Oracle WebLogic Admin Server - as a Windows service made EASY

"BeaService", how did I beat you?

If you have never heard about or read about NSSM before, READ ON!

When I record installation sessions for Hyperion / Oracle EPM, I tend to pause the recording when it is time to deploy NSSM to get Oracle WebLogic Admin Server setup as a Windows service.

Because NSSM is an acronym that is not entirely nice.  I won't repeat it here.  But you NEED this tool if you don't have it!  Grab it here:  NSSM download

NSSM lets you create a Windows service for any executable .bat or .exe.  It does not work for OHS 12c and I have a separate post about that topic.  But it works wonderfully for the Oracle WebLogic Admin Server ("WLS") in either 10.x or 12.x.

Simply download NSSM and unzip it in a directory of your choice.  That directory should not be deleted later.  I save my copy in D:\Scripts\NSSM on my primary EPM Foundation Server where the master version of WLS resides.

The beauty of this utility is:

• You can customize the name of the service, as in my first screenshot above.
• You can make it rotate the log files.
• You can force it to make the stdout and stderr logs reside in the same folder as your EPM service stdout/stderr logs!

I won't post the spoiler screenshots or else you won't hire me.  😈  But maybe I gave you a few helpful hints here?

Patch 30695700 - Hyperion EPM Architect to DRM Conversion Utility

This post is going to be more painful than the last one I just wrote.

Suppose you are on Hyperion / Oracle EPM 11.1.2.4 or prior, and your metadata is under EPMA's control.  Further suppose you have many applications and converting them all to Classic Mode doesn't suit your business requirements.

You essentially have 2 alternatives to Classic Mode in EPM 11.2.x due to the elimination of EPMA.

1. Switch to the Oracle DRM Limited Use license.

2. Contact Abhi at EPMWare.com.

That's pretty much it.  If you, my dear reader, have a 3rd option I have not considered for on-premises EPM, please by all means share your solution in the comments!  With upgrades heating up in Fiscal 2021, this topic is going to come up over and over!

What the above out of the way, I'm going to focus specifically on option #1.

There is a patch numbered 30695700.  It is associated with DRM 11.1.2.4 (don't ask me why, as it really applies to an EPM 11.2.x implementation).

This is not a true "Opatch" opatch.  It is a standalone Java utility, and the Java source code is included.

Halt.  Stop right there.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200 USD.

Depending upon which version of EPMA you're coming from, and also depending upon how your multi-line Essbase block storage member formulas are written, the utility crashes within seconds.

Sadly, the README delivered with patch 30695700 contains some rather.... odd... language for a non-certified and unsupported utility.

After the README states the utility is not certified by Oracle and is also unsupported, it includes a prohibition from sharing code modifications/enhancements.

So, I know exactly where in the code the crash issue happens, but sadly I am prohibited from sharing the solution.  I really believe the policy needs to be re-examined by Oracle Support so the EPM community may share knowledge with each other!

Suffice to say, a single-line member formula shouldn't have any problems during the conversion process.  The problem is when a multi-line formula contains empty lines (carriage returns for readability purposes) and the EPMA File Generator _ line continuation character doesn't appear where the conversion utility expects to find it.  That's about all I can say for now.

Quick Tip: Starting OHS 12 in a distributed Hyperion environment

This ought to be a simpler post than what I usually write.

The topic of how to start Oracle HTTP Server ("OHS") 12c in Hyperion / Oracle EPM 11.2.x comes up frequently.  I've previously posted about the little trick, buried within the EPM 11.2.x install/config guide, on how to save the WebLogic password for OHS so you aren't prompted every time you try to start up OHS.

"But hey! Dave, how do we start and stop OHS in a distributed MS Windows Server environment when OHS doesn't have its own Windows service anymore?  The good old NSSM trick we use for WebLogic Admin Server doesn't work for OHS!"

An excellent question.

Login to each OHS host server in your distributed environment as your EPM network service account.  Run the "storeuserconfig" trick to save epm_admin's password in your network service account's profile on the C drive.  Search the install/config guide for the text "storeuserconfig" and it'll take you directly to the needed command syntax.  Every member on your Hyperion support team who wants to start/stop services using their own distinct userID needs to perform this step.  This is a one-time-only step until such time as your security team forces you to change the WebLogic epm_admin password.

Now on your OHS server(s) foreign to where you run your master start/stop scripts from (you are running custom start/stop scripts, yes?), create a simple little DOS batch script like this:

sc start "Oracle Weblogic ohs NodeManager (D_Oracle_Middleware_ohs_wlserver)"  

start "StartOHS" /wait /i cmd /c %EPM_INSTANCE_HOME%\httpConfig\ohs\bin\startComponent.cmd ohs_component

Replace D_Oracle in that first command with the drive letter where you installed.  e.g. E:_Oracle, F:_Oracle or whatever is appropriate.  The drive letter is unfortunately embedded within the Oracle Node Manager 12c Windows service name.

Replace %EPM_INSTANCE_HOME% with the fully qualified path to your Oracle EPM Instance, which is DRIVE:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\epmsystem1 by default.

Note: the final line beginning with start "StartOHS" is all one line all the way through ohs_component.  Blogger is linewrapping it in an undesirable way.

Save this script as DRIVE:\scripts\startohs.bat or whatever you want.

Replace startComponnent.cmd with stopComponent.cmd and now you have your stopohs.bat script as well!

Finally, use this to invoke it remotely from your master start/stop scripts:

wmic /node:%FDNHOST2% process call create "DRIVE:\Scripts\startohs.bat"

wmic is a built-in Windows command.  Provided your userID is an administrator on the foreign server, you may use this syntax to invoke any batch file, command, or executable you wish.

Replace the variable %FDNHOST2% with the hostname of your 2nd OHS server that you're clustering for load balancing.  Repeat as needed if you have more than 2 OHS servers.

Simple & easy.  You're welcome!  👍

In-Place Upgrade to EPM 11.2.5.0

The comments section for my prior post about EPM 11.2.5.0 has really lit up with a common theme:

An in-place upgrade from either Hyperion / Oracle EPM 11.2.3.0 or 11.2.4.0 (the only certified paths to get to 11.2.5.0) fails if one applied the OPatch update necessary to subsequently apply the quarterly Oracle Critical Patch Update ("CPU") for Oracle Fusion Middleware - most notably WebLogic and OHS.

The commenter community seems to be in agreement that the best approaches are:

• If Oracle Middleware, Opatch in particular, has yet to be patched, back it up!  If disk space is available, back up \Oracle\Middleware in its entirety before applying the quarterly Cracle Critical Patch Updates.
• If the system is unpatched, it is apparently safe to perform the in-place upgrade to 11.2.5.0.
• If the system was patched, it will be necessary to restore \Oracle\Middleware\Opatch and perhaps \Oracle\Middleware\wlserver and \Oracle\Middlware\oracle_common.  The jury is out on exactly where the bug resides with respect to patching.  All that is known for certain is Opatch is a primary culprit and the Opatch update cannot be rolled back without performing a filesystem restore for the Opatch folder structure.

Additionally, I experienced issues with missing jar files where ODI 12.2.1.4 and FDMEE 11.2.5.0 is concerned.  I have yet to determine if this is due to the issue mentioned above....  an EPM 11.2 customer-facing upgrade that just got handed over from me to the UAT team has eaten up all of my "free time".

I've installed a fresh VM and a fresh/unpatched EPM 11.2.4.0 and will perform the in-place upgrade to 11.2.5.0 to vet if ODI/FDMEE is truly broken or not in this release.  The EPM Configurator tool does not reveal the problem when FDMEE is broken, but there's a way I can see it on the back-end.

Finally, time permitting, I'll take my unpatched 11.2.4.0 Middleware backup, restore it to my botched/patched 11.2.4.0->11.2.5.0 in-place upgrade VM and see if I can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

And here we thought RCU was difficult....