15 Changing Network Configurations

This chapter provides procedures for changing the network configuration, such as the host name, domain name, or IP address, of an Oracle Fusion Middleware host and the Oracle database that Oracle Fusion Middleware uses. It also includes information about using the IPv6 protocol with Oracle Fusion Middleware.

It contains the following sections:

15.1 Changing the Network Configuration of Oracle Fusion Middleware

This section describes how to change the host name, domain name, IP address, or any combination of these, of a host that contains the following installation types:

  • Oracle WebLogic Server and Java components. When you change the host name, domain name, or IP address of Oracle WebLogic Server, you also automatically change the information for Java components, such as Oracle SOA Suite components, that are deployed to Oracle WebLogic Server.

  • Oracle HTTP Server. You can change the host name or the IP address.

For information about moving your environment to a different system, see Chapter 20.

The following topics describe how to change the host name, domain name, or IP address:

15.1.1 Changing the Network Configuration of an Administration Server

You can change the network configuration of an Administration Server using WLST commands:

  1. Stop the Administration Server.

  2. For the Administration Server, set the machine with the new host name, using the following WLST command, in offline mode:

    wls:/offline> readDomain('DOMAIN_HOME')
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> cd ('/Machine/newhostname')
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> machine = cmo
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> cd ('/Server/AdminServer')
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> set('Machine', machine)
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> updateDomain()
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> exit()
    
  3. Set the listen port for the Administration Server:

    wls:/offline/sampledomain> readDomain('DOMAIN_HOME')
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> cd('/Server/AdminServer')
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> cmo.setListenPort(8001)
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> updateDomain()
    wls:/offline/sampledomain> exit()
    
  4. Start the Administration Server.

15.1.2 Changing the Network Configuration of a Managed Server

You can change the network configuration of a Managed Server using the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.

To change the host name, domain name, or IP address of a Managed Server:

  1. Display the Administration Console, as described in Section 2.3.1.

  2. In the Change Center, click Lock & Edit.

  3. Create a machine, which is a logical representation of the computer that hosts one or more WebLogic Servers, and point it to the new host. (From the Home page, select Machines. Then, click New.) Follow the directions in the Administration Console help.

    You must disable Host Name Verification on Administration Servers that access Node Manager, as described in "Using Hostname Verification" in Administering Security for Oracle WebLogic Server.

  4. Restart the Administration Server.

  5. Change the Managed Server configuration to point to the new machine:

    1. From the left pane of the Console, expand Environment and then Servers. Then, select the name of the server.

    2. Select the Configuration tab, then the General tab. In the Machine field, select the machine to which you want to assign the server.

    3. Change Listen Address to the new host.

      Click Save.

  6. Start the Managed Server. You can use the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console, WLST, or the following command:

    DOMAIN_NAME/bin/startManagedWeblogic.sh managed_server_name 
              admin_url 
    

    The Managed Server connects to the Administration Server and updates its configuration changes.

15.1.3 Changing the Network Configuration of Oracle HTTP Server

To change the network configuration of Oracle HTTP Server in a WebLogic domain or a standalone domain:

  1. Perform a backup of your environment before you start this procedure. See Chapter 17.

  2. Update your operating system with the new host name, domain name, IP address, or any combination of these. Consult your operating system documentation for information on how to perform the following steps.

    1. Make the updates to your operating system to properly change the host name, domain name, or IP address.

    2. Restart the host, if necessary for your operating system.

    3. Verify that you can ping the host from another host in your network. Be sure to ping using the new host name to ensure that everything is resolving properly.

  3. Stop Node Manager as described in Section 4.2.2.

  4. Stop Oracle HTTP Server. For example:

    ./stopComponent.sh ohs1
    
  5. Change to the following directory:

    DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/components/OHS/ohs_component_name
    
  6. For each configuration file (files ending in .conf):

    • Search for the old canonical host name (for example oldhost.example.com) and replace it with the new canonical host name (for example newhost.example.com).

    • Search for the old short host name (for example oldhost) and replace it with the new short host name (for example newhost).

    • Search for the old IP address and replace it with the new IP address.

  7. Restart Node Manager:

    DOMAIN_HOME/bin/startNodeManager.sh
    
  8. Restart Oracle HTTP Server:

    ./startComponent.sh ohs1
    

15.2 Changing the Network Configuration of a Database

This section describes how to change the host name, domain name, or IP address of a host that contains a database that contains the metadata for Oracle Fusion Middleware components:

The following tasks describe the procedure:

Task 1   Stop All Oracle Fusion Middleware Components

Stop all components that use the database, even if they are on other hosts. Stop the Administration Server, the Managed Servers, and all components, as described in Chapter 4.

Task 2   Shut Down the Database

Prepare your host for the change by stopping the database:

  1. Set the ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID environment variables.

  2. Shut down the listener and database:

    lsnrctl stop
    
    sqlplus /nolog
    SQL> connect SYS as SYSDBA
    SQL> shutdown
    SQL> quit
    
  3. Verify that all Oracle Fusion Middleware processes have stopped.

  4. To ensure that Oracle Fusion Middleware processes do not start automatically after a restart of the host, disable any automated startup scripts you may have set up, such as /etc/init.d scripts.

Task 3   Change the Network Configuration

If you are changing the host name, domain name, or IP address, update your operating system with the new names or IP address, restart the host, and verify that the host is functioning properly on your network. Consult your operating system documentation for information on how to perform the following steps:

  1. Make the updates to your operating system to properly change the host name, domain name or IP address.

  2. Restart the host, if required by your operating system.

  3. Verify that you can ping the host from another host in your network. Be sure to ping using the new host name, domain name, or IP address to ensure that everything is resolving properly.

Task 4   Change References to the Network Configuration

You must modify files that contain the host name, domain name, or IP address, depending on the components that you are using. The following lists some of the files that you may need to modify to change references to the new host name, domain name or IP address:

  • tnsnames.ora, which is located in:

    ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
    
  • listener.ora, which is located in:

    (UNIX) ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/listener.ora
    (Windows) ORACLE_HOME\network\admin\listener.ora
    
  • For Oracle HTTP Server, edit the httpd.conf file, making the following changes:

    • Update the Listen directive with the new host name or IP address and port (if the production environment Oracle HTTP Server is using a different port).

    • Update the VirtualHost directive, if the host name, IP address, or port number is defined, with the new values for the production environment.

    • Update any other nondefault directives that were configured at the test environment and have topological (host name, IP address, port number) or other machine-specific information.

  • For Oracle HTTP Server, the PlsqlDatabaseConnectString in the dads.conf file

  • For Oracle HTTP Server, if you use mod_oradav, the ORACONNECTSN parameter in the mod_oradav.conf file

  • For Oracle HTTP Server, if you use mod_plsql, the PlsqlDatabaseConnectString attribute in the dads.conf file

  • For Oracle HTTP Server, if you use mod_wl_ohs, update the mod_wl_ohs.conf file

    Update the WebLogicHost, WebLogicPort, or WebLogicCluster directives with the host name, IP address, and port number.

This is not an exhaustive list. See Chapter 20 for additional information about files used by components. That chapter describes how to move components, including a database, from a test to a production system, in effect changing the host name.

Task 5   Start the Database

Start the database:

  1. Log in to the host as the user that installed the database.

  2. Set the ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID environment variables.

  3. On UNIX systems, set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH_64, LIB_PATH, or SHLIB_PATH environment variables to the proper values. The actual environment variables and values that you must set depend on the type of your UNIX operating system.

  4. Start the database and listener:

    sqlplus /nolog
    SQL> connect SYS as SYSDBA
    SQL> startup
    SQL> quit
    
    lsnrctl start
    
Task 6   Change the System Data Source

Change the system data source to use the new host name, domain name, or IP address for the database, as described in Section 14.3.4.

Task 7   Restart Your Environment

Start the components that use the database:

  1. Start all components that use the database, even if they are on other hosts. Start the Administration Server, the Managed Servers, and all components, as described in Chapter 4.

  2. If you disabled any processes from automatically starting Oracle Fusion Middleware at the beginning of this procedure, enable them.

15.3 Moving Between On-Network and Off-Network

This section describes how to move an Oracle Fusion Middleware host on and off the network. The following assumptions and restrictions apply:

  • The host must contain an instance that does not use an Infrastructure, or both the middle-tier instance and Infrastructure must be on the same host.

  • DHCP must be used in loopback mode. Refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications document for more information.

  • Only IP address change is supported; the host name must remain unchanged.

  • Hosts in DHCP mode should not use the default host name (localhost.localdomain). The hosts should be configured to use a standard host name and the loopback IP should resolve to that host name.

  • A loopback adapter is required for all off-network installations (DHCP or static IP). Refer to the Planning an Installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware for more information.

15.3.1 Moving from Off-Network to On-Network (Static IP Address)

This procedure assumes you have installed Oracle Fusion Middleware on a host that is off the network, using a standard host name (not localhost), and would like to move on to the network and use a static IP address. The IP address may be the default loopback IP, or any standard IP address.

To move on to the network, you can simply connect the host to the network. No updates to Oracle Fusion Middleware are required.

15.3.2 Moving from Off-Network to On-Network (DHCP)

This procedure assumes you have installed on a host that is off the network, using a standard host name (not localhost), and would like to move on to the network and use DHCP. The IP address of the host can be any static IP address or loopback IP address, and should be configured to the host name.

To move on to the network:

  1. Connect the host to the network using DHCP.

  2. Configure the host name to the loopback IP address only.

15.3.3 Moving from On-Network to Off-Network (Static IP Address)

Follow this procedure if your host is on the network, using a static IP address, and you would like to move it off the network:

  1. Configure the /etc/hosts file so the IP address and host name can be resolved locally.

  2. Take the host off the network.

    There is no need to perform any steps to change the host name or IP address.

15.4 Changing Between a Static IP Address and DHCP

This section describes how to change between a static IP address and DHCP. The following assumptions and restrictions apply:

  • The host must contain all Oracle Fusion Middleware components, including Identity Management components, and any database associated with those components. That is, the entire Oracle Fusion Middleware environment must be on the host.

  • DHCP must be used in loopback mode. Refer to Planning an Installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware for more information.

  • Only IP address change is supported; the host name must remain unchanged.

  • Hosts in DHCP mode should not use the default host name (localhost.localdomain). The hosts should be configured to use a standard host name and the loopback IP should resolve to that host name.

15.4.1 Changing from a Static IP Address to DHCP

To change a host from a static IP address to DHCP:

  1. Configure the host to have a host name associated with the loopback IP address before you convert the host to DHCP.

  2. Convert the host to DHCP. There is no need to update Oracle Fusion Middleware.

15.4.2 Changing from DHCP to a Static IP Address

To change a host from DHCP to a static IP address:

  1. Configure the host to use a static IP address.

  2. There is no need to update Oracle Fusion Middleware.

15.5 Using IPv6

Oracle Fusion Middleware supports Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6.) Among other features, IPv6 supports a larger address space (128 bits) than IPv4 (32 bits), providing an exponential increase in the number of computers that can be addressable on the Web.

An IPv6 address is expressed as 8 groups of 4 hexadecimal digits. For example:

2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334

For information about the support for IPv6 by Oracle Fusion Middleware components, see Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications.

The following topics provide more information about configuring Oracle Fusion Middleware components for IPv6:

15.5.1 Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for IPv6

To configure Oracle HTTP Server to communicate using IPv6, you modify configuration files in the following directory:

(UNIX) DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/components/OHS/ohs_name
(Windows) DOMAIN_HOME\config\fmwconfig\components\OHS\ohs_name

For example, to configure Oracle HTTP Server to communicate with Oracle WebLogic Server on hosts that are running IPv6, you configure mod_wl_ohs. You edit the configuration files in the following directory:

DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/components/OHS/instances/ohs1

In the files, specify either the resolvable host name or the IPv6 address in one of the following parameters:

WebLogicHost hostname | [IPaddress]
WebCluster [IPaddress_1]:portnum1, [IPaddress_2]:portnum2, [IPaddress_3]:portnum3, ...

You must enclose the IPv6 address in brackets.

Any errors are logged in the Oracle HTTP Server logs. To generate more information, set the mod_weblogic directives Debug All and WLLogFile path. Oracle HTTP Server logs module-specific messages.

Note:

In previous versions, Oracle HTTP Server contained restrictions about using dynamic clusters with IPv6 nodes. For example, the Oracle HTTP Server plug-in for Oracle WebLogic Server had limited IPv6 support in that the DSL (dynamic server list) feature of the plug-in was not supported; only the static configuration of server lists was supported (DynamicServerList=OFF). Those restrictions have been lifted.

15.5.2 Using Dual Stack with Oracle SOA Suite and Fusion Middleware Control

Oracle SOA Suite supports a dual-stack configuration. However, when you use Fusion Middleware Control with Oracle SOA Suite, you must specify the protocol in the following file. Otherwise, Fusion Middleware Control may not work correctly.

DSOMAIN_HOME/bin/startWebLogic.sh

In the file, add the following line, specifying the IP protocol after the line ${DOMAIN_HOME}/bin/setDomainEnv.sh:

$DOMAIN_HOME/bin  JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true"