Upgrade Questionnaire – 1

1. Oracle does not require WebLogic domains to be upgraded from WebLogic Server 10.3 to 12.1.1. WebLogic domains based upon WebLogic Server 10.3 run on WebLogic Server 12.1.1 without modification.

2. Before going for an upgrade, things to crosscheck.
○ current and planned JVM and JDK versions
○ operating system versions
○ database versions
○ Web services versions
○ versions of other products that interoperate with or run on WebLogic Server, to ensure that the upgraded environment is supported by Oracle or other vendors’ products that you are using with WebLogic Server.

3. What are the typical ways of upgrading the application.
You will typically upgrade an application either by
○ upgrading an existing domain
○ or by creating a new domain, from which you can run the application on the new WebLogic Server version.

4. As part of the upgrade process, you must upgrade any custom security providers and Node Managers used in the domain.

5. Is it required to upgrade domains from weblogic server 10.3 to 12.1.1
Oracle does not require WebLogic domains to be upgraded from WebLogic Server 10.3 to 12.1.1. WebLogic domains based upon WebLogic Server 10.3 run on WebLogic Server 12.1.1 without modification.

6. Application Environment Components that need to be identified before the upgrade
○ Administration Server and the computer on which it resides
○ Managed Servers and the computer(s) on which they reside
○ Custom security providers used in the domain
○ Custom Node Managers used in the domain
○ Location of the applications (including all external client applications)
○ External resources, for example:
         Databases used to store persisted and application data
         Firewalls
         Load balancers
○ Tools, scripts, templates, and source code used for automating the tasks required to create the application environment

7. What are the changes to be done if you want to change from Oracle OCI Database driver to thin driver.
If you are using an Oracle OCI database driver and want to change to use a Thin database driver, you must remove the server property from the generated JDBC module. For example: 
<property>
<name>server</name>
<value>servername</value>
</property>

8. Is it necessary for applications in weblogic server to be undeployed before upgrading the domain.
It is not necessary for WebLogic Server applications to be undeployed before upgrading the domain.

9. Do we need to shutdown the servers before upgrade.
Before you upgrade, you must shut down all servers in the application environment.

10. What is the preparation to be done for the remote managed servers to be upgraded.
To prepare the remote domain directories, you must copy the following files from the root directory of the pre-upgraded domain directory on the host computer for the Administration Server to the root directory of the host domain(s) of the remote Managed Servers:
○ config.xml (configuration file)
○ SerializedSystemIni.dat

11. What are the high level Steps for upgrading the Environment
○ Upgrade Custom Security providers
○ Upgrade Node managers
○ Upgrade Domain
○ Upgrade Managed Servers

12. Is it required to upgrade custom security providers in all scenarios.
All custom security providers that reside in the default location (WL_HOME\server\lib\mbeantypes) are upgraded automatically. If all of your custom security providers reside in the default location, then
the security provider upgrade step is complete, and you do not have to perform Upgradation of custom security providers.

13. Outline the High level steps for the Post-Upgrade
○ Upgrade your application infrastructure
○ Re-apply customizations to startup scripts
○ Verify file permissions
○ Enroll the computer with Node Manager
○ Verify Remote server startup options
○ Promote the Application environment to production

14. How do you Enroll the Computer with Node Manager
If you upgrade Node Manager during the upgrade process, enroll the computer that is hosting the WebLogic domain with Node Manager. This can be accomplished using the nmEnroll command

15. What are the files downloaded from Administration Server by nmEnroll command
○ nm_password.properties, the Node Manager secret file, which contains the encrypted username and password that is used for server authentication.
○ SerializedSystemIni.dat file

16. What to do if the upgrade process fails.
○ Restore the application environment to its original state using the backup files created.
○ Correct the failure reported by the WebLogic Upgrade Wizard.
○ Continue with the upgrade process from the step at which the failure occurred.

Installation Questionnaire – 2

 

16. Can the Weblogic Upgrade installer in Linux or Unix, be run with different userID from the userID of the initial Weblogic server installation.
               You must run the Upgrade installer with the same user that has done the initial Weblogic server installation.

 

17. What is the environment variable to be set to run the installer in Graphical mode in Unix or Linux Machine.
                DISPLAY Environment variable must be set.

18. If you are using a .jar installer, replace JAVA_HOME with the installation location of the supported JDK you installed for your platform.

 

19. What are the directories to be selected during the installation
             Oracle Fusion Middleware
             Weblogic server Coherence (if applicable)

 

20. When is user_projects directory created
              The user_projects directory is not present until you create your first WebLogic domain

 

21. What is the importance of  Middleware home directory
                 The Middleware home directory serves as a repository for common files that are used by multiple Fusion Middleware products installed on the same machine. This directory can be considered a central support directory for all the Fusion Middleware products installed on your system.
                  The files in the Middleware home directory are essential to ensuring that WebLogic Server operates correctly on your system. They facilitate checking of cross-product dependencies during installation

 

22. How is Middleware home directory referenced
                  MW_HOME

 

23.What are the considerations to be taken when creating Middleware Home directory
               Spaces not to be included.
               You can install only one version of Weblogic server product in a single middleware directory.
                Confirmation screens are displayed when the Home directory or any product installation directories are not empty.

 

24. Do all the subdirectories  remains same for all the types of installers.
               The directories in the Middleware home directory vary depending on the installer that you are using and the products you selected for installation.

 

25. What do registry.xml file contains.
                 It contains a persistent record of all weblogic products installed on the target machine. It also has product-related information like version, patch level, etc. It has installed information on installed JDK and java home.

 

26. What do registry.dat file contains.
                This is an encrypted version of registry.xml file

 

27.  Do weblogic server reads registry.xml file and if so when

 

28. Why is it advisable to create all domains outside middleware home directory.
                      It makes it easier to remove an existing installation or upgrade to a new version of weblogic server.

 

29. What are the different installation modes
                   Graphical
                    Silent
                    Console

 
30. What are the different types of installation
                  Typical
                  Custom

 

 

Installation Questionnaire – 1

1. What are the products that can be installed using Oracle Weblogic Server installer

                               Weblogic Server and optional sub-components
                                Oracle Coherence and optional sub-components

2. Outline the high-level tasks that are required to install Weblogic Server, and the optional Coherence product

                  Obtain the appropriate installation file for your platform
                  Complete the installation planning requirements
                  Determine the appropriate installation mode for your situation
                  Determine the type of installation
                  Install the software
                 Create a Weblogic domain

3. What are the Types of Installers

            Net Installer
           OS-specific Package installer – It is either exe or bin file, depending on Operating System.
           Generic Package installer – This type of installer is a .jar file.
           Upgrade installer – Upgrade installers allow you to upgrade an existing WebLogic Server installation to the current patch release.
            Development-only and supplemental installers – The development-only installer is a ZIP file that you extract to a Middleware home directory to create a Weblogic Server installation.

 
  4.In what Types of installer, do the Silent Mode installation is supported.
                      Silent mode installation is supported only for Package installers.
 
 5.  Unlike the Net installer, the Package installer does not provide for any reduction in download time or the amount of disk space required for the installation files 
 
 6. Weblogic Installation Components that can be selected during installation
                         Core Application Server
                        Administration Console
                        Configuration Wizard and Upgrade Framework
                        Web 2.0 HTTP Pub-Sub Server
                        Weblogic SCA
                        Weblogic JDBC Drivers
                        Third Party JDBC Drivers
                        Weblogic Server Clients
                        Weblogic WebServer plugins
                        Xquery Support
                        Server Examples
                        Evaluation Database
                        Coherent Product Files
                       Coherence Examples
 
  
 7. Is the JDK/SDK included in all types of Installers.
                        Generic Package installer doesn’t include JRockit SDK and Sun JDK.

8. Since WebLogic Server 12.1.1 is a new major release, there is no upgrade installer for this release. 
 

9. Installation Prerequisites
                System Requirements
                Platform Configuration
                Processor
                Hard disk drive
                Memory
                Color bit depth display
                JDK (JDK 1.6.0_24 or later)
                Weblogic Server installation user
                Before you start the Installation program
                Temporary Disk Space requirements
                Administrator Privileges
                Installing Node Manager as a Windows Service

10. What version of JEE being supported by Weblogic 12.1.1
                     JEE 6.

11. What Component is responsible for the availability of WLST
                     Configuration Wizard

12. By not installing the Weblogic Server clients, will the server runtime or deployed applications be effected.
                      No

13.  Where can the jars related to weblogic server clients be used
                           They can used for distribution to the clients that interact with Weblogic server. Client apps that make use of Webservices, JMS, JMX, etc. Instead of distributing all weblogic jars, we can provide the specific jars.

14.What is the Evaluation database that comes with Weblogic
                         Derby

15. Is JDK required for Weblogic server to run. Is JRE not sufficient.
                         Yes. JDK is required. JRE isnt sufficient.