documentation that covers supported installation types, platforms, operating systems, databases, JDKs, and third-party products.

From the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations page, locate the product area to review and select the appropriate certification document.

Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications Document

The Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications document covers information such as hardware and software requirements, minimum disk space and memory requirements, and required system libraries, packages, or patches.

Oracle JDeveloper and Application Development Framework Certification Information

Locate the Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle Application Development Framework (Oracle ADF) certification information to identify the various third party and Oracle products that are supported to work with the Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle ADF.

Oracle ADF may support or certify with a superset of products than required for Oracle Fusion Middleware and this document serves as a reference for those cases.

1.4.3 Understanding the Compatibility Matrices in this Guide

Interoperability and compatibility matrices are used throughout the book to identify potential issues and to provide links to additional information. When you use the interoperability and compatibility matrices in this guide, the level of support can be defined in one of the following ways:

Table 1-3 How To Use the Matrices in This Guide

Status		Description
Compatible or Interoperable		Integration between the components involved is expected to work with appropriate configuration. It is important to note, however, that compatibility is not a statement of certification. Certification information is located in the certification matrices described in Table 1-2.
Not Compatible or Interoperable		Integration between the components involved is not expected to work.
A reference to a specific guide or section		This reference is provided when an individual guide provides more detailed information about the compatibility requirements and considerations that you should review when upgrading, patching, or installing Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c.
N/A		Not Applicable.

1.4.4 Collecting Your Component and Infrastructure Information

Oracle Fusion Middleware release and version information is available for each installed component on your system. This information is required before you can effectively identify and solve interoperability or compatibility issues. The certification matrices described in Section 1.4.2 provide certification and system requirements information for Oracle Fusion Middleware components.

This section provides information for the following:

Locating Oracle Fusion Middleware Product Release Information
Locating your database-specific version and release information:
Locating JDK Version Information

1.4.4.1 Locating Oracle Fusion Middleware Product Release Information

To find specific release and version information for your Oracle Fusion Middleware components, see the installed product information using the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI). For more information, see "Viewing Release Numbers" in the Administering Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Note:

You can also find version and release information in the installation log files located in the oraInventory/logs directory of your Oracle Home.

1.4.4.2 Locating Your Oracle Database Release Information

To determine the release information of your Oracle database:

Start SQL*Plus from the Oracle home directory:

sqlplus /nolog
SQL> CONNECT / AS SYSDBA
SQL> select * from v$version;

The command returns the release information, such as the following:

Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.4.0 - 64bit Production
PL/SQL Release 11.2.0.4.0 - Production
CORE    11.2.0.4.0      Production
TNS for Linux: Version 11.2.0.4.0 - Production
NLSRTL Version 11.2.0.4.0 - Production

1.4.4.3 Locating your Microsoft SQL Server Version Information

To determine the release information of your Microsoft SQL database:

From the command line, enter the following:

exec xp_msver ProductVersion

The command returns the product version information, such as the following:

ProductVersion 589824 9.00.1399.06

1.4.4.4 Locating your DB2 Version Information

To determine the release information of DB2, do the following:

From the Windows operating system command line, navigate to the following:

\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2level

The command returns the database version and applicable fix pack information such as the following:

DB21085I Instance "DB2? uses "32? bits and DB2 code release "SQL09011? with level identifier "01020107?.
Informational tokens are "DB2 v9.1.100.129?, "s061104?, "WR21374?, and Fix Pack "1?.
Product is installed at "D:\PROGRA~1\IBM\SQLLIB" with DB2 Copy Name "DB2COPY1?.

From UNIX operating system command line, type the following:
```
db2ls
```
This command shows the installation path, version level, fix pack information and installation date of the installed DB2 product. Output from this command goes to the console by default.
```
Install Path        Level   Fix Pack    Install Number     Install Date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
/opt/ibm/db2/V9.1   9.1.0.0        0          1    Fri Sep 3 10:26:33 2010 EDT  
```

1.4.4.5 Locating JDK Version Information

Many Fusion Middleware Components are dependent on having a supported JDK installed and configured. The currently supported JDK version information is documented in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations matrix as described in Section 1.4.2.

To locate your current JDK version, use the java -version command to display the current version of Java you are using. For example:

> java -version
java version "1.7.0_17"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_17-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 23.7-b01, mixed mode, sharing)

Note that if you have more than one installation of Java on your system, then the java command uses the installation identified in the JAVA_HOME system variable.

On UNIX systems, you can often identify the location of the default Java software by using the which command. For example:

> which java
/usr/bin/java

1.4.5 Using Release Notes

Refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Release Notes for specific information about required patch sets that address specific interoperability and compatibility issues which may surface during upgrade or patching process. The release notes for each release are available on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN):

http://docs.oracle.com/

1.4.6 Using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Documentation Library

The Oracle Fusion Middleware documentation library provides access to information that may assist you when upgrading and patching your Oracle environment. You can review component-specific administration, installation, and upgrade guides for Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c documentation at:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/middleware.html

The following guides provide information on installing, patching, and upgrading your Oracle Fusion Middleware environment: