Oracle® Applications: Concepts Release 11i (11.5.10.2)

Oracle® Applications
Concepts
Release 11i (11.5.10.2)
Part No. B19295-01
July 2005
Oracle Applications Concepts, Release 11i (11.5.10.2)
Part No. B19295-01
Copyright © 2000, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Primary Author: Robert Farrington
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Contents
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Preface
1 Applications Architecture
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
The Desktop Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Forms Client Applet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Oracle JInitiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
The Application Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Web Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Forms Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Reports Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Discoverer Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Concurrent Processing Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Admin Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Daily Business Intelligence (DBI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
The Database Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
The Oracle Applications Technology Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Oracle Applications DBA (AD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Oracle Common Modules (AK) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Oracle Applications Utilities (AU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Oracle Application Object Library (FND) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Oracle Workflow (OWF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Oracle Alert (ALR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Oracle XML Publisher (XDO). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
2 Applications File System

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
The DATA Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
DB and ORA Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
The COMN Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
The APPL Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Product Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Language Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
iii
Core Technology Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Distributing the APPL_TOP Across Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Environment Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
3 Applications Database Organization

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Oracle User IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
APPS Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Custom Schema Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Space Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
4 Database Features and Release 11i

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Performance Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Business Intelligence Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Scalability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
5 AutoCong
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
The Applications Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
AutoConfig Scripts and Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
AutoConfig Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Management Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
6 Cloning
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Cloning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Cloning Across Platforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Cloning Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Rapid Clone Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Rapid Clone and Oracle Universal Installer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
New Cloning Features in Release 11.5.10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
7 Oracle Applications Manager

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Oracle Applications Manager Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Additional Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Generic Service Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
8 Authentication and Integration

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
iv
Oracle9i Application Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Oracle Application Server 10g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Oracle Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Oracle Discoverer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Enterprise-Wide Single Sign-On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Application Server Integration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Basic Single Sign-On Deployment Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Advanced Single Sign-On Deployment Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
Advanced Single Sign-On Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12
9 High Availability
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
Patching Hints and Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
Maintenance Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Shared APPL_TOP and Shared Application Tier File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Staged APPL_TOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Distributed AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Nologging Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Disaster Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
10 Load Balancing
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
Categories of Load Balancer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Load Balancing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
11 Security
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Audit Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Oracle User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
Security Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3
12 Network Topologies
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Satellite Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Wireless LANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
13 Internationalization Support
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
v
Languages and Character Sets on the Database Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
Languages and Character Sets on the Application Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2
Character Sets on the Desktop Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2
External Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Globalization and Country-Specific Functionalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Dates and Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Multiple Reporting Currencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
NLS-Independent Application Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
NLS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
14 Multi-Org Architecture
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
Multi-Org Partitioned Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Converting to Multi-Org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
15 Multiple Reporting Currencies

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
Functional Currencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
MRC Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2
Glossary
Index
vi
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Oracle Applications Concepts, Release 11i (11.5.10.2)

Part No. B19295-01
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vii
Preface
Intended Audience
Welcome to Release 11i (11.5.10.2) of the Oracle Applications Concepts.
This book is intended for all those planning to deploy Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 11i, or contemplating significant changes to a configuration. It focuses on
high-level, strategic topics, to enable system administrators and others to make informed
decisions about the various installation and configuration choices open to them.
The book does not attempt to replace or supplant the installation, maintenance, and
upgrade manuals. As such, it does not describe procedures in depth, but gives a
broad outline of the actions needed to achieve a particular goal. The book is arranged
such that it starts with topics that will apply to all installations, then examines
areas which, while optional, will be relevant to most sites. Typically, these optional
subjects are interrelated, so that a site will most likely be implementing more than
one. Finally, several specialized areas are discussed; these are mainly topics that are
mentioned primarily for reference.
Note: This book typically uses UNIX nomenclature in specifying files
and directories. Windows users should substitute the appropriate
Windows terms where applicable. For example, a UNIX .env
(environment) file will be a .cmd (command) file on Windows.
See Related Documents on page x for more Oracle Applications product information.
TTY Access to Oracle Support Services

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within the United States of America 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For TTY support,
call 800.446.2398.
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http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/ .
ix
Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation
Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The
conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise
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Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations
that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any
representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.
Structure
1 Applications Architecture
2 Applications File System
3 Applications Database Organization
4 Database Features and Release 11i
5 AutoCong
6 Cloning
7 Oracle Applications Manager
8 Authentication and Integration
9 High Availability
10 Load Balancing
11 Security
12 Network Topologies
13 Internationalization Support
14 Multi-Org Architecture
15 Multiple Reporting Currencies
Glossary
Related Documents
This book was up to date at the time it was initially published. It is included
on the Oracle Applications Document Library CD, which is supplied in the
Release 11i Update CD Pack. You can download soft-copy documentation from
http://otn.oracle.com/documentation, or you can purchase hard-copy documentation
from the Oracle Store at http://oraclestore.oracle.com. The Oracle E-Business
Suite Documentation Library CD-ROM Release 11.5.10+ contains the latest
information, including any documents that have changed significantly between
releases. If substantial changes to this book are necessary, a revised version will be made
available on the "virtual" documentation CD on OracleMetaLink.
You should have the following key books on hand as you deploy and maintain Oracle
Applications. Depending on the requirements of your particular installation, you may
also need additional manuals or guides.
Installing Oracle Applications
This guide provides instructions for managing the installation of Oracle Applications
products. You should use this guide in conjunction with individual product user’s
guides and implementation guides.
x
Upgrading Oracle Applications
This guide describes the upgrade process, and lists database and product-specific
upgrade tasks.
Oracle Applications Maintenance Procedures and Oracle Applications Maintenance
Utilities
These two guides provide information on maintaining the Oracle Applications file
system and database. They contain how-to steps, screenshots, and other guidelines for
running the Applications DBA (AD) utilities.
Oracle Applications Product Update Notes
Use this guide as a reference for upgrading an installation of Oracle Applications. It
includes new features, enhancements, and changes made to database objects, profile
options, and seed data.
Oracle Applications System Administrator’s Guide
This guide provides planning and reference information for the Oracle Applications
System Administrator. It contains information on how to define security, customize
menus and online help, and manage concurrent processing.
Oracle Workflow Administrator’s Guide
This guide explains how to carry out the setup steps necessary for Oracle Applications
products that include workflow-enabled processes, as well as how to monitor the
progress of runtime workflow processes.
Oracle Workflow Developer’s Guide
This guide explains how to define new workflow business processes and customize
existing Oracle Applications embedded workflow processes. It also describes how to
define and customize business events and event subscriptions.
Oracle Applications User’s Guide
This guide explains how to enter data, query, run reports, and navigate using the
graphical user interface (GUI) available with Oracle Applications. It also includes
information on setting user profiles, as well as running and reviewing reports and
concurrent processes. You can access this user’s guide online by choosing ”Getting
Started with Oracle Applications” from any Oracle Applications help file.
Oracle Applications Developer’s Guide
This guide contains the coding standards followed by the Oracle Applications
development teams. It describes the Oracle Application Object Library components
needed to implement the Oracle Applications user interface, as described in the Oracle
Applications User Interface Standards for Forms-Based Products. It also provides
information to help you build your custom Oracle Forms Developer 6i forms so that
they integrate with Oracle Applications.
Oracle Applications User Interface Standards for Forms-Based Products
This guide contains the user interface (UI) standards followed by Oracle Applications
development. It describes the UI for the Oracle Applications products and how to apply
this UI to the design of an application built using Oracle Forms.
Multiple Reporting Currencies in Oracle Applications
xi
If you use the Multiple Reporting Currencies feature to record transactions in more
than one currency, refer to this manual before implementing your Oracle Applications
products. This manual details additional steps required to implement Oracle
Applications products with this feature.
Multiple Organizations in Oracle Applications
This guide describes how to set up and use the Oracle Applications Multiple
Organization support feature, so you can define and support several different
organization structures from a single installation of your Oracle products.
Oracle eTechnical Reference Manuals
Each eTechnical Reference Manual (eTRM) contains database diagrams and a detailed
description of database tables, forms, reports, and programs for a specific Oracle
Applications product. This information helps you convert data from your existing
applications, integrate Oracle Applications data with non-Oracle applications, and
write custom reports for Oracle Applications products. Oracle eTRMs are available on
Oracle MetaLink.
Do Not Use Database Tools to Modify Oracle Applications Data

Oracle STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that you never use SQL*Plus, Oracle Data Browser,
database triggers, or any other tool to modify Oracle Applications data unless otherwise
instructed.
Oracle provides powerful tools you can use to create, store, change, retrieve, and
maintain information in an Oracle database. But if you use Oracle tools such as SQL*Plus
to modify Oracle Applications data, you risk destroying the integrity of your data and
you lose the ability to audit changes to your data.
Because Oracle Applications tables are interrelated, any change you make using an
Oracle Applications form can update many tables at once. But when you modify Oracle
Applications data using anything other than Oracle Applications, you may change a row
in one table without making corresponding changes in related tables. If your tables get
out of synchronization with each other, you risk retrieving erroneous information and
you risk unpredictable results throughout Oracle Applications.
When you use Oracle Applications to modify your data, Oracle Applications
automatically checks that your changes are valid. Oracle Applications also keeps track of
who changes information. If you enter information into database tables using database
tools, you may store invalid information. You also lose the ability to track who has
changed your information because SQL*Plus and other database tools do not keep a
record of changes.
xii
1
Applications Architecture
Introduction
This chapter describes the Oracle Applications architecture and some of the features that
this architecture supports. The following topics are included:
• Overview
• The Desktop Tier
• The Application Tier
• The Database Tier
• The Oracle Applications Technology Layer
The Oracle Applications Architecture is a framework for multi-tiered, distributed
computing that supports Oracle Applications products. In this model, various servers are
distributed among multiple levels, or tiers.
A server is a process or group of processes that runs on a single machine and provides a
particular functionality, often referred to as a service. For example, the HTTP server is a
process that listens for and processes HTTP requests, and the Forms server is a process
that listens for and processes requests for activities related to Oracle Forms.
A tier is a logical grouping of services, potentially spread across more than one
physical machine. The three-tier architecture that comprises an Oracle E-Business Suite
installation is made up of the database tier, which supports and manages the Oracle
database; the application tier, which supports and manages the various Applications
components, and is sometimes known as the middle tier; and the desktop tier, which
provides the user interface via an add-on component to a standard web browser.
A machine may be referred to as a node, particularly in the context of a group of
computers that work closely together in a cluster. Each tier may consist of one or more
nodes, and each node can potentially accommodate more than one tier. For example, the
database can reside on the same node as one or more application tier components. This
may be done for simplicity of administration, or (as in the case of concurrent processing)
to maximize performance by reducing network traffic.
Centralizing the Oracle Applications software on the application tier eliminates the
need to install and maintain application software on each desktop client PC, and also
enables Oracle Applications to scale well with an increasing load. Extending this concept
further, one of the key benefits of using the Shared APPL_TOP model (see Chapter 9) is
the need to maintain only a single copy of the relevant Applications code, instead of a
copy for every application tier machine.
Applications Architecture 1-1

On the database tier, there is increasing use of Real Application Clusters (RAC) , where
multiple nodes support a single database instance to give greater availability and
scalability.
Figure 1-1 Oracle Applications Architecture
The connection between the application tier and the desktop tier can operate successfully
over a Wide Area Network (WAN). This is because the desktop and application tiers
exchange a minimum amount of information, for example field value comparison
differences. In a global operation with users at diverse locations, requiring less network
traffic reduces telecommunications costs and improves response times for users.
The Desktop Tier

The client interface is provided through HTML for the newer HTML-based
applications, and via a Java applet in a Web browser for the traditional Forms-based
interface.
1-2 Oracle Applications Concepts

Figure 1-2 Forms-based Desktop Tier Architecture
In Oracle Applications Release 11i, each user logs in to Oracle Applications through the
E-Business Suite Home Page on a desktop client web browser. The E-Business Suite
Home Page provides a single point of access to HTML-based applications, Forms-based
applications, and Business Intelligence applications.
Once logged in via the E-Business Suite Home Page, you need not sign on again to access
other parts of the system. Oracle Applications does not prompt again for user name and
password, even when you navigate to other tools and products. Oracle Applications also
retains preferences as you navigate through the system. For example, if you registered in
the E-Business Suite Home Page that German is your preferred language, this preference
carries over whether you access Forms-based or HTML-based applications.
Figure 1-3 Example Oracle E-Business Suite Home Page

Forms Client Applet
The Forms client applet is a general-purpose presentation applet that supports all
Oracle Applications Forms-based products, including those with customizations and
extensions. The Forms client applet is packaged as a collection of Java Archive (JAR)
files. The JAR files contain all Java classes required to run the presentation layer of
Oracle Applications forms.
Oracle JInitiator
The Forms client applet must run within a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on the
desktop client. The Oracle JInitiator component allows use of the Oracle JVM on web
clients, instead of the browser’s own JVM. JInitiator is implemented as a plug-in
(Netscape) or ActiveX component (Microsoft Internet Explorer).
In the traditional, Forms-based Oracle Applications environment, JInitiator was run as
part of the standard Applications sign-on process. Now, with the move to a mainly
HTML-based environment, JInitiator is only invoked when a user chooses to access
functions that require it, such as running a form. If JInitiator has not been installed, the
Web browser prompts the user to download the required installation executable.
The Forms client applet and commonly used JAR files are downloaded from the
Web server at the beginning of the client’s first session. Less commonly used JAR
files are downloaded as needed. All downloaded JAR files are cached locally on
the client, ready for future sessions. This eliminates the network traffic that would
be involved in downloading them whenever they were required. In 11.5.10, with
JInitiator 1.3.1.18, the cache directory is of the form "<HOMEDRIVE>\Documents and
Settings\<Windows User Name>\Oracle Jar Cache"; for example, "C:\Documents and
Settings\jsmith\Oracle Jar Cache".
Note: Selecting "Show console" on the "Basic" JInitiator tab will allow
you to observe downloading of JAR files, to confirm they are being
downloaded when they should be.
All updates to JAR files are installed on the application tier and downloaded to the client
automatically, via the caching mechanism outlined above.
The Application Tier

The application tier has a dual role: hosting the various servers that process the business
logic, and managing communication between the desktop tier and the database
tier. This tier is sometimes referred to as the middle tier. Oracle9i Application Server
(9iAS) provides the technology used on the application tier. Six servers comprise the
application tier for Oracle Applications:
• Web server
• Forms server
• Reports server
• Discoverer server (optional)
• Concurrent Processing server
• Admin server

Try to avoid using a mixture of different platforms on your application tier. This makes
maintenance easier, since only one set of patches needs to be downloaded.
Load Balancing
The application tier supports load balancing among many of its servers to provide higher
availability, fault tolerance, reliability, and optimal scalability. If you have more than one
of any of the following types of server, load balancing can be employed:
• Web server
• Forms server
• Reports server
• Discoverer server
• Concurrent Processing server
Typically, load balancing is most commonly used to spread the load across multiple Web
servers, where the load may vary significantly. Chapter 10 discusses the various types
of load balancing in more detail.
Web Server
The Oracle HTTP server (powered by Apache) acts as the Web server. It processes the
requests received over the network from the desktop clients, and includes additional
components such as:
• Web Listener
• Java Servlet Engine
• JavaServer Pages (JSP)
The Web listener component of the Oracle HTTP server accepts incoming HTTP requests
(for particular URLs) from client browsers.
If possible, the Web server services the requests itself, for example by returning the
HTML to construct a simple Web page. If the page referenced by the URL needs
advanced processing, the listener passes the request on to the servlet engine, which
contacts the database server as needed.
HTML-Based Applications and the Oracle Applications Framework

The Oracle HTML-based (formerly known as Self-Service) Applications:
• Do not use Oracle Forms for the interface
• Are designed in pure HTML and JavaScript
• Dynamically generate HTML pages by executing Java code
• Use a metadata dictionary for flexible layout
• Operate by direct connection to the Web server
The Oracle Applications Framework is the development platform for HTML-based
applications. It consists of a Java-based application tier framework and associated
services, designed to facilitate the rapid deployment of HTML-based applications.
Notable Oracle Applications Framework components include:

• Business Components for Java (BC4J), included in Oracle JDeveloper, is used to
create Java business components for representing business logic. It also provides a
mechanism for mapping relational tables to Java objects, and allows the separation
of the application business logic from the user interface.
• AOL/J supplies the Oracle Applications Framework with underlying security and
applications Java services. It provides the Oracle Applications Framework with
its connection to the database, and with application-specific functionality such as
flexfields.
The Framework-based applications logic is controlled by procedures that execute
through the Java servlet engine, which is provided by the Apache JServ module. The
servlet engine uses the metadata dictionary in constructing the Framework UI.
Figure 1-4 HTML-Based Applications Architecture
Java Servlet Access with HTML-Based Applications

An HTML-based Applications module uses the following access path:
1. The user clicks the hyperlink of a function from a browser.
2. The browser makes a URL request to the Web listener.
3. The Web listener contacts the Servlet engine (JServ) where it runs a JSP.
4. The JSP obtains the content from the Applications tables and uses information from
the metadata dictionary to construct the HTML page.
5. The resulting HTML page is passed back to the browser, via the Web server.

Figure 1-5 Oracle Applications Framework Architecture
Oracle Applications Framework Processing Details

The following is a more detailed explanation of how the JSP obtains the content from the
Applications tables and uses information from the metadata dictionary to construct the
HTML page.
1. AOL/J validates user access to the page.
2. The page definition (metadata UI definition) is loaded from the metadata repository
on the database tier into the application tier.
3. The BC4J objects that contain the application logic and access the database are
instantiated.
4. The Java Controller programmatically manipulates the page definition as
necessary, based on dynamic UI rules.
5. UIX (HTML UI Generator) interprets the page definition, creates the corresponding
HTML in accordance with UI standards, and sends the page to the browser.
Forms Server
The Forms server hosts the Oracle Applications forms and associated runtime engine that
support the professional interface. It is an Oracle Developer 6i component that mediates
the communication between the desktop client and the Oracle database server, displaying
client screens and initiating changes in the database according to user actions.
The Forms server caches data and provides it to the client as needed, for example when
scrolling through multiple order lines that exceed the limitations of a single screen.
The Forms server communicates with the desktop client using these protocols:
• Standard HTTP network connection
• Secure HTTPS network connection
• TCP/IP connection

Chapter 11 compares HTTP and HTTPS from a security perspective.The Forms server
communicates with the Oracle database server using the Oracle Net networking
infrastructure.
Forms Server Architecture

When a user initiates an action in the Forms client applet, such as entering data into a
field or clicking a button, data is passed to the Forms server on the application tier. The
user interface logic runs in the Forms server, and determines the appropriate user
interface effect based on the user’s action. For example, a window may open, or another
field value may be populated. If necessary, the database tier is contacted for any data not
already cached on the application tier, or for data-intensive processing.
Figure 1-6 Forms Server Architecture
Once a connection has been made, many operations can be performed with little or
no further interaction with the Forms server. For example, when a few field values
change in response to a user action, there is no need to update the entire screen. In this
scenario, only the changed fields are updated with the new values.
Load Balancing Among Forms Servers

Oracle Applications supports automatic load balancing among multiple Forms
servers. Such a load balancing configuration utilizes an additional Forms component
called the Metrics server, which acts as a single point of coordination for all Forms server
requests.
The Metrics server is located on one application server. Metrics clients located on the
other application servers periodically send load information to the Metrics server so that
it can determine which application server has the lightest load.

Figure 1-7 Forms Server Load Balancing
Forms Server load balancing operates as follows.

1. The client requests a Forms session and the request is sent to the load balancer
(Metrics Server), via the Web Listener.
2. The load balancer determines the least-loaded Forms server and returns its name
via an HTML page.
3. The client can now access the least-loaded Forms server directly.
4. From this point on, all communication is between the client desktop and the
designated Forms server.
Note: Using the 11.5.10 Rapid Install, you can if desired set up load
balancing for Forms and Web servers during the initial installation.
Forms Listener Servlet Architecture

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i supports the use of socket mode for intranet
users, HTTPS for Internet users, and HTTP mode for Forms-based (professional user
interface) communication. The Forms Listener Servlet is a Java servlet that delivers
the ability to run Oracle Forms applications over HTTP and HTTPS connections. It
manages the creation of a Forms Server Runtime process for each client, as well as
network communications between the client and its associated Forms Server Runtime
process. The client sends HTTP requests and receives HTTP responses from the Web
server, which acts as the network endpoint for the client.
Benefits of using the Forms Listener Servlet include:
• Ability to re-establish dropped network connections
• Fewer machines and ports need to be exposed at the firewall
• Easier firewall/proxy server configuration
• More robust and secure deployment over the Internet
Use of Forms Listener Servlet results in an approximately 40% increase in network
traffic, since the HTTP protocol is more "chatty" than sockets. The actual performance
overhead of this increase in network traffic will depend on existing network latency:

• LAN users may observe an 8-10% decrease in response time, but this is generally not
noticeable given the bandwidth and speed of internal networks.
• WAN users (assuming a 150ms network latency) may observe up to a 30% decrease
in response time performance, but this must be set against the extra security and
robustness of the ability to run over the Internet using standard protocols.
Requirements for using the Forms Listener Servlet include:
• Installation of Developer 6i Patchset 7 or higher (see OracleMetaLink Note
125767.1, Upgrading Developer 6i with Oracle Applications 11i).
• Deployment of the Forms server and the Web server on the same node.
With Forms Listener Servlet, load balancing of Forms-based traffic is accomplished
using JServ Load Balancing. This requires use of the iAS 1.0.2.2.2 Apache
module, mod_oprocmgr, which also provides other new infrastructure capabilities such as
automatic starting of processes, death detection and restart.
Note: For further details of the Forms Listener Servlet architecture, see
http://technet.oracle.com/products/forms/pdf/
p7listenerservlet.pdf. For steps needed to implement
Forms Listener Servlet with Applications, see OracleMetaLink Note
201340.1, Using Forms Listener Servlet with Oracle Applications 11i.
Reports Server
The Reports server is automatically installed on the same node as the Concurrent
Processing server, and its reports are contained in the same directory as the concurrent
processing reports. However, reports generated by the Reports server are monitored and
administered separately from concurrent processing reports.
The Reports server dynamically selects the report language at runtime, so users see
their reports in their preferred language.
Reports Server Architecture

The request for an HTML-based report is similar to the flow of any other HTML-based
Applications request:
Figure 1-8 Reports Server Architecture

1. The user clicks the hyperlink of a function from a browser.
2. The browser makes a URL request to the Web listener.
3. The Web listener contacts the Reports server through the reports Web CGI. The
reports Web CGI allows the user to run reports and see the output through a Web
browser.
4. The Reports server starts the Reports runtime engine.
5. The Reports runtime engine locates the necessary reports and connects to the
database to query the requested information.
6. The queried information is presented to the user in the form of an HTML page.
Clustering and Load Management

When there are a large number of users, it may be beneficial to have multiple Reports
servers. In this configuration, one of the Reports servers is designated as the master
Reports server. This server receives the initial request and distributes it to one of the other
Reports servers, depending on the load each can handle. The master Reports server is
capable of determining how many runtime engines each of the Reports servers can
support.
Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i supports multiple languages on a single Reports
server.
Discoverer Server
The Discoverer server comprises Oracle Discoverer 4i, a key component of the Oracle9i
Application Server (9iAS). Discoverer is an ad hoc query, reporting, analysis, and
publishing tool that allows business users at all levels of an organization to gain
immediate access to information from data marts, data warehouses, and online
transaction processing (OLTP) systems. Report builders and analysts can easily
create, modify, and execute ad hoc queries and reports. Casual users can navigate
through predefined reports and graphs via business views that hide the complexity of
the underlying data structures.
Oracle Discoverer 4i hides the complexity of the database, presenting it through an
intuitive, easy to understand interface. It maps potentially unfamiliar database terms
such as tables to familiar terms such as folders, enabling those unfamiliar with database
syntax to access key information using standard business terms.
Discoverer 4i is tightly integrated with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, allowing
E-Business Suite users to employ Discoverer to analyze data from selected
business areas in Financials, Operations, Human Resources, Purchasing, Process
Manufacturing, Activity Based Management, and other products.
The Discoverer server complements the Reports server, by allowing performance of ad
hoc queries and analysis of the resulting query output. It also allows users to perform
projections based on possible changes to the business environment or other strategic
factors.
Discoverer End User Layer

The Discoverer End User Layer is the key to providing ease of use to the underlying data
in the Oracle Applications database. It is a layer of metadata (data describing data) that is
located in the Oracle Applications database, separate from the actual Applications data.

Three software components are used to access the End User Layer:
• Discoverer Administrator Edition - Allows creation and maintenance of the
End User Layer and manages the administration of security grants for users and
responsibilities.
• Discoverer Plus - An applet used to create queries, create and carry out analytic
calculations, chart selected data, share query results with users, and export
Discoverer workbooks in various formats. Oracle provides predefined workbooks
which can be used as bases for ad hoc queries. Discoverer Plus is located on the
Discoverer server, to centralize administration.
• Discoverer Viewer - This utility allows execution of queries in existing
workbooks, displaying the resulting business data in the form of tables and charts in
the user’s Web browser.
Note: For further details of Oracle Discoverer integration with
Applications Release 11i, see OracleMetaLink Note 139516.1, Using
Discoverer 4i with Oracle Applications 11i, and OracleMetaLink Note
257798.1, Using Discoverer 10g with Oracle Applications 11i.
Concurrent Processing Server

As described previously, user interactions with Oracle Applications data can be
conducted via HTML-based Applications or the more traditional Forms-based
Applications. However, there are also reporting programs and data updating programs
that need to run either periodically, or on an ad hoc basis. These programs, which
run in the background while users continue to work on other tasks, may require
a large number of data-intensive computations, and are run using the Concurrent
Processing architecture. Concurrent Processing is an Oracle Applications feature that
allows these non–interactive and potentially long-running functions to be executed
efficiently alongside interactive operations. It uses operating system facilities to facilitate
background scheduling of data- or resource-intensive jobs, via a set of programs and
forms. To ensure that resource-intensive concurrent processing operations do not
interfere with interactive operations, they are run on a specialized server, the Concurrent
Processing server.
Processes that run on the Concurrent Processing server are called concurrent
requests. When you submit such a request, either through HTML-based or Forms-based
Applications, a row is inserted into a database table specifying the program to be
run. A concurrent manager then reads the applicable requests in the table, and starts the
associated concurrent program.
Concurrent Manager Characteristics
Concurrent managers are fundamental to concurrent processing. Acting as a job
scheduling and execution system, a concurrent manager:
• Is an executable that is registered as a program library within Oracle
Applications, and which runs in its own operating system process
• Runs operating system processes called target processes (often referred to as workers),
each of which can start one concurrent program at a time
• Can optionally run an immediate program that runs as part of the concurrent
manager’s own operating system process

• Can be allowed to run any concurrent program, or be specialized to run certain
programs
• Operates during the days and times defined by a work shift
Types of Concurrent Manager
The Internal Concurrent Manager (ICM) controls all other concurrent managers. It
administers the startup and shutdown of managers as defined by their work
shift, monitors for process failure, and cleans up if a failure occurs. The ICM does
not process concurrent requests itself (except for queue control requests, such as
ACTIVATE, DEACTIVATE, or ABORT).
While the basic ICM definition should not be changed, you can if required modify the
sleep time (number of seconds the ICM waits between checking for new concurrent
requests), PMON (process monitor) cycle time (number of sleep cycles the ICM waits
between checking for failed workers), and queue size (duration between checks for
number of active workers, measured in PMON cycles). If Parallel Concurrent Processing
(described below) is being used, you can also set some options for this.
The Conflict Resolution Manager (CRM) enforces rules designed to ensure that
incompatible concurrent requests do not run in the same conflict domain (an abstract
representation of the groupings used to partition data). As with the Internal Concurrent
Manager, the basic CRM definition should not be changed, but you can modify the sleep
time for each work shift, as well as some Parallel Concurrent Processing options.
The Standard Manager as shipped with Oracle Applications will accept and run
any concurrent requests, as it has no specialization rules that would restrict its
activities. Consequently, the definition of the Standard Manager should not be altered, as
this might mean some programs could not run at all. Jobs should only be excluded from
the Standard Manager after ensuring they can be run by an alternative manager, such
as a product-specific manager or user-defined manager.
Transaction Managers support synchronous request processing, whereby a pool of server
processes responds to requests from client programs. Instead of polling the concurrent
requests table to obtain instructions, a transaction manager waits to be signaled by a
client. An example is approval of an order, where execution of the request must take
place quickly.
The relevant transaction manager program runs on the server, transparently to the
client. All transaction programs for a given manager process run in the same database
session. Communication between the client and the server is conducted synchronously
via pipes, using the FND_TRANSACTION.SYNCHRONOUS function. At the end of
program execution, the client program receives a completion message and a return
value, for example denoting approval of the order. This strategy of using non-persistent
connections between the client and Transaction Manager processes enables a small pool
of server processes to service a large number of clients with near real-time response.
Setting Up Concurrent Managers
The Oracle Applications System Administrator’s Guide gives full details of the steps and
options involved in setting up and monitoring concurrent managers. Some of the key
steps include:
• Name and description of the manager
• Assignment of a concurrent program library
• Assignment of work shifts to the manager

• Definition of the maximum number of workers (target processes) the manager can
run concurrently
• Optionally specializing the manager to run certain types of requests
Tip: It is easier to identify the optimum number of workers by being
conservative initially, and defining additional workers later if needed
(subject to availability of system resources).
Multiple managers can be run on multiple nodes using Parallel Concurrent Processing, as
described below.
Concurrent Processing Architecture
In Concurrent Processing, programs are run as operating system background
processes. These programs may be written using a variety of Oracle tools, programming
languages for executables, or the host operating system scripting language.
As noted above, a concurrent program that runs in the concurrent manager’s own
operating system process is known as an immediate program. Immediate programs
run as a function within the concurrent manager’s program library. Examples include
PL/SQL programs. In contrast, a concurrent program that runs in a child process of the
concurrent manager process is known as a spawned program. Examples include SQL
programs, SQL Loader programs, Oracle Reports programs, spawned C programs, and
host language programs such as UNIX shell scripts or Windows command files.
Note: While C programs can be run as immediate programs, it
is advisable to run them as spawned programs. This simplifies
maintenance, without introducing any disadvantages.
A concurrent request has a life cycle, which consists of three or possibly four phases:
Table 1-1 Concurrent Request Life Cycle

Phase Activity
Pending The request is waiting to be run
Running The request is running
Completed The request has finished
Inactive The request cannot be run
A concurrent program library contains concurrent programs that can be called by a

concurrent manager. An important example is the Oracle Application Object Library
program library (FNDLIBR), which contains Oracle Applications immediate concurrent
programs, and is assigned to the standard concurrent manager. Although each
concurrent manager can only run immediate concurrent programs from its own
concurrent program library, it can also run spawned or Oracle tool concurrent programs.
Various database tables are employed by the concurrent processing architecture:

Table 1-2 Concurrent Processing Database Tables
Table Content
FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS Details of user requests, including status, start

date, and completion date
FND_CONCURRENT_PROGRAMS Details of concurrent programs, including

execution method, whether the program is
constrained, and whether it must be run alone.
FND_CONCURRENT_PROCESSES Cross-references between concurrent requests

and queues, and a history of concurrent
manager processes
FND_CONCURRENT_QUEUES Information about each of the concurrent

manager queues
Caution: Do not update these tables manually. You can (subject to

your organization’s archiving requirements) periodically run the
"Purge Concurrent Requests and/or manager data" program to prevent
these tables growing too large. See the Oracle Applications System
Administrator’s Guide for details.
Concurrent Processing Operations

Because the Internal Concurrent Manager controls all the other managers, it must be
running before any other manager can be activated. Once the ICM has been activated, it
starts a Service Manager on each node that is enabled for concurrent processing. Acting
as an agent of the ICM, the Service Manager starts the concurrent managers on its
node, excluding any managers that have been deactivated, or that have no current work
shift. The ICM can be activated and deactivated from the operating system prompt, or
Oracle Applications Manager. It can also be deactivated (but not activated) from the
Administer Concurrent Managers form.
When the ICM is initiated on UNIX, the $FND_TOP/bin/startmgr program is
invoked. This calls $FND_TOP/bin/batchmgr, which then:
1. Starts a shell process
2. Starts the ICM process using the command FNDLIBR, with startup parameters
FND, CPMGR, and FNDCPMBR
3. Creates log files (std.mgr and wnnn.mgr) in $APPLCSF/$APPLLOG
Normally, startmgr is run by the user account that owns the application software
(for example, applmgr). This account must have write privileges to the log and out
directories where the log and output files respectively are written.
The ICM starts up a Service Manager on each node that is enabled for concurrent
processing, by instructing the Applications listener on the node to spawn a process
running the Service Manager executable (FNDSM). The listener must be configured
to source the Applications environment file before FNDSM is spawned. Following
startup, the Service Manager acts as an agent of the ICM to start and stop concurrent
managers on that node, according to their defined work shifts.
Note: The Service Manager is a component of the Generic
Service Management (GSM) architecture rather than Concurrent

Processing, although GSM and Concurrent Processing are closely
integrated. GSM must be enabled in any AutoConfig-enabled
Applications system.
Concurrent manager processes on a specific node can be seen by running the UNIX
commands:
ps –ef | grep FNDLIBR
ps –ef | grep FNDSM
The Service Manager PID seen in the output of the second command can then, if
desired, be used to locate all concurrent manager and service processes on the node, since
the Service Manager is the parent process for them:
ps –ef | grep <sm_pid>
On Windows, the Task Manager can be used to locate concurrent manager processes. An
FNDLIBR process runs for the Internal Concurrent Manager and each standard
manager. The ICM can be distinguished by additional details being displayed, including
some of the parameters it was started with.
For every process that was successfully started at operating system level, the
ICM inserts a row into FND_CONCURRENT_PROCESSES. It then updates the
RUNNING_PROCESSES column to reflect the actual running processes as shown in
FND_CONCURRENT_QUEUES.
Viewing Concurrent Processing Output
The output from a concurrent processing job goes through several stages before being
displayed to the user.
1. The Concurrent Processing server communicates with the database server via Oracle
Net.
2. The log or output file associated with a concurrent request is passed back to the
Report Review Agent, also known as the Web Review Agent.
3. The Report Review Agent passes a file containing the entire report to the Forms
server.
4. The Forms server passes the report back to the user’s browser one page at a time.

Figure 1-9 Viewing Concurrent Processing Output
You can cater for your network capacity and report volume by using profile options to
specify the maximum size of the files and pages that can be passed through the system.
Parallel Concurrent Processing
Parallel Concurrent Processing (PCP) allows concurrent processing activities to be
distributed across multiple nodes in a Real Application Clusters (RAC) environment
or similar cluster system. By distributing concurrent processing in this way, hardware
resources can be fully utilized, maximizing throughput and providing resilience to node
failure, while retaining a central point of control.
Parallel concurrent processing enables you to:
• Run concurrent processes on multiple nodes to improve concurrent processing
throughput
• Continue running concurrent processes on the remaining nodes when one or more
nodes fail
• Administer concurrent managers running on multiple nodes from any node in the
cluster
One or more concurrent managers can be specified to run on one or more nodes, to
best suit your processing needs and fully utilize available hardware resources. Parallel
Concurrent Processing is described further in Chapter 9.
Managing Concurrent Processing
From the command line, two commands can be entered to control the Internal
Concurrent Manager: startmgr, which starts the ICM; and concsub, which
is used to stop or abort the ICM, or request the ICM to check on the operating
system process for each manager. In addition, an AutoConfig-enabled environment
provides a number of scripts for starting and stopping application tier services from
the command line. The script for concurrent processing startup and shutdown is
COMMON_TOP/admin/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME>adcmctl.sh.
The various components of the concurrent processing system can be managed
from forms such as the Administer Concurrent Managers form, or from Oracle
Applications Manager (OAM). In OAM, you can drill down to the required screen: for

example, Applications Dashboard > Concurrent Processing > Conflict Resolution
Manager > View Processes.
Admin Server
The Admin (Administration) server is located on the node where you maintain the data
model and data in your Oracle Applications database. You carry out the following
operations from this server:
• Upgrading Oracle Applications
This process is conducted only when you are upgrading to a new release from an
earlier one, such as 10.7 or 11.0. You use the AutoUpgrade utility (adaimgr) to upgrade
Oracle Applications.
• Applying database patches to Oracle Applications
In general, Applications patches consist of files and scripts that update the file system
and database objects. Most patches consist of a number of patch driver files that
perform different functions. The copy (c) driver modifies Applications files, the
database (d) driver modifies Applications database objects, and the generate (g) driver
generates forms, reports, graphics, or message files. Newer patches combine the
actions of the copy, database, and generate driver files into a single unified (u) driver
file.
You use the AutoPatch utility (adpatch) to perform these updates. AutoPatch may also
be used to apply cumulative patches such as mini-packs (for example, 11i.AD.H) and
maintenance packs (for example, 11.5.10).
• Maintaining Oracle Applications data
Some features, such as Multiple Reporting Currencies, require regular maintenance
to ensure that updates are propagated to the additional tables and schemas they
use. The AD Administration utility (adadmin) enables you to carry out this and various
other file system and database maintenance tasks.
Daily Business Intelligence (DBI)

Daily Business Intelligence (DBI) is a reporting framework that is integrated with Oracle
E-Business Suite. It replaces the Business Intelligence System (BIS), and includes a new
set of materialized views that pre-summarize transaction data. Using Daily Business
Intelligence overview pages, managers can view summarized information across multiple
organizations, drilling down to specific transaction details on a daily basis.
For example, the Profit and Loss page provides an overview of revenue, cost of goods
sold, expenses, and gross margin by line of business. Managers can use this page to view
revenue to date, track it against forecast, and compare it to previous periods. If actual
revenue is trailing forecast revenue, managers can investigate the root cause, drilling
down to specific lines of business, specific managers, or even specific customer invoices
in Oracle Receivables.
Daily Business Intelligence resides in the same instance as the transactional system. This
single instance architecture reduces the need for a separate maintenance and
administration team, and optimizes reporting performance. It also utilizes the
materialized view and incremental refresh capabilities of the Oracle database, thereby
enabling organizations to refresh data daily, hourly, or at any required frequency.

Note: The old BIS views are still available for use, although they may
occasionally be altered or replaced to reflect changes to underlying table
definitions.
The Database Tier

The database tier contains the Oracle database server, which stores all the data
maintained by Oracle Applications. The database also stores the Oracle Applications
online help information.
More specifically, the database tier contains the Oracle data server files and Oracle
Applications database executables that physically store the tables, indexes, and other
database objects for your system.
In general, the database server does not communicate directly with the desktop
clients, but rather with the servers on the application tier, which mediate the
communications between the database server and the clients.
The Oracle Applications Technology Layer

The Oracle Applications technology layer lies between the Oracle Applications
technology stack and the Oracle Applications product-specific modules. It provides
features common to all Oracle Applications products.
Products in the Oracle Applications technology layer include:
• Oracle Applications DBA (AD)
• Oracle Applications Object Library (FND)
• Oracle Applications Utilities (AU)
• Oracle Common Modules (AK)
• Oracle Workflow (WF)
• Oracle Alert (ALR)
• Oracle Applications Framework (FWK)
• Oracle XML Publisher (XDO)
Oracle Applications DBA (AD)

The Applications DBA product provides a set of tools for administration
of the Oracle Applications file system and database. AD tools are used for
installing, upgrading, maintaining, and patching the Oracle Applications system.
The AD utilities include:
• AD Administration - Performs general maintenance tasks for Oracle Applications.
• AD Merge Patch - Merges multiple patches into a single, integrated patch.
• AutoConfig - Manages configuration changes in an Oracle Applications system.
• AutoPatch - Applies patches and adds new languages and products to an Oracle
Applications system.
• AutoUpgrade - Upgrades a system to the latest version of Oracle Applications.
• Rapid Clone - Used to copy (clone) an Oracle Applications system.

• Rapid Install - Sets up a fully configured Oracle Applications system, including the
latest certified technology stack and all patches, mini-packs, and other updates.
Oracle Common Modules (AK)

AK is an active data dictionary that enables you to define Oracle Applications
components for the HTML-based Applications, and generate many of the characteristics
of Oracle Applications at runtime.
The Oracle Common Modules can be used to develop inquiry applications for the
HTML-based Applications, without the need for any programming. They allow storage
of language-translated labels for all the attributes on a transaction page, thus assisting
with the provision of support for multiple languages.
For example, the AK Runtime Dictionary may be used to define an attribute or reusable
component such as the customer name attribute, which can be reused any time a
customer name field is displayed on an HTML page.
Note: AK is superseded by JDeveloper’s MetaData Services (MDS)
repository in Framework 5.7 (with Applications Release 11.5.8).
Oracle Applications Utilities (AU)

The Applications Utilities (AU) component is used to maintain the Oracle Applications
system.
AU hosts a collection of files copied from other products. This allows generating on-site
classes of files such as Forms and reports, or running reports invoked by the Reports
server from a standard, shared location. Generating forms or reports may require access
to shared PL/SQL libraries, so these files are copied to AU_TOP as well.
The Oracle Applications Java files are stored in AU_TOP, as well as in JAVA_TOP and
<PROD>_TOP.
Oracle Application Object Library (FND)

The Oracle Application Object Library is a key component of the Applications technology
layer. It consists of a collection of reusable code, programs, and database objects that
provides common functionality across all products.
Oracle Application Object Library offers many features to make system administration
easier, such as security setup and maintenance, and management of concurrent
processing. Using Application Object Library ensures that the processing of flexfields
or the procedure for report submission, for example, does not vary from one product
to another. Oracle Application Object Library also provides capabilities for developers
to extend the operation of Oracle Applications by allowing the creation of custom
programs that interact with the base modules.
End User Features

Oracle Application Object Library includes several features that help provide uniformity
of function across the various Applications products.
Standard User Interface
Oracle Application Object Library supports the integration of Oracle Applications by
providing standardized functionality and capabilities across all products so that the look
and feel remains the same from product to product.

Shared Flexfield value sets
Flexfields allow the entry of certain important information to be standardized across
all products. One example is the Accounting Flexfield, which is used by Financials
products and Manufacturing products.
Standard Report Submission (SRS)
The procedure to submit a background report to the concurrent manager using SRS is
the same, regardless of the product that owns the report. SRS takes advantage of shared
flexfield value sets.
Applications Online Help
The presentation of Applications Online Help is also standardized across all products.
Developer Features
Oracle Application Object Library provides many features for developers creating
custom forms, reports, or programs that interface with Oracle Applications:
• The same coding and Graphical User Interface (GUI) standards used by Oracle
Applications developers are available for custom development.
• Custom reports can be integrated into Standard Report Submission so that they can
be submitted and monitored using the same procedures as other Oracle Applications
reports, and developers can set up certain menus and responsibilities to access
custom reports or standard objects.
• Flexfields used on custom forms can take advantage of existing flexfield capabilities
such as value sets, validation, and security rules.
• Custom menus and responsibilities can be seamlessly integrated with Oracle
Applications.
Features for System Administrators

Oracle Application Object Library provides many features to simplify administration
of Oracle Applications, enabling the system administrator to carry out routine tasks
quickly and easily. These features include:
• Registering new Oracle Applications users, and giving them access to only those
Forms, functions, and reports they need to do their jobs.
• Deciding which users have access to each product, and within a product, which
Forms, functions, and reports a user can access.
• Monitoring what users do, and when, via comprehensive auditing capabilities.
• Setting user and system profiles to modify the look and behavior of Oracle
Applications products; profiles can be set at site, application, responsibility, and
user levels.
• Monitoring and controlling concurrent processing using interfaces such as Oracle
Applications Manager (OAM).
Oracle Application Object Library Security

Oracle Application Object Library controls access to the data in Oracle Applications via
user sign-ons and responsibilities. Each user must have a valid user name and password
to gain access to Oracle Applications.

A responsibility is a level of authority in Oracle Applications that lets Applications
users access only those functions and data appropriate to their roles in the
organization. Responsibilities allow access to a specific product, operating unit, set of
books, and a restricted list of windows, functions, reports, and groups of products, or
data groups.
Note that the Forms available from the navigation menus vary by responsibility. For
example, the Purchasing User navigation menu does not include all the forms that are
available to the Purchasing Superuser navigation menu.
When you install Oracle Applications, a standard Applications user called SYSADMIN
is created for you. Several default responsibilities are also created. Since the SYSADMIN
sign-on is automatically assigned to the System Administrator responsibility, you can
use SYSADMIN to create new user signons and assign them to responsibilities. You can
also create any custom responsibilities you need.
Oracle Workow (OWF)

Oracle Workflow provides an infrastructure for the enterprise-wide communication of
data related to defined business events, providing the capabilities needed to:
• Manage enterprise business processes that may span trading partners
• Support standard and personalized business rules
• Streamline and automate transaction flows
• Manage exceptions without manual intervention
Oracle Workflow lets you model and maintain your business processes using a
graphical workflow builder. You can model and automate sophisticated business
processes, defining processes that can loop, branch into parallel flows and
rendezvous, decompose into sub-flows, branch on task results, time out, and more.
Acting as a system integration hub, Oracle Workflow can apply business rules to control
objects and route them between applications and systems. It extends the reach of
business process automation throughout an enterprise and beyond, to include any
email user, web user, or system, enabling people to receive, analyze, and respond to
notifications needing their attention. Users can respond to a notification via any standard
email system or standard Web browser.
Components
Oracle Workflow Builder provides a graphical drag and drop process designer. You can
create and evolve business processes to incorporate existing business practices between
your organization and customers or suppliers, without modifying existing business
processes and without changing applications code.
The Oracle Workflow Business Event System provides a workflow-enabled solution for
your enterprise application integration requirements. The Business Event System is an
application service delivered with Oracle Workflow that uses Oracle Advanced Queuing
technology to communicate business events between systems. The Business Event
System supports the following types of integration:
• Message-based point-to-point system integration
• System integration messaging hubs
• Distributed applications messaging

The Business Event System uses Oracle Advanced Queuing to propagate messages
between communication points on systems, called agents, using a specified
protocol. Events received from external systems are processed by an agent listener
that runs on that agent’s queue.
The Oracle Workflow Event Manager enables registration of significant business events for
selected applications, including functions that generate the XML event messages. Users
of those applications can register subscriptions on events that are significant to their
systems, to take actions such as triggering custom code.
Operation
When a business event occurs, the Workflow Event Manager executes any subscriptions
registered on the event. For local events, the subscribing code can be executed
synchronously, in the same database transaction as the code that raised the event, or
asynchronously, deferring costly subscription processing to a later time, and thus
allowing control to be returned more quickly to the calling application. Events can
also be received asynchronously from external systems. Before producing the XML
event message, the Event Manager minimizes processing by checking whether event
information is required by subscriptions on the event.
You can review and respond to your business process notifications from one central
window, known as the worklist, using a standard Web browser. This offers the flexibility
to prioritize tasks and to define sort criteria, giving you the flexibility to organize your
work the way you wish. For example, you can group notifications by type or subject, to
avoid having to jump from one context to another. Alternatively, you can focus on time
critical tasks first, sorting by priority or due date. Oracle Workflow is fully integrated
with the Oracle E-Business Suite, providing the ability to drill down to any Oracle
E-Business Suite or associated URL to view or complete a transaction.
Additional Capabilities
The flexibility of the powerful Workflow Engine event activities enable you to model
business events within workflow processes. Event activities can be used to model
content-based routing, transformations, error handling, and so on. A workflow process
can be started or processed by an inbound message, and can send an outbound message
or raise an event to the Event Manager. XML function activities give you access to event
content data within workflow processes. Workflow processes based on business events
give the greatest flexibility when implementing an integration solution. However, the
Business Event System can also run independently of the Workflow Engine, to enable
point-to-point messaging to be utilized.
You can perform complex transformations between different formats required for your
business documents. Oracle Workflow allows you to apply a stylesheet to an XML event
message. In addition, when queues are defined within the Business Event System, you
specify the logic used to enqueue and dequeue messages. This logic, called a queue
handler, can include transformations.
Oracle Workflow also allows you to take advantage of XML support in the Oracle
database. Oracle9i and later releases deliver native support for XML via a new XML
data type, which makes the manipulation of XML data and documents in applications
seamless and straightforward. From Oracle9i, the database server offers the capability to
generate, massage, and transform XML data and documents inside the runtime engine
itself, giving excellent scalability and performance.

Oracle Alert (ALR)
Oracle Alert (ALR) allows you to email system notifications to users when an exception
or event has occurred. Some products are delivered with predefined alerts, which can
be used to notify users about specified database exceptions as they occur, and perform
routine tasks automatically according to a schedule you define.
For example, you can configure Oracle Alert to send an email to key database
administrators when a tablespace in the Oracle Applications database does not have
adequate free space.
Oracle XML Publisher (XDO)

Oracle XML Publisher is a Java-based product based on the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL). Specifically, XML Publisher utilizes the
XSL-FO standard to transform XML data into a formatting object (FO). A formatting object
contains both data and formatting information, and can be further transformed to an
output format such as Portable Document Format (PDF).
XML Publisher uses data definitions and templates to produce output reports in the desired
format. A data definition is a data source (or a combination of data sources) that either
is XML or can produce XML. Examples include output from concurrent programs and
Web services. A template is a report definition, which sets out how a report should
look. The template layout can be user-specified. Supported templates currently include
RTF, PDF Forms, and XSL.
Key features of XML Publisher include:
• Provides a template-based, easy-to-use publishing solution that enables end-users to
develop and maintain report formats to suit specific business needs.
• Allows users to employ familiar desktop tools such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft
Excel, and Microsoft Word to create and maintain reports in their preferred
format, and then use XML Publisher to convert these documents to the XSL-FO
format.
• Offers a variety of options for published documents, such as multiple output
formats, multiple languages, and multiple delivery options.
Core Components
The core components of XML Publisher are a Java-based set of publishing tools accessible
via Java APIs from Oracle Applications or from any Java-based application.
• FO Processor - The formatting object that results from the application of the XSL-FO
template to the XML data is used by the FO Processor to generate the required
output document. Currently the FO Processor only supports PDF as an output
format; other formats such as HTML and RTF will be supported in future releases
of XML Publisher.
• PDF Document Merger - The PDF Document Merger accepts XML data and a PDF
document as input, and uses a mapping between the XML and the fields in the
document to merge the data into the PDF document.
• PDF Form Processor - The PDF Form Processor is used to add attributes such as
watermarks to a merged document.
• RTF Template Parser - Report templates can be created in the Rich Text Format (RTF)
document format, and converted to an XSL-FO format that can be applied to XML
data.

Template Manager
The Template Manager enables you to upload and maintain your templates and data
sources. Key features include:
• Data Source Registration - Data sources that generate XML data can be registered
with XML Publisher. These can be concurrent programs such as Oracle Reports, or
BC4J objects that are able to generate XML data.
• Template Registration - Templates used to format report data must be registered
with XML Publisher. They can then be applied to the report data to create the final
published output. Supported template types include PDF, RTF, and XSL-FO.
• XML Publisher APIs - XML Publisher provides APIs to allow other Oracle
Applications products to communicate directly with the underlying processes.

2
Applications File System
Introduction
An Oracle Applications Release 11i system utilizes components from many Oracle
products. These product files are stored below a number of key top-level directories on
the database and application server machines.
Note: No Applications files are installed on desktop client
machines, although JAR files and their supporting utilities are
downloaded as required.
Depending on how you chose to install Applications, these product directories may
be located on a single machine (the simplest case) or on multiple machines (the most
common type of deployment). Operating system environment settings indicate the
location of the various files in the file systems of the database and application server
machines. This chapter discusses the association between these environment settings
and the corresponding files and directories.
Note: <dbname> is the name of your system determined through Rapid
Install at the time of installation. For example, PROD.
Figure 2-1 Applications Directory Structure
Applications File System 2-1

• The <dbname>DATA or DATA_TOP directory is located on the database server
machine, and contains the system tablespaces, redo log files, data tablespaces, index
tablespaces, and database files.
• The <dbname>DB directory is located on the database server machine, and contains
the ORACLE_HOME for the Oracle9i database.
• The <dbname>APPL or APPL_TOP directory contains the product directories and
files for Oracle Applications.
• The <dbname>ORA directory contains the ORACLE_HOMEs for the Applications
technology stack components.
• The <dbname>COMN or COMN_TOP (or COMMON_TOP) directory contains
directories and files used across products.
Oracle Applications Environment

Oracle Applications makes extensive use of environment settings to locate executable
programs and other files essential to Applications operation. These environment settings
are defined when you install Oracle Applications. Many of the settings are defined
by information you provide when running Rapid Install, while others have the same
values in all installations.
The environment settings and their associated values are stored in environment files,
which have a .env suffix (.cmd on Windows). Environment files and settings are discussed
in more detail later in this chapter.
The DATA Directory

The <dbname>DATA file system contains the data (.dbf) files of the Oracle database. Rapid
Install installs the system, data, and index files in directories below several mount points
on the database server. You can specify the directory names of the mount points on
the database server during installation.
DB and ORA Directories

Oracle Applications supports employing an Applications database of one version, while
linking Applications programs using the tools from a second or third version of the
database. This multiple ORACLE_HOMEs configuration allows new features of the
database to be supported, while maintaining compatibility with earlier releases.
Release 11i utilizes three ORACLE_HOMEs:
• The 9.2.0 ORACLE_HOME (Applications database home) is located in the
<dbname>DB directory. It contains the files needed for running and maintaining the
Oracle Applications database.
• The 8.0.6 directory contains the ORACLE_HOME for the Developer 6i products
(Forms, Reports, and Graphics). The product libraries in the 8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME
are used to relink Oracle Applications executables.
• The iAS directory, also under the <dbname>ORA, contains the ORACLE_HOME
for Oracle9i Application Server.
Oracle E-Business Suite is always certified with database server patchsets (minor
maintenance releases). For example, an E-Business Suite release that is certified with the
Oracle9i Release 2 database will also be certified with database patchset 9.2.0.5.

The COMN Directory
The <dbname>COMN or COMMON_TOP directory contains files used by many different
Oracle Applications products, and which may also be used with third-party products.
Figure 2-2 COMMON_TOP Directory Structure
The admin directory

The admin directory, under the COMMON_TOP directory, is the default location for
the concurrent manager log and output directories. When the concurrent managers
run Oracle Applications reports, they write the log files and temporary files to the log
subdirectory of the admin directory, and the output files to the out subdirectory of the
admin directory.
Figure 2-3 COMMON_TOP admin Directory Structure
You can change the location the concurrent managers write these files to, so that, for
example, the log and output files are written to directories in each <PROD>_TOP
directory. This may be more desirable in terms of disk space management, or the need
to avoid a possible performance bottleneck on a system that has a high concurrent
processing throughput.

Note: For further details, see Overview of Concurrent Processing, Oracle
Applications System Administrator’s Guide.
The install subdirectory of the admin directory contains scripts and log files used by
Rapid Install. The scripts subdirectory of admin contains scripts used to start and stop
services such as listeners and concurrent managers.
The html directory
The OA_HTML environment setting points to the html directory. The Oracle
Applications HTML-based sign-on screen and Oracle HTML-based Applications
HTML files are installed here. The html directory also contains other files used by the
HTML-based products, such as JavaServer Page (JSP) files, Java scripts, XML files, and
style sheets. Rapid Install and the AD utilities copy the HTML-based product files from
each <PROD>_TOP directory to subdirectories in the html directory.
The java directory
The JAVA_TOP environment setting points to the java directory. Rapid Install installs all
Oracle Applications JAR files in the Oracle namespace of this JAVA_TOP directory. The
java directory also holds third-party Java files used by Oracle Applications, as well as
other zip files.
The portal directory
The portal directory contains the Rapid Install Portal files. The Rapid Install Portal is
a web page that provides access to post-install tasks that may be necessary for your
installation, plus server administration scripts, installation documentation, and online
help. Using a browser, you can view the Rapid Install Portal after you run Rapid Install.
The temp directory
The temp directory is used for caching by some products such as Oracle Reports.
The util directory
The util directory contains the third-party utilities licensed to ship with Oracle
Applications. These include, for example, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Java
Development Kit (JDK), and the Zip utility.
The scripts directory
The scripts directory contains application tier control scripts such as adstrtal.sh and
adstpall.sh, which are located in the <CONTEXT_NAME> subdirectory.
The APPL Directory

Oracle Applications files are stored in the <dbname>APPL directory, which is known as
the APPL_TOP directory.

Figure 2-4 APPL_TOP Directory Structure
The APPL_TOP directory contains:

• The core technology files and directories.
• The product files and directories (for all products).
• The main applications environment file, called <CONTEXT_NAME>.env on
UNIX, and <CONTEXT_NAME>.cmdon Windows.
• The consolidated environment file, called APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env on
UNIX, and APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd on Windows.
Note: CONTEXT_NAME is the Applications context, described further in
Chapter 5. Its default value is <SID>_<hostname>.
Rapid Install creates a directory tree for every Oracle Applications product in this
APPL_TOP directory, whether licensed or not.
Warning: All Oracle Applications products are installed in the database
and the file system, regardless of registration. Do not attempt to
manually remove files for unregistered products.
Rapid Install installs a new Applications top directory when you upgrade. Rapid Install
does not delete any existing product files from earlier releases, but unloads new product
files into a new <dbname>APPL directory tree.
Each Applications top directory is associated with a single Oracle Applications database
on the Oracle database server. If you install both a Vision Demo system and a test
system, you must use Rapid Install to lay down two file systems, one for each system.
Product Directories
Each product has its own subdirectory under APPL_TOP. The subdirectories are named
in accordance with the product’s standard abbreviation, such as gl for Oracle General
Ledger. Within each product directory is a subdirectory that is named using the base

Oracle Applications release number, such as 11.5.0. This directory contains the various
subdirectories for the product files.
<PROD>_TOP Directory
The <APPL_TOP>/<prod>/<version> path is known as the product top directory
(<PROD>_TOP), and its value is stored in the <PROD>_TOP environment variable.
For example, if APPL_TOP=/d01/oracle/prodapps, then the value contained in the
AD_TOP environment variable is /d01/oracle/prodapps/ad/11.5.0, and the AD_TOP
environment variable points to the <APPL_TOP>/ad/11.5.0 directory.
For the same APPL_TOP, the value of AU_TOP is /d01/oracle/prodapps/au/11.5.0, and
the AU_TOP environment variable points to the <APPL_TOP>/au/11.5.0 directory. The
same principle applies to all directories, apart for the admin directory.
Product Files
Each <PROD>_TOP directory, such as <APPL_TOP>/gl/11.5.0, contains subdirectories for
product files. Product files include forms files, reports files, and files used to upgrade the
database. To display data entry forms for Oracle General Ledger, for example, Oracle
Applications accesses files in the forms subdirectory under the 11.5.0 directory.
Figure 2-5 APPL_TOP Directory Structure
Within each <PROD>_TOP directory, the product’s files are grouped into subdirectories
according to file type and function. The next figure expands the inset to show the full
directory structure for gl.

Figure 2-6 Detail of gl Directory Structure
The following table summarizes the product subdirectories and the types of files each one
may contain. Note that not all products contain all the subdirectories listed in this table.
Table 2-1 Applications Directory and File Types

Subdirectory Name Description
admin The <PROD>_TOP/admin directory contains

product-specific files used by AutoUpgrade to
upgrade each product. This is in distinction
to the <APPL_TOP>/admin directory, which
contains upgrade-related files for all products.
driver Contains driver files (.drv files). AutoUpgrade

processes in several phases, and each phase is
controlled by a driver file.
import Contains DataMerge files used to upgrade seed

data.
odf Contains object description files (.odf files) used

to create tables and other database objects.
sql Contains SQL*Plus scripts used to upgrade

data, and .pkh, .pkb, and .pls scripts to create
PL/SQL stored procedures.
bin Contains concurrent programs, other C

language programs and shell scripts for each
product.
forms Contains Oracle Forms generated runtime

(.fmx) files (Oracle Forms form files).
help Contains the online help source files. Within

this directory are subdirectories for each
language installed.
html Contains HTML, JavaScript, and Java

Server Page files, primarily for Self Service
Applications products.

include Contains C language header (.h) files that my

be linked with files in the lib directory. Not all
products require this directory.
java Contains JAR files (Java Archive files) and Java

dependency files. Copies of JAR files are also
located in JAVA_TOP.
lib Contains files used to relink concurrent

programs with the Oracle server libraries.
These files include:
• object files (.o on UNIX, .OBJ on
Windows), with compiled code specific to
one of the product’s programs.
• library files (.a on UNIX, various including
.DLL on Windows), with compiled code
common to the product’s programs.
• make files (.mk) that specify how to create

executables from object files and library
files.
log and out Contains output files for concurrent programs:

• .mgr (master log file for concurrent
manager)
• .req (log file for a concurrent process)

Note that log and out subdirectories under a
product directory are not used if you choose to
set up a common directory for log and output
files (FND_TOP is the only exception to this).
media Contains .gif files used in the display of text and

graphics on the desktop client.
mesg Concurrent programs also print messages in

the log and output files. This directory contains
the .msb files (binary message files used at
runtime), and language-specific message files
(such as a US.msb file for American English
and a D.msb file for German). The files contain
the forms messages that are displayed at the
bottom of the screen or in popup windows.
patch Updates to the data or data model utilize this

directory to store the patch files.
plsql Location where .pll files (PL/SQL library files

for Oracle Reports) are unloaded. Later in
the installation, they are moved to the plsql
subdirectory in the AU_TOP directory.
reports Contains Oracle Reports platform-specific rdf

binary report files for each product. Reports for
each language are stored in subdirectories of
the reports directory.

resource Contains .pll files (PL/SQL library files for

Oracle Forms), which, like the plsql directory
files, are later copied to AU_TOP.
sql Contains .sql files (SQL*Plus scripts) for

concurrent processing.
Language Files
When you install Oracle Applications in a language other than American English, each
product tree includes directories that use the NLS language code. These directories hold
translated data, forms, message, and reports files. For example, the language directory
named D designates German. The data loader files in the D subdirectory of admin
contain the German translation of the product seed data. The D subdirectory of reports
holds Oracle Reports files translated into German.
The US subdirectory in the forms directory holds Oracle Forms forms in American
English. The D directory in the forms directory holds the same forms translated into
German. The mesg directory holds message files in both American English and German.
Note: For further details, see the Oracle Globalization Support Guide.
Core Technology Directories

The admin, ad, au, and fnd directories are the core technology directories.
The admin directory
This directory contains files and scripts used by the AD utilities during the upgrade and
maintenance processes. These include:
• The adovars.env environment file, which defines certain file and directory locations.
• Text files read by AutoUpgrade.
• Scripts run during the upgrade.
• A preupg directory containing product-specific pre-upgrade scripts.
• <SID>/log and <SID>/out directories for upgrade, log, and output files respectively.
• A <SID>/restart directory where AD programs create restart files.
• The Applications context file, <CONTEXT_NAME>.xml.
The ad (Applications DBA) directory
This directory contains installation and maintenance utilities, including:
• AD Administration (adadmin)
• AutoUpgrade (adaimgr)
• AutoPatch (adpatch)
• AutoConfig (adconfig.sh)
The au (Applications Utilities) directory
This directory contains product files that are consolidated in a single location for optimal
processing. These files include:

• PL/SQL libraries used by Oracle Reports, in the plsql subdirectory.
• PL/SQL libraries used by Oracle Forms, in the resource subdirectory.
• Oracle Forms source files, in the forms subdirectory.
• A copy of all Java files used by JInitiator when regenerating the desktop client JAR
files, in the java subdirectory.
• Certain reports needed by products such as Discoverer, in the reports subdirectory.
The fnd (Application Object Library) directory
This directory contains the scripts and programs that are used as the foundation for all
Applications products to build data dictionaries, forms and C object libraries.
Distributing the APPL_TOP Across Disks

The Oracle Applications file system on the application tier requires a significant amount
of disk space. If desired, you can distribute the APPL_TOP files across multiple disks, by
choosing multiple mount points when running Rapid Install. You can also install the
OA_HTML, JAVA_TOP, and COMMON_TOP on mount points outside the APPL_TOP
location.
For example, you could install Oracle General Ledger (GL) product files in one
APPL_TOP, with Oracle Purchasing (PO) and Oracle Payables (AP) files stored in a
second APPL_TOP directory on a different file system. The system knows the location
of each product top because Rapid Install defines the full path to the directory in the
<PROD>_TOP parameter in the <CONTEXT_NAME>.env file.
Note: When distributing the files across disks, the four core technology
directories (admin, ad, au, and fnd) must always be on the same
disk, and must all share the same APPL_TOP.
Environment Settings
Rapid Install creates several environment files that set up the Oracle database, the Oracle
technology stack, the Oracle HTTP server, and the Oracle Applications environments.
The location of these environment files is shown in the following table:

Table 2-2 Locations of Applications Environment Files
Filename Location Environment
<CONTEXT_NAME>.env or 9.2.0 ORACLE_HOME Oracle Server

Enterprise Edition
<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd
<CONTEXT_NAME>.env or iAS ORACLE_HOME HTTP Server

<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd
<CONTEXT_NAME>.env or 8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME Oracle technology

stack
<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd
<CONTEXT_NAME>.env or APPL_TOP Applications

<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd
APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env or APPL_TOP Consolidated setup

file
APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.cmd
On UNIX, Oracle Applications includes a consolidated environment file called

APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env, which sets up both the Oracle Applications and Oracle
technology stack environments. When you install Oracle Applications, Rapid Install
creates this script in the APPL_TOP directory. Many of the parameters are specified
during the install process.
On Windows, the equivalent consolidated environment file is called
%APPL_TOP%\envshell.cmd. Running it creates a command window with the required
environment settings for Oracle Applications. All subsequent operations on the
APPL_TOP (for example, running adadmin or adpatch) must be carried out from this
window.
The following table lists the key environment settings in APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env.
Table 2-3 Key Environment Settings

Parameter Description
APPLFENV The name of this environment file, <CONTEXT_

NAME>.env. If you rename the environment
file, change this parameter.
PLATFORM The execution platform. The value should

match the value in the APPL_TOP/admin/
adpltfrm.txt.
APPL_TOP The top-level directory for this Oracle

Applications installation.
FNDNAM The name of the ORACLE schema to which

the System Administration responsibility
connects. The default is APPS.
GWYUID The public ORACLE username and password

that grants access to the Oracle Applications
initial sign-on form. The default is APPLSYS
PUB/PUB.

FND_TOP The path to the Application Object Library

directory.
AU_TOP The path to the Applications Utilities directory.
<PROD>_TOP The path to a product’s top directory. There is

one entry for each Oracle Applications product.
PATH Sets the directory search path, primarily

FND_TOP and AD_TOP.
APPLDCP Specifies whether distributed concurrent

processing is being used. Distributed
concurrent processing distributes processing
load across multiple concurrent processing
nodes.
APPCPNAM Indicates whether the format of the concurrent

manager log and output files follow 8.3 file
name conventions (maximum of 8 characters
to the left of the dot and 3 to the right, for
example, alogfile.log). If this parameter is set
to "REQID", the concurrent manager uses file
names that meet 8.3 naming requirements.
APPLCSF Identifies the top-level directory for concurrent

manager log and output files if they are
consolidated into a single directory across
all products. For example, if the path is
<COMN_TOP>/admin, all log and output files
are placed in a subdirectory under this defined
directory.
APPLLOG The subdirectory for concurrent manager log

files. The default is log.
APPLOUT The subdirectory for concurrent manager

output files. The default is out.
APPLTMP Identifies the directory for Oracle Applications

temporary files. The default is /tmp on UNIX
and C:\temp on Windows.
APPLPTMP Identifies the directory for temporary PL/SQL

output files. The possible directory options
must be listed in the init.ora parameter
utl_file_dir.
NLS_LANG The language, territory, and character set

installed in the database. The default for a fresh
install is "AMERICAN_AMERICA.US7ASCII".
NLS_DATE_FORMAT The National Language Support date format.

The default is "DD-MON-RR", e.g. 18-MAY-04.
NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS The National Language Support numeric

separators. The default is ".,".

FORMS60_MAPPING Specifies the Oracle Applications forms

Web server host name and the port
on which it is running. For example:
http://server1.surby.com:8000/OA_TEMP
REPORTS60_TMP The directory for temporary files used by Oracle

Reports.
GRAPHICS60_PATH Specifies the path to the Oracle Graphics files.
Most temporary files are written to the location specified by the APPLTMP environment
setting, which is set by Rapid Install. If you so specify, Oracle Reports temporary files can
be directed to a different location, determined by the REPORTS60_TMP environment
setting.
Applications also produces temporary PL/SQL output files used in concurrent
processing. These files are written to a location on the database server node specified
by the APPLPTMP environment setting. The APPLPTMP directory must be the same
directory as specified by the utl_file_dir parameter in your database initialization file.
Rapid Install sets both APPLPTMP and the utl_file_dir parameter to the same default
directory.
Some Oracle Applications utilities use your operating system’s default temporary
directory even if you define the environment settings listed in the previous
paragraph. You should therefore ensure there is adequate free disk space in
this directory, as well as in those denoted by APPLTMP, REPORTS60_TMP, and
APPLPTMP. On a multi-node system, the directory defined by APPLPTMP does not
need to exist on the application tier servers.
Note: The temporary files placed in the utl_file_dir directory can be
secured against unauthorized access by ensuring that this directory has
read and write access for the Oracle database account only.
Other Environment Files

Several other key environment files are used in an Oracle Applications system.
The adovars.env file
The adovars.env file, located in $APPL_TOP/admin, specifies the location of various files
such as Java files, HTML files, and JRE (Java Runtime Environment) files. It is called
from the main applications environment file, <CONTEXT_NAME>.env. The adovars.env
file includes comments on the purpose and recommended setting of each variable. In a
Release 11.5.10 environment, adovars.env is maintained by AutoConfig and should not
be edited manually, except in specific cases where customizations have to be used.
The adovars.env file includes the following parameters:

Table 2-4 Parameters Specied in the adovars.env File
JAVA_TOP Indicates the top-level directory to which all

Java files are copied.
OA_JRE_TOP Indicates the location where JRE is installed.
OAH_TOP Defines the location to which HTML files are

copied.
OAD_TOP Defines the locations to which context-sensitive

documentation files are copied.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH Used on many UNIX platforms to list the

directories scanned for dynamic library files
needed at runtime.
CLASSPATH Lists the directories and zip files scanned for

Java class files needed at runtime.
The adconfig.txt file

AD utility programs perform a variety of database and file management tasks. These
utilities need to know certain configuration information to run successfully. This
configuration information is specified when Oracle Applications is installed, and
subsequently stored in the adconfig.txt file in the <APPL_TOP>/admin directory. Once it
has been created, this file is used by other Oracle Applications utilities.
Note: adconfig.txt is created with the APPL_TOP file system, and it
shows the tiers that have been configured on a particular node. It is
distinct from the config.txt file created by Rapid Install.
The fndenv.env file

This file sets additional environment variables used by the Application Object
Library. For example, it sets APPLBIN as the name of the subdirectory where product
executable programs and shell scripts are stored (bin). This file should not be modified;
the default values are applicable for all customers. The file is located in the FND_TOP
directory.
The devenv.env file
This file sets variables that let you link third-party software and your own
custom-developed applications with Oracle Applications. This script is located in
FND_TOP, and is automatically called by fndenv.env. This allows you to compile and
link custom Oracle Forms and Reports user exits and concurrent programs with Oracle
Applications.

3
Applications Database Organization
Introduction
This chapter describes the Oracle Applications data model. It includes a discussion
of the basic Applications data model and the corresponding Oracle database server
requirements.
A given Oracle database can store the objects associated with a single installation of the
Oracle E-Business Suite. Generally, product data objects are stored in the associated
product schemas, whereas product code objects are all stored in the APPS schema.
Oracle User IDs

Each Oracle E-Business Suite product has a default Oracle user ID, with the product
abbreviation as both the schema name and password. For example, the default Oracle
user ID/password for Oracle General Ledger is GL/GL.
Important: As a security precaution, you should change the passwords
immediately after installation. Oracle recommends that you do not
change the default user IDs.
A product’s schema determines the ownership of the product’s data objects, such as
sequences, tables, and indexes. If two products are installed under the same schema, that
schema owns the data objects for both products.
Since a product’s data objects are created in their own schema (such as the GL schema)
but the user accesses all data objects through the APPS schema, appropriate grants and
synonyms are required between the APPS schema and the base product schemas.
APPS Schema
The APPS schema has access to the complete Oracle E-Business Suite data model. It
is analogous to the SYSTEM schema, which has access to the entire database. Oracle
Applications responsibilities connect to an APPS schema, and the environment variable
FNDNAM is set to the name of the APPS schema.
APPS and Base Product Schemas

All data objects for a product are owned by a schema for that product, known as a
base product schema. One schema, called APPS, owns all the code objects for the Oracle
E-Business Suite, and has access to all data objects. There is one APPS schema for every
product installation group.
Applications Database Organization 3-1

The following code objects are installed in the APPS schema:
• Packages
• Procedures
• Functions
• Triggers
• Views
• Materialized views
The following objects are installed in the base product schemas:
• Tables
• Sequences
• Indexes
• Constraints
In addition, there are grants from the tables and sequences to the APPS schema, as well
as synonyms from the APPS schema to those objects.
Figure 3-1 APPS Schema and Base Product Schemas
APPS Schema Benets

The APPS schema improves the reliability of and reduces the time needed for
installation, upgrade, and patching by eliminating the need for cross-product grants
and synonyms. Utilizing a single schema that has access to all objects eliminates
cross-product dependencies, and creates a hub-and-spokes access model rather than a
spider’s web.

Custom Schema Access
In some circumstances, you may wish to create a schema that has limited or read-only
access to Oracle Applications data.
Warning: Since the APPS schema has all privileges to all Oracle
Applications objects, you should never give users direct access to this
schema.
You will need to grant access on objects to the user schema from the base product schema.
Note: You may need to re-grant access if the underlying object is
dropped and recreated.
Data Access
Some views access packages or functions, where the value returned by the package or
function may depend on the environment having been set up properly. The environment
is initialized automatically when accessing Oracle Applications through the Sign-On
screen, or when using concurrent processing with Oracle Reports or SQL scripts.
If you connect directly to a schema, the rows returned by the view may therefore
be different from those returned if you are running in an Oracle Applications
environment. For example, a view may references profile options. Consequently, when
accessed from SQL*Plus, the site value of the profile option will be used, rather than the
setting for a particular Applications user.
Space Management
This section discusses how the Oracle database is set up to meet the space management
needs of Oracle Applications. It provides information on tablespaces, firstly outlining
the basic tablespaces required, then discussing the traditional tablespace structure used
to support Applications products, and finally describing the new tablespace model
introduced as standard with Oracle Applications Release 11.5.10 (but also optionally
available for use with earlier releases).
Note: Oracle Applications Release 11i requires an Oracle database block
size of 8K. No other block size may be used.
Introduction to Tablespaces
The Oracle9i database server always requires the following tablespaces to be available:
• System Tablespace - This tablespace holds data dictionary tables owned by the SYS
account, and is created when the database is installed.
• Undo Tablespace - This tablespace holds undo (rollback) information that is used to
track database changes until they are either committed or undone (rolled back).
• Temporary Tablespace - Temporary tablespaces are used to sort data while it is
being processed. It is possible to use a single temporary tablespace, typically called
TEMP, for all Oracle Applications products. Alternatively, separate temporary
tablespaces can, if desired, be created for individual products. Since users access
Applications objects through the APPS schema, the temporary tablespace for that
schema (initially the same as that for the Oracle Application Object Library) is used
by all products.

The traditional Oracle Applications tablespace model employed separate tablespaces
for a product’s tables and indexes. The resulting tablespaces were named by appending
’D’ for data or ’X’ for an index to the product’s short name or Oracle schema name. For
example, APD was the tablespace for Oracle Payables data, and APX was the tablespaces
for Oracle Payables indexes.
Note: For further information about tablespaces, see the Oracle9i
Database Administrator’s Guide.
Employing separate table and index tablespaces for each product made it easier
maintain products, and helped to improve database performance. However, with an
increasing number of products, this model could easily require several hundred product
tablespaces, plus a system tablespace, undo (rollback) tablespace, and temporary
tablespace.
In addition, the traditional tablespace model used a database sizing factor to set the
extent sizes for an Oracle Applications product’s tables and indexes. The value of this
factor was a percentage of the typical estimated growth rate for Applications database
objects. The sizing factor affected only the size of subsequent extents, as determined by
the NEXT database object creation parameter. Most objects were defined with small
first extents and larger additional extents.
During installation, Rapid Install provides the option of distributing tablespaces
across different disks, to reduce disk head contention and improve overall system
performance. In addition to this, many production systems utilize sophisticated disk
and volume management technologies at operating system level to further enhance
performance.
Note: For further details, see Upgrading Oracle Applications.
Oracle Applications Tablespace Model

Oracle Applications Release 11.5.10 introduces a new infrastructure for tablespace
management, the Oracle Applications Tablespace Model (OATM). The Oracle Applications
Tablespace Model is similar to the traditional model in retaining the system, undo, and
temporary tablespaces. The key difference is that Applications products in an OATM
environment share a much smaller number of tablespaces, rather than having their
own dedicated tablespaces.
Note: The information in this section also applies to earlier releases
of Applications that have been migrated to the Oracle Applications
Tablespace Model. See OracleMetaLink Note 248857.1 for details.
Applications schema objects are allocated to the shared tablespaces based on two main
factors: the type of data they contain, and I/O characteristics such as size, life span, access
methods, and locking granularity. For example, tables that contain seed data are allocated
to a different tablespace from the tables that contain transactional data. In addition, while
most indexes are held in the same tablespace as the base table, indexes on transaction
tables are held in a single tablespace dedicated to such indexes.
The Oracle Applications Tablespace Model provides a variety of benefits, summarized in
the list below and discussed in more detail later:
• Simplifies maintenance and recovery by using far fewer tablespaces than the older
model.

• Makes best use of the restricted number of raw devices available in Real Application
Cluster (RAC) and other environments, where every tablespace requires its own
raw device.
• Utilizes locally managed tablespaces, enabling more precise control over unused
space and hence reducing fragmentation.
• Takes advantage of automatic segment space management, eliminating the need
for manual space management tasks.
• Increases block-packing compared to the older model, reducing the overall number
of buffer gets and improving runtime performance.
• Maximizes usefulness of wide disk stripe configurations.
The Oracle Applications Tablespace Model uses locally managed tablespaces, which enables
extent sizes either to be determined automatically (autoallocate), or for all extents to
be made the same, user-specified size (uniform). This choice of extent management
types means that locally managed tablespaces offer greater flexibility than the
dictionary-managed tablespaces used in the traditional tablespace model. However, when
using uniform extents with locally managed tablespaces, the extent size must be
chosen with care: too small a size can have an adverse effect on space management
and performance.
A further benefit of locally managed tablespaces, and hence use of OATM, is the
introduction of automatic segment space management, a simpler and more efficient way
of managing space within a segment. It can require more space, but eliminates the
need for traditional manual segment space management tasks such as specifying and
tuning schema object storage parameters such as PCTUSED. This and related storage
parameters are only used to determine space allocation for objects in dictionary-managed
tablespaces, and have no meaning in the context of locally managed tablespaces.
Automatic segment space management is self-tuning, so can take into account an
increase in the number of users. A further benefit in Real Application Cluster (RAC)
environments is dynamic affinity of space to instances, which avoids the hard partitioning
of space inherent with the traditional use of free list groups.

Table 3-1 OATM Tablespace Types and Contents
Tablespace Type Tablespace Contents
Transaction Tables Tables that contain transactional data.
Transaction Indexes Indexes on transaction tables.
Reference Reference and setup data and indexes.
Interface Interface and temporary data and indexes.
Summary Summary management objects, such as

materialized views, and other objects that
record summary information.
Nologging Materialized views that are not used for

summary management and temporary objects.
Advanced Queueing Advanced Queuing (AQ) tables and indexes.
Media Multimedia objects, such as text, video, sound,

graphics, and spatial data.
Archive Tables that contain archived purge-related data.
Undo Automatic Undo Management (AUM)

tablespace. Undo segments are equivalent to
rollback segments when AUM is enabled. See
note below.
Temp Temporary tablespace for global temporary

table, sorts, and hash joins.
System System tablespace used by the Oracle database.
In Oracle database server releases prior to Oracle9i, undo space management was
performed using rollback segments. For clarity, this method is now referred to as manual
undo management. Its successor, automatic undo management is based on the use of a small
number of undo tablespaces, in contrast to the larger number of variously-sized rollback
segments typically used in manual undo management.
Oracle Applications Tablespace Migration Utility

Conversion of pre-11.5.10 Applications releases to the Oracle Applications Tablespace
Model is performed as a standalone operation. The OATM Migration Utility migrates
objects from the existing dictionary-managed tablespaces to locally managed tablespaces
that (as mentioned earlier) use automatic segment space management to optimize space
utilization. During the process of migrating data and index segments from the old
tablespaces to OATM, the Migration Utility reclaims any unused space. This is especially
valuable where fragmentation has occurred, for example in the case of indexes where
columns are frequently inserted, updated, or deleted.
The Migration Utility is an interactive, menu-based Perl program that allows for
migration of either all schemas at once, or for one or more selected schemas at a
time, depending on acceptable downtime and available disk space for doing the
conversion.
Note: It is more efficient to perform a single comprehensive migration of
all schemas, rather than a phased schema-by-schema migration.

The OATM Migration Utility’s actions fall into the following functional areas:
• Produces reports in advance of the actual migration to help estimate database sizing
requirements
• Carries out the migration to the new tablespace structure
• Writes log files used to verify success of the migration
To minimize production downtime, one or more test runs should be carried out to
determine the amount of downtime likely to be required.
The Tablespace Migration Utility main menu shows the six required sequential steps
used to migrate a database’s objects to OATM. These steps can be divided into three
phases.
1. Preparatory steps for migrating the database objects to OATM
1. Generate Migration Sizing Reports
2. Create New Tablespaces
3. Generate Migration Commands
2. Migration of the database objects to OATM
1. Execute Migration Commands
2. Run Migration Status Reports
3. Post-migration steps
1. Run Post Migration Steps
Step 2.1 must be executed without any users logged on to Oracle Applications. Steps 2.2
and 3.1 must be completed before making Oracle Applications available to users again.
The Migration Utility has a final menu item, Run Customization Steps, which
can optionally be used to customize tablespaces, tablespace types, and object
classifications. Custom database objects (such as tables, indexes, materialized views, and
materialized view logs) that have been created in standard Oracle Applications schemas
(such as GL) will be moved either to their default tablespace, or to the tablespace type
determined by the rules for the particular object type.
Custom database objects created in custom schemas registered with Oracle Applications
are not affected: if they reside in standard Oracle Applications tablespaces, they will be
ignored during the migration, and no errors will be reported. Possible examples include
database objects in other Oracle product schemas (such as Oracle Portal or Oracle
Discoverer), or in third-party or custom schemas.
Note: Any customization steps should be run before the other migration
steps are started.
The Oracle Tablespace Migration Utility supports the following customization tasks:
• Registering custom tablespace types, for cases where the required type is not
supplied by default with the Oracle Applications Tablespace Model.
• Changing the names of any default OATM tablespaces or registered custom
tablespaces.
• Registering custom objects with their corresponding tablespace classifications
(relevant only for objects that require explicit classification, such as tables).

• Changing any existing object-tablespace classifications.
Warning: An object can only be moved back to the old tablespace model
by restoring from a database backup, or using a suitable SQL statement
(or the equivalent function in Oracle Enterprise Manager).
The Migration Utility is primarily designed to enable the use of OATM with database
objects such as tables, indexes, and materialized views stored in standard Oracle
Applications product schemas. The Migration Utility does not handle custom or third
party application schemas by default: however, they can be handled by it if they are
registered with Oracle Applications, with suitable access privileges.
Note: See OracleMetaLink Note 269291.1 for further details of OATM
and the Migration Utility.

4
Database Features and Release 11i
Introduction
Many features in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i are built on the advanced
capabilities of the underlying Oracle database technology. Release 11i utilizes various
Oracle database features to optimize performance, scalability, and business intelligence
capacity.
Performance Features
Database performance features include optimization, resource usage, space
management, and access rights.
Cost-Based Optimization
The Oracle optimizer evaluates many factors to calculate the most efficient way to
execute a SQL statement. It is capable of using either a rule-based or cost-based approach
for execution of the statement. Rule-based optimization was used in earlier Applications
releases, but since the SQL used in Release 11i has been extensively tuned for cost-based
optimization, Release 11i requires the optimizer to use cost-based optimization (CBO).
Using CBO, the optimizer considers the available access paths, factoring in statistical
information for the tables and indexes that the SQL statement will access. CBO also
considers hints, which are optimization suggestions placed in a comment of the SQL
statement.
First, the optimizer creates a set of potential execution plans for the SQL statement, based
on its available access paths and hints. The optimizer then estimates the cost of each
execution plan, based on data dictionary statistics for the data distribution and storage
characteristics of the tables, indexes, and partitions. The optimizer compares the costs of
the execution plans and chooses the one with the smallest cost, i.e. optimum execution
characteristics.
For some operations, such as batch processing, Release 11i uses CBO to achieve the
most efficient means of processing all rows that are accessed by the statement. For other
operations, such as accessing forms or communication with the desktop client, Release
11i uses CBO to achieve the best response time for processing the first rows that are
accessed by the statement.
Several other Oracle database performance enhancements used in Release 11i, such as
partitioned tables, also require use of the cost-based optimizer.
Note: For further details, see: The Optimizer Overview, Oracle9i
Concepts; Introduction to the Optimizer, Oracle9i Database Performance
Database Features and Release 11i 4-1

Tuning Guide and Reference; Cost-based Optimization, Oracle Applications
System Administrator’s Guide
Database Resource Manager

The gives the system administrator extensive control over processing resources on
the database node. The administrator can distribute server CPU based on business
rules, ensuring that the highest priority activities always have sufficient CPU
resources. The administrator could, for example, guarantee Order Entry users 40%
of CPU resources during business hours, regardless of the load or number of users
in other groups on the system.
System administrators can also use the Database Resource Manager to limit the impact
of any inefficient ad hoc queries. For example, a limit of 5% of CPU resources could be
placed on ad hoc queries against the database.
Partitioned Tables
Partitioning helps support very large tables and indexes by dividing them into
smaller, more manageable pieces called partitions. Once the desired partitions have been
defined, SQL statements can access them instead of the original tables or indexes.
Note: Custom partitioning of standard Applications tables in Release
11i is fully supported.
Partitioning reduces access time, and partitions are especially useful in data warehouse
applications, which often store and analyze large amounts of historical data. For
example, operations that involve copying or deleting data are improved by use of
partitioned tables. Creating and deleting all rows of a partitioned table is a much
faster operation than selectively inserting rows into an existing table, then selectively
deleting rows from the table. Some operations that might have taken hours can now
be completed in seconds.
Most Applications tables do not have a natural partitioning key that would apply to all
installations, because of differences in data distribution and access paths in different
implementations. Tables should therefore be partitioned in a logical manner, to meet
your specific requirements. For example, period_name and set_of_books_id are likely
candidates for partitioning the GL_BALANCES table.
Important: Custom partitioning should be planned carefully. After it
has been implemented, you should test that the desired performance
benefits have been achieved; it is possible for performance to be
degraded if partitioning is not planned properly.
Invoker Rights
In earlier releases, if you used Multiple Reporting Currencies (MRC) or Multiple Sets
of Books Architecture (MSOBA), several copies of some Oracle Applications packages
needed to exist in the database. As well as taking more space, this required extra time
and effort to maintain.
Applications Release 11i uses the Invoker Rights functionality of the Oracle database
server to ensure that in most cases, packages need be installed in the APPS schema
only. PL/SQL routines use Invoker Rights to access packages in the APPS schema.

Note: There have been significant changes to the MRC architecture in
recent releases of Oracle Applications, and the MRC schema no longer
exists in Release 11.5.10. See Chapter 15 for more details.
Business Intelligence Features

To meet the increasing demand for up-to-date details of business activities, Oracle
Applications utilizes Oracle database features that help to optimize the types of query
typically required in such environments.
Materialized Views
Materialized views are schema objects that can be used to summarize, precompute,
replicate, and distribute data. They can markedly increase the speed of queries on very
large databases when used to precompute and store aggregated data such as sums and
averages. Materialized views can therefore improve performance of Oracle Applications
products, such as Daily Business Intelligence, that perform many queries on summary
data.
Cost-based optimization can use materialized views to improve query performance by
automatically recognizing when one can be used to satisfy a request. The optimizer
transparently rewrites the request to use the materialized view. Queries are then directed
to the materialized view, and not to the underlying detail tables or views.
In distributed environments, materialized views can be used to replicate data at remote
sites, providing local access to data that would otherwise have to be accessed from the
main site, with any network delays this might introduce.
Scalability
As well as providing more computing power, multi-node systems facilitate the addition
of machines to meet increases in demand. They also provide resilience in the event of
failures of individual components.
Real Application Clusters

Real Application Clusters (RAC) harness the processing power of multiple
interconnected computers. RAC software and a collection of computers (known as a
cluster) harness the processing power of each component to create a robust and powerful
computing environment. A large task divided into subtasks and distributed among
multiple nodes is completed more quickly and efficiently than if the entire task was
processed on one node. Cluster processing also facilitates deployment of additional
hardware resources for larger workloads and rapidly growing user populations.
In RAC environments, all active instances can concurrently execute transactions against
a shared database. RAC coordinates each instance’s access to the shared data, to provide
data consistency and data integrity. From a developer’s point of view, RAC enables
applications to be scaled to meet increasing data processing demands, without the need
to change the application code.
All E-Business Suite modules can be successfully deployed against a RAC-enabled
Oracle database. Using Parallel Concurrent Processing (see Chapter 1), concurrent
managers on separate application tier machines can be configured to direct requests to
different database servers in a RAC cluster.
Database Features and Release 11i 4-3

Note: The AutoConfig configuration management tool (described in
Chapter 5) supports RAC environments from Release 11.5.10 onwards.

5
AutoCong
Introduction
Configuring a new installation of Oracle Applications includes a number of stages:
• Collection of information required to create the desired configuration
• Storage of configuration information in the correct locations on the relevant machines
• Creation of technology stack configuration files with the appropriate details
• Creation of Applications configuration files with the appropriate details
• Starting of all required processes in the correct order
AutoConfig is a tool that simplifies and standardizes configuration management tasks
in an Oracle Applications environment. A fresh installation of Release 11.5.10 includes
AutoConfig as a standard (and required) configuration management tool. AutoConfig
can also be used with earlier releases of Oracle Applications.
The Applications Context

Where the System Identifier (SID) has traditionally been used to identify a file as belonging
to a particular Oracle Applications environment, an Applications context is used in an
AutoConfig-managed Applications environment such as 11.5.10. The default context
name, also referred to in this chapter as <CONTEXT_NAME>, is <SID>_<hostname>.
Using an Applications context has a number of advantages:
• Simplifies overall management of an Applications system
• Allows easier startup and shutdown of Applications services
• Permits services to be installed or deinstalled independently of others
• Integrates seamlessly with a shared APPL_TOP environment (see Chapter 9)
• Enables use of Oracle Applications Manager for configuration management (see
Chapter 7)
• Facilitates support for Real Application Clusters (see Chapter 4)
Before the Applications context and AutoConfig were introduced, configuration
management tasks could be time-consuming and prone to error, in some cases requiring
manual changes to be made to several configuration files. While individual configuration
files are still used in an AutoConfig-enabled environment, they play a secondary role to
an XML-based repository of Applications environment information, called the context file.
AutoCong 5-1
By centralizing the configuration information, AutoConfig simplifies procedures for
activities that range from upgrading a technology stack component to starting and
stopping Applications services. Another benefit is that the various files AutoConfig
employs can be updated via standard Applications patches.
There are separate context files for the application and database tiers of an Applications
system.
Applications Context File - The Applications context file,
APPL_TOP/admin/<CONTEXT_NAME>.xml, is a repository for environment-specific
details used by AutoConfig to configure the application tier. Information from this file is
used to generate Applications configuration files and update relevant database profiles.
Information stored includes:
• Name and location of the database
• Port numbers for Forms and Web servers
• Product-specific port numbers
• Information about application tier services controlled by AutoConfig
The values of the context variables that make up the context file are in part determined by
the choices you make when you run Rapid Install. For example, when you specify that
a particular application tier node is to be used as a concurrent processing and Reports
server, the relevant variable will be set to create the necessary service scripts.
Database Context File - The database context file,
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/<CONTEXT_NAME>.xml, performs an
equivalent role on the database tier. Information from this file is used to generate
configuration files used on the database tier when AutoConfig is next run.
AutoCong Scripts and Directories

A number of key configuration and control scripts are employed in an AutoConfig
environment. AutoConfig creates several directories for these scripts and their associated
files.
AutoCong Scripts
Key AutoConfig configuration scripts (command files on Windows) include:
• adautocfg.sh - Wrapper script that passes the name of the specific environment
context file to adconfig.sh.
• adconfig.sh - Invoked by adautocfg.sh, this script is a wrapper for adconfig.pl.
• adconfig.pl - Invoked by adconfig.sh, this Perl script calls the Java API to carry
out the actual configuration tasks. The relevant Java code is located in the
<JAVA_TOP> directory, either <COMMON_TOP>/java (on the application tier) or
RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/java (on the database tier).
In addition to these configuration scripts, several additional AutoConfig scripts are used
to help manage the Applications system. These are described later in this chapter, under
Management Tasks.
AutoCong Directories
Several directories are created by AutoConfig, as shown in the following table.

Table 5-1 AutoCong Directories
Directory Name Directory Contents
<COMMON_TOP>/admin/install/<CONTEXT_NAME> Install scripts
<COMMON_TOP>/admin/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME> Control scripts
<COMMON_TOP>/admin/log/<CONTEXT_NAME> Log files
AutoCong Operation
As AutoConfig is used for a wide range of system configuration activities, from
installation to maintenance, the following discussion of its operations is divided into
several sections.
Context Value Management

Context Value Management (CVM) is an AutoConfig component that is used to manage
the values of variables in the context file, and automate required updates to it. CVM
supports updates to both the application tier and database tier context files.
CVM actions include:
• Adding new variables to a context file.
• Updating values of variables in an existing context file.
• Applying new versions of context file templates.
• Executing scripts or configuration tools that must complete before the AutoConfig
engine starts, for example when generating the tnsnames.ora file.
CVM is activated when the Applications context file is updated, but before the
AutoConfig engine itself starts. This enables CVM to execute scripts or other tools to
manipulate any required file on the file system, and allow the appropriate settings to be
propagated as needed to both the file system and database. For example, it is possible to
update values in the context file which will then be propagated to the file system.
Note: AutoConfig does not undertake all aspects of configuration
management, such as operations at operating system level that may
have implications outside the context of Oracle E-Business Suite.
Like the core AutoConfig components, CVM utilizes configuration files on both the
application and database tiers, as shown in the following tables.
Table 5-2 Application Tier CVM Files

File Location Description
<APPL_TOP>/bin/adcvm.sh Main CVM script
<APPL_TOP>/admin/template/adcvmat.xml Stores CVM-related data

for the application tier
AutoCong 5-3
Table 5-3 Database Tier CVM Files
File Location Description
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/bin/adcvm.sh Main CVM script
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>appsutil/template/adcvmdb.xml Stores CVM-related data

for the database tier
AutoCong Files
As well as the context files and configuration scripts that have already been
described, AutoConfig uses several other types of file in its configuration management
activities. These may themselves be divided into different categories.
Template Files
AutoConfig template files are used as the starting point for creating site-specific
configuration files. AutoConfig evaluates the context variables in a template
file, determines the actual values required, and creates a configuration file with these
values substituted. This process, described in more detail later in this chapter, is called
instantiation. There is one template file for each configuration file. Template files are
located in the various <PROD>_TOP/admin/template directories on the application
tier, and in the <RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/template directory on the database
tier.
Template files used by AutoConfig can be divided into the following categories:
Templates for APPL_TOP Configuration Files - These are either files requiring
configuration-specific information in the APPL_TOP, or files used to load configuration
profiles into the Applications database.
Templates for Management Scripts - To run all the standard processes required by
Applications, Rapid Install creates scripts to start and stop each of these required
processes. These scripts need configuration information in order to:
• Create the correct environments for each process
• Start the processes with the correct parameters
• Point the processes at the correct database instance (if applicable)
Driver Files
AutoConfig driver files are used to list the corresponding template files and
locations, and specify the commands to be executed. For example, the commands might
update profile options.
Driver files are located in each <PROD>_TOP/admin/driver directory on the application
tier, and in the <RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/template directory on the database
tier.
Configuration Files
AutoConfig configuration files, such as httpd.conf, are created as a result of AutoConfig
instantiating the corresponding template files. Configuration files contain values
corresponding to the settings specified for a particular site. After AutoConfig has been
run, numerous configuration files will have been created in various directories.

Figure 5-1 Relationship Between AutoCong Files
Instantiation
As mentioned earlier, instantiation is the process whereby AutoConfig creates a
configuration file with contents tailored for a specific environment. AutoConfig can
be used to instantiate files or scripts, and then execute them for installation and
configuration.
Examples of instantiation include:
• Instantiation of a configuration file to be used at runtime
• Instantiation of an SQL script to set profile options
• Instantiation of a shell script or Windows command file to run an SQL script in
SQL*Plus
• Instantiation of scripts to start up and shut down application tier services
The adautocfg.sh script updates configuration files and profile options in the following
way:
1. Instantiates template files with instance-specific values derived from the relevant
context file
2. Copies in any customizations
3. Overwrites existing configuration files with newly instantiated ones
4. Runs SQL scripts to update database profile options
AutoCong 5-5
Role of the template and driver files
AutoConfig uses the various template files to determine the basic settings needed. There
is one template file for each configuration file. Different versions of the template
files exist for UNIX and Windows. Examples include httpd_ux.conf (UNIX) and
httpd_nt.conf (Windows), and adfrmctl_ux.sh (UNIX) and adfrmctl_nt.cmd (Windows).
The driver files list the names and locations of the files that need to have context variables
replaced. They also define the phases into which instantiation is divided, and specify the
commands that are to be executed for specific products. When AutoConfig runs, it cycles
through the various <PROD>_TOP/admin/driver directories looking for driver files such
as adtmpl.drv, fndtmpl.drv, and icxtmpl.drv.
Figure 5-2 AutoCong Instantiation Mechanism
Execution of Scripts
As well as its instantiation activities, AutoConfig carries out numerous other essential
configuration management tasks, by executing scripts such as the following.
Table 5-4 Examples of AutoCong Setup Scripts

Script Action
adgendbc.sh Generates the dbc file
adgenjky.sh Generates JInitiator security information
adcpnode.sh Registers nodes in the database
ssodatan.sh Associates Portal with Oracle Single Sign-On

These and other scripts are executed as applicable, depending on the requirements of
the specific Applications system.
Note: For further details of AutoConfig operation, see OracleMetaLink
Note 165195.1, Using AutoConfig to Manage System Configurations with
Oracle Applications 11i.
Phases of Operation
As AutoConfig parses the driver files, it carries out a series of actions, grouped into
several distinct phases:
• INSTE8 - Instantiates AutoConfig template files to the AutoConfig configuration
files specified in the relevant template driver files.
• INSTE8_SETUP - Executes setup scripts that carry out activities not involving
connection to the database.
• INSTE8_PRF - Executes setup scripts that update profile options.
• INSTE8_APPLY - Executes setup scripts that carry out activities involving updates
to the database.
• BINCPY - Copies the file mentioned from the source file to the configuration
file, creating parent directories for the latter if necessary. AutoConfig will report an
error if the source file cannot be found.
• BINCPY_IGERR - Copies the file mentioned from the source file to the configuration
file, creating parent directories for the latter if necessary. AutoConfig will not report
an error if the source file cannot be found.
AutoConfig carries out these actions in the following order:
1. All INSTE8 and BINCPY actions - Carries out all file instantiations called for during
INSTE8, INSTE8_SETUP, INSTE8_PRF and INSTE8_APPLY, and all copying from
source files to target configuration files.
2. INSTE8_SETUP actions - For the files that were instantiated in Step 1, AutoConfig
runs all SETUP scripts.
3. INSTE8_PRF actions - For the files that were instantiated in Step 1, AutoConfig
runs all PRF scripts.
4. INSTE8_APPLY actions - For the files that were instantiated in Step 1, AutoConfig
runs all APPLY scripts.
At the end of this process, the required configuration files and profile options have been
created for the E-Business Suite installation.
Management Tasks
There are several areas in which an administrator can use AutoConfig to
update, control, and monitor an Applications system. While many tasks will normally
be undertaken from Oracle Applications Manager, you may on occasion need to run a
script (command file on Windows) from the command line.
Managing the Context

Oracle Applications Manager (see Chapter 7) enables you to edit the Applications
context as required. From the Administration tab, choose AutoConfig and click on Edit
AutoCong 5-7
Parameters for the relevant context file. After making a change to the context, you must
run AutoConfig to update the relevant configuration files. Before doing so, you should
examine the proposed changes by running the adchkcfg.sh configuration check script
(described below under Checking the System).
Warning: Do not edit E-Business Suite configuration files manually. Any
changes will be lost when AutoConfig is next run.
An AutoConfig-managed environment such as 11.5.10 will also be updated by applying

an Applications patch that adds or modifies variables in the Applications context
file, AutoConfig template files, or AutoConfig driver files.
It may on occasion be necessary to undo configuration changes. You can restore the
previous configuration by running the restore.sh utility, which enables you to roll back
the changes made by an AutoConfig run. This is achieved by utilizing the backup copies
of the configuration files that are created when AutoConfig is run.
Note: The backup files are located in <APPL_TOP>/admin/
<CONTEXT_NAME>/out/MMDDhhmm on the application tier, and
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/out/MMDDhhmm on the
database tier, where the directory name indicates the month, day, hour
and minute of the AutoConfig run.
You can restore the configuration that existed immediately before the current one by
navigating to the appropriate backup directory and running the restore.sh script. To
restore an earlier configuration, you must use the Context File History feature of Oracle
Applications Manager.
Controlling the System

AutoConfig utilizes a number of application tier control scripts, located in
<COMMON_TOP>/admin/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME>.
Table 5-5 Application Tier Control Scripts

Script Name Function
adstrtal.sh Starts all application tier server processes
adstpall.sh Stops all application tier server processes
adautocfg.sh Runs AutoConfig
The corresponding directory on the database tier is

<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/scripts/<CONTEXT_NAME>, where control
scripts allow the database and database listener processes to be started and stopped, and
AutoConfig to be run.
Checking the System

Several other scripts exist to facilitate system management in an AutoConfig-managed
environment such as 11.5.10. These allow you to identify the effects of proposed
changes, and note which products are maintained by AutoConfig.
Examining changes

adchkcfg.sh is located in <AD_TOP>/bin on the application tier, and in
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/bin on the database tier.
This utility generates a report that highlights differences between existing configuration
files and the new ones that AutoConfig will generate. The report is called cfgcheck.html.
Running adchkcfg.sh is useful both in carrying out a test run before a planned
environment change is made, and when investigating problems.
Listing enabled products
adcfginfo.sh is located in <AD_TOP>/bin on the application tier, and in
<RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/bin on the database tier. This utility reports if an
Applications system is AutoConfig-enabled (which will always be the case for 11.5.10). In
addition, it can optionally list the installed products that are maintained by AutoConfig.
Note: For further details on managing system configuration
parameters, see Oracle Applications Maintenance Procedures.
AutoCong 5-9
6
Cloning
Introduction
Cloning is the act of creating an identical copy of an existing Oracle E-Business Suite
system. The system to be cloned is referred to as the source system, and the newly created
system is referred to as the target system.
Cloning has various uses, such as:
• Creating a copy of a production system for patch testing
• Creating a staging area to reduce the downtime required for patching
• Refreshing a test system from a production system
• Moving an existing system to a different machine or platform
Simply copying the existing components to a new location will not provide a working
Applications installation. For example, there are numerous configuration files in the
file system that must be modified, depending on the physical configuration of the
target environment. In addition, the Applications installation process utilizes the Oracle
Universal Installer, which maintains key information about the installation. Copying
the installation to a new location would invalidate this information, preventing the
application of patches to components maintained by the Installer.
Cloning Tools
Cloning an Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i system involves running the Rapid Clone
tool. This can be used with any Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i releases that are
AutoConfig-enabled by default, such as 11.5.10, and earlier releases that have been
migrated to use AutoConfig (see Chapter 5).
Oracle Applications Manager can also be used to manage cloning, offering either basic or
advanced options (see Chapter 7).
Cloning Across Platforms

When cloning from one machine to another, the simplest case is where the two machines
are running the same version of the same operating system.
A slightly more complex case occurs where the two operating systems are binary
compatible, and the source system is running an earlier version of the same operating
system that is being used on the target system. While Rapid Clone can often be used
successfully in such cases, you should generally aim to clone between machines that are
Cloning 6-1
running identical versions of an operating system. This minimizes the risk of problems
arising because of differences between the versions.
Note: It is not supported to clone from a later version of an operating
system to an earlier one.
Cloning can also be used to migrate an Applications system from any platform to any
UNIX platform, such as Linux, using the Platform Migration Utility.
Note: For further details of migrating, see OracleMetaLink Note
238276.1, Migrating to Linux with Oracle Applications Release 11i.
Cloning Options
The following table summarizes the cloning options currently available.
Note: In this context, node refers to a logical collection of E-Business
Suite processes, and not necessarily a physical machine.
Table 6-1 Cloning Options

Single node Recloning Cloning Multi-node Single node Multi-node
to Single (of an existing to Multi- to Multi- to Single
node database Clone2 node node3 node4
only)1
Available Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

with Rapid
Clone?
Notes on Table
1. Recloning of the database only can be useful if the source system has changed
and the target system needs to be updated with these changes. However, if any
Applications patches have been applied to the source system, the APPL_TOP must
also be cloned in order to keep the file system and database synchronized.
2. A cloned system created with Rapid Clone can be used as the source system for
another round of cloning.
3. If moving to a multi-node system, it is preferable to implement a shared APPL_TOP
rather than clone from a single node to multiple nodes. See Chapter 9 for details.
4. This is often referred to as merging APPL_TOPs.
Note: For further details of cloning options, see Oracle Applications
Maintenance Procedures.
Rapid Clone Operation

Rapid Clone does not modify the source system. The adpreclone.pl script prepares the
source system to be cloned by collecting information about the database, and creating
generic templates from existing files that contain source-specific hard-coded values. The
template files are located in <RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME>/appsutil/template on the
database tier.

After running adpreclone.pl, you copy the relevant files and directories from the source
system files to the target system, and then run the adcfgclone.pl configuration script. The
values for various parameters are required to create the context file that will be used to
configure the target system. A few of these values are calculated from the current target
system, and adcfgclone.pl will prompt for the others.
For example, you will be prompted to specify a port pool, to use a particular range of
predefined server ports. There are 100 port pools, so if, for example, you select pool port
3, the default database port number (1521) is replaced by 1524.
Note: If you are cloning to the same machine, you must specify a
different port pool from the source system.
If desired, it is possible to set a specific port to a value other than the one assigned
from the port pool. This requires editing the context file on the target system after
adcfgclone.pl completes, then running AutoConfig to update the system with the new
value.
Note: For further details of the steps involved in using Rapid Clone, see
OracleMetaLink Note 230672.1, Cloning Oracle Applications Release 11i
with Rapid Clone.
Rapid Clone and Oracle Universal Installer

With Oracle Universal Installer 2.2 (supplied with Oracle Applications Release
11.5.10), the Oracle Universal Installer’s global inventory is simply a list of pointers to
each local inventory location. There is one local inventory per ORACLE_HOME, located
in <ORACLE_HOME>/inventory, which contains all the patch information for the
ORACLE_HOME in question.
Rapid Clone first ensures that the source system local inventory is in XML
format, converting it from the older binary format if necessary. The local inventory
(inside the ORACLE_HOME to be cloned) is then copied to the target system and
reconfigured with the new values for the target system. Rapid Clone subsequently
attaches the reconfigured local inventory to the target system global inventory. If the
target system does not have a global inventory, a new global inventory is created when
Rapid Clone goes to attach the local inventory.
New Cloning Features in Release 11.5.10

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11.5.10 includes a number of new features designed to
make cloning more straightforward, and give greater flexibility in response to issues
such as:
• Whether cloning is being used to add a node to an existing installation, or to create
an entirely new installation. In the former case, there will be fewer ancillary changes.
• Types of table modification that need to take place. For example, when using Rapid
Clone to add a node, a new row is inserted into FND_NODES, whereas when
creating a new installation, FND_NODES is purged and a completely new set
of rows inserted.
• Whether services should be set to start automatically after cloning is complete.
• Whether any data alteration is needed after cloning.
Cloning 6-3
Summary
In essence, Rapid Clone does the following:
• Registers the ORACLE_HOME with Oracle Universal Installer inventory, so the
ORACLE_HOME can be patched by the Installer.
• Updates the files in the ORACLE_HOME that have explicitly defined path entries.
• Updates the symbolic links inside the ORACLE_HOME.
• Notifies the user if there are symbolic links outside the ORACLE_HOME that need
manual validation or other attention.
In addition, there are a number of associated actions relating to the database.

7
Oracle Applications Manager
Introduction
Oracle Applications Manager (OAM) is a powerful, easy to use tool that enables you
to manage and monitor an Oracle Applications system from an HTML-based central
control console. Among other E-Business Suite system management tasks, Oracle
Applications Manager can help you to:
• Configure and administer your system
• Diagnose and correct problems
• Manage patches
• Monitor and tune performance
• Monitor system security
Oracle Applications Manager is built directly into the E-Business Suite system, and
complements the features of the Oracle Enterprise Manager tool.
Oracle Applications Manager Features

The Applications Dashboard provides an overview of the key features of an E-Business
Suite installation, including summaries of current status, performance, critical
activities, diagnostics, business flows, and security. You can then view additional
information on any of these areas.
A more detailed view of the Applications system is offered by the Site Map, which
provides easy access to the numerous features and options that exist in the areas of
administration, monitoring, maintenance, and diagnostics and repair.
Administration
Oracle Applications Manager provides a comprehensive system configuration
editor, for use in conjunction with the AutoConfig configuration management tool (see
Chapter 5). Previous configuration settings can easily be compared with the current
settings, allowing changed settings to be identified and rolled back as necessary. The
configuration editor also helps you add custom variables to the context files, to allow
AutoConfig and AutoPatch to preserve your system configuration customizations.
Oracle Applications Manager also provides advanced Configuration Wizards that
guide you through formerly complex tasks such as configuring application tier load
balancing, or converting to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) accelerators (see Chapter 10).
Oracle Applications Manager 7-1

The wizards prompt you for all of the required information, and validate your settings
before the changes are made to your system.
Additionally, Oracle Applications Manager helps you track configuration changes, such
as recently altered site-level profile option settings. It can also helps you detect
potential configuration problems, such as database initialization parameters that do
not meet Oracle requirements or recommendations. Oracle Applications Manager can
be used to configure and control critical application tier services such as concurrent
processing, Oracle Forms Listeners, Reports servers, and Web servers. For example, you
can monitor and administer concurrent requests, and easily analyze the concurrent
request workload to make informed configuration changes for concurrent processing.
Oracle Applications Manager can also be used to control Oracle Workflow system
services, such as background engines, notification mailers, agent listeners, and queue
propagation. You can monitor and analyze Oracle Workflow system activity, suspend
and resume processes, retry activities that end in error, and purge obsolete Workflow
data.
The License Manager component of Oracle Applications Manager enables you to manage
all aspects of licensing your products and related features. For example, you can obtain
reports of currently licensed products, country-specific functionalities, and languages, as
well as an overall licensing summary for your system You can also license additional
products, country-specific functionalities, and languages.
Monitoring
Oracle Applications Manager provides extensive monitoring features for Oracle
E-Business Suite. Charts and graphs provide high-level summaries, and you can drill
down for more detailed information as required.
OAM can alert you when certain errors occur within the E-Business Suite
system, and will provide detailed context information to help in diagnosing
those errors. Information from system components, including performance
details, availability, configuration, diagnostic data, and security concerns can all be
presented in the context of affected business flows, so that you can better understand
any impact on your business.
Monitoring support is provided for application tier services such as concurrent
managers, Oracle Forms listeners, Reports servers, and Web servers. For currently
running processes such as forms or concurrent requests, you can examine both
application tier and database session details, right down to the currently executing SQL.
Additional monitoring features include the ability to observe CPU and memory
utilization, inspect runtime diagnostics, and view log files for Forms processes. You can
look into JServ processes to examine memory utilization, database connection usage, and
Oracle Applications Framework activity. OAM can also be configured to automatically
identify and alert you to any runaway Forms processes or runaway concurrent requests.
Maintenance
You can easily determine which patches have been applied to a system, including
the individual patches included in mini-packs, maintenance packs, and merged
patches. Oracle Applications Manager also enables you to examine the patched files on a
system, and identify all the patches that altered a given file. For each patch applied, you
can see the actions taken by each patch driver.

The Patch Wizard tool built into Oracle Applications Manager can recommend patches
for your Oracle Applications system. The wizard takes patch data downloaded
from Oracle, analyzes that data against the Applications system, and recommends
patches based on criteria you specify. The wizard can also analyze individual
patches, identify any prerequisites missing on the system, and show the impact that the
patches would have on the system in terms of affected applications, files, and other
areas. Additionally, the wizard can download multiple patches from Oracle and merge
them into a single patch.
Cloning of an Applications system is greatly simplified by using Oracle Applications
Manager. You can manage the cloning process directly from the console, initially
choosing either Simple Clone (which makes an exact copy), or Advanced Clone (which
allows modification of cloning parameters). Oracle Applications Manager then
automates much of the work, guiding you through any remaining decisions and manual
steps. Cloning scenarios currently include the ability to clone single node to single
node, single node to multi-node, and multi-node to multi-node.
Administrators can use the Manage Downtime feature to schedule downtimes. When a
downtime is scheduled, a message on the Home Page notifies users of the period when
the system will not be available. The user has to log in, or return to the Home Page to
see this message. If the downtime is in progress, an appropriate warning page will
replace the login page.
During the scheduled downtime period, administrators with suitable database privileges
are able to log into OAM to monitor the progress of AutoPatch and other Applications
DBA utilities; access to other parts of the E-Business Suite is not allowed.
Diagnostics and Repair

OAM provides troubleshooting wizards to automate complex recovery steps. Tools such
as Concurrent Manager Recovery help you diagnose problems and take corrective action
from the same screen. The Service Infrastructure Troubleshooting Wizard ensures that the
Generic Service Management (GSM) infrastructure is running normally, and if not, will
guide the administrator through the steps needed to bring GSM up.
Additionally, the Applications Dashboard provides a gateway into Oracle Diagnostics
for Oracle Applications, summarizing test results and providing access to detailed
test reports. Output from all diagnostic interfaces can be captured and packaged for
shipment to Oracle Support simply and easily. Other features include provision for
customers to download the latest diagnostics pack supplied by Oracle Support, and
create their own diagnostic tests as required.
Additional Features
Extensions
You can extend Oracle Applications Manager using your own custom SQL scripts. Not
only can SQL scripts be organized and accessed from within the OAM console, but
drilldowns can be enabled from script output to standard Oracle Applications Manager
interfaces. For example, if you obtain concurrent request IDs from an SQL script, you
can then drill down into the standard Oracle Applications Manager interface to obtain
details of the concurrent requests.
Oracle Applications Manager 7-3

Support Cart
The OAM Support Cart automates the collection of detailed node-specific information
that can be sent to Oracle Support to assist with problem diagnosis. The information
collected includes details of products installed, patches applied, database version, current
database parameters, and system topology. Other pages from OAM can be added to the
Support Cart if desired.
Generic Service Management

Traditionally, application tier processes such as Forms listeners, HTTP servers, and
concurrent managers had to be started and monitored individually by system
administrators, a time-consuming and potentially error-prone exercise. With the
transition to web-based applications, the number of application tier processes required
for Oracle’s Applications products has increased significantly, with many Applications
products making use of multiple application tier services to support one or more
processes.
Service processes are similar to concurrent manager and transaction manager
processes, and must be kept running on an application tier for the proper functioning of
their associated products. Management of the services is complicated by the fact that
they may be distributed across multiple host machines.
The Generic Service Management (GSM) feature simplifies management of these generic
service processes, by providing a fault-tolerant framework with a central management
console built into Oracle Applications Manager. With Generic Service Management, the
Internal Concurrent Manager (ICM) manages the various service processes across
multiple hosts. On each host, a Service Manager acts on behalf of the ICM, allowing the
ICM to monitor and control service processes on that host.
System administrators can configure, monitor, and control services though Oracle
Applications Manager, which communicates with the ICM. Generic Service Management
provides a fault-tolerant system: if a service process exits unexpectedly, the ICM will
automatically attempt to restart the process. If a host fails, the ICM may start the relevant
service processes on a secondary host. The ICM itself is monitored and kept alive by
Internal Monitor processes located on various hosts.
This new application tier service management infrastructure has several benefits:
• The service processes no longer need to be manually and individually started and
monitored by Applications system administrators
• Administrators can configure and control the services through Oracle Applications
Manager
• As with concurrent manager processes, system administrators can use work shifts
to determine the number of processes that will be active for a service on a given
node for a given time period
• Services can take advantage of the process distribution and fault tolerance
capabilities that have been developed for concurrent processing
Generic Service Management is available out of the box with Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 11.5.10.2, and can also be used with other AutoConfig-enabled releases.

8
Authentication and Integration
Introduction
The subject of authentication is a broad one, which covers a variety of technologies
and components. This chapter provides a survey of the key architectural concepts and
decisions involved in setting up the required level of authentication for an organization.
Authentication of Oracle E-Business Suite users can be configured to be straightforward
and out of the box, using the traditional FND_USER mechanism, or it can involve
various additional features and levels of sophistication, such as single sign-on and
use of optional products such as Oracle Portal and Oracle Discoverer. The system
administrator can choose the optimal solution for an installation, taking into account
factors such as simplicity of setup and maintenance, the possible need for a single point
of access to enterprise-wide applications, and the ability to integrate with third-party
user directories, as well as the overall security requirements of the organization.
Advanced features that are discussed briefly include the tasks involved in keeping user
profile information automatically synchronized across an enterprise, and the steps
needed to link an account in Oracle Internet Directory to multiple application accounts
in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i.
Note that the solutions described here do not address the issue of authorization. After
a user has been authenticated, Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i retrieves the
authorization information associated with the application account the user is logged
into. Authorization information for application accounts is managed through
Applications responsibilities. Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i applies authorization
checks as and when required during the user’s session.
Oracle9i Application Server

The Oracle9i Application Server (9iAS) provides a sophisticated, J2EE-certified
application server. It was the first application server to integrate all the technology
required to develop and deploy e-business portals, transactional applications, and Web
services into a single product.
Oracle9i Application Server offers a productive development environment for developers
to create Internet Applications, including J2EE Applications, Web Services, Enterprise
Portals, Wireless and Business Intelligence Applications. Its open and integration-ready
architecture and standards compliance ensures that Web applications can integrate with
an organization’s existing IT environment, including legacy systems, applications of
suppliers and partners, and Oracle and non-Oracle databases.
Oracle E-Business Suite utilizes 9iAS to provide various components of the Applications
infrastructure. These are installed as standard, with no specific user action needed.
Authentication and Integration 8-1

Note: For further details about the use of Oracle9i Application Server
with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, see OracleMetaLink Note
186981.1, Oracle Application Server with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i
Frequently Asked Questions.
Oracle Application Server 10g

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i is certified for integration with the following Oracle
Application Server 10g components running on a standalone server: Oracle Internet
Directory 9.0.4, Oracle Portal 9.0.4, Oracle Single Sign-On 9.0.4, and Oracle Discoverer
9.0.4.
Note: This integration does not upgrade an existing Release 11i
technology stack to Oracle Application Server 10g.
Benefits of integrating Oracle Application Server 10g with Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 11i include:
• Performance, scalability and high-availability via distributed architectures.
• The ability to connect a single Enterprise Portal to web providers running on
multiple Release 11i instances.
• Uniform Single Sign-On support for all Release 11i Applications products.
• Bidirectional Oracle Internet Directory-to-FND_USER synchronization.
• Link-on-the-fly support for environments where the Single Sign-On userids in
Oracle Internet Directory differ from the Release 11iuserids.
• One-to-many support for environments where a Single Sign-On userid may be
associated with one or more Release 11i userids.
• Bookmarkable URLs, where Applications Navigator Portlet will produce links that
authenticate users and create Applications sessions as needed.
• Integration with third-party single sign-on services (e.g. Netegrity, Tivoli, Entrust)
and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) V.3 directories such as
SunONE/iPlanet and Microsoft Active Directory.
The architecture shown in the following diagram is an example of a relatively simple
deployment. Note that the Portal, Discoverer, and OracleAS Certificate Authority
implementations are optional.

Figure 8-1 Example Application Server Architecture
Support for more advanced deployment topologies is also available, including

multi-node load balancing configurations, Real Application Clusters (RAC), and other
distributed architectures.
Note: For details of installing Oracle Application Server 10g in an
Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i environment, see OracleMetaLink
Note 233436.1.
Oracle Portal
Oracle Application Server Portal (Oracle AS Portal) is a complete, browser-based
environment for the development, deployment, administration, and configuration
of enterprise class portals. Oracle AS Portal incorporates a complete portal building
framework, with self-service publishing features to facilitate creation and management
of the information accessed within your portal. A wide variety of portal interfaces and
configurations are possible, from a simple departmental-level publishing portal to an
Internet-accessible portal that serves both customers and employees. Tight integration
with other components of the Oracle Application Server and with the Oracle database
ensures that the solution can scale to an enterprise class audience.
Oracle Discoverer
Discoverer, Oracle’s powerful ad hoc query, reporting, analysis, and web publishing
tool, can be utilized to allow business users at all levels of the organization gain
immediate access to information from Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i. Users
can employ Discoverer to analyze data from selected business areas including
Financials, Operations, Human Resources, Purchasing, Process Manufacturing, and
Activity Based Management.

Note: For further details of using Oracle Discoverer with Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i, see OracleMetaLink Note 257798.1, Using
Discoverer 10g with Oracle Applications 11i.
Enterprise-Wide Single Sign-On

Single sign-on functionality enables users to access Oracle E-Business Suite and other
applications through a single user ID, without having to log in to each application
separately. Oracle E-Business Suite supports the use of single sign-on functionality via
Oracle Single Sign-On, Oracle Internet Directory (OID), and Oracle Portal.
Implementing an enterprise-wide single sign-on solution involves significant
changes to the mechanism by which Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i users are
authenticated. Instead of authentication being performed natively, via the FND_USER
table, this functionality is delegated to Oracle Single Sign-On, which can either:
• Perform user validation itself, against information stored in Oracle Internet Directory.
• Delegate validation to a third-party single sign-on server.
With either of these solutions, Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i accepts identities
vouched for by the single sign-on mechanism. Oracle Internet Directory complements
this by acting as an integration point that enables Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i to
participate in enterprise level user management.
Note: Note that where a third-party single sign-on server is in
use, Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet Directory are still
required, to provide a bridge between E-Business Suite Release 11i and
the third-party single sign-on solution.
Each E-Business Suite instance must still maintain a record of registered users, in the
form of the traditional application accounts. However, the level of abstraction needed for
an enterprise level user requires a mechanism that can uniquely identify a user across the
enterprise. This is accomplished via a globally unique identifier (GUID). Oracle Internet
Directory and Oracle E-Business Suite store GUID information for each enterprise level
user. The GUID can be considered as an identity badge that is recognized by both Oracle
Internet Directory and Oracle E-Business Suite.
Another requirement in such an environment is for user enrollment to be done only
once, at well defined places, with the user subsequently being known to the rest of the
enterprise. Two additional features enable this:
• Support for automatic propagation of application information across an
enterprise, via a synchronization process between Oracle Internet Directory and a
third-party LDAP server.
• Support for automatic propagation of user information across an enterprise, via
a provisioning process between Oracle Internet Directory and Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i.
User information in external, third-party user directories can be synchronized
with Oracle Internet Directory using the LDAP protocol. With Oracle Internet
Directory, customers can manage and publish user information in a central location that
various application systems, including the Oracle E-Business Suite, can reference.
Much of the complexity involved with integrating Oracle E-Business Suite into a
single sign-on environment arises because of the need to consolidate fragmented or

duplicated user data in the single sign-on environment, as a legacy of integrating
previously-isolated systems.
The solution described in this chapter provides mechanisms to link the existing data
together using the GUID. In addition, bulk migration tools can be used to move a large
number of users between Oracle Internet Directory and E-Business Suite during the
transition to an integrated single sign-on environment.
Note that full synchronization of user credentials between Oracle Internet Directory and
E-Business Suite Release 11i requires deployment of Oracle Application Server 10g.
Note: For more information on implementing single sign-on with
Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet Directory, see the Oracle
Applications System Administrator’s Guide and OracleMetaLink Note
233436.1, Installing Oracle Application Server 10g with Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i.
Application Server Integration Options

Application Server 10g can act as an integration hub that enables the Oracle E-Business
Suite to work in conjunction with other enterprise software, including software from
third-party vendors.
In the logical architecture shown below, the Applications web provider and portlets are
installed on an existing Applications Release 11i (11.5.8 or higher) installation that has
been upgraded to 9iAS 1.0.2.2.2 and Portal 3.0.9.
Figure 8-2 Application Server Integration Architecture
Key points of this configuration include:

• Users log into a standalone instance of Oracle Portal 9.0.4 running on an enterprise
portal node that has been built with Oracle Application Server 10g (note that Portal
implementation is optional.)

• The standalone Oracle Application Server 10g node includes the Oracle HTTP Server
and is responsible for serving web requests, routing, and overall Portal processing.
• The Oracle Single Sign-On node authenticates users against Oracle Internet
Directory, or optionally may be configured to delegate user authentication to
third-party single sign-on services such as Netegrity SiteMinder.
• The Oracle Internet Directory server node manages user credentials, synchronizing
them bidirectionally with the Applications 11i native user directory (FND_USER)
via the Oracle Directory Integration Platform. Oracle Internet Directory may
optionally be configured to integrate with third-party LDAP user directories via the
Oracle Directory Integration Platform. Alternatively, Oracle Internet Directory may
optionally be configured to delegate user authentication to a third-party LDAP
directory via the OID External Authentication Plug-In, which includes support for
SunONE and Microsoft Active Directory.
• The integrated E-Business Suite application tier server node with 9iAS 1.0.2.2.2 is
responsible for handling the SQL request, and generating the portlet HTML that is
consolidated by the Portal application server into a home page for the user.
Basic Single Sign-On Deployment Scenario

This section outlines a simple deployment scenario where an existing Oracle E-Business
Suite instance is integrated with a new Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet
Directory infrastructure. A subsequent discussion considers additional factors, such as
the existence of a third-party single sign-on solution, or the presence of multiple user
repositories.
Note: This section provides a high-level overview of the common
tasks that will apply to all installations. The exact steps needed for the
requirements of a particular site will be more detailed.
The starting point of this scenario is an existing Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i
installation, plus a new Oracle Application Server 10g installation (including Oracle
Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet Directory) on a different machine.
Oracle Internet Directory has no currently existing users apart from pre-seeded
users, and Oracle Portal is not implemented. The requirement is to integrate Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i with Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet Directory.
Key Goals
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i will delegate user sign-on and authentication to
Oracle Single Sign-On
• Oracle Single Sign-On will authenticate user credentials against user entries in
Oracle Internet Directory
• Oracle Internet Directory will store every user’s single sign-on account id and
password

Figure 8-3 Deploying E-Business Suite with Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet
Directory
User Management Options

Existing Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i application accounts are migrated to single
sign-on accounts in Oracle Internet Directory using the Bulk Migration Tool. After the
migration, a system administrator has a number of user management options, related to
the location(s) where user information is created, and where it is provisioned (sent) to.
Option 1
All user information is created in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, then provisioned
into Oracle Internet Directory.
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i is configured as a provisioning integrated
application with Oracle Internet Directory
• System administrators configure the provisioning integration via provisioning profiles
Figure 8-4 Provisioning User Information from E-Business Suite to Oracle Internet Directory
The creation of a new application account in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i will
automatically trigger the creation of a new single sign-on account in Oracle Internet
Directory. Some of the user attributes from the application account may be provisioned
in the single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory during account creation.
Option 2
All user information is created in Oracle Internet Directory, then provisioned into Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i:
• System administrators configure the provisioning integration via provisioning profiles

Figure 8-5 Provisioning User Information from Oracle Internet Directory to E-Business Suite
The creation of a new single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory will
automatically trigger the creation of a new application account in Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i. Some of the user attributes from the single sign-on account may be
provisioned in the application account in Oracle Internet Directory during account
creation.
Option 3
All user information is created in either Oracle Internet Directory or Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i, then provisioned into the other system:
• System administrators configure the provisioning integration via provisioning
profiles
Figure 8-6 Provisioning User Information Between E-Business Suite and Oracle Internet
Directory
The creation of a new application account in Release 11i will automatically trigger the
creation of a new single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory, and the creation
of a new single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory will automatically trigger
the creation of a new application account in Release 11i.
During account creation, some of the user attributes from the application account
may be provisioned in the single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory during
account creation, and some of the user attributes from the single sign-on account may be
provisioned in the application account in Oracle Internet Directory.
Synchronizing User Attributes
For all three of the above options, a set of user attributes can, on being updated from
either system, optionally be synchronized between Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i

and Oracle Internet Directory. This is accomplished by configuring the provisioning
profile.
Signing On
Attempting to gain access to an Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i environment, a user
who has not yet been authenticated with Oracle Single Sign-On is directed to a Single
Sign-On login page, which can be customized to suit an individual site.
After authentication via Oracle Single Sign-On (or if authentication has previously been
carried out) the user is redirected to the requested page or the user’s home page in
the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i.
Signing Out
When a user logs out of an Oracle E-Business Suite instance, the user is also logged out
of Oracle Single Sign-On, as well as any partner applications applications that have been
integrated with Oracle Single Sign-On. The user will see a logout page that lists all the
applications the user has been successfully logged out of.
Session Timeout
It is important to understand the timeout behavior of the different sessions in a single
sign-on environment, to ensure the appropriate level of security is maintained.
• If a user’s application session has timed out, but not his single sign-on session, he
will be directed to Oracle Single Sign-On, and then back to Oracle E-Business
Suite, without being prompted to re-authenticate.
• If a user’s application session and single sign-on session have both timed out, he will
be directed to the single sign-on login page to re-authenticate, and then redirected
back to Oracle E-Business Suite.
Until a user’s application session times out (or he explicitly logs out), he can continue
to access the partner application even if his Oracle Single Sign-On security cookie has
expired. Since the application session timeout value takes precedence over the Single
Sign-On timeout setting, Oracle recommends setting the application session timeout
value to be equal to or less than that of Oracle Single Sign-On.
Advanced Single Sign-On Deployment Scenarios

This section outlines four more deployment scenarios. The guidelines given should be
regarded as providing a high-level strategy rather than definitive instructions, as all real
world deployments will be unique, and require detailed planning. The outline solutions
build upon the basic scenario discussed above.
Scenario 1
Requirement - Need to enable Oracle Single Sign-On with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i
Starting Environment
• Multiple new Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i environments have been installed
• Other than the default administrative accounts, no user accounts have been
registered yet
• Oracle Portal is not implemented
• No Single Sign-on infrastructure in place
Solution

• Oracle Application Server 10g with Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet
Directory are needed for the integration required
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i will delegate user sign-on and authentication to
• Oracle Single Sign-On authenticates user credentials against user entries in Oracle
Internet Directory
• Oracle Internet Directory contains every user’s single sign-on account id and
password
Either Oracle Internet Directory or one Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i instance can
be designated as the source of user enrollment, with the following implications:
• If Oracle Internet Directory is the source, details of user accounts can be propagated
to each Oracle E-Business Suite instance via the provisioning process.
• If an Oracle E-Business Suite instance is the source, the provisioning process will
propagate user accounts from that instance to Oracle Internet Directory, and then to
the other Oracle E-Business Suite instances.
Optionally, user profile information in an Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i instance
can be kept synchronized with the information in Oracle Internet Directory.
Scenario 2
Requirement - Need to integrate new installation of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i with
existing third-party single sign-on and user directory infrastructure
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i has been newly installed using the Rapid Install
Wizard.
• Other than the default administrative accounts, no user accounts have been
registered yet.
• Oracle Portal is not implemented.
• A third-party single sign-on solution such as Netegrity SiteMinder is in use as a
corporate single sign-on solution.
• A third-party LDAP directory such as SunONE/iPlanet is in use as a corporate user
directory.
Solution
• Oracle Application Server 10g (including Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet
Directory) is needed for the integration.
• Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Single Sign-On must be set up so that Oracle
E-Business Suite delegates authentication to Oracle Single Sign-On, which in turn
delegates the functionality to the third-party single sign-on server in use.
• Oracle Internet Directory needs to be set up to synchronize a minimal set of
information from the third-party LDAP directory for all users who will access Oracle
E-Business Suite via single sign-on.
• Oracle Internet Directory also needs to be set up to provision users in Oracle Internet
Directory to Oracle E-Business Suite.

Figure 8-7 Integrating E-Business Suite with Third-Party Single Sign-On and User Directory
Existing users in the third-party LDAP directory can be bulk migrated into Oracle
Internet Directory, and then bulk migrated into Oracle E-Business Suite.
Optionally, user profile information in Oracle E-Business Suite can be kept synchronized
with the information in the third-party LDAP directory.
Scenario 3
Requirement - Need to integrate existing Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i with existing
third-party single sign-on and user directory infrastructure
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i is in use, and has an up to date user repository.
• A third-party corporate single sign-on solution such as Netegrity SiteMinder is in
use and is to be retained.
• A third-party LDAP directory such as SunONE/iPlanet is in place as a corporate user
directory and is to be retained.
• At the start of the implementation, a given user may exist in both Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i and the third-party LDAP directory, with either the same user name
in both or a different user name in each.
Solution
• Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Single Sign-On need to be set up so that Oracle
E-Business Suite delegates authentication to Oracle Single Sign-On, which in turn
delegates the functionality to the third-party single sign-on server.
• Oracle Internet Directory must be configured to synchronize a minimal set of
information from the third-party LDAP directory for users who will access Oracle
E-Business suite via single sign-on.
• Existing users in the third-party LDAP directory can be bulk migrated into Oracle
Internet Directory.
• Existing accounts in both Oracle E-Business Suite and the third-party LDAP
directory can be linked.
• With proper planning, new users can be synchronized from the third-party LDAP
directory into Oracle Internet Directory, and then into Oracle E-Business Suite.

• Optionally, user profile information in Oracle E-Business Suite can be kept
synchronized with the information in the third-party LDAP directory.
A simpler variant of this scenario arises when no third-party single sign-on/LDAP
directory is involved. There is only an existing Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i
Installation plus an Oracle Single Sign-On and Oracle Internet Directory infrastructure. In
such a case, all steps relating to third-party (non-Oracle) software can be ignored.
Scenario 4
Requirement - Need to enable Oracle Single Sign-On with multiple Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 11i installations where no Oracle Single Sign-On infrastructure is currently in place
• Multiple Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i instances are implemented, and each
has an existing user population.
• No existing Oracle Single Sign-On infrastructure is in place.
Solution
• Each Oracle E-Business Suite instance delegates user sign-on and authentication to
Oracle Single Sign-On.
• Oracle Single Sign-On authenticates user credentials against user entries in Oracle
Internet Directory.
• Oracle Internet Directory contains every user’s single sign-on account id and
password.
• A single sign-on account needs to be created for every user in Oracle Internet
Directory.
• Existing applications accounts in Oracle E-Business Suite instances need to be linked
to the single sign-on account.
• Optionally, user profile information in Oracle E-Business Suite can be kept
synchronized with the information in Oracle Internet Directory.
Note: For a full list of scenarios relating to integration of Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i with Oracle Internet Directory and Single
Sign-On, refer to OracleMetaLink Note 261914.1, Integrating Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i with Oracle Internet Directory and Oracle Single
Sign-On.
Advanced Single Sign-On Options

There are a number of advanced options that may be employed in specialized
circumstances; one example is described here.
Linking Multiple Application Accounts to a Single Oracle Single Sign-On Account
Normally, a single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory will correspond to a
single application account in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i. However, in special
cases a user may need to have a single sign-on account in Oracle Internet Directory and
multiple application accounts in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i.

Figure 8-8 Single Sign-On Account with Multiple Application Accounts
If required, this feature can be enabled by system administrators via the profile option
‘Applications SSO Allow Multiple Accounts’.

9
High Availability
Introduction
High Availability covers a range of options and features that can minimize planned and
unplanned downtime, or facilitate recovery after a period of downtime. They include:
• Patching Hints and Tips
• Maintenance Mode
• Shared APPL_TOP and Shared Application Tier File System
• Staged APPL_TOP
• NOLOGGING in the Applications database
• Distributed AD
• Disaster Recovery best practices
This section will provide a high-level guide to the key features that can help make an
Oracle E-Business Suite highly available, with the emphasis on guidelines for making the
correct decisions when planning a new installation or upgrade.
Patching Hints and Tips

Patch application is a key activity undertaken by Oracle Applications DBAs. If
you need to apply a large number of patches, the required downtime can be
significant. However, there are several simple ways of minimizing this downtime:
• Schedule periodic downtime for application of the latest maintenance packs or
family packs - The more up-to-date your system, the less likely you are to experience
known problems, and the easier it will be to resolve any new issues that may arise.
• Keep AD up-to-date - Running at the latest AD mini-pack level allows you to
take full advantage of new features designed to reduce downtime and simplify
maintenance.
• Keep your test system current with your production system - When you test the
application of a patch, the test must be realistic in terms of current patch level and
transaction data: you can employ the Rapid Clone tool, described in Chapter 6, to
create a copy of your production system for tests.
• Consolidate multiple patches with AD Merge Patch - Merging multiple
Applications patches into a single patch not only reduces overall downtime by
eliminating duplicate tasks, but minimizes the scope for error that would arise in
applying a number of separate patches.
High Availability 9-1

• Use a shared APPL_TOP and shared application tier file system - These are
recommended for environments with multiple application tier nodes.
• Use a staged APPL_TOP - This will reduce the downtime to the period required
for the database update.
• Use the Distributed AD feature - This helps make full use of available hardware
resources.
• Perform maintenance during normal operation where possible - For example, you
can gather schema statistics or patch online help while the system is in use.
Where applicable, these strategies are described further below.
Maintenance Mode
Maintenance Mode is a new mode of operation introduced with Release 11.5.10, in which
the Oracle Applications system is made accessible only for patching activities. This
provides optimal performance for AutoPatch sessions, and minimizes downtime needed.
Note: Maintenance Mode is only needed for AutoPatch sessions. Other
AD utilities do not require Maintenance mode to be enabled.
Administrators can schedule system downtime using Oracle Applications Manager,

and send alert messages to users about the impending downtime. When Maintenance
Mode is entered, users attempting to log on to Oracle Applications are redirected to a
system downtime URL.
There are several practical points relating to the use of Maintenance Mode:
• You can toggle Maintenance Mode between Enabled and Disabled using the new
Change Maintenance Mode menu in AD Administration, or the equivalent function in
Oracle Applications Manager.
• Although you can run AutoPatch with Maintenance Mode disabled, there will be a
significant degradation in performance.
• There is a separate logon page for Restricted Mode access while the system is in
Maintenance Mode. Restricted Mode allows administrators access to specific
privileged functionality, for example to view the timing report that shows the
progress of a patching session.
Shared APPL_TOP and Shared Application Tier File System

A traditional multi-node installation of Oracle Applications Release 11i requires each
application tier node to maintain its own file system, which is made up of:
• The APPL_TOP file system, consisting of the APPL_TOP and COMMON_TOP
directories
• The application tier technology stack file system, consisting of the 8.0.6 and iAS Oracle
homes
Installation and migration options were subsequently introduced to enable a single
APPL_TOP to be shared between all the application tier nodes of a multi-node
system. This is referred to as a Shared APPL_TOP File System, usually abbreviated to
Shared APPL_TOP.

A further new capability was the option to merge the APPL_TOPs of multiple nodes, each
with its own set of application tier services, to give a single APPL_TOP that could then
be shared between them all. A less common scenario would be where you wanted to
merge the APPL_TOPs as part of a strategy to reduce the number of nodes, i.e. move
from a multi-node installation to a single node installation.
Release 11.5.10.2 extends these concepts to enable sharing of the application tier
technology stack file system as well, the result being known as a Shared Application Tier
File System.
This section describes the benefits of using a shared APPL_TOP and shared application
tier file system in an Oracle Applications Release 11i environment. Current restrictions
are also noted where applicable.
Shared APPL_TOP
A traditional multi-node application tier installation requires the Applications file
system to be installed on each application tier node. In contrast, a shared APPL_TOP
means that there is a single APPL_TOP capable of being accessed simultaneously by
two or more machines. In a shared APPL_TOP environment, each node has its own
APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env file and Applications context file.
A shared APPL_TOP environment requires the relevant shared disk volume to be
attached to a mount point of the same name on all participating machines, so the
path to the APPL_TOP will have the same value on all machines. In cases where the
COMMON_TOP file system is outside the APPL_TOP, it must also be mounted on all
relevant machines.
After the required setup steps have been carried out, the participating machines can be
used to provide standard application tier services such as Forms, Web, and Concurrent
Processing, with any changes made to the shared APPL_TOP file system being seen
immediately by all nodes.
Note: Installing two separate APPL_TOPs on to a shared disk volume
does not result in a shared APPL_TOP.
A single APPL_TOP can be used to support multiple node types in an application

tier. For sites that have an APPL_TOP already installed and performing all the required
functions, that particular APPL_TOP can be shared immediately: it is not necessary to
start from scratch and create a single APPL_TOP that can provide services for the various
application tier node types (such as Forms, Web, Concurrent Processing, or Admin).
However, such a single APPL_TOP must contain all the files for each service it is
intended to provide: for example, if you install a Forms-only node with the Rapid
Install Wizard and later decide to share it, you cannot expect it to be able to run other
application tier services in the absence of the requisite files.
Shared APPL_TOP Benefits
Benefits of using a shared APPL_TOP include:
• The ease with which machines can be added to an existing system facilitates the
deployment of a large number of application tier machines, to help maximize system
availability and cater for additional usage requirements.
• Overall disk space requirements are greatly reduced, as there is only a single copy of
the relevant Applications code.

• Since there is only one physical APPL_TOP file system, administrative tasks such
as patch application need only be carried out once, on any node, and take effect
immediately on all nodes.
• Complements the Distributed AD feature (described later) in improving the
efficiency of patch application and reducing downtime.
Shared APPL_TOP Restrictions
There are currently a number of limitations on shared APPL_TOP usage:
• When a patch is applied to an ORACLE_HOME, it must also be applied to the
corresponding ORACLE_HOMEs on all other nodes. This does not apply if you
follow the recommended strategy of using a shared application tier file system as
well as a shared APPL_TOP.
• An APPL_TOP can only be shared across machines running either identical or binary
compatible operating systems, an example of the latter being Solaris 6 and Solaris 8.
• Shared APPL_TOP functionality is not currently available on Windows.
Shared Application Tier File System

In a shared application tier file system, all application tier files are installed on a single
shared disk resource that is mounted on each application tier node. Any application tier
node can be configured to perform any of the standard application tier services, such
as serving forms or web pages, and all changes made to the shared file system are
immediately visible on all the application tier nodes.
Deploying a shared application tier file system can be considered an extension of the
more traditional shared APPL_TOP architecture. The benefits and restrictions of a shared
application tier file system are similar to those for a shared APPL_TOP. For example, you
can reduce maintenance and other management overheads by migrating any existing
Oracle Applications Release 11i installation to utilize a shared application tier file
system, with the restriction that the machines involved must be binary compatible.
Shared Disk Resources
A shared application tier file system can reside on any type of shared disk resource, such
as a remote NFS-mounted disk or part of a RAID array. However, you should ensure
that performance of the chosen disk resource is adequate to meet peak demand. For
example, NFS-mounted disks may give inadequate read or write performance when
there is a large amount of network traffic, and RAID arrays must be implemented
carefully to strike the appropriate balance between high availability, performance and
cost.
Creating a Shared Application Tier File System
The Release 11.5.10.2 Rapid Install will by default configure a multi-node application
tier environment to use a shared application tier file system. When running Rapid
Install, you will need to specify appropriate mount points to ensure that the paths to
APPL_TOP, COMMON_TOP, 8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME, and iAS ORACLE_HOME are
the same on each node.
Alternatively, you can migrate any existing Oracle Applications Release 11i system to use
a shared application tier file system by following OracleMetaLink Note 233428.1, Sharing
the Application Tier File System in Oracle E-Business Suite 11i.

High Availability Features of Shared APPL_TOP and Shared Application Tier File System
Utilizing a shared APPL_TOP and shared application tier file system improves high
availability in the following ways:
• It is straightforward to add nodes to an existing installation, to provide greater
resilience to node failure or to cater for additional users. This is particularly
cost-effective with inexpensive Linux nodes.
• A patch only needs to be applied to one application tier node for its effects to be
visible on all other nodes that share the file system. Such a single installation also
helps to minimize the duration of planned maintenance downtimes, and reduces
the scope for errors during installation.
Staged APPL_TOP
A staged APPL_TOP is an APPL_TOP that is copied from a production system for
application of one or more patches, then copied back to the production system. This
helps to improve availability by minimizing the production downtime needed for
patch application.
The same concept can be extended to stage an entire Applications system. This involves
the creation of an exact copy of a production system, including all APPL_TOPs and
the production database. Patches can subsequently be applied to the staged system
while the production system remains operational. Only when all patches have been
applied to the test system need production downtime begin. The staged APPL_TOP is
used both to apply the updates to the production database, and to synchronize with the
production APPL_TOP.
Prerequisites and Restrictions
• Before a production Applications system can be copied, an up-to-date snapshot of
the system must exist, to allow patch prerequisites to be checked; AutoPatch will
return an error if a current snapshot cannot be found. For each APPL_TOP, run
AD Administration, select the Maintain Applications Files menu, then the Maintain
snapshot information menu, and choose the Update current view snapshot task.
• An exact copy (clone) of the production database and of each APPL_TOP of your
production Applications system must be created. Production and staged systems
must have the same APPL_TOP names, to ensure the patching history of the staged
APPL_TOP will be valid in the production system.
• You must use different Applications system names for the staged and production
systems. In addition, the database of the staged APPL_TOP should have a different
SID, to prevent accidental connection to the production system.
• The staged APPL_TOP approach cannot be used to apply AD mini-packs or patches
associated with a maintenance pack.
Applying Patches to the Staged System
The staged system is patched the same way as any Oracle Applications system, using
AutoPatch to apply the relevant patch drivers. While carrying out this step, no patches
may be applied to the production system. If they are, the staged system must be created
again.
Note: See Oracle Applications Maintenance Procedures for more
information on applying patches.

Updating the Production System
Once the staged system has had the required patches applied, the production system
can be updated. After all services on the production system have been disabled, you
can run AutoPatch, specifying as applicable the database driver or unified driver (see
Chapter 1) of the patch you wish to apply. If you applied multiple patches to the staged
system, you will need to run the database driver or unified driver for each patch you
applied to the stage, in the same order.To reduce downtime, you should consider
merging patches prior to staging.
The production APPL_TOP now needs to be synchronized with the staged
APPL_TOP. You can complete this while the production database is being
updated. Various software utilities can be used to accomplish this task, and some
vendors offer hardware solutions as well.
If your topology includes multiple APPL_TOPs, each APPL_TOP must be copied to the
production system. If you share a single APPL_TOP, you only need to synchronize one
system. The COMMON_TOP directory, which on some systems may reside outside the
APPL_TOP, also needs to be updated for each APPL_TOP in the Applications system.
Warning: Certain configuration files, log directories and environment
scripts are specific to an APPL_TOP. These files and directories must
be excluded when copying.
Final Patching Steps

The copy and generate portions of the patch history for patches applied using a staged
Applications system are now stored in the staged database, and the database portion
of the patch history for these patches is stored in both the staged database and in the
production database.
To ensure that the patch history of the production system is complete, you must load the
copy and generate portions of all patches applied using a staged Applications system
connected to your production database. The adphmigr.pl utility can be used to export
the patch history for the copy and generate portions of patches applied using a staged
Applications system from the staged database. AutoPatch can then be used to import the
extracted patch history data into the production database.

Figure 9-1 Patching with Staged APPL_TOP
Combining Staged APPL_TOP and Shared APPL_TOP

The staged APPL_TOP and shared APPL_TOP strategies provide different and
complementary benefits. You can, if desired, create a staged APPL_TOP of a shared
APPL_TOP system, giving the benefits of shared APPL_TOP (and Distributed AD)
on your staged system.
Distributed AD
Many deployments utilize large database servers and multiple, smaller application
(middle) tier systems. With the increasing deployment of low cost Linux-based
systems, this configuration is becoming more common.
AD has always utilized a job system, where multiple workers are assigned
jobs. Information for the job system is stored in the database, and workers receive
their assignments based on the contents of the relevant tables. The Distributed AD
feature offers improved scalability, performance, and resource utilization, by allowing
workers of the same AD session to be started on multiple application tier nodes, utilizing
available resources to complete their assigned jobs more efficiently.
Requirements for Distributed AD
Because the AD workers create and update file system objects as well as database
objects, a shared APPL_TOP (described earlier) must be employed to ensure the files are
created in a single, centralized location.
Using Distributed AD
On one of your shared APPL_TOP nodes, you start your AutoPatch or AD
Administration session, specifying the number of local workers and the total number of
workers.
While using AutoPatch or AD Administration, you can start a normal AD Controller
session from any of the nodes in the shared APPL_TOP environment to perform any
standard AD Controller operations, using both local and non-local workers. This is
possible because the job system can be invoked multiple times during AutoPatch

and AD Administration runs. Each time an individual invocation of the job system
completes, distributed AD Controller sessions will wait until either the job system is
invoked again (at which point it will once again start the local workers) or until the AD
utility session ends (at which point distributed AD Controller will exit).
Note: See Oracle Applications Maintenance Utilities for further details of
Distributed AD and AD Controller.
AD Controller Log Files

The log file created by AD Controller is created wherever the AD Controller session
is started. This is to prevent file locking issues on certain platforms. It is therefore
recommended that the AD Controller log file should include the node name from which
the AD Controller session is invoked.
Nologging Operations
The nologging Oracle database feature is used to enhance performance in certain areas of
Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i. For example, it is used during patch installation, and
when building summary data for Business Intelligence.
Use of nologging in an operation means that the database redo logs will contain
incomplete information about the changes made, with any data blocks that have been
updated during the nologging operation being marked as invalid. As a result, a database
restoration to a point in time (whether from a hot backup or a cold backup) may require
additional steps in order to bring the affected data blocks up-to-date, and make the
restored database usable. These additional steps may involve taking new backups of
the associated datafiles, or by dropping and rebuilding the affected objects. The same
applies to activation of a standby database.
Note: Oracle9i Release 2 allows logging to be forced to take
place, ensuring all data changes are written to the database redo logs
in a way that can be recreated in a restored backup, or propagated to
a standby database. See Oracle Data Guard Concepts and Administration
Release 2 (9.2) for details of the forcelogging option.
Nologging Principles
At certain times, Oracle E-Business Suite uses the database nologging feature to perform
resource-intensive work more efficiently. When an operation uses nologging, blocks of
data are written directly to their data file, rather than going through the buffer cache in
the System Global Area (SGA).
Instance recovery uses the online redo logs to reconstruct the SGA after a crash, rolling
forward through any committed changes in order to ensure the data blocks are valid. Use
of nologging does not affect instance recovery.
Database recovery requires rolling forward through the redo logs to recreate the requisite
changes, and hence restore the database to the desired point in time. Since nologging
operations write directly to the data files, bypassing the redo logs, the redo logs will
not contain enough data to roll forward to perform media recovery. Instead, they will
only contain enough information to mark the new blocks as invalid. Rolling forward
through a nologging operation would therefore result in invalid blocks in the restored
database. The same problems will potentially occur upon activating a standby database.

To make the backup or activated standby database usable after a nologging operation
is carried out, a mechanism other than database recovery must be used to get or create
current copies of the affected blocks.
There are two options, either of which may be appropriate depending on the specific
circumstances:
• Create a new copy of the data files, either by backing up the tablespace again, or by
refreshing the specific data files in the standby database.
• Drop and recreate the object with the invalidated blocks, using the program that
maintains the object.
Nologging Usage
Nologging is used in the following situations in the Oracle E-Business Suite:
• Building new objects during patch application, where use of nologging makes the
initial build faster, and the downtime required for patching shorter.
• Changing the physical structure of existing objects during patch application (such
as partitioning a table), where use of nologging reduces the time needed for the
operation itself, and consequently the overall downtime.
• Certain specialized tasks where logging is not required, such as manipulating data
for data warehousing applications, or maintaining summary data for business
intelligence queries.
• Certain concurrent manager jobs. In most such cases, the object affected by
nologging will be dropped at the end of the job, and the invalidated blocks cleaned
up. If a recovery is needed while concurrent jobs are in progress, re-running the
affected jobs will clean up any invalidated blocks that may exist.
Actions Needed
To monitor nologging activity in your environment, you should periodically query
your production database to identify any datafiles that have experienced nologging
operations. You should also run the query before and after applying an Applications
patch, to determine whether any nologging activity was carried out.
A suitable query can be run via monitoring software such as Oracle Enterprise
Manager. Alternatively, you can construct a query based on the unrecoverable_change#
and unrecoverable_time columns of the data dictionary view v$datafile. These are updated
every time an unrecoverable or nologging operation marks blocks as invalid in the
datafile.
The results of a query can be saved as a snapshot and compared to the last snapshot. You
can then identify each occasion when nologging operations have been carried out in the
database, and hence when you need to refresh backup datafiles with new copies that
will be usable in the event of restoration being needed.
Note: See Oracle Data Guard Concepts and Administration Release 2 (9.2)
for further details of nologging operations and associated tasks.
Disaster Recovery
A significant problem that strikes an Oracle E-Business Suite installation could put the
viability of the organization at risk. Such a problem could be:

• An external disaster, such as a fire at a company’s data center, resulting in a loss of
service that severely hampers the organization’s ability to do business.
• An internal disaster, such as a serious error by a privileged user, resulting in major
loss or corruption of data.
This section gives an overview of the area of disaster recovery, which can be considered
as the final component of a high availability strategy. Disaster recovery involves taking
steps to protect the database and its environment to ensure that they can still operate
in the face of major problems. Oracle provides features such as Oracle Data Guard
to help set up and maintain a secondary copy of a database, typically referred to as a
standby database. Such a standby database is brought into use after a failover from the
primary database, when the primary becomes temporarily unavailable following a
significant hardware or software problem of some kind, and service continuity cannot be
maintained by a simple database restart.
Standby Environments and Release 11i
The secondary environment should be physically separate from the primary
environment, to protect against disasters that affect the entire primary site. This
necessitates having a reliable network connection between the two data centers, with
sufficient bandwidth (capacity) for peak redo log traffic.
Other key requirements for setting up a standby environment include:
• Use of AutoConfig (see Chapter 5), which will always be the case in Release 11.5.10.
• Duplication of the primary environment’s number and type of machines, including
operating system versions. (The standby machines do not necessarily need to have
the same capacity.)
• Identical top-level directory structures on the secondary server to those of the
corresponding primary server, with ownership and permissions set appropriately.
• Identical disk directory structure on the secondary server and primary server, with
the components in the same locations on the two servers. This ensures that the
secondary environment allows patching to be done after it is put into use.
• The same operating system user and group IDs for the database and Applications
accounts on the primary and standby servers.
• The same names for the production and standby databases on the primary and
standby servers respectively.
• Oracle Net connectivity between the primary and secondary servers.
• The production database on the primary site running in ARCHIVELOG mode.
Using Standby Databases
Oracle Data Guard provides mechanisms for propagating changes from one database
to another, to avoid possible loss of data if one site fails. The two main variants of a
Data Guard configuration are physical standby and logical standby. Both of these use the
primary database’s redo logs to propagate production changes to the standby:
• Physical standby uses the normal database recovery mechanism to apply the primary
database’s redo logs to the standby database, resulting in an identical copy of the
production database.
Physical standby is also valuable for protecting against the effects of logical data
corruption, for example as a result of a serious data manipulation error by a

privileged user. Adding a time lag before the primary’s redo logs are applied to the
secondary provides a window in which the problem can be identified, and action
taken to prevent the relevant redo logs from being applied to the secondary.
• Logical standby employs the Oracle LogMiner utility to build SQL statements that can
be used to recreate changes made to the data. While the logical standby mechanism
has the potential for use with a reporting database, it is not currently utilized with
Oracle E-Business Suite.
Additional Decisions
In pre-11.5.10 releases that used an Oracle 8.1.7 database, there was a choice between
using mandatory archiving and optional archiving to copy archived redo logs to the
secondary site. Mandatory archiving meant that all archived redo logs were written to
the primary and secondary sites at the same time. This had the disadvantage that an
interruption of the network connection to the secondary site resulted in the primary
database no longer archiving redo logs, since they had to be archived at both sites or
neither. For this reason, many sites used optional archiving, which was more complex
and required additional management steps.
Release 11.5.10’s usage of an Oracle 9.2 database offers a more sophisticated solution, in
which you can choose to maximize performance, protection, or availability:
• Maximizing performance is the default, where Data Guard manages the transport of
archived redo logs to the standby site. It is similar to mandatory archiving in that
the database manages the copying of archived redo logs to the secondary site as
part of normal operation. However, it is different in that if network connectivity is
disrupted, the archiving process at the primary site will continue to operate. When
network connectivity is restored, the transport of archived redo logs (including those
generated during the network outage) will be resumed.
• Maximizing protection involves writing online redo information to both the primary
and standby systems, and does not mark a commit operation as successful until
both the primary and at least one standby (if there is more than one) have the data
to reconstruct the transaction. However, if network connectivity to the standby
database fails, processing on the primary will halt.
• Maximizing availability makes a best effort attempt to write online redo information
to a standby before returning success to a commit operation, but if network
connectivity fails it will switch the instance to the next level of protection.
Finally, you must decide whether you need to copy concurrent manager log and output
files to the secondary site. This will be determined by the relative importance of being
able to review log files or re-run reports on the secondary site after a failover, compared
to the overhead of keeping these files synchronized.
Oracle Data Guard and Nologging
Data Guard’s reliance on the redo logs generated from the production database has
significant implications for operations in which Oracle E-Business Suite uses the
nologging feature (described previously) to perform some resource-intensive tasks
with greater efficiency.
Where the nologging feature is used, for example in applying a patch, the redo logs
do not contain enough data to make the corresponding changes on the standby
database. You must therefore take steps to refresh the standby after a nologging
operation, to ensure it will remain usable.

10
Load Balancing
Introduction
Oracle E-Business Suite provides numerous options for building and tailoring an
installation to meet specific business and technical requirements. At a simple level, this
includes the capability to utilize varying numbers of machines to distribute the
various Applications technology layers according to desired expenditure and required
performance. There are also more specific factors, such as physical site organization and
expected growth rate. Other aspects are the possible need to provide extra capability
to cope with fluctuations in demand, and the possible need for resilience in the event
of problems affecting some of the hardware components. A final (and important)
consideration in planning a system is the need for the appropriate level of security
to be put in place.
Many of these subjects are described in other chapters of this book. This section
concentrates on how to make the decisions needed to balance the load on various
components or layers, which is of particular importance for two reasons:
• Load balancing can involve the entire infrastructure of an E-Business Suite
installation, with a change in one area potentially having significant effects
elsewhere.
• Making informed decisions about load balancing can often enable a higher level of
performance to be obtained without expenditure on additional hardware.
Load balancing areas include:
• Domain Name Server
• HTTP Server
• JServ Layer
• Forms Server
• Concurrent Processing Layer
• Database Layer
The emphasis here is on describing load balancing strategies and their key features, to
allow an informed decision to be made regarding the applicability and usefulness
of a particular area of load balancing in achieving the desired technical and business
requirements. Both advantages and limitations of the different areas will be mentioned.
Load Balancing 10-1

Categories of Load Balancer
With the exception of the Forms Metrics server, described in Chapter 1, load balancers
are not installed as part of Oracle E-Business Suite. However, Oracle E-Business Suite
can be configured for use with them as required.
The main categories of load balancer are:
Session Persistent Load Balancers - After a client’s HTTP connection is established with
a particular server, subsequent HTTP requests from that client are directed to the same
server, for the duration of the session. This persistency is also referred to as stickiness.
Non-Session Persistent Load Balancers - These load balancers use a round-robin
strategy for balancing incoming HTTP requests, and do not maintain session persistent
client connections. After a client’s initial HTTP connection is directed to a given
server, subsequent HTTP requests from that client will be not necessarily be directed
to the same server.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Accelerators - Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) accelerators can
be used to reduce the SSL traffic and workload of the Web servers.
Usually, an SSL accelerator is the target for HTTPS browser requests, and thus the target
for all client communication. It is responsible for converting HTTPS SSL requests to
non-SSL HTTP requests, directing the subsequent request to the HTTP server (running
in non-SSL mode). Before sending the response back to the client browser, the SSL
accelerator converts the non-SSL requests back to SSL requests, in a reverse of the initial
process.
Load Balancing Options

Several different types of load balancing can be employed with Oracle E-Business
Suite. They range from the relatively simple to the more sophisticated, and should be
chosen to integrate with the specific needs and existing infrastructure of a site.
Domain Name Server (DNS) Layer Load Balancing
This type of load balancer distributes end-user requests across multiple server
nodes, based on dynamic assignments of IP addresses to a fully qualified domain name.
The following diagram shows an example of a configuration that uses DNS layer load
balancing.
Figure 10-1 DNS Layer Load Balancing

HTTP Layer Hardware Load Balancing
This type of load balancing can be used if you have a hardware load balancer that
accepts HTTP communication and forwards it to a group of server nodes, sometimes
referred to as a farm.
The following diagram shows an example of a configuration where an HTTP load
balancer distributes the load across a farm consisting of two Web server nodes.
Figure 10-2 HTTP Layer Load Balancing
Hardware-based HTTP load balancers must be configured for persistent session

connections for all traffic through all ports for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i
environments. Prerequisite patches will need to be applied to all application tier server
nodes.
JServ Layer Load Balancing
Oracle9i Application Server (9iAS) 1.0.2.2.2 introduced new capabilities for
software-based load balancing of JServ transactions across multiple application tier
server nodes, to increase the fault tolerance and scalability of large Oracle E-Business
Suite installations.
In particular, 9iAS 1.0.2.2.2 uses the Oracle Process Manager module, mod_oprocmgr, to
provide JServ death-detection and restart functionality across multiple nodes. For
example, mod_oprocmgr may be configured to manage a JServ load balancing server
pool comprising JVMs running on two different Web server nodes.
mod_oprocmgr starts the number of JVMs specified by the AutoConfig parameter
nproc. All JVMs are started at the same time; there is no concept of starting JVMs in
readiness, before they are actually required.
Also, there is also no capability for dynamically changing the number of active
JVMs based on load. However, mod_oprocmgr monitors the JVMs via a heartbeat
mechanism, killing and restarting any that become hung.
Important: If you are using an HTTP hardware-based load balancer that
is capable of maintaining session-persistent client connections, you do
not need to implement JServ layer load balancing.
Load Balancing 10-3

Forms Layer Load Balancing
Two options exist for load balancing Forms-based traffic:
• JServ Load Balancing - for use with Forms Listener Servlet
• Metrics Server - for use with Forms server
Note: For additional information on load balancing configurations, see
OracleMetaLink Note 217368.1, Advanced Configurations and Topologies for
Enterprise Deployments of E-Business Suite 11i.
Setting Up Load Balancing

If you are creating a new installation of Oracle Applications, the 11.5.10 Rapid Install
includes screens that allow you to set up Forms Metrics Server and JServ load balancing.
Additionally, you can use Oracle Applications Manager and AutoConfig to configure
HTTP load balancing and JServ load balancing. From the Site Map, choose AutoConfig
and then Configuration Wizards. This also gives you the option to enable or disable use
of SSL, SSL Accelerator, and Forms Listener Servlet on your system.

11
Security
Introduction
The foundation of security is access control, which refers to how the system
is being accessed and by whom. User security consists of three principal
components: authentication, authorization and an audit trail. Authentication validates
the user’s identity, authorization controls the user’s access based on responsibilities
assigned, and the audit trail keeps track of the user’s transactions to ensure that the
user’s privileges are not being misused.
Authentication
Identifying and verifying who is allowed to access the system is the first line of
defense. The most common approach is password-based authentication: if the legitimate
user is the only one who knows the password, then whoever just entered the correct
password is very likely to be the person authorized to use the account.
A number of practical problems can arise with passwords. These include:
• Passwords that are allowed to be too short, and thus vulnerable to being observed
on entry
• Passwords that are forced to be too long, and which the user might decide to write
down
• Easy-to-guess passwords, chosen as being easy to remember
• Rarely changed passwords
• Passwords that are used for multiple accounts
In a single-sign on environment (see Chapter 8), a single password allows access to
more than one application, so the consequences of it being discovered or divulged are
proportionately much more serious.
An attacker will generally focus on identifying the password of a powerful user such as a
system administrator. Such users are generally more aware of security risks, and can be
persuaded to take more care in their choice of password and to change it regularly. The
Oracle E-Business Suite features various password management policies that can be
enabled to secure key user accounts.
Authorization
On entering the system, the user should only be granted access to the features and
specific data needed to perform his job. Routine access to highly sensitive data should
Security 11-1
only be given to trusted users who need that level of access. The Function Security feature
allows the System Administrator to manage the access privileges of individual users. By
enforcing tighter security policies for more sensitive accounts, Function Security can
mitigate the risk of unauthorized users’ access to highly sensitive information.
Audit Trail
Even the most carefully planned user authentication and authorization policies cannot
eliminate the risk of exploitation when the attacker is an authorized user. An audit
trail can be used to keep track of a user’s transactions to verify that the user is not
misusing his access privileges. Oracle E-Business Suite can record details of every user’s
login, including time stamp, session ID, and information about the Function Security
rules applying to that session. Information about the identity of the user is also attached
to all transactions. This provides a method for detecting the party responsible for any
transaction, or determining which users viewed sensitive data in a given time period.
If a valid user password has been compromised, and becomes known to an unauthorized
person, it can be difficult to trace the intrusion back to the attacker. However, knowing
the particular account that was used can help to identify other people who may have
learned that user’s password.
Network Security
An organization may or may not have physical control over the network infrastructure
in use. The Internet is the best example of a network where it will not have control, and
where extra steps must be taken to ensure security is not compromised.
A common concern regarding use of a public network such as the Internet is the
possibility of someone eavesdropping on password transmissions by using a network
sniffer. In such a case, though, the concern should be wider, and reflect the possibility
of someone eavesdropping on sensitive information in general. In such cases, HTTPS
(secure HTTP) connection to the E-Business Suite is recommended. All current
browser-based password login screens send the password as a parameter in the HTTP
form submission. Using an HTTPS connection will encrypt this information. The best
practice is therefore to use HTTPS for all web-based access. On the other hand, if you
have control over your network to the point where you can rule out eavesdropping, then
password interception should not be an issue.
The main reason not to run HTTPS by default is performance, since it does introduce
some overhead. A more strategic way to address this concern is to integrate the Oracle
E-Business Suite with Oracle Application Server 10g Single Sign-On (SSO). Here, the SSO
server that is responsible for user authentication is a different Web server from the one
used with the E-Business Suite. Hence you can run the SSO server in HTTPS mode, while
running the E-Business Suite Web server in the better-performing HTTP mode.
Oracle User Management

Introduced in Release 11.5.10, Oracle User Management is a secure and scalable system
that enables organizations to define administrative functions and manage users based on
specific requirements such as job role or geographic location.
Note: Use of the features provided by Oracle User Management is
optional. They supplement, but do not replace, the standard user
management and authorization mechanisms that exist in Release 11.5.10.

With Oracle User Management, instead of exclusively relying on a centralized
administrator to manage all its users, an organization can create functional administrators
and grant them sufficient privileges to manage a specific subset of the organization’s
users. This provides the organization with a more granular level of security, and the
ability to make the most effective use of its administrative capabilities.
Oracle User Management implements several different layers of security, requiring
organizations to specify:
• The set of users that will be granted access to specific areas of Oracle Applications
• The information these users will require to do their jobs
• The extent to which the users can use this information
Oracle’s function and data security models constitute the base layers of this system, and
contain the traditional system administrative capabilities.
Organizations can optionally add more layers to the system depending on the degree
of flexibility they require. Role Based Access Control (RBAC) enables organizations to
create roles based on specific job functions, and to assign these roles the appropriate
permissions. With RBAC, administrative privileges and user access are determined by
assigning individuals the appropriate roles.
Key features of RBAC include:
• Delegated Administration - Enables system administrators to delegate some of their
administrative privileges to individuals that manage a subset of the organization’s
users.
• Registration Processes - Enable organizations to provide end-users with a method
for requesting various levels of access to the system, based on their eligibility.
• Self-service Requests and Approvals - Enable end users to request initial access or
additional access to the system by clicking on links embedded in a Web application.
Security Strategies
The Oracle E-Business Suite tables are no different from any other Oracle database
tables, as far as a DBA is concerned, and the same security issues that apply to
Oracle database installations also apply to E-Business Suite installations. While the
Oracle database provides multiple mechanisms to ensure security, recovery, and high
availability of databases, no amount of technology can completely protect against human
problems (error or sabotage), or poor disaster recovery and corporate security policies.
Warning: A potentially disastrous security oversight is to
retain the default password for a privileged account (for
example, SYS/CHANGE_ON_INSTALL).
While technical measures exist to limit what a DBA can do, and selectively audit
DBA activity, it is an axiom that DBAs serve in positions of trust. Organizations must
therefore take appropriate steps to ensure that persons assigned to such positions are
worthy of trust. For example, a company may go to great lengths to secure its trade
secrets, such as locking formulae in bank vaults, obtaining patents, and performing
extensive background checks on individuals privy to corporate secrets. A company’s
data is just as sensitive and valuable as its trade secrets; indeed, data should often be
treated as the most closely-guarded secret. Therefore, the same checks should be made
on DBAs as are made on staff given access to corporate secrets.
Security 11-3
Warning: It is imperative that organizations follow appropriate
procedures in hiring DBAs, since DBAs have responsibility for an
organization’s core, mission-critical data.
DBAs need to have extensive privileges to do their jobs; this also means that they can
carry out destructive actions on a database, either by accident or intentionally. Such
actions can directly and seriously impair an organization’s ability to carry on with its
business. For example, if your customer database is accidentally corrupted, and no
backups have been made, you may lose vital customer information and not be able
to fulfil orders.
Some organizations would prefer DBAs not to be able to see any of the actual data stored
in the database. This is unrealistic, for both general and specific reasons:
• It is difficult (if not impossible) to prevent DBAs from seeing data in a database
when the whole purpose of a database is to manage data. To put this another way, a
manager who knew nothing about a group of employees could not be expected to
manage them effectively, if at all.
• DBAs typically export and import tables into databases, create indexes, tune
the database, and perform backups. By their nature, these operations cannot be
performed (and their success confirmed) without the data being visible.
• Users making SYSDBA-type or SYSOPER-type connections to the database are
not subject to the restrictions imposed by Oracle’s Virtual Private Database (VPD)
policies, or to the access control checks provided by Oracle Label Security.
Simply restricting the availability of the passwords for accounts with DBA privileges
is an important first step in implementing security-oriented DBA access policies. This
can then be extended by setting up procedures for auditing DBA actions, as described
later in this section.
Data Encryption
For fields of especially sensitive information (such as credit card numbers), there is the
possibility of encrypting the data stored. Currently, the Oracle E-Business Suite does
not automatically encrypt data, the only exception being iPayment. There are several
reasons for this:
• Different installations have different requirements for which data should be
encrypted; for example, salary may be most confidential in a human resources
database, whereas chemical formulae may be of greater sensitivity to a
pharmaceutical company. Medical databases may have a number of fields that are
confidential.
• While the underlying Oracle database does offer data encryption via the
DBMS_OBFUSCATION_TOOLKIT, the keys cannot be stored in the database if a
goal is to prevent the DBA from decrypting data. Also, encrypted data may be
unrecoverable if the keys are lost.
• Encrypting columns has a relatively high cost in terms of resources, and encrypting
numerous columns may impact system performance. It is therefore very important
to be selective about the columns that are to be encrypted.
• Database-level encryption requires customized programming for each screen and
report that accesses the data.

• Third party solutions that work in conjunction with the Oracle E-Business Suite can
provide encryption of data where required.
Patching
Applying patches to the Oracle E-Business Suite requires the person performing the
patching (normally, the DBA) to provide the passwords for both the SYSTEM and the
APPLSYS accounts. Both of these accounts are highly privileged. It is possible to keep
the passwords to these accounts secret until just before the patching process begins, at
which point the passwords are changed to temporary values that are communicated to
the DBA. When patching is complete, the passwords are set back to their previous, secret
values. This procedure adds only a few minutes to the patching process, and can
help improve security in cases where the DBA is, for example, located in a different
country, but it must not be relied on for complete protection of data - the DBA could still
carry out unauthorized actions, immediately before or after the patching operation.
Auditing DBA Activity
Rather than trying to prevent DBA access to data, it is more realistic to audit DBA access
to data. Oracle 9i Release 2 added features that can be used to audit DBA actions. The
audit trail, mentioned earlier, should not be used in place of procedures for hiring
trustworthy DBAs, but can be a useful adjunct to them.
Oracle recommends that you strongly protect your audit trail records wherever they are
stored. The most secure location for the audit trail, in terms of keeping the content
from DBAs, is the operating system’s own audit trail or operating system files. Oracle
recommends that the database server should write audit records to the operating
system, and the file to which Oracle writes audit records should have suitable operating
system file protection.
Using an operating system audit trail requires a simple change of the AUDIT_TRAIL
database initialization parameter from "DB" to "OS", and prevents privileged database
users from reading, modifying or deleting audit records. However, this strategy is
ineffective for users who have suitable operating system privileges. Also, the query
advantage that SQL brings to audit analysis is lost, unless you have an operating system
audit analysis tool that can read Oracle-generated operating system audit records.
Note: For further security recommendations, see OracleMetaLink Note
189367.1, Best Practices for Securing the E-Business Suite.
Security 11-5
12
Network Topologies
Introduction
As large companies move to implement a global IT infrastructure, the choice of network
topology becomes of increasing importance. This section describes the most significant
strategic factors that can affect performance.
Strategies
A large, worldwide organization will typically benefit from the use of a "hub and spoke"
network topology, with high-capacity links to regional hubs, and medium-capacity
connections from the regional hubs to local offices. The locations of the regional hubs
should be based on organizational need, carrier availability, pricing, and network
latency. The routes and hops need to be as short and efficient as practicable. Network
design for the Oracle E-Business Suite should be based around the needs of the majority
of users; satellite users, for example, will normally be a small minority.
Note: For a discussion of the effects of different network layers on load
balancing, see OracleMetaLink Note 217368.1, Multi-Node Installations of
iAS 1.0.2.2.2 for E-Business Suite 11i.
Latency
Latency is the time for a packet to travel from its source to its destination, and is a key
determinant of network efficiency. In general, Oracle E-Business Suite works very well
with average latencies up to 300ms, and is usually found to give acceptable performance
with latencies up to 500ms. Note that periods when forms are being loaded (for
example, on startup) may be an issue in cases where latency is marginal. A consequence
of this is that the newer HTML-based Applications (which do not use Forms) may give
better performance than the traditional Forms-based Applications.
Satellite Links
Satellite links can be used with the Oracle E-Business Suite. They are considered to be
just another network type, and may be the only choice for users in remote locations. In
general, however, they should be employed only where use of terrestrial services is not
feasible.
If satellite links are to be used, the network stack should be examined and tuned by
a network specialist, to ensure device timeout settings, for example, are configured
optimally. The goal is to achieve reliable operation, while maintaining an acceptable
response time.
Network Topologies 12-1

Wireless LANs
Wireless technology is becoming of increasing interest and use to some
organizations. However, its deployment must be planned carefully. As well as the
security aspects of wireless use, there are several technical considerations. For the
Oracle E-Business Suite, the most important issue is the stability of the connection. It
is not uncommon to experience dropouts (momentary loss of service) while using a
wireless LAN. These may occur as a result of not having the latest firmware revision, or
interference from devices that use a similar wavelength, such as cordless phones.
As far as supportability of wireless LANs goes, they are simply considered to be another
network topology, and as such are neither supported nor unsupported. Hence it is
feasible to run E-Business Suite client PCs over a wireless LAN. However, in the event
of problems, it would be desirable to be able to determine whether the problem also
occurs via a normal network link, i.e. whether the cause lies in the E-Business Suite
or the network. Use of the Forms Listener Servlet architecture may be of benefit in a
wireless LAN environment, as it is designed to attempt reconnection (via a configuration
parameter) in the event of a network interruption.

13
Internationalization Support
Introduction
The Oracle E-Business Suite is designed for ease of deployment in a single global
instance that meets the complex requirements of a worldwide enterprise. Strong
internationalization support is essential in meeting this requirement. Key
internationalization features provided by Release 11i include support for a wide
variety of languages and territories, flexible date and number formats to suit local
custom, multiple reporting currencies, and other country-specific functionality to
provide compliance with local statutory requirements.
Applications Release 10.7 supported one language per instance. If you needed to run
Oracle Applications in more than one language in the same instance, Oracle Consulting
offered a customized solution to enable additional languages. Applications Release
11 supported the combination of multiple languages in the same database, provided
that they used the same character set. Textual parts of Oracle Applications such as
forms, reports, messages, help text, menu prompts, and lists of report names were
available in all installed languages, but most data at the product level was still available
only in the base, or primary, language. This meant, for example, that although you
could enter payment terms only in the base language, forms could be displayed in
another language. For additional multilingual support, Oracle Consulting continued to
provide a customized solution.
The majority of Oracle Applications products have been restructured in Release 11i to
provide multilingual support at the product data level, utilizing the Unicode character
set. As Unicode supports all characters in common use in all of the world’s modern
languages, this removes the limitation on the number of supported languages that can be
run in a single database. The additional functionality that was previously provided by
Oracle Consulting is incorporated in Release 11i as standard.
Note: To learn about languages supported by the Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i, see Installing Oracle Applications. To learn about
character sets, see the Oracle Globalization Support Guide.
Languages and Character Sets on the Database Tier

By default, Rapid Install creates a production database with the US7ASCII character
set, and a Vision demo database with the UTF8 character set. However, you can if
desired choose any other supported character set during the installation. Rapid Install
recommends a character set based on the languages you license.
Before installing Oracle Applications, you should carefully consider the future language
requirements of your installation. The character set you choose during installation
Internationalization Support 13-1

determines which languages the instance can support. Review the Oracle Globalization
Support Guide before choosing a character set. Changing character sets after installation
is an involved process, and can be avoided by choosing a character set that will meet
your long-term needs.
The US7ASCII character set only supports American English. All other character sets
vary in the number of languages they support. For example, if you need to support the
French language and also want to use the euro symbol, WE8ISO8859P15 is a superset
of US7ASCII, supports both English and French, and contains the euro symbol. If you
need to support English, French, Japanese, and Arabic, you must choose UTF8, Oracle’s
Unicode character set, as this is the only one that supports all four of these languages.
The extended multilingual support in the Release 11i data model may increase database
storage requirements. For a new installation, consider the database space required for a
single language and multiply this by the number of languages you will license. In the
case of an upgrade, some of the data currently in a single language structure will be
converted to a multilingual structure, which will require additional storage.
Note: For further details of installing character sets, see Installing Oracle
Applications.
Using a multibyte character set such as the Unicode UTF8 or Japanese JA16EUC (as
opposed to a single-byte character set such as WE8ISO8859P15) may also affect the
overall space required for language setup and transaction data, because some characters
used may require more than one byte of storage space.
Note: For further details of supported character sets, tips on choosing
a database character set, and storage requirements, see the Oracle
Globalization Support Guide.
Languages and Character Sets on the Application Tier

By default, Rapid Install creates the application tier file system for a production instance
with the US7ASCII character set, and the file system for a Vision demo instance with the
UTF8 character set. However, you can if desired choose any other supported character
set during the installation. Rapid Install recommends the application tier character set
based on the languages licensed.
To prevent data loss, character sets on all tiers must be compatible with each other. If
one character set does not contain all characters in the other, replacement characters will
be used and data lost as a result.
Note: As UTF8 is a superset of all other supported character sets, there
are no other fully compatible character sets. If you use UTF8 on any
tier, you must use UTF8 on all tiers.
Rapid Install installs American English on all servers in the application tier. Additional
languages may also need be installed, so that all application tier servers have the same
set of languages installed.
Character Sets on the Desktop Tier

Language support, which includes support for data input methods, character sets, and
fonts, must be available on the desktop client. The character set of the browser is set
by Oracle Applications for each session.

The desktop browser must support character set and language-specific capabilities. For
instance, Hebrew and Arabic require bidirectional support for right-to-left display, and
Arabic also requires a browser capable of special character shaping.
External Documents
External documents are those documents intended for customers and trading
partners, such as bills of lading, commercial invoices, and packing slips. Oracle
E-Business Suite Release 11i is capable of producing external documents in any of the
active languages, simultaneously and with a single request. A company’s customer in
Italy, for example, could receive invoices printed in Italian, and a customer in Poland
could receive invoices printed in Polish.
You can send external documents to different printers based on language, and route
completion notifications to different people according to the requested language. For
example, you could route all French documents to one printer, and all other documents
to another printer. You could send completion notifications for Spanish documents to
one user, and all notifications, including Spanish, to another.
Note: See the System Administrator’s Guide for a list of external
documents provided in Release 11i.
Globalization and Country-Specic Functionalities

Globalization is the process of designing and deploying software that meets the
needs of a global enterprise. One requirement for successful globalization is to meet
the statutory, legal, and cultural practices of a given locality. In Oracle E-Business
Suite Release 11i, this is achieved is through national and regional extensions called
country-specific functionalities. Because country-specific functionalities are all compatible
with each other, installation of all required country-specific functionalities results in a
globalized implementation.
All country-specific functionalities are installed when you run the Rapid Install. You
simply need to license those you wish to use. The functionality of each country-specific
functionality is described in a special User’s Guide for each country.
Dates and Numbers

You can enter and view dates in any valid format, such as 03-31-04, 31/03/04, or
2004-03-31. Any format for which SQL provides a mask is valid. The only exception is
with Oracle Reports, which always uses the format DD-MON-RRRR, e.g. 31-MAR-2004.
You can also enter and view numbers with either the period (full stop) character or
comma as the decimal separator. For example, you can enter 1.02 and 100,000.02, or
alternatively 1,02 and 100.000,02.
Note: For further details of date and number formats, see the Oracle
Globalization Support Guide.
Regardless of the various formats that may be used to enter dates and numbers, the
actual values are stored in the database in uniform canonical formats. This allows date
and number values to be entered in one format, and viewed in an alternative format by
another user.
Internationalization Support 13-3

Multiple Reporting Currencies
The Multiple Reporting Currencies (MRC) feature, described in more detail in Chapter
15, allows you to report on and maintain accounting records at the transaction level
in more than one functional currency. MRC is based on the Multi-Org Architecture
(described in Chapter 14), and is a significant aspect of a globalization strategy.
The primary functional currency is the currency you use to record transactions and
maintain your accounting data within the Oracle E-Business Suite. In the primary set of
books, the functional currency is always the primary functional currency. Usually, the
primary functional currency is the currency in which you perform most of your business
transactions, and the one you use for legal reporting.
A reporting set of books is a financial reporting entity associated with a primary set of
books. While the reporting set of books has the same chart of accounts and accounting
calendar as the primary set of books, its use of a different functional currency (reporting
functional currency) allows you to report in a different functional currency than that of
your primary set of books.
You must define a separate set of books for each of your reporting functional
currencies. For each set of books you use with MRC, you need to specify which is the
primary set of books and which are the reporting set(s) of books. You then assign the
reporting sets of books to the primary set of books. You must also define a primary
responsibility to correspond to your primary set of books, and a reporting responsibility
to correspond to each reporting set of books.
Note: For further details, see Multiple Reporting Currencies in Oracle
Applications and Multiple Organizations in Oracle Applications.
NLS-Independent Application Servers

In Release 11, an application tier server was required for each language and territory
configuration a user might have. For example, to process French and German forms
requests, you needed to start one Forms server for French and one for German. If two
users ran French, but one set the territory to France and the other to Switzerland, two
Forms servers and two Reports servers would be needed to support the two users.
Release 11i removes this need for multiple servers. Application tier processes must be
started with the character set of the server, as defined in Rapid Install. A user’s NLS
preferences (such as language, territory, date format, and number format) are passed
with each user request to the application tier servers, where a session is started with
the corresponding NLS settings.
NLS Settings
In Release 11i, user runtime NLS settings are stored as profile options in the
database. The profile options for language and territory are configured at site level when
running Rapid Install. The base language is used for the default language setting. The
default user territory you choose is used for the territory profile option.
The site level profile option values provide the default NLS settings for all end
users. Users inherit these values the first time they log on to Oracle Applications using
the E-Business Suite home page. A user can continue to use the default values, or change
any of the NLS settings to alternative values. The updated values are stored in the
database at user level, and all future sessions are started with them.

14
Multi-Org Architecture
Introduction
The Oracle Multiple Organization Architecture (Multi-Org) provides support for
multiple organizations in a single installation of Oracle E-Business Suite, with
relationships you define. Multi-Org specifies how the different organizations
interact, and how transactions flow between them. These organizations can be sets of
books, business groups, legal entities, operating units, or inventory organizations.
Overview
When you run any Oracle Applications product in a Multi-Org environment, you first
choose an organization, either implicitly by choosing a responsibility, or explicitly
in a Choose Organization window. Each subsequent window and report displays
information for the chosen organization only.
The following terms are fundamental to the Multi-Org architecture:
Table 14-1 Multi-Org Terminology

Set of Books A financial reporting entity that uses a
particular chart of accounts, functional
currency, and accounting calendar. Oracle
General Ledger secures transaction information
(journal entries, balances) by set of books. When
you use Oracle General Ledger, you choose a
responsibility that specifies a set of books. You
can then see information only for that set of
books while logged in with that responsibility.
Operating Unit An organization that uses Oracle Cash

Management, Oracle Order Management and
Shipping Execution, Oracle Payables, Oracle
Purchasing, and Oracle Receivables. It may be
a sales office, a division, or a department. An
operating unit is associated with a legal
entity. Information is secured by operating
unit for these applications; each user sees
information only for his operating unit. To
run any of these applications, you choose a
responsibility associated with an organization
classified as an operating unit.
Note: For further details, see Multiple Organizations in Oracle Applications.
Multi-Org Architecture 14-1

Multi-Org Partitioned Objects
Tables that contain Multi-Org data can be identified by the suffix "_ALL" in the table
name. These tables include a column called ORG_ID, which partitions Multi-Org data
by organization..
Every Multi-Org table has a corresponding view that partitions the table’s data by
operating unit. Multi-Org views partition data by including a DECODE on the internal
variable CLIENT_INFO. This variable is set by the security system to the operating
unit designated for the responsibility. It operates is a similar way to the LANGUAGE
variable, which returns the language of the current session.
Note: If accessing data from a Multi-Org partitioned object when
CLIENT.INFO has not been set (for example, from SQL*Plus), you must
use the _ALL table, not the view.
SO_HEADERS_ALL, with its corresponding view SO_HEADERS, is an example of

a Multi-Org partitioned object.
Note: For further details, see Technical Overview, Multiple Organizations
in Oracle Applications.
Converting to Multi-Org
When you install a production E-Business Suite system, the data model is identical
whether you implement Multi-Org or not. The Multi-Org views used to partition data
are incorporated into the normal install, and use predefined text. When you convert to
Multi-Org, tables are renamed to use the "_ALL" suffix to denote that they now contain
Multi-Org partitioned data.
In Release 11i, the AD Administration utility is used for the initial conversion of seed
data and transaction data to Multi-Org format. Note that the underlying data model
is not changed. When you create a new operating unit, a concurrent program adds
the appropriate seed data.
Note: For further details, see AD Administration, Oracle Applications
Maintenance Utilities.

15
Multiple Reporting Currencies
Introduction
The Multiple Reporting Currencies (MRC) feature allows you to report and maintain
accounting records at the transaction level in more than one functional currency. You do
this by defining one or more reporting sets of books, in addition to your primary set of books.
In your reporting set(s) of books, you maintain records in a functional currency other
than your primary functional currency.
Functional Currencies
The following terms are fundamental to using MRC:
Table 15-1 Functional Currencies and Sets of Books

Primary Functional Currency The currency you use to record transactions and
maintain your accounting data within Oracle
Applications. The primary functional currency
is generally the currency in which you perform
most of your business transactions and the one
you use for legal reporting.
Reporting Functional Currency A currency, other than your primary functional

currency, for which you need to report.
Primary Set of Books A financial reporting entity in which you

conduct business. The primary set of books
uses a particular chart of accounts, accounting
calendar, and functional currency (in the
primary set of books, the functional currency is
always the primary functional currency).
Reporting Set of Books A financial reporting entity that is associated

with a primary set of books. The reporting
set of books has the same chart of accounts
and accounting calendar as the primary set of
books, but usually has a different functional
currency. The reporting set of books allows you
to report in a different functional currency than
that of your primary set of books.
For each set of books you use with MRC, you need to specify which is the primary set
of books and which are the reporting set(s) of books. You then assign the reporting
sets of books to the primary set of books.
Multiple Reporting Currencies 15-1

MRC Architecture
MRC is supported by the following Oracle E-Business Suite products:
• Oracle Assets
• Oracle Cash Management
• Oracle Cost Management
• Oracle General Ledger
• Oracle Global Accounting Engine
• Oracle Payables
• Oracle Receivables
• Oracle Purchasing
• Oracle Projects
Products that support MRC have an associated MRC subtable for each transaction table
in the base schema that contains currency-sensitive information, such as conversion rate
and transaction amount. Records in the base schema transaction table may have one or
more MRC subtable records, which contain currency-sensitive information on the base
transaction, in each associated reporting currency. In the APPS schema, MRC views
provide reporting currency representations of each base transaction table.
Note: MRC can be used even if the Multi-Org Architecture is not
implemented.

Figure 15-1 MRC Architecture
MRC Subtables
For products that support MRC, each transaction table in the base schema that contains
currency-sensitive information, such as conversion rate and transaction amount, now
has an associated MRC subtable.
There is an optional one-to-many relationship between records in a base transaction
table and records in the corresponding MRC subtable. For each transaction record in
the base transaction table, there may be one or more corresponding records in the MRC
subtable. Each record is associated with a reporting currency. The primary key for an
MRC subtable is the combination of the primary key of the base transaction table and the
reporting set of books ID.
Multiple Reporting Currencies 15-3

Figure 15-2 Transaction Table and MRC Subtable
MRC Triggers
As of Oracle Applications Release 11.5.9, all MRC triggers have been replaced
by APIs. These MRC APIs are executed whenever the relevant records are
inserted, updated, or deleted in the corresponding base product’s transaction
tables. For example, when you enter an invoice, Oracle Payables inserts records into
AP_INVOICES_ALL and AP_INVOICE_DISTRIBUTIONS_ALL. When Payables
inserts these records, MRC APIs are called from the corresponding table handlers
to create reporting currency records in MRC subtables AP_MC_INVOICES and
AP_MC_INVOICE_DISTRIBUTIONS.
Note: See Multiple Reporting Currencies in Oracle Applications for more
information about the MRC subtables and their corresponding products.
MRC Views
MRC views provide representations of transactions in each reporting currency. They
are created in the APPS schema. MRC views show information for only one set of
books at a given time. That is, these views retrieve information based on the reporting
set of books associated with the user’s current responsibility. When you sign on to a
responsibility, Oracle Applications sets the userenv variable based on the profile option
MRC: Reporting Set of Books. This variable value is used by the MRC views to show only
the information associated with your reporting set of books.

Glossary
Admin server
Sometimes referred to as the administration server, this is the server from which the
system administrator runs programs that maintain and update an Oracle Applications
database. For example, AutoUpgrade and AutoPatch are both run on this server to
install, update, or upgrade the database that resides on the database server.
applet
A Java program that is downloaded to a desktop client from an HTTP server, and runs
within a Java-enabled web browser. Applets are restricted in their capabilities compared
to servlets.
See also: servlet
application server
Server that resides in an application (middle) tier, between the desktop clients and
database tier. Desktop clients send their requests to an application server, which
processes the request or send it to another server, such as the database server. The
desktop clients never connect directly to the database server. The Forms server and
Web server are types of application server.
See also: tier
applmgr
The account used to install and upgrade Oracle Applications. This account owns the
Oracle Applications product files.
APPS schema
An ORACLE schema that has access to the complete Oracle Applications data model.
audit trail
A record of every user’s login, including time stamp, session ID, and transactions carried
out in the session. Can be used to identify unauthorized access and activities.
AutoCong
A configuration management tool for an Oracle Applications environment, AutoConfig
includes a number of scripts and other files that simplify the process of making updates
to a system.
AutoPatch
A program that is used to apply patches and add new languages and products to
an Applications system.
AutoUpgrade
The Oracle Applications upgrade program.
Glossary-1
Automatic Undo Management (AUM)
Introduced in the Oracle9i database server, automatic undo management is based on the
use of undo tablespaces rather than rollback tablespaces and rollback segments.
See also: rollback tablespace, rollback segment, undo tablespace
background process
A noninteractive process that runs in an operating system environment and performs a
specific task.
bandwidth
The amount of data that can be sent through a network connection in a fixed period of
time, usually measured in bits per second (bps). The speed and capacity of a network
depend on both bandwidth and latency.
See also: latency
base language
The language used for seed data and setup data for tables that are not structured for
mulitlingual support.
BC4J
An acronym for Oracle Business Components for Java, BC4J is a 100%
Java-compatible, XML-based framework designed to facilitate the development and
portable deployment of multi-tier database applications.
browser
See: Web browser
CBO
See: cost-based optimizer
certicate le
Contains the identity of a trusted source that the desktop client uses to guarantee the
authenticity of a JAR file. Information within the certificate file allows the desktop
client to decrypt the digital signature of the JAR file. The identity must be validated
successfully before the desktop client downloads and executes the JAR file.
See also: digital signature, JAR file
CGI
Acronym for Common Gateway Interface, a specification for transferring information
between a Web server and a program designed to process data that conforms to the CGI
specification. Such CGI programs are a very common way to enable a Web server to
interact dynamically with users.
See also: Perl
character set
A set of encoded binary values that represents the letters, numerals, and punctuation
marks of a language, or of a group of languages that use similar written symbols. For
example, the WE8ISO8859P1 character set can be used by English and many other
languages that use a Latin-based alphabet and Arabic numerals. Terminals and printers
Glossary-2
handle text data by converting these encoded values to characters. A character set may
also be called a codeset.
client/server architecture
A configuration in which one or several servers perform database processing or other
functions for applications that are run on clients. Software must be installed on each
client before the client can interact with the servers. Client/server architecture is not used
by the Oracle E-Business Suite in Release 11i.
clone
A copy of an Oracle Applications system, typically used for testing purposes. A clone
can be created by using the Rapid Clone tool, or from Oracle Applications Manager.
codeset
See: character set
command
An instruction or request for the system to perform a particular action. An entire
command may consist of the command name, plus one or more parameters and
qualifiers.
command le
A file containing a predefined sequence of commands to be executed by the operating
system.
Common Gateway Interface

See: CGI
concurrency
Simultaneous access of the same data by multiple users.
concurrent manager
A process manager that coordinates the processes generated by users’ requests to run
various data-intensive programs. An Oracle Applications product group can have
several concurrent managers.
See also: internal concurrent manager
concurrent process
A task run by a concurrent manager. A concurrent process runs simultaneously with
interactive functions and other concurrent processes.
Concurrent Processing server

An Oracle Applications server that runs time-consuming, noninteractive tasks in the
background.
concurrent queue
A list of concurrent requests awaiting completion. Each concurrent manager has its
own queue of pending requests.
Glossary-3
concurrent request
A request issued to the Concurrent Processing server when you submit a noninteractive
task, such as running a report.
consolidated update
A collection of recommended patches and rollups for a particular maintenance
release, consolidated into a single patch that is installed immediately following use of
Rapid Install or application of a maintenance pack.
See also: maintenance pack, Rapid Install
cost-based optimizer
Oracle database server component that determines the optimum execution path for an
SQL statement by considering statistical information for the tables and indexes that the
SQL statement will access. The cost-based optimizer (CBO) also considers hints, which
can be employed to suggest a particular access path. In Oracle Applications Release
11i, cost-based optimization supersedes the rule-based optimization used in earlier
releases.
See also: hint
customization
Enhancements to an Oracle Applications system made to fit the needs of a specific user
community.
data dictionary
A set of Oracle database tables and views that contains administrative information about
users, data storage, and privileges. It is created and maintained automatically.
database
A collection of data, stored in tables, and objects, such as stored procedures and
triggers. The term can also refer to the software used to create, store, and manage this
data, such as the Oracle database server.
See also: Database server, Oracle database
database administrator (DBA)

The person who prepares the Oracle database server and Oracle tools for an installation
or upgrade of Oracle Applications, and performs maintenance on them after the
installation. The DBA has highly privileged access to the database via the SYSTEM
and SYS accounts.
database instance
The combination of background processes and memory used by an Oracle
database. Often simply called an instance, and used to refer to a running Oracle database
system. There is always a one-to-one correspondence between an Oracle instance and a
system global area (SGA).
See also: SGA
Glossary-4
database object
A logical entity created and stored in a database. Tables, views, synonyms, indexes,
sequences, stored procedures, materialized views, and triggers are all examples of
database objects.
Database server
[1] The Oracle database that constitutes the database tier of an Applications system. The
database server stores the data maintained by Oracle Applications, and processes SQL
and Java requests from Concurrent Processing servers, Forms servers, and Web servers.
[2] The machine on which an Oracle database resides.
See also: Oracle database
database space
The amount of disk space used by a set of database objects.
dbc le
A configuration file that contains information required to connect to the database.
demonstration product group

A product group that includes predefined transaction data for Oracle Applications
products. It is used primarily for system testing and user training.
See also: product group
dependent product
An Applications product that is not licensed, but whose files are shared in part by a fully
installed Applications product. A dependent product is also known as a shared product.
desktop client
A computer that sends user requests to the Web server and handles responses such as
screen updates, popup lists, graphical widgets, and cursor movements.
diagnostic patch
A special patch used to gather additional information needed by Oracle to resolve a
problem.
digital signature
A means of guaranteeing the authenticity of a program or collection of data, such as a JAR
file. It is typically an encrypted message that contains the identity of the code’s author.
See also: certificate file, SSL
Discoverer server
An application server that hosts Oracle Discoverer. The Discoverer server complements
the Reports server, by allowing Applications users to perform ad hoc queries and
analyze the resulting query output.
See also: Reports server
distributed concurrent processing

See: parallel concurrent processing
Glossary-5
distributed directory structure
Applications product files installed in more than one file system, as when there is
insufficient disk space in a single file system for all Applications product files.
DMZ
The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is the area between outer and inner firewalls, used to
protect servers from attempts at unauthorized access to a network or intranet.
See also: firewall
environment le
A command file that sets environment variables. Only servers running UNIX use
environment files; Windows servers use the Windows registry instead.
See also: registry
environment setting
A parameter that controls the behavior of Applications and Applications programs for
your installation. Environment settings are stored as environment variables on UNIX
servers and as registry keys or environment variables on Windows servers.
environment variable
A variable maintained by the UNIX shell that can be referenced by any program running
within the shell. Environment variables hold values used by many Oracle programs and
utilities.
On Windows, a string consisting of environment information, such as a drive, path, or
filename, associated with a symbolic name. You can define environment variables using
the System applet in the Control Panel or from the Windows command prompt.
export utility
An Oracle database server utility used to write database data to operating system files
external to the database. The corresponding import utility can subsequently be used to
read the data back into the same database, or a different one.
See also: import utility
extension
The part of a filename (suffix) after the dot, used to indicate the type or purpose of the
file. For example, the extension .sql denotes a SQL*Plus script.
extent
A specific number of contiguous data blocks that store a specific type of information. A
segment is made up of a number of extents.
See also: segment
family consolidated update patch

All upgrade-related patches consolidated from all products within a product
family. Family consolidated update patches are released as needed and are only available
for upgrading to Release 11i from Release 10.7 or 11.0.
Glossary-6
family pack
An aggregation of patches at the product family level. Product family codes end
in _PF. Successive family packs can be identified by the alphabetical suffix; for
example, 11i.HR_PF.D, which supersedes 11i.HR_PF.C. Family packs are cumulative, each
containing the fixes and enhancements that were in its predecessors.
failover
The utilization of an alternative component in a computer system to allow processing to
continue after a similar component fails.
rewall
A computer that acts as an intermediary to protect a network from unauthorized
access, by examining requests and countering suspicious access attempts. A firewall is
often used in conjunction with a proxy server.
See also: proxy server
form
A related collection of fields, regions, and graphical components that appears in a single
window. Oracle Applications Forms resemble paper forms used to run a business. You
enter data by typing information into the form.
Forms client
A Java applet that runs on a desktop client and provides the user interface and
interaction with a Forms server.
Forms server
A type of application server that hosts the Forms server engine. It mediates between the
desktop client and the database, providing input screens for the Forms-based products
on the desktop client and creating or changing database records based on user actions.
functional currency
In a Multiple Reporting Currencies (MRC) environment, a currency other than your
primary currency.
Generic Service Management (GSM)

A fault-tolerant framework for generic service processes. GSM utilizes a central
management console built into Oracle Applications Manager.
See also: Oracle Applications Manager
Gigabyte (GB)
A unit of memory or disk space equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes. One Gigabyte is equal to
1,024 Megabytes. Often rounded to 1,000,000,000 bytes, i.e. a billion bytes.
GSM
See: Generic Service Management
GUI (Graphical User Interface)

An interface used with personal computers and workstations that allows the user to
access fields and regions of the screen with a pointing device, typically a mouse.
Glossary-7
hint
An optimization suggestion placed in a Comment of an SQL statement.
See also: cost-based optimizer
HTML
An acronym for HyperText Markup Language, a simple predefined markup language used
to format documents for viewing with a Web browser.
See also: XML
HTTP
An acronym for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the network protocol used for communication
between an HTTP server and a Web browser, to determine the actions Web servers and
browsers take in response to various commands.
See also: HTTPS
HTTPS
A version of HTTP that provides additional features needed for secure data transmission.
See also: HTTP
HTTP listener
A program on an HTTP server that accepts and processes incoming HTTP requests
from Web browsers.
HTTP server
An application server that runs an HTTP listener, and sends out Web pages in response
to HTTP requests from remote browsers. Web server is often used as a synonym.
See also: HTTP listener, Web browser
import utility
An Oracle database server utility used to read operating system files written by the export
utility. Can be used to restore data into a database or transfer data to another database.
See also: export utility
index
A database object associated with a table, used by the Oracle database server to locate
rows of that table quickly.
initialization parameters
Parameters defined in an initialization file that configure an Oracle database. The
parameter settings affect many aspects of database activity, including
performance. Generally, the parameter settings should only be changed under expert
supervision.
instance
See: database instance
Glossary-8
internal concurrent manager
A special concurrent manager process that monitors, controls, and dispenses requests to
all other concurrent manager processes.
See also: concurrent manager
interoperability patch
A patch needed to enable use of Oracle Applications products with a newer version of
the technology stack, for example to enable integration with Oracle Single Sign-On.
intranet
A network of computers that are internal to an organization. An organization’s intranet
can be set up to communicate with the globally-distributed Internet, using appropriate
security measures such as firewalls and demilitarized zones (DMZs).
See also: DMZ, firewall
J2EE
An acronym for Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition, J2EE is a development environment
that facilitates development, deployment, and management of multi-tier enterprise
level applications.
Java
A computer language used to produce programs that can be downloaded and run on a
desktop client using a Web browser. It is also used to produce platform-independent
programs that run on a server, either interactively or when invoked through a request
from a Web browser.
See also: applet, servlet
JavaServer Page
See: JSP
JAR (Java ARchive) le

A collection of Java classes compressed into a file for faster download to a desktop
client. There are several specialized types of JAR file.
See also: Java class
Java class
Components of a Java program that define objects and operations performed on
objects. Also identifies an operating system file that contains a program or part of a
program written in Java.
JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)

A Java programming interface that enables Java programs to access the Oracle database
server.
JServ
A JServ process is a specialized servlet designed for communication with the Oracle
HTTP Server.
See also: Oracle HTTP Server, servlet
Glossary-9
JSP
Acronym for JavaServer Page, an extension to Java servlet technology. JSPs are compiled
into servlets when first requested, and can receive input from a servlet or send output to
a servlet. Their dynamic scripting capability allows page logic to be separated from page
display, giving greater flexibility in processing HTTP requests.
See also: servlet
JVM (Java Virtual Machine)

A runtime environment that interprets (translates) a compiled Java program, supplied in
the form of bytecode, to machine code. Each operating system’s JVM translates bytecode
to instructions that can be executed by the CPU. Java bytecode is therefore executable by
any JVM running on any machine. A Java-enabled Web browser has an internal JVM
that allows it to execute applets or applications written in Java.
LAN (Local Area Network)

A limited-distance, high-speed, data communications network that allows various data
processing resources to be connected and shared. A LAN is a network contained within a
single physical site (one or more buildings), as opposed to a Wide Area Network (WAN).
See also: WAN
latency
In networking, the time a packet of data takes to travel from its source to destination. A
measure of the speed of a network.
See also: bandwidth
LDAP
An acronym for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, LDAP allows clients to access
information from a directory server in which corporate directory entries are arranged in
a hierarchical structure that can be used to reflect geographical or other organizational
boundaries.
See also: Oracle Internet Directory
load balancing
The mechanism for distributing tasks to the least-busy server of the servers that are
handling a particular workload. For example, using load balancing, the HTTP server
connects the Forms client to the Forms server that has the lightest load. This server is
called the least loaded host.
LOCAL
A Windows-specific environment setting that identifies the network alias of an ORACLE
instance running on the local machine or on a networked machine. This variable
overrides any setting for ORACLE_SID and causes the Oracle Net software to manage
the connection request.
See also: ORACLE_SID, TWO_TASK
locally managed tablespaces

Tablespaces that are not managed from the data dictionary. They offer a choice of
extent management, allowing extent sizes either to be determined automatically by the
Glossary-10
system, or for all extents to be made the same size. This provides greater flexibility than
the traditional dictionary-managed tablespaces.
See also: Oracle Applications Tablespace Model
log in
Perform a sequence of actions that authenticates a user and establishes communication
with an operating system or application such as the Oracle database server or
Oracle E-Business Suite. Logging in also sets up appropriate characteristics for the
session, based on the user’s particular privileges.
MAC address
A hardware address that uniquely identifies a node on a network, specifically in the
Media Access Control (MAC) sub-layer of the Data Link layer of the OSI Reference
Model. The other sub-layer of the Data Link layer is the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer.
materialized view
Schema objects that store the results of a specific query, enabling data to be
summarized, precomputed, replicated, or distributed.
Megabyte (MB)
A unit of memory or disk space equal to 1,048,576 bytes (1024 x 1024). Often rounded to
one million bytes.
Multiple Organization Architecture (Multi-Org)

A single installation of any Oracle Applications product that can support any number of
organizations or different sets of books. The data contained in product schemas is for all
organizations, and is partitioned by the ORG_ID column in tables.
Multiple Reporting Currencies (MRC)

An Oracle Applications feature that allows you to create, maintain, and report on
accounting records at the transaction level in more than one functional currency.
Maintenance Mode
A mode of operation in which the Oracle Applications system is accessible only for
patching activities.
See also: Restricted Mode
maintenance pack
An aggregation of patches for all products in the E-Business Suite. For example, the
Release 11.5.10 Maintenance Pack contains all the latest code for all products
when 11.5.10 was created. Maintenance packs are numbered sequentially such as
11.5.8, 11.5.9, 11.5.10, and are cumulative. A new Rapid Install program is normally
released with a maintenance pack.
See also: Rapid Install
minipack
An aggregation of patches at the product level, for example Oracle Inventory. Minipacks
are cumulative, a later one including all the fixes and enhancements in its
predecessors. Sometimes referred to as a patchset.
Glossary-11
NLS (National Language Support)
Oracle’s National Language Support (NLS) allows you to store, process, and retrieve
data in the language native to your users. It ensures that database utilities and
error messages, sort order, date, time, monetary, numeric, and calendar conventions
automatically adapt to the native language and locale.
node
[1] A networked machine with its own MAC address.
[2] In the context of Oracle E-Business Suite, a logical set of processes running on one
hardware machine. Sometimes used as a synonym for server. Multiple nodes can be
created on one machine, or nodes can be allocated their own dedicated machines. There
is an increasing trend towards deploying multiple nodes on multiple machines, to
increase fault tolerance and lower the cost of ownership. This is particularly true for
the application tier.
See also: MAC address, server
OID
See: Oracle Internet Directory
one-off patch
A patch that addresses a single fix or enhancement. Such standalone patches are released
only to meet an immediate need for a fix or enhancement that cannot wait until an
aggregate bundling is available.
operating system
The computer software that performs basic tasks such as scheduling CPU time, allocating
memory, and supervising communications between different computers.
ORACLE_HOME
An environment setting that specifies the top-level directory for Oracle database server
program files.
ORACLE_SID
An environment setting that specifies the SID of an ORACLE instance. See also
TWO_TASK and LOCAL.
See also: SID
Oracle Applications Manager

A sophisticated tool that enables system administrators to monitor and manage an
Oracle Applications system from an HTML-based central control console.
Oracle Business Components for Java

See: BC4J
Oracle HTTP Server

Oracle HTTP Server is the Web server used by Oracle Application Server. Built on
Apache Web server technology, Oracle HTTP Server supports Java servlets, JavaServer
Pages (JSPs), perl, PL/SQL, and CGI applications.
See also: JSP, servlet
Glossary-12
Oracle Applications Tablespace Model (OATM)
A new model that uses locally managed tablespaces to provide more flexible storage
options then the dictionary-managed tablespaces used in the traditional tablespace
model.
See also: locally managed tablespaces
Oracle database
The database management system used by Oracle Applications Release 11i. An Oracle
database is made up of various different types of file.
See also: instance
Oracle JInitiator
A JVM used to support Forms-based Oracle Applications functions, JInitiator is
downloaded and installed in the client browser when first needed.
Oracle Internet Directory

Oracle Internet Directory (OID) is a general purpose directory service for retrieval of
information about users and resources, which utilizes LDAP in conjunction with the
high performance, scalability, robustness, and availability of the Oracle database.
See also: LDAP
Oracle Net
The Oracle software that enables network connectivity between a client machine and
the Oracle database server. Oracle Net manages communication sessions between
these machines by opening and closing sessions, and by packaging and sending SQL
statements and the corresponding database responses.
Oracle Portal
Part of the Oracle Application Server product, Oracle Portal is a tool for building
customized corporate pages to provide a personalized view of selected applications and
data (called a portal). Oracle Portal provides a customizable, easy to use HTML-based
interface. Support tools for performance monitoring and security management are
also included.
ORACLE schema
See: schema

An Oracle product that authenticates the username and password of a user attempting to
access an application, and passes the users’s identity to various applications as required.
See also: single sign-on
ORACLE user ID
A user name employed to access an ORACLE instance. Used in conjunction with a
password.
Oracle Workow
A product that facilitates automation of business processes, internally or externally
routing information of any type according to easily-changed business rules.
Glossary-13
Oracle XML Publisher
An Oracle Applications product that uses standard technologies and tools to facilitate
the rapid and easy development of reports in the end-user’s preferred format.
See also: XML
parallel concurrent processing

Distribution of concurrent processes amongst multiple Concurrent Processing
servers. Also called distributed concurrent processing.
password
An identification word, associated with a username, that must be supplied to access an
ORACLE instance or an Oracle Applications system.
Perl
An acronym for Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is an interpretive
programming language that is particularly useful for processing text. As such, it has
become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts.
See also: CGI
platform
The type of computer system (hardware and operating system), on which application
programs run. The hardware components include the central processing unit
(CPU), which performs logic operations and data management, and the main memory
(RAM and ROM). The software components include the operating system, the computer’s
coordinating program. Sun SPARC Solaris is an example of a platform; Sun SPARC refers
to the hardware, and Solaris refers to the operating system. Some Oracle Applications
functionality is platform-specific, meaning its behavior may vary between different
platforms.
PL/SQL
A procedural extension of the SQL programming language that provides programming
constructs such as blocks, conditionals, and functions.
portal
See: Oracle Portal
portlet
A reusable component that provides access to an information source, possibly
summarizing the content. Portlets are the fundamental building blocks of an Oracle
Portal page.
See also: Oracle Portal
primary functional currency

The currency used to record transactions and maintain accounting data within the
Oracle E-Business Suite.
See also: reporting functional currency
primary set of books

A financial reporting entity in which business is conducted.
Glossary-14
See also: reporting set of books
Pro*C/C++
An Oracle precompiler product that allows developers to embed standard database calls
to an ORACLE database in C and C++ programs.
product group
A set of Oracle Applications product schemas linked together by a single Oracle
Application Object Library schema.
provisioning
The transfer of user attributes from one repository (such as Oracle E-Business Suite) to
another (such as Oracle Internet Directory). Provisioning is controlled by provisioning
profiles.
proxy server
A secure means of allowing users behind a firewall to access external Internet
resources. All requests from intranet users go via the proxy server rather than directly to
the destination server. The proxy server then passes the returned information on to the
client. All Internet traffic for a site thereby passes through a single, secure point.
RAC
See: Real Application Clusters
Rapid Install
The installer for Oracle Applications. Normally, a new version is released to accompany
a maintenance pack. Using Rapid Install provides the same Applications code as could
be obtained by applying the associated maintenance pack (such as Release 11.5.10) to an
earlier release level (such as Release 11.5.8). It also provides the latest certified technology
stack. In contrast, applying a maintenance pack provides Applications code only.
See also: maintenance pack
Real Application Clusters

Real Application Clusters (RAC) is a database clustering technology whose shared
storage capabilities allow multiple machines to work in parallel on the same
data, reducing processing time significantly. RAC also offers resilience, allowing
processing to continue in the event of one or more machines being unavailable because
of planned or unplanned downtime.
registry
On a Windows machine, a central repository that holds configuration
information. During installation, Oracle Applications writes data to the registry. You can
also edit the registry directly with the Registry editor (regedt32.exe or regedit.exe), though
this should only be undertaken by an expert user.
See also: registry key, registry subkey
registry key
A folder that appears in the left pane of the Registry editor window. A key can contain
registry subkeys and value entries.
See also: registry, registry subkey
Glossary-15
registry subkey
A key within a registry key; analogous to a subdirectory in a file system. Subkeys
are provided to carry out product-specific functions. Oracle E-Business Suite stores
information about a product group in a registry subkey.
See also: registry, registry key
remote procedure call

A remote procedure call (RPC) is a protocol that enables a client to execute a program on
a server. The client sends a message to the server with appropriate arguments, and the
server returns a message containing the program’s results.
report
A user-organized display of Oracle E-Business Suite information. A report can be
viewed online or sent to a printer. The content of a report can range from a summary
to a complete listing of values.
Report Review Agent

A tool used by Oracle Applications to view concurrent processing files online.
Reports server
A server that is automatically installed on the same node as the Concurrent Processing
server. Reports generated by the Reports server are monitored and administered
separately from concurrent processing reports.
reporting functional currency

A currency, other than the primary functional currency, for which reports need to
be generated.
See also: primary functional currency
reporting set of books

A financial reporting entity that is associated with a primary set of books. It has the same
chart of accounts and accounting calendar, but usually a different functional currency.
See also: primary set of books
reserved word
A word that has a special meaning to a computer program, for example
END. Custom-built programs that integrate with Oracle Applications must not use
reserved words.
responsibility
A collection of functions within Oracle E-Business Suite. Each user is assigned one or
more responsibilities to allow access to the appropriate functions and data.
Restricted Mode
A mode of operation that allows Applications administrators to carry out privileged
tasks such as viewing the progress of a patching session.
See also: Maintenance Mode
Glossary-16
rollback segment
Oracle database object used to undo (roll back) changes to the database in the event
of media recovery or request for transaction rollback. Superseded by undo segment in
Oracle9i.
See also: undo tablespace
rollback tablespace
A tablespace created for rollback segments. Superseded by undo tablespace in Oracle9i.
See also: undo tablespace
rollup patch
An aggregation of patches at either a functional level (such as flexfields), or at a specific
product or family release level (such as Oracle Marketing).
RPC
See: Remote procedure call
schema
An ORACLE account or ORACLE ID.
segment
A set of extents that contains all the data for a specific logical storage structure in
a tablespace. Examples include the data segment for a table and index segment for
an index.
See also: extent
server
[1} A process or group of processes that runs on a single machine and provides
a particular functionality. For example, the HTTP server responds to HTTP
requests. Sometimes used synonymously with service.
[2} A computer dedicated to a particular role. For example, a database server.
service
[1] A synonym for server.
[2] On Windows, a process that provides a particular operating system or application
functionality, such as the telnet remote logon service. Used by Oracle E-Business Suite to
support concurrent processing, for example.
servlet
A small Java program that runs on an HTTP server, rather than being downloaded to a
desktop client and run as an applet in a Web browser environment. Servlets have greater
capabilities and fewer restrictions than applets.
See also: applet, JSP
setup data
Company-specific configuration data, such as locations, freight terms, and payment
terms. You create this data when initially configuring an Oracle Applications product.
Glossary-17
SGA (System Global Area)
An Oracle-reserved section of memory that provides communication between database
users and the ORACLE background processes.
shared product
See: dependent product
short name
An abbreviation for an Oracle Applications product (such as po for Purchasing).
SID
An acronym for System Identifier. The SID is used to distinguish between different Oracle
instances that may be running on a system.
See also: ORACLE_SID
single sign-on
The infrastructure whereby a user need only be authenticated explicitly once, with
subsequent connections to other applications being authenticated transparently to the
user. SSO allows a user to access multiple accounts and applications with a single
username and password.
See also: Oracle Single Sign-On
sizing factor
An integer that determines the growth rate, as a percentage of their defaults, for the
database objects of an Oracle Applications product.
SQL (Structured Query Language)

An internationally standardized language that is used to access data in a relational
database.
SQL script
A file containing SQL statements that you can run with a tool such as SQL*Plus to query
or update ORACLE data.
SSL
An acronym for Secure Sockets Layer, SSL is a standard for the secure transmission of
documents over the Internet using HTTPS. SSL uses digital signatures to check that
transmitted data has not been tampered with.
See also: digital signature, HTTPS
subdirectory
A directory that is contained within another directory.
Support Cart
A component of Oracle Applications Manager. Support Cart is used to gather diagnostic
information for use by Oracle Support.
See also: Oracle Applications Manager
Glossary-18
synonym
An alias for a table, view, sequence, or program unit that masks the real name and
owner of the object, provides public access to the object, and simplifies the writing
of SQL access statements for the object.
syntax
The spelling and grammar of a computer language, which directs how
commands, qualifiers, and parameters are organized to form valid commands.
SYS username
One of two standard DBA usernames automatically created with each database (the
other is SYSTEM). SYS owns the base data dictionary tables and views.
See also: SYSTEM username
SYS.DUAL table
Owned by the SYS user, the DUAL table contains exactly one row. It is used as a
"dummy" table in a SQL statement to return values that are not stored in tables, including
constant values, evaluations of arithmetic expressions, or system values such as the
current date.
system administrator
The person who manages administrative tasks in Oracle Applications, such as registering
new users and defining system printers, using the System Administrator responsibility.
System Identier
See: SID, ORACLE_SID
SYSTEM schema
See: SYSTEM username
SYSTEM tablespace
Holds data dictionary tables owned by the SYS account. It is created when you install
the database.
SYSTEM username
One of two standard usernames automatically created with each database (the other
is SYS). The SYSTEM username is the preferred username to use when performing
database maintenance.
See also: SYS username
table
The basic unit of storage in a relational database management system. A table represents
entities and relationships, and consists of one or more units of information (rows), each
of which contains the same types of values (columns).
tablespace
An Oracle database storage unit that groups related logical structures
together. Traditionally, one tablespace was needed for each Oracle Applications
product’s database tables, and another for its indexes. As of Release 11.5.10, this model
Glossary-19
is superseded by the Oracle Applications Tablespace Model, which uses far fewer
tablespaces.
See also: Oracle Applications Tablespace Model
TCP/IP
Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, an industry-standard
networking protocol used for communication between computers and related devices.
temporary tablespace
A tablespace used when a SQL statement requires the creation of temporary segments
(for example, creation of an index).
three-tier architecture
A computing architecture where the components are separated into three layers, or
tiers: the desktop (or client) tier, the application tier, and the database tier.
TWO_TASK
Under UNIX, an environment setting that identifies the network alias of an ORACLE
instance running on the local machine or on a networked machine. This variable
overrides any setting for ORACLE_SID and invokes the Oracle Net software to manage
the connection request.
See also: LOCAL, ORACLE_SID
undo tablespace
Tablespace used to store undo records, which maintain read-consistency in the database
during normal operation, and also play a key role in database recovery.
See also: rollback tablespace
URL
An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, a URL is a text representation of the location of
a resource available via an intranet or the Internet.
user ID
See: username
username
A name that identifies a user requesting access to a secure environment or program, such
as an Oracle database or Oracle Applications system. Every username is associated
with a password. In Oracle Applications, a username is normally associated with a
responsibility.
See also: responsibility
view
A tailored presentation of data in one or more tables. A view can be thought of as a
stored query.
WAN (Wide Area Network)

A communications network that connects geographically separated areas.
See also: LAN
Glossary-20
Web browser
A program that runs on a desktop client, sending HTTP requests to a Web server to
retrieve HTML pages and Java applets.
See also: HTML, HTTP, HTTP listener, HTTP server
Web server
See: HTTP server
XML
eXtensible Markup Language, a metalanguage that allows specialized markup languages
to be designed to suit different types of document. XML differs from HTML in not being
based on a predefined format.
See also: HTML, Oracle XML Publisher
Glossary-21
Index
Symbols Applications Context, 2-5

8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME, 2-11 Applications context, 5-1
9.2.0 ORACLE_HOME, 2-2 Applications context file, 5-2
<CONTEXT_NAME>.env, 2-5 Applications Dashboard
Oracle Applications Manager, 7-1
Applications patches, 1-18
A Applications Utilities
AD Administration, 1-18, 1-19 see AU, 1-20
adadmin, 2-9 Applications Utilities directory, 2-9
Change Maintenance Mode menu, 9-2 APPLLOG environment setting, 2-12
AD Merge Patch, 1-19 APPLOUT environment setting, 2-12
adadmin, 1-18 APPLPTMP environment setting, 2-12, 2-13
adautocfg.sh, 5-2 APPLTMP environment setting, 2-12, 2-13
adcfgclone.pl, 6-3 APPS schema
adcfginfo.sh, 5-9 and base product schemas, 3-1
adchkcfg.sh, 5-9 benefits of using, 3-2
adconfig.pl, 5-2 custom schema access, 3-3
adconfig.sh, 5-2 data access, 3-3
adconfig.txt file, 2-14 overview, 3-1
Admin server APPS<CONTEXT_NAME>.env, 2-11
description, 1-18 AU, 1-20
adovars.env file, 2-9 AU_TOP environment setting, 2-12
adpatch, 1-18 audit trail, 11-2
adpreclone.pl, 6-2 auditing, 11-4
adstpall.sh, 5-8 AutoConfig, 1-19
adstrtal.sh, 5-8 adconfig.sh, 2-9
agents, 1-23 AutoConfig configuration file, 5-4
AK AutoConfig driver file, 5-4
definition of, 1-20 AutoConfig template file, 5-4
ALR, 1-24 automatic segment space management, 3-5
AOL/J, 1-6 Automatic Undo Management, 3-6
APPCPNAM environment setting, 2-12 automatic undo management, 3-6
APPL_TOP, 2-4 AutoPatch, 1-18, 1-19
directory and upgrades, 2-5 adpatch, 2-9
distributing across disks, 2-10 and Maintenance Mode, 9-2
environment setting in .env, 2-11 AutoUpgrade, 1-18, 1-19
APPLCSF environment setting, 2-12 adaimgr, 2-9
APPLDCP environment setting, 2-12
APPLFENV environment setting, 2-11
Application Object Library directory (fnd), 2-9 B
application tier base language, 13-1
components, 1-4 BC4J, 1-6
definition, 1-1 Bookmarkable URLs, 8-2
load balancing, 1-5 Business Event System, 1-22
Index-1
C database tier, 1-1
cfgcheck.html, 5-9 date formats, 13-3
character sets DB directory, 2-2
difficult to change, 13-2 DBI, 1-18
multibyte, 13-2 desktop tier, 1-2
on database tier, 13-1 definition, 1-1
on desktop tier, 13-2 devenv.env file, 2-14
CLIENT_INFO, 14-2 dictionary-managed tablespaces, 3-5
cluster, 1-1, 4-3 Discoverer End User Layer, 1-11
COMMON_TOP directory, 2-3 Discoverer server
contents, 2-3 description, 1-11
concurrent manager, 1-12 Distributed AD, 9-4, 9-7
log and output directories, 2-3 DNS Layer Load Balancing, 10-2
concurrent processing
controlling the size of files, 1-17 E
description, 1-12
E-Business Suite Home Page, 1-3
display of output, 1-16
encrypting, 11-4
Concurrent processing server
Entrust
description, 1-12
third-party single sign-on service
concurrent program library, 1-14
integration with Oracle Application Server,
concurrent requests
8-2
definition, 1-12
environment files, 2-2, 2-10
Configuration Wizards
devenv.env, 2-14
Oracle Applications Manager, 7-1
fndenv.env, 2-14
conflict domain
environment settings, 2-1, 2-10
Concurrent Processing, 1-13
environment setup files, 2-11
Conflict Resolution Manager
external documents, 13-3
consolidated environment file, 2-5
context file F
AutoConfig, 5-1 failover, 9-10
context name, 5-1 farm, 10-3
Context Value Management, 5-3 file types, 2-7
copy driver FND_TOP environment setting, 2-12
patch, 1-18 fndenv.env file, 2-14
core technology directories, 2-9 FNDNAM environment setting, 2-11
cost-based optimization, 4-1 FO
use of materialized views, 4-3 See formatting object
country-specific functionality, 13-3 formatting object, 1-24
customizations Forms client applet
custom schema access, 3-3 description, 1-4
data access, 3-3 Forms Listener Servlet, 1-9
CVM Forms server
See Context Value Management architecture, 1-8
communication with database server, 1-8
D communication with desktop client, 1-7
description, 1-7
Daily Business Intelligence, 1-18
load balancing, 1-8
data definition
Forms service, 1-1
in XML Publisher, 1-24
FORMS60_MAPPING environment setting, 2-13
DATA directory, 2-2
function security, 11-2
database context file, 5-2
functional administrators
database driver, 1-18
Oracle User Management, 11-3
database home, 2-2
database recovery, 9-8
Database Resource Manager, 4-2, 4-2 G
Database tier generate driver
description, 1-19
Index-2
patch, 1-18 local inventory
Generic Service Management, 7-4 Oracle Universal Installer, 6-3
global inventory locally managed tablespaces, 3-5
Oracle Universal Installer, 6-3 log files, 2-3
grants logical data corruption, 9-10
between user IDs, 3-1 logical standby, 9-10
GRAPHICS60_PATH environment setting, 2-13
GWYUID environment setting, 2-11
M
Maintenance Mode, 9-2
H maintenance packs, 1-18
hints, 4-1 Manage Downtime, 7-3
HTTP Hardware Load Balancing, 10-3 mandatory archiving, 9-11
HTTP server, 1-1 materialized views, 4-3
httpd.conf, 5-4 merged APPL_TOP, 9-3
HTTPS, 11-2 metadata
in Oracle Discoverer, 1-11
MetaData Services, 1-20
I Metrics server
iAS directory, 2-2 Forms load balancing, 1-8
iAS ORACLE_HOME, 2-11 Microsoft Active Directory
immediate program LDAP V.3 directory
Concurrent Processing, 1-12 integration with Oracle Application Server,
instance recovery, 9-8 8-2
instantiation, 5-4 mini-packs, 1-18
integration hub mod_oproc
Oracle Application Server 10g role as, 8-5 and JServ functionality, 10-3
Internal Concurrent Manager mod_oprocmgr, 1-10
definition, 1-13 MRC, 13-4
Invoker Rights, 4-2, 4-2 MRC (Multiple Reporting Currencies)
overview of architecture, 15-2
J transaction table/subtable illustration, 15-4
triggers, 15-4
JAR files, 1-4 views, 15-4
Java Archive files Multi-Org, 14-1
see JAR files, 1-4 multilingual support, 13-2
Java Server Page (JSP), 1-6 multiple ORACLE_HOMEs, 2-2
Java servlet, 1-6 Multiple Organization Architecture, 14-2, 14-2
Java servlet engine, 1-6 CLIENT_INFO, 14-2
JAVA_TOP environment setting, 2-4 ORG_ID, 14-2
JInitiator overview, 14-1
see Oracle JInitiator, 1-4 partitioned objects, 14-2
JServ Layer Load Balancing, 10-3 patching, 14-2
JServ Load Balancing, 1-10 SO_HEADERS_ALL, 14-2
JSP files, 2-4 Multiple Reporting Currencies, 13-4
Multiple Sets of Books Architecture (MSOBA), 4-2
L
language support, 13-1 N
in earlier releases, 13-1 National Language Support
LDAP, 8-2 see NLS, 13-2
License Manager, 7-2 Netegrity
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, 8-2 third-party single sign-on service
Link-on-the-fly support, 8-2 integration with Oracle Application Server,
load balancer 8-2
categories, 10-2 NLS
load balancing, 1-5 default date and number formats, 13-4
Forms server, 1-8 language profile option, 13-4
Index-3
profile options, 13-4 Oracle Net, 1-8
territory profile option, 13-4 Oracle Portal, 8-4
NLS and application servers Oracle Single Sign-On, 8-4
in earlier releases, 13-4 Oracle Universal Installer, 6-1, 6-3
in Release 11i, 13-4 ORACLE user ID
NLS settings, 13-4 overview, 3-1
NLS settings and the Personal Home Page, 13-4 Oracle User Management, 11-2
NLS_DATE_FORMAT environment setting, 2-12 Oracle Workflow Builder, 1-22
NLS_LANG environment setting, 2-12 Oracle Workflow Event Manager, 1-23
NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS environment Oracle XML Publisher, 1-24
setting, 2-12 Oracle9i
node, 1-1 Database Resource Manager, 4-2
nologging, 9-8 Invoker Rights, 4-2
notifications, 1-22 partitioned tables, 4-2
number formats, 13-3 Oracle9i Application Server, 8-1
ORACLE_HOME
8.0.6, 2-2
O 9.2.0, 2-2
OA_HTML environment setting, 2-4 database, 2-2
OAM, 7-1 ORG_ID, 14-2
OAM Support Cart, 7-4 output files, 2-3
OATM overview pages, 1-18
See Oracle Applications Tablespace Model
OATM Migration Utility, 3-6
OID, 8-4 P
OLTP, 1-11 Parallel Concurrent Processing, 1-17
one-to-many-support, 8-2 partitioned objects
online transaction processing in Multi-Org, 14-2
see OLTP, 1-11 partitioned tables, 4-2
operating unit partitions, 4-2
definition of, 14-1 partner applications, 8-9
optional archiving, 9-11 password-based authentication, 11-1
Oracle Alert, 1-24 patch driver files, 1-18
Oracle Application Object Library, 1-20 Patch Wizard, 7-3
Oracle Application Server, 2-2 PATH
Oracle Applications Architecture, 1-1 environment setting, 2-12
Oracle Applications Framework, 1-5 PDF, 1-24
Oracle Applications Manager, 7-1 Personal Home Page and NLS settings, 13-4
and Maintenance Mode, 9-2 phases
Oracle Applications Tablespace Model, 3-4 of AutoConfig operation, 5-7
Oracle Applications technology layer, 1-19 physical standby, 9-10
Oracle Common Modules, 1-20 PL/SQL output files
Oracle Data Guard, 9-10 location, 2-13
Oracle Discoverer 4i, 1-11 PLATFORM environment setting, 2-11
Oracle Enterprise Manager, 7-1 port pool
Oracle General Ledger choice when cloning, 6-3
directory structure, 2-5 Portable Document Format, 1-24
Oracle HTML-Based Applications primary functional currency
Java servlet access, 1-6 definition of, 15-1
Oracle HTML-based Applications primary set of books, 15-1
files, 2-4 definition of, 15-1
Oracle HTTP server, 1-5 product top directory
components of, 1-5 see <PROD>_TOP, 2-6
Oracle Internet Directory, 8-4 profile, 1-21
Oracle JInitiator provisioning, 8-4
description, 1-4 provisioning integrated application, 8-7
Oracle Label Security, 11-4 provisioning profiles, 8-7, 8-7
Oracle LogMiner, 9-11
Index-4
Q Standard Manager
queue handler, 1-23 Concurrent Processing, 1-13
standby database, 9-10
subscriptions, 1-23
R SunONE/iPlanet
RAC LDAP V.3 directory
See Real Application Clusters integration with Oracle Application Server,
Rapid Clone, 1-19 8-2
Rapid Install, 1-20 synchronization, 8-4
Rapid Install Portal, 2-4 System Identifier, 5-1
RBAC system integration hub
See Role Based Access Control Oracle Workflow role as, 1-22
Real Application Clusters, 1-2, 4-3
Report Review Agent, 1-16 T
reporting functional currency
definition of, 15-1 tablespaces, 3-3
reporting set of books target process
definition of, 15-1 Concurrent Processing server, 1-12
Reports server target system
architecture, 1-10 cloning, 6-1
clustering and load management, 1-11 template
description, 1-10 in XML Publisher, 1-24
language selection, 1-10 third-party utilities
language support, 1-11 location, 2-4
REPORTS60_TMP environment setting, 2-13, 2-13 three-tier architecture, 1-1
responsibility, 1-22 tier, 1-1
restore.sh, 5-8 Tivoli
Restricted Mode third-party single sign-on service
and Maintenance Mode, 9-2 integration with Oracle Application Server,
Rich Text Format 8-2
document format, 1-24 Transaction Manager
Role Based Access Control, 11-3 Concurrent Processing, 1-13
RTF, 1-24 transactional data
tablespace management and, 3-4
S
U
Secure Sockets Layer, 7-1
seed data undo tablespaces, 3-6
tablespace management and, 3-4 Unicode, 13-1
server, 1-1 unified driver
service, 1-1 patch, 1-18
services, 7-4 US7ASCII
servlet engine, 1-6 character set, 13-1
in Oracle HTML-based Applications, 1-5 user credentials
set of books managed by Oracle Internet Directory, 8-6
definition of, 14-1 UTF8, 13-1
Shared APPL_TOP, 1-1, 9-2 character set, 13-1
Shared Application Tier File System, 9-3 utl_file_dir, 2-13
SID, 5-1 utl_file_dir parameter, 2-13
single sign-on, 8-1
Site Map, 7-1 V
SO_HEADERS_ALL, 14-2
Virtual Private Database, 11-4
source system
cloning, 6-1
spawned program W
Concurrent Processing, 1-14 W3C, 1-24
SSL, 7-1 Web Review Agent, 1-16
staged APPL_TOP, 9-5
Index-5
Web server Workflow Engine, 1-23
description, 1-5 worklist, 1-23
work shift World Wide Web Consortium, 1-24
worker
Concurrent Processing server X
See target process XSL-FO, 1-24
Index-6
Index-7

Oracle® Applications: Concepts Release 11i (11.5.10.2)

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Oracle® Applications

Part No. B19295-01

Copyright © 2000, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Primary Author: Robert Farrington

U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

Send Us Your Comments

2 Applications File System

3 Applications Database Organization

4 Database Features and Release 11i

7 Oracle Applications Manager

8 Authentication and Integration

15 Multiple Reporting Currencies

Oracle Applications Concepts, Release 11i (11.5.10.2)

TTY Access to Oracle Support Services

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

Do Not Use Database Tools to Modify Oracle Applications Data

Applications Architecture 1-1

Figure 1-1 Oracle Applications Architecture

The Desktop Tier

1-2 Oracle Applications Concepts

Figure 1-3 Example Oracle E-Business Suite Home Page

Applications Architecture 1-3

The Application Tier

1-4 Oracle Applications Concepts

HTML-Based Applications and the Oracle Applications Framework

Applications Architecture 1-5

Figure 1-4 HTML-Based Applications Architecture

Java Servlet Access with HTML-Based Applications

1-6 Oracle Applications Concepts

Oracle Applications Framework Processing Details

Applications Architecture 1-7

Forms Server Architecture

Figure 1-6 Forms Server Architecture

Load Balancing Among Forms Servers

1-8 Oracle Applications Concepts

Forms Server load balancing operates as follows.

Forms Listener Servlet Architecture

Applications Architecture 1-9

Reports Server Architecture

Figure 1-8 Reports Server Architecture

1-10 Oracle Applications Concepts

Clustering and Load Management

Discoverer End User Layer

Applications Architecture 1-11

Concurrent Processing Server

1-12 Oracle Applications Concepts

Applications Architecture 1-13

Table 1-1 Concurrent Request Life Cycle

Pending The request is waiting to be run

Running The request is running

Completed The request has ﬁnished

Inactive The request cannot be run

A concurrent program library contains concurrent programs that can be called by a

1-14 Oracle Applications Concepts

FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS Details of user requests, including status, start

FND_CONCURRENT_PROGRAMS Details of concurrent programs, including

FND_CONCURRENT_PROCESSES Cross-references between concurrent requests