Configuring Oracle Webcenter 11.1.1.8.0 For A Cross Platform Installation
Configuring Oracle Webcenter 11.1.1.8.0
For A Cross Platform Installation
By: Kevin Cocilo | IPM Integration Manager
Introduction:
With the introduction of Enterprise Capture (EC) for Webcenter 11.1.1.8.0, some customers may face the challenge of a cross platform installation. The use case surfaces when implementing EC for the iExpense solution. The solution uses the barcode recognition functionality, which of course requires that the EC Recognition Server be installed. Currently the Recognition Server is only available to run on a Windows platform. The challenge then becomes how to successfully install and run WebCenter that uses Linux for its primary processing power, while still incorporating the Windows platform for the EC Recognition Server.
Background:
As mentioned above, EC is new to 11.1.1.8.0. Previously, the Oracle offering for Document Capture was ODC\ODDC. And although ODC is a Windows installation, it is a stand-alone client, separate and apart from Webcenter. Typically ODC would simply output .tif files and metadata to a directory location for Imaging (IPM) to ingest. The only thing required was a Samba share to facilitate the data transfer.
With 11.1.1.8.0, EC replaces ODC\ODDC, not as a stand-alone Windows client, but as a managed server within a Weblogic domain. The advantages are clear. It would take advantage of the latest Oracle Fusion Middleware technical stack and leverage the infrastructure of a Weblogic domain. The integration of EC into the WebCenter should have been seamless, and probably could have been were it not for the need to have the Recognition Server on a Windows machine.
Implementation:
The initial architecture assessment was not straight forward simply because EC is new. There simply isn’t a lot of documentation available (either internal to Oracle, or on the normal Oracle blogs/boards).
Initial thoughts were to just extend the Linux domain. This would entail doing the initial Weblogic installation (the jdk, Weblogic, Webcenter SOA, IPM and UCM) on Linux and then simply Extend the Domain to include EC on a Windows server. The only thing needed, so it was thought, was a Samba Share so that the Linux Domain could be accessed during the Extend process. The only problem here is that it didn’t work. The process seemed to behave exactly as you would expect, until you reached the point to actually extend. Even though the Linux Domain was visible and seemed to have correct permissions, the command (Button) would produce an error and the domain extension would be unsuccessful. Subsequent retries and attempts produced the same results.
Successful Implementation:
What finally proved to be successful was a method of Packing\Unpacking the domain. The sample installation assumes a simple non-clustered environment.
Since we will be using 2 separate servers for the integration (Linux server for base WebCenter installation, and a Windows server for Enterprise Capture), the WebCenter installation will need to be performed twice. These are the high level steps needed:
