Announcing Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6.0) (Doc ID 1364511.1)

Important:

• The following link provides all download locations and starting points for various topologies:
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware: Download, Installation & Configuration Readmes
  [ http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23104_01/download_readme.htm ]
• Depending on desired products, there are different delivery methods and different licensing terms which affect download availability:
  
  
  • Full installers are available on OTN and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud under their respective license terms. A full installer will install version 11.1.1.6.0 as a new installation or update a previous release.
  • Update installers are available on My Oracle Support and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud under their respective license terms. These are also referred to as 'Patch Sets', updating an existing installation.
  • Downloads from OTN are subject to "Oracle Technology Network Developer License Terms".
  • Downloads from MOS and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud are subject to licensing terms appropriate for a production environment as per Oracle Fusion Middleware Licensing Information.

Highlights

• Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6) introduces new full installers for Oracle Identity Management and Oracle Web-Tier install types. (Portal, Forms, Reports and Discoverer are expected to be installed as 11.1.1.2 and patched to 11.1.1.6+).
  
  
• Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6) Documentation Library books have significant documentation improvements based on My Oracle Support experiences and customer feedback.
  
  
• There is a one year grace period to plan an update to a new Patch Set release in order to maintain Premier Support with error correction. For more information on the Error Correction Policy dates for each release, see <Note 1290894.1>.

Bug Fixes

The following provides the list of bug fixes included with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6):

<Note 1364512.1> Fixed Bugs List - Patch Set 5 (11.1.1.6.0) for Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g
<Note 1376604.1> Fixed Bugs List - Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.6

New Features

New Certifications

• Oracle is introducing Solaris 11 support with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6). Check Certification and System Requirements Guides for details.
• There are new JDK version requirements for 11.1.1.6, including Java 7 support. See the Certification spreadsheet, Systems tab, select your platform column to see results, taking note of the JDK column specific to 11.1.1.6.
• Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6) installations are now certified with Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.5 and 10.3.6. Both versions are available within the 11.1.1.6 media pack on Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Note along with this is an extension of error correction support for WLS 10.3.5, (See footnote "b" for WLS 10.3.1+ table within <Note 1290894.1>).
• Clarifications have been made to the Certification Matrix (.xls). See the document control tab within the spreadsheet. For the most popular certifications, see the new tool referenced within <Note:1368736.1>, "My Oracle Support Certification Tool for Oracle Fusion Middleware Products". It is also important to follow the System Requirements Guide (.htm) and Release Notes (.htm) when preparing your system for a new installation or an update. There may be requirements or limitations to meet the certification.

 

Certification and System Requirements Guides

Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) contains a separate Certification, System Requirements, and Interoperability/Compatibility Guides. These should be followed together in order to properly set up your environment before installation:

• Certification Guide:
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations
  [ http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-certification-100350.html ]
  --See: "System Requirements and Supported Platforms for Oracle Fusion Middleware 11gR1 (xls)"
  --See also: <Note:1368736.1> My Oracle Support Certification Tool for Oracle Fusion Middleware Products
• System Requirements Guide:
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications
  [ http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-requirements-100147.html ]
  --See: "System Requirements and Specifications"
  --Please refresh your browser cache
• Interoperability and Compatibility Guide
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware Interoperability and Compatibility Guide 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
  [ http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=as1111&id=INTOP ] - latest revision

 

 

New Documentation Library

Documentation Libraries for 11g Releases
[ http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/fusion-middleware/documentation/index.html ]
--See: "11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6)"

Recommendations

 Below is a set of recommendations and clarifications on various topics regarding the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g 11.1.1.6 release:

Patch Set 11.1.1.6

• The 11.1.1.6 Patch Set should only be applied on previous versions documented to be applicable to this update. For example, it is not supported to apply the 11.1.1.6 Patch Set to the Oracle Forms & Reports 11g Release 2 (11.1.2). There should be one-off patches made available for any fixes required for installed 11.1.1.5 components. An upcoming Forms & Reports 11.1.2.1 Patch Set is expected to cover any required 11.1.1.6 updates to this home. For more information, see <Note 1373061.1>, Steps to Maintain Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 2 (11.1.2).
• Because WebLogic Server 10.3.5 and 10.3.6 are certified with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.6 products, the Patch Set may be applied to existing Middleware homes where WLS 10.3.5 is installed without updating Oracle WebLogic Server.
• Only apply the 11.1.1.6 Patch Set to existing Middleware homes where all products installed intro that Middleware home and/or domain also has an 11.1.1.6 Patch Set available to update. For example, it would not be supported to have a Middleware home or domain shared between 11.1.1.5 and 11.1.1.6 products. See Section 3.2-3.4 in the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide:
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware Interoperability and Compatibility Guide 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
  [ http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=as1111&id=INTOP ] - latest revision

New Installations

• Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6) introduces new full installers for Oracle Identity Management and Oracle Web-Tier install types. This means only the "Portal, Forms, Reports, & Discoverer" (PFRD) installations need to be installed as 11.1.1.2, updated and configured as 11.1.1.6. See below section to evaluate your intentions when installing PFRD.
• Because WebLogic Server 10.3.5 and 10.3.6 are certified with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.6 products, version 11.1.1.6 products may be installed into a Middleware home where Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.5 is already in use. Note if you are building a new Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.6 environment, it is suggested to start with Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.6 installation unless you have a specific reason to use 10.3.5.  Note that performing an installation of 11.1.1.5 and 11.1.1.6 products within the same Middleware home or domain with WLS 10.3.5 is not supported and is explained in more detail within the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide.
• Before performing any installation, Certification (.xls) and System Requirements (.htm) should be reviewed along with a recently updated Interoperability and Compaibility Guide:

Oracle Fusion Middleware Interoperability and Compatibility Guide 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
[ http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=as1111&id=INTOP ] - latest revision

Oracle Portal and Oracle Single Sign-On 10g

For customers using Oracle Portal or Oracle Single Sign-On 10g, there is a new document to outline the expected direction now that Oracle Access Manager 11g is available as a single sign-on solution. Existing installations should be updated to use Oracle Access Manager 11g as the single sign-on solution. New installations requiring a brand new environment should evaluate different options. Where it is inevitable to install Oracle Portal with SSO 10g, there is a special procedure to use a temporary Identity Management 10.1.4 installation to fulfill the Oracle Portal requirements.

       <Note 1364497.1> New Direction for Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g with Single Sign-On 10g

 
When applying the 11.1.1.6 Patch Set to an existing Oracle Portal installation, ensure that the Patch Set Assistant is run, even though the Patching Guide says it is not required. This is a doc bug and will be corrected in a future revision. There is an RCU 11.1.1.6 for new Oracle Portal installations, and thus PSA should also be run on existing installations. This issue is tracked within the following My Oracle Support document:

<Note 1444034.1> Ensure Oracle Portal 11g Schemas are at Version 11.1.1.6 After Applying Patch Set 11.1.1.6

• Products under "Oracle Identity and Access Management" do not have a new 11.1.1.6 release. At the time of the 11.1.1.6 release, the latest release on these products are announced with <Note 1316076.1>, "Announcing Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.5.0)". Note that the "Oracle Identity and Access Management 11.1.1.5.0" disk is available within the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g release 1 (11.1.1.6) media pack on Oracle Software Delivery Cloud.
• It is only supported to use Oracle Identity and Access Management (IDM) and Oracle Identity Management (IAM) products together within the same Middleware home or same domain if they are the same versions. Note that the certification of Oracle Weblogic Server 10.3.5 with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.5 and 11.1.1.6 products does not mean they should be installed in the same Middleware home or share the same domain. It is recommended to plan new installations combining these products using a separate Middleware home and separate domains so that they can be maintained going forward. See the general domain compatibility guidelines described in the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide, Section 3:
  
  Oracle Fusion Middleware Interoperability and Compatibility Guide 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
  [ http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=as1111&id=INTOP ] - latest revision
  
  
  • It is supported to install and use Oracle Identity and Access Management (11.1.1.5) and Oracle Identity Management (11.1.1.6) products in separate Middleware homes using separate domains. This follows the general domain compatibility rules described in the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide, Section 3.2 and 3.3.
    
    
  • It is not supported to update Oracle Identity Management products to 11.1.1.6 if you are integrated with Oracle Identity and Access Management products in the same domain. This follows the general domain compatibility rules described in the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide, Section 3.4.
    
    
  • If older versions are already installed in separate Middleware homes using separate domains, each may be updated with their respective Patch Sets, where 11.1.1.5 and 11.1.1.6 products would then be compatible together. This follows the general domain compatibility rules described in the Interoperability and Compatibility Guide, Section 3.2-3.4.