How to add a favicon Image to the browser tab/URL in WebCenter?

Prerequisites:

1. WebCenter is installed 
2. OHS is installed and configured for WebCenter as a frontend HTTP Server

Steps

 To add the favicon image in your WebCenter application, follow the following steps:-
 
1. Go to following directory of Oracle HTTP Server (OHS)  
/oracle/middleware/Oracle_WT1/instances/instance1/config/OHS/ohs1/htdocs/

2. Add favicon.icon image (size : most commonly 16×16 pixels) in above folder 
3. Restart the OHS 

It will show in the browser tabs/URL when you browse to WebCenter.

For favicon support and limitation in different browser, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon

How to change HTTP Session Timeout for WebCenter Spaces?

 If you see WebCenter Spaces application (webcenter.ear) session-timout from the Weblogic Console, this session Timeout (3600 Seconds) is misleading and not applicable in case of WebCenter Spaces application. If you update this value from the console, it will not impact session-timeout of the WebCenter Spaces application.

 

Then question is how can I change session-timeout for WebCenter Spaces application? By default session-timeout set in web.xml is 45 minutes. There are following two ways to change the session-timeout:-

  

        1. Deployment Descriptors(web.xml and weblogic.xml)

       2. Customizing the Session Timeout sample project of SampleWebCenterSpacesExtensions (Supported solution till PS4)

Here, we will not discuss solution-2 as this project is excluded from PS5 documentation and sample project. If you are running WC Spaces PS3 or PS4, you can implement it as well.

You can update the session timeout in web.xml as well as weblogic.xml but if web.xml takes precedence over the weblogic.xml. Here, we will configure the session timeout in web.xml as recommended by Oracle in following documentation as well:-

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17904_01/webcenter.1111/e12405/wcadm_app_config_files.htm#BABIEBEB

Following are the steps to modify the web.xml for session timeout value:-

1.       Go to <WEBCENTER-HOME> /archives/applications directory and you will find webcenter.ear file there. In my case the complete path is C:\Oracle\Middleware\Oracle_WC1\archives\applications.

2.       Backed up webcenter.ear in <WEBCENTER-HOME> /archives/applications as webcenter.ear.bak

3.       Open the webcenter.ear file using winrar or 7zip or any other tool

4.       Now, go to spaces.war >> WEB-INF folder and open the web.xml file in editor

 

     

5.       Add following entry in it:-

<session-config>

                                         <session-timeout>15</session-timeout>

                         </session-config>

Pls note that session-timeout value in web.xml is in minutes whereas in weblogic.xml it is in seconds.

6.       Once done, save it and close it.

7.       Make sure that webcenter.ear contain an updated web.xml.

8.       Restart WC_Spaces servers. At startup, this automatically deploys the newer application with the modified web.xml.

Note: Once application is deployed, revised spaces.war is available at <DOMAIN-HOME> /servers\WC_Spaces\tmp\_WL_user\webcenter_11.1.1.4.0\<Randon-Folder-Name>. You can verify the web.xml changes as well.


Note:- From PS5 onward, there is one more way to change the session timeout, see the following documentation:-
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/webcenter.1111/e12405/wcadm_gen_prop.htm#BCEHFHCH

References:-

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17904_01/core.1111/e10108/webcenter.htm#BABEJEJG

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17904_01/webcenter.1111/e12405/wcadm_app_config_files.htm#CHDJCCBI

Hiden Gem of Oracle WebCenter: Spaces Automatic Services Configuration

Spaces supports automatic configuration of certain Oracle WebCenter Portal services.  Mean, you don’t need to set discussion, portlet, UCM services etc from the EM manually. This feature is available from 11G PS3 onward.

The Automatic Service Configuration only worked if the following conditions are met:

• Spaces and the target component must be installed in the same domain.
• The managed server of the target component must have an explicit listening address. If its listening address is empty or null or "localhost", then it must have a system associated to it that has an explicit address.
• The target component (like discussions, ucm, pagelet etc) must not be deployed to a cluster.
• You must start the managed servers associated to the WebCenter Portal services first. Then, start the WC_Spaces managed server.

Currently, automatic Service Configuration is implemented for the following Services:

Component/Service	Default Connection Name	Specific Rule
Discussions and Announcements services	WebCenterSpaces-Discussions	The user granted the Administrative role exists in discussions.
Documents service	WebCenterSpaces-ucm
Pagelet producer	WebCenterSpaces-PageletProducer
Personalization service	Conductor-WCPSSpaces  and Properties-WCPSSpaces
Preconfigured portlet producers	wc- OmniPortlet wc-WebClipping wc-WSRPTools
Worklist service and Spaces workflows	WebCenterSpaces- Worklist

Every time you start Spaces it will try to create the connections unless they already exist. This will be true until the service is configured for the first time unless you disable automatic service configuration. If the automatic configuration fails for a specific component, then you will have to manually configure the service.

You can verify from the EM that service connections are automatically configured for the Spaces application when you start the managed servers.

If required, you can disable the auto-configuration feature by setting the following Java property in domain_home/bin/setDomainEnv.sh  (on UNIX) or domain_home\bin\setDomainEnv.cmd (on Windows). 

-Dwebcenter.spaces.disableAutoConfigure=true

Reference:

Oracle® Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal
11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6.0)


4.2 Working with Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/install.1111/e12001/wc_components.htm#CHDGEJFG

Why Web Server for WebCenter? Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) vs Apache HTTP Server? How to configure Apache HTTP Server as a Web server for WebCenter?

Why Web Server for WebCenter?

To configure any HTTP Server for WebCenter is important in following scenarios:-

a.      For a good integration between WebCenter and UCM

b.   To configure SS0

c.       Access UCM few functionalists like Document Manager, document rendition support, advanced metadata edit, the IFRAME functionality, and so on.

Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) vs Apache HTTP Server

You can also use Oracle Web Tier that also has HTTP Server (OHS) instead of Apache HTTP Server. The advantage of using Apache HTTP Server is easy to download due to small size, easy to install and its light weight. The advantage of using OHS is that it’s also based on Apache HTTP Server, already configured for Weblogic Server.

Configure Apache HTTP Server as a Web server for WebCenter

Assuming that WebCenter and UCM is installed and configured. Start the Admin Server and other manage servers. You can access Weblogic Console with the URL http://localhost:7001/console, WebCenter Spaces with http://localhost:8888/webcenter and UCM with http://localhost:16200/cs.

1.      Download the Apache HTTP Server at http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi#apache22 according to your OS

2.      Install the Apache HTTP Server 2.2.x

3.      Start the Apache HTTP Server and access the Apache HTTP Server using http://localhost. If you see message that “It Works!”, its mean its installed successfully

4.      Copy the mod_wl_22.so from $WL_HOME\wlserver_10.3\server\plugin\win\32\mod_wl_22.so to APACHE_HOME\modules

5.      Open the httpd.conf file at APACHE_HOME\conf

6.      By default, Apache HTTP Server listen on port 80, you can change the port using Listen property like Listen 7777. We will use default port.

7.      Add the following line in

httpd.conf LoadModule weblogic_module   modules/mod_wl_22.so

8.      Add the following request to proxy

<Location /console>

 SetHandler weblogic-handler

 WebLogicHost localhost

 WebLogicPort 7001

</Location>

#Spaces

<Location /webcenter>

WeblogicHost localhost

WebLogicPort 8888

SetHandler weblogic-handler

</Location>

<Location /webcenterhelp>

WeblogicHost localhost

WebLogicPort 8888

SetHandler weblogic-handler

</Location>

# Discussions

<Location /owc_discussions>

    WebLogicHost localhost

        WebLogicPort 8890

    SetHandler weblogic-handler

</Location>

#UCM

<Location /cs>

WeblogicHost localhost

WebLogicPort 16200

SetHandler weblogic-handler

</Location>

<Location /adfAuthentication>

WeblogicHost localhost

WebLogicPort 16200

SetHandler weblogic-handler

</Location>

9.      Start the Apache HTTP server

10.  Open the browser and test the following URLs:

http://localhost/console

http://localhost/webcenter

http://localhost/cs 

 You will see that its working now without any Admin Server port.

Start WebLogic’s Managed Server without Username and Password manually

After you installed Fusion Middleware products like WebCenter, UCM, SOA etc you have plenty of Managed Servers (MS) and you have to enter username and password when you start each Managed Server (WC_Spaces, UCM_server1, IBR_server1, WC_Portlet, WC_Utilities, BAM_server1 etc) from the command line.  To make it automatic so that you don’t need to enter username and password. Follow the following steps:-

Apply to all the managed servers (Unsecured and simple way)

If you want that all my Managed Servers (MS) will not prompt for username and password then this approach is for you. In this approach, you just need to change one file and all the MSs will not prompt you for username and password without doing any change in individual MS. Follow the following instructions:-

1.       Go to bin of weblogic domain. In my case, following is the domain path:- <Middleware-Home>\user_projects\domains\<doman>\bin i.e. C:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\domains\wc_domain\bin

2.       Open the startManagedWebLogic.cmd in any text editor

3.       Set the following two variables with your weblogic admin user and its password

Set WLS_USER=<Admin-User-Name>
Set WLS_PW=<Admin-User-Password>

4.       Save the file and now start your MS from the command line.

startManagedWeblogic <MS-Name> <Admin-Server-IP:Port>

i.e. startManagedWeblogic WC_Spaces http://127.0.0.1:7001

If everything is ok then it should not prompt you for username and password.

Pls note that username and password will remain unencrypted.

Apply to individual MS changes (Secured and recommended way)

If you want to go with secured way and want to configure few servers that will run without asking for username and password then you need to go with this approach.

1.       (First time only). If you not started your MS before, you need to start it once from the command line so that it create required directories inside <Middleware-Home>\user_projects\domains\<domain> \servers\<MS-Name> i.e. C:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\domains\wc_domain\servers\UCM_server1

2.       Once started successfully, shutdown it.

3.       Create a security folder  in <MS-Name> folder

4.       Copy the boot.properties file from <MiddlewareHome>\user_projects\domains\wc_domain\servers\AdminServer and past it into newly created security folder.

Pls note that you can also create a boot.properties, just open any text editor like notepad and enter the following content:-
username=weblogic
password=welcome1
Don’t worry about plain text username and password. Once you start your MS, username and password will be encrypted with AES and will remain encrypted.

How to apply patchset 11gR1PS4 to Oracle WebCenter 11gR1PS3 for Windows?

Patching Scope

This guide will cover the patching information of following products:-

- Oracle Weblogic Server 11gR1PS3 (PS#12395560)

- Oracle WebCenter 11gR1PS3 (PS#12395099)

- Oracle Universal Content Management 11gR1PS3 (PS#12395130)

For patching other FMW products, see  http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E21764_01/doc.1111/e16793/toc.htm

Patching Pre-requisits

1. Must have a Oracle Support account that have downloading permission

2. Your existing Oracle WebCenter is up and running properly. 

3.  Download the Oracle WebLogic Server 11gR1PS4

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E23104_01/download_readme_ps4/download_readme_ps4.htm#BABEABCF

4. Download the Oracle Fusion Middleware (WC & ECM) 11gR1PS4 from

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E23104_01/download_readme_ps4/download_readme_ps4.htm#BABFICJA

Patching Instructions

1. Stop all the servers.

2. Take the backup of Oracle Homes, oracle_common and domain directories

Following diagram will explain the high level steps for this patching process:-

 2. Run the wls1035_upgrade_win32.exe file. Here you need to specify the Middleware home of your weblogic.

3. Run the Patch Set Assistant in order to patch the MDS Schemas using following command:-

ORACLE_HOME\bin\psa.bat -dbType Oracle -dbConnectString //localhost:1521/xe -dbaUserName sys -schemaUserName DEV_MDS

Note:- For WebCenter PS3, you only need to update MDS schema.

4. Merge downloaded directories (disk1 and disk2) of ECM patchset into one single directory and run the Oracle ECM installer (setup.exe) to patch your Oracle ECM software. Here you need to specify the updated middleware home directory.

5. Run the Oracle WebCenter installer (setup.exe) to patch your Oracle WebCenter software. Here you need to specify the updated middleware home directory.

6. Start all the servers.

Post Installation Task

There is no post intallation task from 11GR1PS3 to 11GR1PS4 for our

How to Install Oracle WebCenter 11G?

In this step-by-step guide, we will go through how to install Oracle WebCenter Suite 11G PS3 (11.1.1.4.0). When you install Oracle WebCenter, following components are installed with WebCenter:-

• Oracle WebCenter Framework (Automatically installed)
• Oracle WebCenter Space (Optional to install)
• Oracle Portlet Producer(Optional to install)
• Oracle WebCenter Discussion Server(Optional to install)
• Oracle WebCenter Pagelet Producer(Optional to install)
• Oracle WebCenter Analytics Collector(Optional to install)
• Oracle WebCenter Activity Graph Engines(Optional to install)
• Oracle WebCenter Personalization(Optional to install)

This installation does not include installation and configuration of other Oracle WebCenter services like Content Server, Communication Server, BPEL Server etc.

It is assumed that reader has some basic knowledge  of Oracle Weblogic Server 11G.

Pre-requisites

1.       System must have minimum of 4GB RAM

2.       Oracle Database 10g (10.2.0.4 or later) OR 11G (11.1.0.7.0 or later) (Required before RCU Schema Creation)

3.       Oracle Weblogic 11GR1 (Required before WebCenter Installation)

Software Required

1.       Oracle Repository Creation Utility (RCU) 11G (11.1.1.4.0)

2.       Oracle WebCenter Suite 11G R1 PS3 (11.1.1.4.0)

Installation Steps

Installation of Oracle WebCenter consists of following three parts:-

Part1: Creating the schemas for Oracle WebCenter

Part2: Installing the Oracle WebCenter

Part3: Configuring the Oracle WebCenter

Part1: Creating the schemas for Oracle WebCenter

Oracle WebCenter requires that certain schemas exist in the database prior to installation. You must run RCU to create the schemas in the database. Follow the instructions below to create the schemas:

1.       Before running RCU, change the number of process running and process cursor to 500 and restart the Oracle DB Service.

alter system set processes=500 scope=spfile;

ALTER SYSTEM SET open_cursors = 400 SCOPE=spfile;

2.       Go to rcuHome\BIN directory and click rcu.bat. Make sure that JAVA_HOME or JRE_HOME is set in your classpath.

3.       Welcome screen

Click Next.



4.       Create Repository Screen

Click Next.



5.       Database Connection Screen

Enter the Oracle database details and click Next.



A "Checking Prerequisites" screen will appear.  Click OK to proceed next.

6.       Select Components Screen

Enter  prefix in Create a New Prefix textbox. Select WebCenter  Suite from the component list.



Click Next. A "Checking Prerequisites" screen will appear. Click OK to proceed next.



7.       Schema Passwords Screen

select Use same password for all schemas and enter password. Click Next.



8.       Custom Variables Screen

Click Next.



9.       Map Tablespaces Screen

Click Next.



A "Creating Tablespaces" screen will appear.  Click Next again.



10.       Summary Screen



Click Create. A "CREATE" screen will appear. Click Ok.



11.       Completion Summary Screen

Click Close.



Part2: Installing Oracle WebCenter

Unpack the installation zip file into any directory. To start the installer, go to the directory and switch to the Disk1 directory. Click setup.exe. Perform the following steps:-

1. A command window will be open that will ask JDK/JRE home location.

2.       Welcome Screen

Click Next.

3.       Install Software Updates Screen

Select Skip Software Updates and click Next.



4.       Prerequisite Checks Screen

After the prerequisite checking is complete with no errors, click Next.



5.       Specify Installation Location Screen

Oracle Middleware Home: Specify the location where Weblogic Server was installed.

Oracle Home Directory: Specify the directory name,  it will be created inside the Oracle Middleware Home.

Click Next.



6.       Application Server Screen

Select Weblogic Server and click Next.



7.       Installation Summary Screen

Click Install.



8.       Installation Progress Screen

Click Next when the installation is 100% complete.



9.       Installation Complete Screen

Click Finish.



Part3: Configuring the Oracle WebCenter

After you have successfully run the installer, you can configure your Oracle WebCenter components by running the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard.

1.       Start the Configuration Wizard from the WeblogicàTools option.

2.       Welcome Screen

Select Create a new Weblogic domain and click Next.



3.       Domain Source Screen

Select the following products:-

a.       Oracle WebCenter Spaces -11.1.1.0

b.      Oracle Portlet Producers - 11.1.1.0

c.       Oracle WebCenter Discussion Server - 11.1.1.0

d.      Oracle WebCenter ActivityGraph Engines - 11.1.1.0

e.      Oracle WebCenter Personalization - 11.1.1.0

f.        Oracle WebCenter Pagelet Producer - 11.1.1.0



Click Next.



4.       Domain Name and Location Screen

Enter the domain name for example webcenter_domain  with default locations. Click Next.





5.       Configure Administrator Username and Password Screen

Enter the user name and password. This user will be domain administrator. Click Next.



6.       Configure Server Start Mode and JDK Screen

Select the Startup Mode and JDK. Click Next.







7.       Configure JDBC Component Schema Screen

Configure the schema information for each data source listed on this screen. When you make changes to any field on this screen, the changes are applied to selected data sources only. For fields that are common with all data sources (for example, all data sources reside on the same database), you should select all of the data sources and make your changes. The changes are saved automatically as you type.

After all of the information that is common to all data sources has been specified, then you will need to select individual or smaller groups of data sources and enter information that is specific to them (for example, the schema owner).

Click Next.





8.       Test Component Schema Screen

Verify that the connections to your data sources are successful.

Click Next.







9.       Select Optional Configuration Screen

Do not select anything on this screen.

Click Next.



10.       Configuration Summary

Verify the information and click Create.






11.       Creating Domain Screen
When the domain has been successfully created, click Done.

When you create a WebCenter domain, 1 admin server (running on default port 7001) and following Managed Servers will be created:-

Server	Default Port	Application(s)/Component(s)
AdminServer(admin)	7001	1.       Admin Console Application
WC_Spaces	8888	2.       Oracle WebCenter Spaces.
WC_Portlet	8889	1.       Oracle WebCenter Portlets2.       Oracle Pagelet Producer
WC_Collaboration	8890	1.       Oracle WebCenter Discussions Server
WC_Utilities	8891	1.       Oracle WebCenter Activity Graph2.       Oracle WebCenter Analytics Collector 3.       Oracle WebCenter Personalization server

Installation Verification

1.       Run the admin Server

DOMAIN_HOME\startWebLogic.cmd

2. Run all the managed servers

DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedServer.cmd <Server-Name>

For example

DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedServer.cmd WC_Spaces

DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedServer.cmd WC_Portlet

DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedServer.cmd WC_Collaboration

DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedServer.cmd WC_Utilities

3.       Start the browser and access the following URLs:- ·

• To access the Administration Server:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:7001

• To access the Administration Server console: http://<Server-Host-Name>:7001/console

• To access Enterprise Manager:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:7001/em
• To access WebCenter Spaces:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:8888/webcenter
• To access WebCenter Pagelet Producer:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:8891/welcome
• To access WebCenter Analytics, Activity Graph and Personalization Server:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:8891/activitygraph-engines
• To access WebCenter Activity Graph: http://<Server-Host-Name>:8891/activitygraph-engines/Login.jsp
• To access WebCenter Personalization Server: http://<Server-Host-Name>:8891/wcps/api/property/resourceIndex
• To access WebCenter Rich Text Portlet:http://<Server-Host-Name>:8889/richtextportlet/
• To access WebCenter WSRP Tools:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:8889/wsrp-tools/
• To access Pagelet Producer: http://<Server-Host-Name>:8889/pageletadmin/login/loginpage.jspx
• To access WebCenter OmniPortlet and Web Clipping Portlets:  http://<Server-Host-Name>:8889/portalTools/
• To access WebCenter Discussions: http://<Server-Host-Name>:8890/owc_discussions

Where you <Server-Host-Name> is your machine name or IP address where you installed WebCenter.

References

Installation Guide:  http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/install.1111/e12001/toc.htm

Quick Installation Guide: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/install.1111/e10146/toc.htm

Upcoming post: In my next post, we will discuss how to install Oracle Universal Content Management (UCM) (a Content Server) and Oracle Oracle Inbound Refinery (IBR) (a File Conversion server).

Quick Oracle Database 10G Patch Installation on Windows 2003 innon-clustered environment

This installation procedure will apply from any version of Oracle DB 10G to upgraded version of 10G in non-clustered or non-RAC environment.

1. Before installing, shutdown all database services from the control panel.

2. Run the db_patch/setup.exe file.

3. During installation, specify existing installed database home.

4. Select default in rest of the steps of the installation and complete the installation.

5. Start the listener and database services from the control panel. dbconsole service remain stop.

6. Run the Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant from Start --> Program Files --> Oracle_DB_10G_Home-->Configuration and Management Tools.

a. select the name of the Oracle Database that you want to update

b. On the Recompile invalid objects screen, select the Recompile the invalid objects at the end of upgrade option

c. If you have not taken the back up of the database earlier, on the Backup screen, select the I would like to take this tool to backup the database option. [Optional]

This patch installation will take almost 1 hour depends upon the processor.

For detailed instructions and troubleshooting, pls see

http://www.eygle.com/Notes/10204_patch_note_Win32.htm#CJGEJFIF