Oracle WebLogic Server 12c - Review

The most anticipated Oracle WebLogic 12c is available from last week and I did download earlier this week.

Technically there is no notable Software Infrastructure, Operational differences between Oracle WebLogic 11g (10.3.5) and Oracle WebLogic 12c. Install folder, Domain folder, Console navigation and Node Manager come with no difference and look the same.

From the Software Version perspective, it supports Java EE 6 and it can be considered as a major upgrade. I also noticed some additional libraries inside the /server/lib folder.

Let’s divide this in two sections 1) Software Infrastructure 2) Software Version

Software Infrastructure

Download

Download is a little disappointing experience and it may be related to new version. Hopefully Oracle will resolve this soon.

The Software can be downloaded from

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/weblogic/downloads/wls-main-097127.html

Oracle still provides WebLogic with 32 bit JDK as a bundle and for generic installer, it doesn`t mention about JDK. It will be an ongoing challenge in several customer locations and Oracle must direct the customers what JDK version should be used with generic installer. At least for Windows installer, it should be bundled.

When download the Windows x86 with 32-bit JVM binary, it has only Sun JDK and No JRockit.

When download the Windows x86 with 32-bit JVM binary, it comes with both Sun JDK and JRockit.

Install

Install is a straight forward process and there are no notable differences. However when installsing Windows x86 with 32-bit JVM binary, it requires that we try to install Eclipse Enterprise Pack and does not mention about WebLogic until the 4^th screen in the GUI Wizard. Need a fix from Oracle.

After Installing, I noticed a new folder called /endorsed under the WL_HOME with few web services based jar files.

Domain Creation

Domain creation process of 12c is same as 11g.

Compare with 11g, No differences in

• script name (config.cmd or config.sh)
• location (WL_HOME/common /bin)
• domain creation screen options

and

• Domain folder structure and operational scripts

Console

No major changes in WebLogic Console. The logging tab under server instance has a new log file entry for DataSources. The old WebLogic 8.1 had a separate log for JDBC and it just came back with 12c.

DataSources creation wizard has a new feature to connect to Oracle BI and Oracle TimesTen products.

JMS, JMS Bridge, Datasources, XML, Java Mail, Persistent Stores, JTA, Virtual Hosts, Node Manager, Work Managers, Deployments, Security Realms, WLDF and Domain parameter s are look same as Oracle WebLogic 11g.

From an Administration and Infrastructure Architecture stand point of view, Oracle WebLogic 12c don`t bring anything new. The new addition of Oracle Traffic Director is currently applicable to ExaLogic Systems only.

Software Version

WebLogic 12c supports Java EE 6 and it will enable the developers to upgrade their J2EE applications.

Java Standards Support

Java Technology	Version
Java EE	6.0
Java EE Connector Architecture	1.6
Java EE EJB	3.1
Java EE Enterprise Web Services	1.3, 1.2, 1.1
Java EE JDBC	4.0, 3.0
Java EE JMS	1.1, 1.0.2b
Java EE JNDI	1.2
Java EE JSF	2.1, 2.0, 1.2, 1.1
Java EE JSP	2.2, 2.1, 2.0, 1.2, and 1.1
Java EE Servlet	3.0, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, and 2.2
Java RMI	1.0
JavaMail	1.4
JCE	1.4
JDKs	6.0 (aka 1.6), 5.0 (aka 1.5, clients only)
JMX	1.2, 1.0
OTS/JTA	OTS 1.2 and JTA 1.1
RMI/IIOP	1.0
SOAP Attachments for Java (SAAJ)	1.3, 1.2
Contexts and Dependency Injection for Java EE	1.0
Dependency Injection for Java EE	1.0
Java EE Application Deployment	1.2
Java EE Bean Validation	1.1
Java EE Common Annotations	1.0

Refer Java EE 6 Tutorial for more information here http://docs.oracle.com/javaee/6/tutorial/doc/

• WebLogic guarantees backward compatibility until Version 9.2
• Upgrading to WebLogic Server 12c Release 1 (12.1.1) does not require you to recompile applications in order to create new generated classes
• WebLogic Server 12.1.1 includes a new Maven plug-in for WebLogic Server (wls-maven-plugin) with enhanced functionality to install, start and stop servers, create domains, execute WLST scripts, and compile and deploy applications from within your Maven environment.
• WL_HOME/server/lib has additional jar files like ons.jar to improve the support

Overall no major change from Operational Infrastructure perspective and Oracle says that they put a lot of focus to improve performance, reliability, availability, and scalability. We will come to know these features in the coming days. This new release will help the customers to upgrade their existing applications to Java EE 6 and a good step to move forward with Cloud Computing. Soon we will see more customers to start adapting this technology and more opportunities on the way.

Enjoy the Oracle WebLogic 12c!

Useful Links

Oracle WebLogic 12c documentation

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24329_01/index.htm

Oracle WebLogic 12c launch Q&A

http://blogs.oracle.com/cloudappfoundation/entry/oracle_weblogic_server_12c_launch

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