WFLOAD – Oracle Workflow Loader utility

We use the Workflow Definitions Loader to save or load process definitions from a database or flat file. We can also define as it is a utility that moves workflow data between a file and a database and it is also used to upgrade, upload and download the workflow data.

How can one download,
                      upload,
                      upgrade,
                      force upload a workflow to the database?
Download :

To download a wft file of a specific item type, please use the following command:

 WFLOAD apps/pwd 0 Y DOWNLOAD file.wft ITEMTYPE1  
e.g.
WFLOAD apps/apps 0 Y DOWNLOAD POAPPRV.wft POAPPRV 
Note:
Please make sure to replace file with a more descriptive name, and ITEMTYPE1 with the item type for which you are download the workflow definition.

​Upload:

The upload option is used to load a process definition from a flat file into the database. The upload mode is useful to someone who is developing a workflow process. It allows the developer to save definitions to the database without concern that accidental customizations to existing objects might prevent the upload of some process definition elements. The Workflow Definitions Loader uses the access level defined by the input file to upload the process definitions from the file and therefore will overwrite objects in the database that are protected at a level equal to or higher than that file's access level.

There are two options for the upload process:

1. Upload the workflow definition file wft using the Workflow Definitions Loader               concurrent request:

     A. Login in to the System Administrator responsibility.
     B. Choose requests/run
     C. Choose 'Workflow Definitions Loader'
     D. The report has three parameters: item type, file location, and mode:
     E. Leave item type blank
     F. For the second put in the full path (no Aliases) for the workflow file
       
     NT Server Example:
         d:/oracle/appltop/po/11.5.0/patch/11.5/import/US/poxwfrqa.wft
     Linuz Server Example:
        $oracle/appltop/po/11.5.0/patch/11.5.0/import/US/poxwfrqa.wft
​
     G. For the third parameter, Mode, choose Force.

IMPORTANT: This will overwrite the existing workflow in the database, including any customizations. Proceed only after making sure the customized workflow backup is saved in its own flat file.

2. To upload a wft file to the database, By using WFLOAD command:

WFLOAD apps/pwd 0 Y UPLOAD file.wft
e.g.
WFLOAD apps/apps 0 Y UPLOAD POAPPRV.wft

Note:

Please make sure to replace file.wft with the name of the wft file containing the workflow definition to be uploaded to the database.

​Upgrade:

The upgrade option is used to apply a seed data upgrade to a database from an input file. The Workflow Definitions Loader assumes the access level of the file's creator (seed data provider) and overwrites any objects protected at a level equal to or above the upgrade file's access level. The Loader program preserves any customizations made to customizable seed data in the database.

To upgrade a wft file on the database, please use the following command:

WFLOAD apps/pwd 0 Y UPGRADE file.wft
e.g.
WFLOAD apps/apps 0 Y UPGRADE POAPPRV.wft

Note:
Please make sure to replace file.wft with the name of the wft file containing the workflow definition to be upgraded on the database.

​Force Upload:

You can use the "Force" to force an upload of the process definitions from an input file to a database regardless of an object's protection level. You should be certain that the process definition in the file is correct as it overwrites the entire process stored in the database. The Force mode is useful for fixing data integrity problems in a database with a known, reliable file backup.

If you would like to force the load of specific wft files, please use the following command, while replacing pwd with the apps password, and file.wft with the name of the wft file that you want to force upload to the database:

To force upload a wft file to the database, please use the following command:

WFLOAD apps/pwd 0 Y FORCE file.wft
e.g.
WFLOAD apps/apps 0 Y FORCE POAPPRV.wft

Note:
Please make sure to replace file.wft with the name of the wft file containing the workflow definition to be force uploaded to the database.

​Note:

In case of working on a translated workflow process definition, before using the above commands, make sure to set the environmen variable NLS_LANG properly, using a
syntax like the following:

export NLS_LANG=LANGUAGE_TERRITORY.CHARACTERSETe.g.
export NLS_LANG=FRENCH_FRANCE.UTF8

Oracle Database Extended Support Dates

 Deadline Dates for Current Oracle Database Versions

Oracle publishes a Lifetime Support Policy to describe each aspect of the support that it provides. In summary, each new release of Oracle Database receives five years of Premier Support from its release date. If purchased, Extended Support provides an additional three years for a total of eight. In limited situations, the fee-based Market-Driven Support is also offered. At the end of those types of support, each release enters an indefinite Sustaining Support status.

Here are the support end dates that should be on your radar:

Version 11.2 (11g)

Premier Support ended in January 2015

Extended Support ended December 31, 2020

Market-Driven Support is a paid service that ends December 31, 2022

Version 12.1.0.1

Support for this release has ended, and it isn’t eligible for Extended Support

Version 12.1.0.2

Premier Support ended July 31, 2019

Without Extended Support or an Unlimited License Agreement, Error Correction/Patching ended July 31, 2019

With Extended Support or an Unlimited License Agreement, Error Correction/Patching ends July 31, 2022

Version 12.2.0.1

Error Correction/Patching ended November 30, 2020

Limited Error Correction is available from December 1, 2020, through March 31, 2022

Extended Support is not available

Version 12.2.0.2 (18c)

Error Correction/Patching ends June 30, 2021

Extended Support isn’t available

Version 12.2.0.3 (19c)

Premier Support ends April 30, 2024

Extended Support runs from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2027

With paid Extended Support, Error Correction/Patching is available through April 30, 2027

Without paid Extended Support, Error Correction/Patching is available through April 30, 2024

Version 21c

Error Correction/Patching ends June 30, 2023

Extended Support is not available

 

What's New : Release Schedule of Current Database Releases

What's New

The most recent changes will be highlighted with a "New" or "Updated" icon to help you quickly identify the modifications.  (For a history of modifications, see the Change Record Table at the bottom of the document.)

New 

·   August 2021: Oracle Database 21c (21.3) released on Linux.

·       June 2021: Oracle will use best effort to support the Oracle 12.1.0.2 Database on Microsoft Windows until July 2022. See Table 1

·    May 2021: Oracle Instant Client 19.10 released on Linux on ARM

May 2021: Oracle is not planning to release 21c on IBM AIX Power Systems and IBM Linux on System Z

Oracle is mindful of the unprecedented economic and business disruption our customers faced in 2020. We decided to not promote our Database 20c Preview version to General Availability. Instead, we incorporated all of the 20c functionality into the 21c release and made 21c available initially in our Autonomous Database Free Tier so that all can test drive the new features and enhancements for free.

Oracle recommends the following upgrade options:

• For product longevity and patching, Oracle strongly recommends upgrading to 19c which is the Long Term Release with a support end date of April 30, 2027 (or April 30, 2024 if you choose not to pay Extended Support fees or purchase a ULA).
• If you are currently running 11.2.x/12.1.x you will need to upgrade to the terminal release (i.e. 11.2.0.4/12.1.0.2) for the DB Release you are running and then continue the upgrade process by upgrading to the 19c.
• If you are currently running 12.2.0.1 or 18c, you should upgrade to 19c without delay.  18c is in Sustaining Support.

For questions related to certification combinations and Lifetime Support agreements with other Oracle products like Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle JD Edwards, Oracle PeopleSoft, and Oracle Siebel, please contact your Oracle Account Representative.

Patching End Dates for Roadmap

Release	Patching End Date	Notes and Exceptions
21cInnovation Release	April 30, 2024	Error Correction / Patching is available until April 30, 2024 21c is not eligible for Extended Support (ES) Only quarterly Release Updates (RUs) are provided for 21c. Release Update Revisions (RURs) are limited to Long Term Releases.
19c Long Term Release	April 30, 2024 with no ES/ULA April 30, 2027 with ES/ULA	Premier Support (PS) ends April 30, 2024, Extended Support (ES) fees will be required beginning May 01, 2024 through April 30, 2027 Error Correction / Patching is available through April 30, 2027 with paid ES. Without paid ES, patching is only available until April 30, 2024
18c Innovation Release	Jun 30, 2021	Error Correction / Patching was available until Jun 30, 2021. 18c is now in Sustaining Support. 18c is not eligible for Extended Support (ES)
12.2.0.1	March 31, 2022 (Limited Error Correction from Dec 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022)	Error Correction / Patching is available until Nov 30, 2020 Limited Error Correction (Sev 1 and Security Updates only)    See Note 161818.1 for details. 12.2.0.1 is not eligible for Extended Support (ES)
12.1.0.2 Terminal Release	Jul 31, 2022 with paid ES, ULA, or EBS waiver	Premier Support (PS) ended Jul 31, 2018 and one year of free Extended Support (ES) was in effect until July 31, 2019. ES fees or a ULA was required beginning 01-Aug-2019 through 31-Jul-2022. Without paid ES or ULA, patching ends 31-Jul-2019.   We have a global ES uplift fee waiver in place for E-Business customers, see details and dates of expiration see: Extended Support Fee Waiver for Oracle Database 12.1 and 11.2 for Oracle E-Business Suite (Doc ID 2522948.1) or Technical Support Policy Document. * One additional year (01-Aug-2021 through 31-July-2022) has been added to the 12.1.0.2 DB Extended Support time frame with the following exceptions: Apple Macintosh platform patching end date (Error Correction end date) is July 31, 2021.  Microsoft Windows platform exception has changed.  Regardless of the version used to run the 12.1.0.2 Database, Oracle built the 12.1.0.2 Database on Microsoft Windows 2008  This platform reached end-of-life support on January 14, 2020. However, we will make reasonable efforts to deliver patches for the Database 12.1.0.2 on Windows until July 2022, as long as our tooling continues to function.
12.1.0.1	Aug 31, 2016	Error Correction / Patching has ended for this release 12.1.0.1 is not eligible for Extended Support (ES) 12.1.0.1 was the last release of Standard Edition (SE) and Standard Edition One (SE1)
11.2.0.4 Terminal Release for 11.2	Dec 31, 2020 (with paid Extended Support or ULA Extended Support or EBS Waiver) Dec 31, 2022 (with Market Driven Support) Dec 31, 2021 for the OpenVMS platform	Premier Support (PS) ended 31-Jan-2015 and one year of free Extended Support (ES) was in effect until Dec 31, 2018. ES fees or a ULA was required beginning Jan 1, 2019 through Dec 31, 2020. At the end of ES, Market Driven Support (MDS) will be available for two additional years. See https://www.oracle.com/a/ocom/docs/ds-mds-database-11g-r2.pdf Oracle has a global Extended Support Uplift Fee waiver in place for E-Business customers, see details and dates of expiration see: Extended Support Fee Waiver for Oracle Database 12.1 and 11.2 for Oracle E-Business Suite (Doc ID 2522948.1) or Technical Support Policy Document. Gen 1 and Gen 2 ExaCC, OCC DBCS, OCI DBCS,OCI ExaCS and ODA had 3 additional months of Extended Support. The end of Extended Support for 11.2.0.4 databases on these platforms was: 31-March 2021. New instances could be created up until the end of extended support; however, Oracle makes no commitment that any 11.2.0.4 DBCS instances will continue to run after the end of Support. Market Driven Support is only available for the following Database Cloud Services: Gen 1 and Gen 2 ExaCC, OCC DBCS, OCI DBCS (non-PSM), OCI ExaCS.  New instances can be created up until the end of Market Driven Support.  Oracle makes no commitment that any 11.2.0.4 DBCS instances will continue to run after the end of MDS support. Market Driven Support is not available for PSM-based OCI DBCS, OCI-C DBCS and OCI-C ExaCS. 11.2.0.4 is the terminal release on OpenVMS. During calendar year 2021, customer will receive Severity 1 Fixes and Security Updates for no additional fees beyond standard Premier Support costs. Coverage does not extend to new certifications, third-party products, or any Java/JDK functionality including Java components embedded in the database. Coverage also excludes any updates related to cryptography and network encryption. This offering does not include standard Security Patch Updates (SPUs).

Change History (2020 -2021)

Date	What Changed?
13-Aug-2021	Oracle Database 21.3 released on Linux with a patching end date of April 30, 2024
08-Jun-2021	Oracle will use best effort to support the Oracle 12.1.0.2 Database on Microsoft Windows until July 2022.  See Table 1 above.
03-Jun-2021	Added Market Driven Support is not available for PSM-based OCI DBCS, in 11.2.0.4
05-May-2021	Oracle Instant Client 19.10 released on Linux on ARM
04-May-2021	Oracle is not planning to release 21c on IBM AIX Power Systems and IBM Linux on System Z (Added link to Doc ID 2766930.1 05/06/2021)
16-Dec-2020	Updated Table 1 11.2.0.4 Market Driven Support bullet for Database Cloud Services
08-Dec-2020	Updated Roadmap, Added 21c information
23-Nov-2020	Changed end date for 18c from June 08, 2021 to June 30, 2021 to match contract date requirements.
12-Oct-2020	Added OpenVMS Itanium Support dates that will extend their support until Dec 31, 2021.  See Table 1 - 11.2.0.4 section above.
02-Sep-2020	Added additional information around 11.2.0.4 DBCS and Market Driven Support. See Table 1- 11.2.0.4 section above.
03-Aug-2020	Because 12.2.0.1 LEC applies to all on-prem and DB cloud services, removed the following from 12.2.0.1 bullet points: 'Limited Error Correction applies to Gen 1 ExaCC, OCC DBCS, and ODA (UPDATED)'.  Added a comment that MDS does not apply to DBCS (This comment was removed 02-Sep-2020) Amended 12.1.0.2 EXS extension to specifically call out the Windows exception end date is the 'Patching/Error Correction end date'.  In certify, the EXS date for Windows platforms will still show as July 31, 2022 due to a tool limitation but patching (including bundles) will stop July 31, 2021.
10-Jun-2020	Added Long Term and Innovation release definitions, added updated Premier and Extended Support dates for 19c, added terminal release for the Solaris x86-64 bit platform, clarified the 12.2.0.1 additional 3 months of support for Gen 1 ExaCC, OCC DBCS, and ODA has been absorbed into Limited Error Correction window.
15-Apr-2020	Added Limited Error Correction for 12.2.0.1 from Dec 1, 2020- until March 31, 2022
23-Mar-2020	Gen 1 ExaCC, OCC DBCS, and ODA will have 3 additional months of support life. The end of life dates for databases on these platforms is: 11.2.0.4: 31-March 2021 12.2.0.1: 28-Feb-2021
Jan 28, 2020	Restructured original document, removed older releases that are no longer covered under Premier or Extended Support, removed unnecessary information contained in other documents, Added estimated release dates for annual release 20c.

Local Inventory and Global Inventory in Oracle EBS .

​OraInventory:

OraInventory is repository (directory) which store/records oracle software products & their oracle_homes location on a machine.

This Inventory now a days in XML format and called as XML Inventory where as in past it used to be in binary format & called as binary Inventory.

There are basically two kind of inventories,
                    
             1. Local Inventory (also called as Oracle Home Inventory).
             2. Global Inventory (also called as Central Inventory).


 1. Local Inventory (also called as Oracle Home Inventory).

 There is one Local inventory per ORACLE_HOME.

Inventory inside each Oracle Home is called as local Inventory or oracle_home Inventory.

This Inventory holds information to that oracle_home only.

(Local inventory is located in the Oracle Home, It contains the information relevant to its particular home. )

The only solution for local inventory corruption is to re-install the software.


2. Global Inventory (also called as Central Inventory).
​
The central inventory directory outside the ORACLE_HOME (Global Inventory)

This inventory stores information about.
All the Oracle software products installed on all ORACLE_HOMES on a machine,These products can be various oracle components like database, oracle application server, collaboration suite, soa suite, forms & reports or discoverer server.
Other non-oracle products such as Java Runtime env's (JRE).

This global Inventory location will be determined by file oraInst.loc in /etc/oraInst.loc (on Linux) or /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc (solaris).

If you want to see list of oracle products on machine check for file inventory.xml under ContentsXML.

Yes, we can have multiple Global Inventory on a machine but if your upgrading or applying patch then change Inventory Pointer oraInst.loc to respective location.

What to do if my Global Inventory is corrupted ?

We can recreate global Inventory on machine using Universal Installer and attach already Installed oracle home by option

cd $ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin

./runInstaller -silent -attachHome -invPtrLoc ./oraInst.loc ORACLE_HOME="<Oracle_Home_Location>" ORACLE_HOME_NAME="<Oracle_Home_Name>"
 
Where
ORACLE_HOME= Oracle home location.
ORACLE_HOME_NAME provide any name.

cd $ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin
% ./attachHome.sh

We can detach by using below ..

cd $ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/

./runInstaller -silent -detachHome -local -noClusterEnabled -invPtrLoc $ORACLE_HOME/oraInst.loc -ignorePreReq ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_HOME ORACLE_HOME_NAME=TEST_HOME

 

Oracle EBS Application Objects and Tablespaces .

     In Oracle Application databases there is a schema/User per very product top .Apart from each individual schema, there is a master schema called APPS which has access to all objects in every product schema, similar to SYSTEM schema in normal database.

The following code objects are installed in the APPS schema.
   i.     Packages 
   ii.    Procedures 
   iii.   Functions 
   iiii.  Triggers 
   iiiii.  Views 
   iiiiii. Materialized Views

The following objects are installed in the base product schemas.
   i.   Tables 
   ii.  Sequences
   iii. Indexes 
   iiii. Constrains 
 
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 .

Oracle Applications Releases R12 required an Oracle Database block size of 8K,no other block size is supported by Oracle Product Support.

Till Oracle Applications 11.5.9 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 tablespace for Oracle Payables indexes .

Only exceptions are APPS schema, As Apps schema doesn't have any tables or indexed of its own,
it used APPLSYSD as it is default tablespace.

Oracle Applications Release 11.5.10 introduces a new infrastructures for tablespace management ,the Oracle Applications Tablespace Model (OATM) . OATM comprised nine default tablespaces for applications objects in addition to Undo,Temp, and System database tablespaces .Indexes on transaction tables are held in a separate tablespace dedicated for transaction table indexes, whereas all other indexes are held in the same tablespace as the parent/base table .

Following are the Tablespaces types available out of the box with OATM.

OATM becomes mandatory for Application instances with RAC and RAW devices ,where there is currently limitation on number of raw devices .They can't go beyond 255 raw devices .In additional old tablespace modal ,each applications products has two tablespaces .As each tablespace needs at least one raw devices ,We will easily cross 255 devices limit if we use old model.

FNDCPASS Error:Oracle error -29548: ORA-29548: Java system class reported:

 We faced this issue while changing the APPS password through FNDCPASS.

We are not sure, have you guys have faced this issue or not but hope this may useful here if anyone face this issue in future. 

Issue :

FNDCPASS system/***** SYSTEM APPLSYS *****
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Working...
Oracle error -29548: ORA-29548: Java system class reported: release of Java system classes in the database (12.1.0.2.200114 1.6) does not match that of the oracle executable (12.1.0.2.200414 1.6) – USER ( APPS ) has been detected in FND_WEB_SEC.GET_OP_VALUE.

The error is due to java.

Solution:

Connect as sys and run below


cd $ORACLE_HOME

SQL> @? /javavm/install/update_javavm_db.sql
SQL> SET FEEDBACK 1
SQL> SET NUMWIDTH 10
SQL> SET LINESIZE 80
SQL> SET TRIMSPOOL ON
SQL> SET TAB OFF
SQL> SET PAGESIZE 100
SQL>
SQL> alter session set "_ORACLE_SCRIPT"=true;
 
Session altered.
 
SQL>
SQL> -- If Java is installed, do CJS.
SQL>
SQL> -- If CJS can deal with the SROs inconsistent with the new JDK,
SQL> -- the drop_sros() call here can be removed.
SQL> call initjvmaux.drop_sros();
 
Call completed.
 
SQL>
SQL> create or replace java system;
  2  /
 
Java created.
 
  update dependency$
  set p_timestamp=(select stime from obj$ where obj#=p_obj#)
  where (select stime from obj$ where obj#=p_obj#)!=p_timestamp and
  (select type# from obj$ where obj#=p_obj#)=29  and
  (select owner# from obj$ where obj#=p_obj#)=0;
 
0 rows updated.
 
SQL>
SQL> commit;
 
Commit complete.
 
SQL>
SQL> alter session set "_ORACLE_SCRIPT"=false;
 
Session altered.
 
SQL>
SQL> exit
 
SQL> select dbms_java.get_jdk_version() from dual;
 
DBMS_JAVA.GET_JDK_VERSION()
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6.0_71
 
 
Use FNDCPASS now and change passwords .

Unable to Start Admin Server on EBS 12.2

 While starting the services getting below error and Admin server is not starting .

​Solution:
 
1. Stop all services

2.Remove boot.properties file or Edit and enter blow parameters
   Username=
   Password =
 
3.Remove tmp ,cache from all managers servers
​
4.Move ldap directory under data from all mangers servers .
 
Start admin server first ,then start all services ..


                                        Hope you found this helpful ,Thank you 

HOW TO CREATE DBC FILE IN ORACLE APPS R12 EBS?

 

   The .dbc file is mostly used to define database parameters, stands for database connect descriptor file, used to connect-to database, it authenticate users against database in FND_USER table.

DBC file is quite important as whenever Java or any other program like forms want to connect to database it uses dbc file.

For OAF page development, we need to get the DBC file of development environment.


Method 1:

On Application Node 

Navigate to $INST_TOP/admin/install directory and run adgendbc.sh script.

It will generate .dbc file under $INST_TOP/appl/fnd/12.0.0/secure

Spool:

[applprod@nadhans install]$ sh adgendbc.sh

adgendbc.sh started at Wed Aug 25 10:18:44 EDT 2021


Enter the APPS username: apps

Enter the APPS password:

SQL*Plus: Release 10.1.0.5.0 - Production on Wed Aug 25 10:18:52 2021

Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle.  All rights reserved.

Enter value for 1: Enter value for 2: Enter value for 3: Connected.
[ APPS_DATABASE_ID ]
Application Id : 0
Profile Value  : NADHAN
Level Name: SITE
INFO           : Updated/created profile option value.
.

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.


Commit complete.

Disconnected from Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition Release 12.1.0.2.0 - 64bit Production
With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters and Automatic Storage Management options


==============================
* * * * DBC PARAMETERS * * * *
==============================
fnd_jdbc_buffer_min=1
fnd_jdbc_buffer_max=5
fnd_jdbc_buffer_decay_interval=300
fnd_jdbc_buffer_decay_size=5
fnd_jdbc_usable_check=false
fnd_jdbc_context_check=true
fnd_jdbc_plsql_reset=false

====================================
* * * * NO CUSTOM PARAMETERS * * * *
====================================

Unique constraint error (00001) is OK if key already exists

Creating the DBC file...
Application server ID already exists for this host - loading..
ADD executed successfully - /ua1001/app/inst/apps/NADHANS_prod/appl/fnd/12.0.0/secure/NADHANS.dbc

Updating Server Security Authentication
AUTHENTICATION SECURE executed successfully - $FND_SECURE/NADHANS.dbc

adgendbc.sh ended at Wed Aug 25 10:19:03 EDT 2021

adgendbc.sh exiting with status 0
ERRORCODE = 0 ERRORCODE_END


Method 2:

On Application Node 

java oracle.apps.fnd.security.AdminAppServer apps/apps ADD FNDNAM=apps GWYUID=applsyspub/pub TWO_TASK= SECURE_PATH=$FND_TOP/secure GUEST_USER_PWD=guest/oracle APPS_JDBC_DRIVER_TYPE=THIN DB_HOST=nadhans.com DB_PORT=1521


Method 3:

We can also do it Via Browser URL.

In case, if we don’t have access to the server we can get it with other easy way.
Open a web browser and go to the homepage Application URL and append “/OA_HTML/jsp/fnd/aoljtest.jsp” to it like below.


This will open the page and enter the required details.
If all the details are correct entered you will get an overview page with all details, and at bottom of screen you will get a link “Enter AOL/J Setup Test”. click that link.

This will redirect you to page from where you can Locate DBC file under connection test from left side Menu list.

On the right side you will get the contents of the DBC file. Copy/paste this to a VISION.dbc file and place it in your JDeveloper JDEV_USER_HOME/dbc_files/secure.