best OS for JDE 9.0 Rollout

New guy here, just started as the Server administrator for a small company using JDE.

We are currently planning an upgrade to our current JDE environment which is mostly running on windows 2003 servers. As part of this change we are looking to move to a Linux operating system for most of our servers in order to receive better support from Oracle. We have two options here:

Red hat
Oracle Linux

The vendor we are working with is recommending using oracle as then all the support needed would be from oracle.

My question is, what do most companies/users in the comunity use?

I see the value in using oracle for all the support but if only 20% of all installs moving forward are Oracle, then im worried that there will be more support for red hat from both the the support teams and the community (more issues will be found by users using the OS thus more of our issues will have simple resolutions)

Thank you all for your input.

Wow

Brave soul. First of all, its interesting that "in order to receive better support" you're moving from a platform you have internal experience with to a platform you really have no internal experience with.

So, by moving to Unix/Linux - I am also presuming you're also planning on migrating your database from SQL Server to Oracle. Not a big deal for JDE - but if you have any externally connected systems, then you're going to face quite a few major changes - systems you have to be concerned about include any interface that communicates to the database directly as well as any report writer/third party query tool.

Secondly - what version of Oneworld/E1 are you running ? If you're currently running on Windows 2003 - you might be running a version of Oneworld that might not SUPPORT going to Linux. Check the MTR (Minimum Technical Requirements) on Metalink.

If you're currently on Microsoft Windows 2003 / SQL Server - then your support should absolutely be fine - to be honest, I have supported SQL customers with NO issues from Oracle over the years. Certainly Tools releases "lag" a few months before certain MS products are supported - but they always EVENTUALLY get supported ! The same can sometimes be said for certain Oracle products though - we still don't see support for the latest Oracle Linux !

If you're using OAS, then thats the only thing you should be concerned about - since Tools Release 9.1 only supports Websphere or Weblogic. Anyone on OAS needs to kick it out and move to websphere or wls. That might require license negotiation based on your maintenance agreements.....

But, lets say you are on an EnterpriseOne version that supports Linux - and you have some good internal knowledge of linux. Then its a 50/50 decision.

I've run into Oracle Linux and Redhat just as many times as each other. One is no better or worse than the other - its a personal preference based on the administrator. I'd say that patching redhat is easier than Oracle linux because patches come out for Redhat before Oracle. But they follow onto Oracle Linux within days it seems. I understand the "one neck to choke" philosophy - and Oracle Linux might have an edge because of that.

Personally though, I would take a long hard look at where you currently are, what you're satisfied with (or not) - and whether you need to make a full platform change like this given the costs, effort and risk involved....more info from you might help us with your decision !

just my 2c

Skippy,

sounds like you have a Oracle Salesperson leading you by the nose.

Seriously the majority of JDE customers are NOT using LINUX as their OS Platform. The idea that you'll get better support from Oracle on that platform is bogus. Oracle's JDE support is good for all supported platforms.

Are you having support issues from Oracle re JDE? Or are you really having hardware/OS/Database issues on your JDE Servers that really have nothing to do with Oracle and you think that by single sourcing you'll get better support?

Please backup and tell us your JDE versions, Database/Version, and what problems the company has been experiencing that makes you think a platform change is the solution.

P.S. Welcome to JDEList!

ok guys so i got some more detail for you guys hope this helps:

current env:
web servers = win 2k3 with websphere 6
logic server = win 2k3
enterprise server = picasso v5r4
deployment server = win 2k3 sql db

new env:
web servers = Oracle Linux with weblogic
logic server = win 2k8
enterprise server = picasso v6r1
deployment server = win 2k8 oracle 11g

the key thing being all the web servers moving to linux

Thanks, hope this helps.

[ QUOTE ]
Wow

Brave soul. First of all, its interesting that "in order to receive better support" you're moving from a platform you have internal experience with to a platform you really have no internal experience with.

So, by moving to Unix/Linux - I am also presuming you're also planning on migrating your database from SQL Server to Oracle. Not a big deal for JDE - but if you have any externally connected systems, then you're going to face quite a few major changes - systems you have to be concerned about include any interface that communicates to the database directly as well as any report writer/third party query tool.

Secondly - what version of Oneworld/E1 are you running ? If you're currently running on Windows 2003 - you might be running a version of Oneworld that might not SUPPORT going to Linux. Check the MTR (Minimum Technical Requirements) on Metalink.

If you're currently on Microsoft Windows 2003 / SQL Server - then your support should absolutely be fine - to be honest, I have supported SQL customers with NO issues from Oracle over the years. Certainly Tools releases "lag" a few months before certain MS products are supported - but they always EVENTUALLY get supported ! The same can sometimes be said for certain Oracle products though - we still don't see support for the latest Oracle Linux !

If you're using OAS, then thats the only thing you should be concerned about - since Tools Release 9.1 only supports Websphere or Weblogic. Anyone on OAS needs to kick it out and move to websphere or wls. That might require license negotiation based on your maintenance agreements.....

But, lets say you are on an EnterpriseOne version that supports Linux - and you have some good internal knowledge of linux. Then its a 50/50 decision.

I've run into Oracle Linux and Redhat just as many times as each other. One is no better or worse than the other - its a personal preference based on the administrator. I'd say that patching redhat is easier than Oracle linux because patches come out for Redhat before Oracle. But they follow onto Oracle Linux within days it seems. I understand the "one neck to choke" philosophy - and Oracle Linux might have an edge because of that.

Personally though, I would take a long hard look at where you currently are, what you're satisfied with (or not) - and whether you need to make a full platform change like this given the costs, effort and risk involved....more info from you might help us with your decision !

just my 2c

[/ QUOTE ]

So in your opinion this environment would work just as well with 2k8 as our main OS? we really dont have linux knowledge on either OS, but thought red hat would be easier to support because of the community and documentation.

Thank you

We moved to WebLogic on Linux in September, and ran into a VERY STRANGE issue out of the gate.

We went with 1 WL server and 1 OA server, to test the waters for WL. I5 days after the WL server was started up, users who tried to run reports were greeted with a blank screen when they reached Processing Options. OK, bounce the server, gotta be a random hiccup. 15 days later, same issue. We took the WL server out of the F5 (replacing with a second OAS) and opened a case with Oracle. We then put a second WL server into the F5; 15 days later, THE SECOND SERVER HAD THE SAME ISSUE!.

Oracle is still clueless, but last week, they gave us a method to log all activity on the WL server. We then put the first server back into play, only this time I am the "crash test dummy" (what is new?). I am the only one to use the WL server as my method to access JDE. If the pattern continues, the projected failure date is 12/23 or 12/24.

OAS meanwhile has been running like a top. Just bizarre...

[ QUOTE ]


So in your opinion this environment would work just as well with 2k8 as our main OS? we really dont have linux knowledge on either OS, but thought red hat would be easier to support because of the community and documentation.

Thank you

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes. Why introduce another OS into your archtecture - particularly one you have no experience with ? Win2k8 will run weblogic fine - we have no issues with our WLS running in Win2k8 64bit - and we're using 8gb JVM's currently (240 users per JVM)

Hey Skippy,

Since you're new to the JDE community maybe some history would be helpful.

Prior to being consumed by Peoplesoft and then Oracle, JD Edwards was a Tier 2 ERP Software Vendor whose background was in the IBM AS/400 world. The original WORLD product only runs on i-Series platforms.

When JDE created their EnterpriseOne (OneWorld) product, it was envisioned as a ERP system that would allow customer's the choice of platforms for the backend processing servers and databases. The OS choices provided were the iSeries, Windows, and several flavors of UNIX. Database platforms supported were OS/400, SQL Server, and Oracle.

Customers migrating from WORLD to ONEWORLD tended to stay with the iSeries platforms. New customers might choose that or any of the others. Today my gut feel is that a slim majority of EnterpriseOne customers are on a Microsoft platform. We Started on HPUX (Unix) with Oracle DB and later moved to Microsoft Servers but staying with Oracle DB - that's the great thing about the JDE Architecture - its not hard to change platforms.

Linux is a relatively recent addition to the OS platforms supported - and as such has relatively few customers compared to the total install base.

Regarding Oracle Support. Unless you are a large corporation whose business means a great deal to Oracle you are not going to receive "better support" by single sourcing all your platforms with Oracle. For one thing Oracle is a "behemoth" of a company - requiring it to "partition" sales and support based on the type of product. So for example our Oracle JDE Sales reps only deal with JDE products. oracle Database and Middleware products are in another division so we have to deal with a different sales group there.
The same applies to support. You don't get a dedicated support person. A JDE support person doesn't handle database issues and vice versa. Effectively you are dealing with multiple companies whose name begins with Oracle. They are consistent however in their pricing and maintenance strategies however - gouge the customer!

I apologize if all this was well known to you, but I would argue caution in going down a road that leads to vendor lock-in across the board.

Just to chime in my $.02

I've worked with JDE for over ten years. Do not buy into the hype - use the hardware and database combination that you are most familiar with. I would be very, very, very surprised if Linux support exceeded customers with OS/400 or Windows operating systems.

The other thing is that if you want to build some integrations between your JDE instances and external applications windows is going to be the cheapest and most flexible way to go. Want to link into email, ad, those types of services? Think carefully.

At my current employer we are looking forward to moving away from a mainframe and I would strongly caution you from willfully putting yourself in a similiar situation, especially when Oracle has merely promised better support.

Take care

Malcolm

Thanks for the information guys. The main database that the system is connecting to is on AS/400 on Picasso if that helps.


[ QUOTE ]
ok guys so i got some more detail for you guys hope this helps:

current env:
web servers = win 2k3 with websphere 6
logic server = win 2k3
enterprise server = picasso v5r4
deployment server = win 2k3 sql db

new env:
web servers = Oracle Linux with weblogic
logic server = win 2k8
enterprise server = picasso v6r1
deployment server = win 2k8 oracle 11g

the key thing being all the web servers moving to linux

Thanks, hope this helps.

[/ QUOTE ]

Picasso is an Editor of AS400 CL source code - is that right?

Anyway, 5 months on , how did the 9.0 Rollout go ?