EPM 11.2.x and Quarterly Java Update - Be Careful!

So far I've discovered 2 issues with respect to the Quarterly Oracle "Critical Patch Update" (abbreviated "CPU" henceforth) and Hyperion / Oracle EPM 11.2.x.

The problem seems to have been introduced with the October 2021 CPU and continues to be present in the January 2022 CPU.

So far, I've observed 2 symptoms:

1. The legacy frconfig utility fails to launch.  No error message is provided.  The javaw process appears briefly in your process list and then closes.
2. The EAS Console screen that is supposed to display a graphical chart when viewing ASO Essbase aggregate information is blank.

Here's how you can definitively know if you have the issue, and what you can do about it.

With respect to item #1 above, Oracle does have a Knowledge Base article about it.  It takes a bit of digging to find.  Essentially, Oracle acknowledges that the Quarterly CPU delivers an incomplete Java 8.

So let's say you blow away \Oracle\Middleware\jdk's content and replace it with the latest Java CPU.  After all, that's what we've been doing for years, so why change our techniques?

Don't do that anymore!

Whether you are in Linux or Windows, you need to count the number of files in the jdk folder before and after you apply the CPU.  In Windows you can right-click the folder and hit Properties.  Look at the file count.  If the number of files is below 900 after applying the CPU (typically I've seen it is in the mid-300's), you got hit with the problem.

The better way forward is to follow this procedure:

1. Back up your Middleware\jdk folder.
2. Download the Java 8 quarterly CPU.  Don't run the installer.  In the case of Windows, use 7-zip to unzip the included .gz file and then again use 7-zip to unpack the .tar file included therein.  Linux nerds like me know what to do on the Linux side of the fence.
3. MERGE the files extracted from the tar into your Middleware\jdk.  This will replace your JDK binaries that WebLogic cares about, while also preserving the JRE files that include JavaFX (EAS Console wants these) and the stuff frconfig needs.

I am hoping this condition is temporary.  Oracle knows about it because they published the KB article about it, although the workaround they suggest is something I don't agree with.

The last KB article I read said to uninstall Java 8 (how? Java 8 is bundled with EPM and there's no uninstaller in the Windows Control Panel for it - I'm speaking Windows here as that is what the bulk of my customers use nowadays), reinstall the base Java 8 release, and then install the CPU on top of it as an "in-place upgrade".  How?  Old EPM Infrastructure dinosaurs like me can figure it out, but there are many folks new to EPM 11.2.x and trying to unpack all of this knowledge is a daunting task.

The above is my own opinion, so your mileage may vary.