vendredi 18 novembre 2011

Allow PeopleSoft users to open .msg attachments in Microsoft Outlook

Allow users to open .msg attachments directly in Microsoft Outlook, instead of the
Web Browser which is the default behavior.

1. Update web.xml
1.1 Edit the wile web.xml in :
${PIA_HOME}/webserv/${WebLogic_Domain}/applications/peoplesoft/PORTAL.war/W
EB-INF

1.2 And add the following line after all the servlets definitions.
You can add the line first before allthe other <mime-mapping>, or at the end.
<mime-mapping> <extension>MSG</extension> <mime-type>application/vnd.msoutlook</
mime-type> </mime-mapping>
2. Restart the PIA
For single server domains
    - ./stopPIA.sh
    - ./startPIA.sh

For multi servers domains:
    - ./stopWebLogic.sh PIA
    - ./startManagedWebLogic.sh PIA

jeudi 22 septembre 2011

Let’s anticipate PeopleTools and PeopleSoft Enterprise Life cycle

Lots of blogs are talking about hypothetic launch of the iPhone 5 in September or October, but I will not talk about it in this blog … Let’s anticipate PeopleTools and PeopleSoft Enterprise Life cycle!
Oracle is planning to deliver new PeopleTools releases every year, so let’s see what would be the schedule, based on this and based on the latest “Feature Pack” General Availability.

  • PeopleTools 8.51                                  GA September 2010
  • HRMS 9.1 Feature Pack #1                   GA December 2010
  • FSCM 9.1 Feature Pack #1                   GA March 2011

Oracle plans to deliver a PeopleTools release each year, a Feature Pack each year, and a new release every 3 years …

  • PeopleTools 8.52                                  GA September 2011
    >>> GA 28/10/2011
  • HRMS 9.1 Feature Pack #2                   GA December 2011
    >>
    > GA 10/11/2011
  • FSCM 9.1 Feature Pack #2                   GA March 2012
    >>
    > somme new features available 10/11/2011 (bundle #15 & #16)

    >>
    > GA 17/01/2012
  • PeopleTools 8.53                                  GA September 2012
  • HRMS 9.2                                            GA December 2012
  • FSCM 9.2                                            GA March 2013
  • PeopleTools 8.54                                  Jully 2014 ?
  • HRMS 9.3                                           2015 ?
  • FSCM 9.3                                           2015 ?

mardi 23 août 2011

1/2 - Database Compare Report duration example between Vanilla 9.0 and Production 9.0

When you upgrade a PeopleSoft Application you need to execute Compare report to define which objects you want to keep or upgrade.
This is also very valuable to understand what was customized by your Company.
But the full database compare process can take some time that you need to plan ... here is an example by object types in hour, for a total of 4 hours and 34 minutes.

Note: in step 2/2 we will compare a Vanilla HRMS 9.1 and Production HRMS 9.0

Here is the detailed duration for Compare report between Vanilla HRMS 9.0 and Production HRMS 9.0:
Pages    1:27
Records    0:58
Fields    0:22
SQL    0:19
Record PeopleCode    0:12
Style Sheets    0:11
Application Engine Sections    0:09
Permission Lists    0:08
Translate Values    0:05
Components    0:05
Messages    0:04
Subscription PeopleCode    0:03
Process Definitions    0:02
Images    0:02
XSLT    0:02
Queries    0:02
HTML    0:02
Component Rec Fld PeopleCode    0:02
Application Package PeopleCode    0:02
Component Interfaces    0:01
Page Field PeopleCode    0:01
Service Operation Versions    0:01
XMLP Data Src Defn    0:01
Indexes    0:01
Menus    0:01
Server Definitions    0:01
Component Record PeopleCode    0:01
URL Definitions    0:01
Service Operations    0:01
Service Operation Routings    0:01
XML Document    0:01
Tree Structures    0:01
Application Engine Programs    0:01
Page PeopleCode    0:01
WSRP Remote Producers    0:01
XMLP Template Defn    0:01
Field Formats    0:00
Menu PeopleCode    0:00
Activities    0:00
Business Processes    0:00
Colors    0:00
Styles    0:00
Business Interlink    0:00
File Layout Definitions    0:00
Job Definitions    0:00
Process Type Definitions    0:00
Recurrence Definitions    0:00
Application Engine PeopleCode    0:00
Approval Rule Sets    0:00
Comp. Interface PeopleCode    0:00
Message Channels    0:00
Message Nodes    0:00
Message PeopleCode    0:00
Component PeopleCode    0:00
Application Packages    0:00
Analytic Types    0:00
Archive Templates    0:00
CI Property PeopleCode    0:00
File References    0:00
Optimization Models    0:00
Relationships    0:00
Analytic Models    0:00
Archive Object Definitions    0:00
Archive Templates (Type 2)    0:00
File Type Codes    0:00
Java Portlet User Preferences    0:00
Services    0:00
WSRP Cloned Portlet Handles    0:00
WSRP Remote Portlets    0:00
Service Operation Handlers    0:00
IB Queues    0:00
XMLP File Defn    0:00
XMLP Report Defn    0:00
Message Schemas    0:00
WSDL    0:00
Connected Query Definitions    0:00
Dependency Documents    0:00
Document    0:00
Document Schema    0:00
Relational Document    0:00

0 tables displayed with error message o.d.db.DBUtil closed connection in SQL Developer 3.0.04


Whe I try to list the tables in my PeopleSoft SYSADM schema, no tables are listed and I have the following error message: o.d.db.DBUtil closed connection

SEVERE
65
0
oracle.dbtools.db.DBUtil
Warning, unhandled exception: Closed Connection

The problem occurs when SQL Developer 3.0.04 connects to a limited privilege schema via a shared server connection. The workaround is to connect using a dedicated server connection.

for reference:
BUG 12382135 - NO TABLES SHOWN IN NAV has been fixed and will be available in the next released version

How to start Gnome Connection Manager in English

Gnome Connection Manager is very nice tool, with interesting Cluster feature to manage a Cluster of servers.
On Solaris 11 Express, The LANGUAGE env parameter is not set, and the tool always start in Spanish.
If you want to run it in English, just run the following command line :

LANGUAGE=en_US:en /opt/gcm-0.9.4/gnome_connection_manager.py


vendredi 29 juillet 2011

Mouse out of synch when using VNC, or embeded Applet

If you create a Windows VM in Oracle VM, you might face the issue where the mouse pointer in the VM is out of synch with your real mouse pointer.

To fix this, update you vm.cfg file and add at the end of the file the following 2 lines:

usb = 1
usbdevice = 'tablet'

mardi 19 juillet 2011

Oracle VM 2.2.2 Server, server Pool issue


When installing Oracle VM Server 2.2.2, to prevent issues in the configuration steps, you must review and configure the /etc/hots.

By default the hosts file will not contain the IP you provided in the installation wizard, which will introduce failure when creating a Server Pool.

Run slibclean before applying PeopleTools Patch


Before applying a PeopleTools Patch on AIX, you must run a specific command, slibclean, to unload objects files from memory.


To check if some objects are in memory run the following commands:

genld -l | grep /peoplesoft
The genld command collects the list of all processes currently running on the system, and optionally reports the list of loaded objects corresponding to each process.

genkld | grep /peoplesoft
The genkld command extracts the list of shared objects currently loaded onto the system and displays the address, size, and path name for each object on the list.


To unload all objects, run the following command (as root):

/usr/sbin/slibclean

PeopleTools 8.50 scripts and McAffee

Our application with PeopleTools 8.50.17 is unusable for some pages.

Example with: PeopleTools > Application Engine > Review Temp Table Usage

When using ie7 or ie8, McAffee is scanning the page/script for more 1’45”. Meanwhile the browser is frozen but renders the page at the end.

We don’t have the issue with FireFox 5.0, which is not an acceptable workaround as our users are running distributed desktops.

mardi 21 juin 2011

new PeopleBooks with 9.1 Feature Pack

PeopleSoft Financials 9.1 was delivered in March in new release called Feature Pack.
This new release is now packaged with PeopleTools 8.51 instead of PeopleTools 8.50.
This also introduced new features for PeopleBooks that are now using ODLA (Online Documentation Library Application).
So if you need to install PeopleBooks the new release CD set (V24808-01 for Finance, and V23416-01 for HRMS) requires PeopleTools 8.51 with a PIA already up and running.

How to unzip PeopleBooks CD on AIX

If you simply want to unzip a PeopleBooks without installing any additional software, you can use the jar executable provided in your Java SDK. Jar is the Java archive tool.

For example, to unzip the PeopleBooks CD, run the following commands:

mkdir psbooks-fscm91-V24808-01
cd psbooks-fscm91-V24808-01
/usr/java6_64/bin/jar -xvf ../psbooks-fscm91-V24808-01.zip

jeudi 9 juin 2011

How to install Oracle SOA Composite Editor for JDeveloper 11.1.2


Be aware, if you install JDeveloper 11.1.2.x that Oracle SOA Composite Editor for JDeveloper is only available yet for release 11.1.1.5.0.01.74

mercredi 1 juin 2011

How to run Solaris 11 Package Manager Updates with a Proxy

If you try to update the Solaris catalog for Package Manager you might face the following issue:

Error:
Catalog refresh error:
Only 0 out of 1 catalogs successfully updated.
Unable to contact valid package repository
Encountered the following error(s):
Unable to contact any configured publishers.
This is likely a network configuration problem.
Framework error: code: 6 reason: Couldn't resolve host 'pkg.oracle.com'
URL: 'http://pkg.oracle.com/solaris/release'. (happened 4 times)

In most cases this is due to the Proxy you are sitting behind …

A possible workaround to this is the following:
 - connect as root
 - start a Terminal
 - execute:
export http_proxy="http://TSF\myaccount:mypwd@proxy.3sixtyfive.net:8080"
    Where
          TSF is your domain
          myaccount is your user account
          mypwd is your user password
          proxy.3sixtyfive.net is your proxy
          8080 is your proxy port
    ie:

 - execute:
/usr/bin/packagemanager

The Package Manager will start and you can get updates.

Convert PeopleSoft Excel files to native Excel format

PeopleSoft is delivered in standard with XML Publisher for reporting.
Most reports are generated to PDF or Excel format, but the Excel format is MHTML1 not Excel native BIFF2 format.
If you have the requirement to include some page setup, or some dynamic formulas, you need to convert your MHTML files to BIFF format.

I would recommend to use ExtenXLS 10 Java Spreadsheet SDK, by Extentech:


This library has the availability to read (and write) MHTML and to instanciate them as an Excel WorkSheet.

This library was enhanced for one of my customer and it works fine with PeopleSoft XMLP MHTML files.

Generate PeopleSoft Compare Reports in HTML

mardi 24 mai 2011

PeopleTools 8.50.14 and 8.50.15 black listed

2 versions of PeopleTools 8.50 were black listed by Oracle, for security and stability issues.
PeopleTools 8.50.14 and 8.50.15 are not available any more frome Oracle Support, and you are advised to patch to the latest release.
While I'm writing this note, 8.50.19 is available, but when we discovered the issue we decided to patch to the latest release available (8.50.17) where the security issue is solved.

Update PSIGW configuration without restarting the PIA

If you need to reconfigure the PeopleSoft Integration Gateway, you can avoid downtime for users by redeploying only the Gateway.
With this methodology, you don’t need to restart the PIA.

1st modify the gateway configuration files as desired that reside in:
$PIA_HOME/myWebserver/applications/peoplesoft/PSIGW.war/WEB-INF
You can modify the 2 following files:
integrationGateway.properties (the gateway parameters)
gatewayUserProfile.xml (the gateway user and password)

2nd use the Deployer tool to redeploy the PSIGW module
cd $PIA_HOME/myWebserver/bin
. ./setEnv.sh

a) run the following command if you are running a one PIA server
java -classpath weblogic.jar weblogic.Deployer -adminurl myserver.mydomain.net:9999 -verbose -username system -password mypassword -name peoplesoft -redeploy -targets PSIGW@PIA

a) run the following command if you are running a PeopleSoft Cluster
java -classpath weblogic.jar weblogic.Deployer -adminurl myserver.mydomain.net:9999 -verbose -username system -password mypassword -name peoplesoft -redeploy -targets PSIGW@peoplesoftCluster

c) or run the following command if you want to redeploy the PSIGW module on both PIA and PeopleSoft Cluster
java -classpath weblogic.jar weblogic.Deployer -adminurl myserver.mydomain.net:9999 -verbose -username system -password mypassword -name peoplesoft -redeploy -targets PSIGW@PIA,PSIGW@peoplesoftCluster

The output will look like this:
<May 20, 2011 9:51:36 PM GMT+10:00> <Info> <J2EE Deployment SPI> <BEA-260121> <Initiating redeploy operation for application, peoplesoft [archive: null], to PIA .>
Task 2 initiated: [Deployer:149026]redeploy application peoplesoft on PIA.
Task 2 completed: [Deployer:149026]redeploy application peoplesoft on PIA.
Target state: redeploy completed on Server PIA

lundi 23 mai 2011

Monitoring PeopleSoft WebLogic Domains with Enterprise Manager


A great feature you can use in Enterprise Manager is to monitor WebLogic Domains, part of Oracle Fusion Middleware.
Either, you create a single-server domain, or multi-server domain, you can monitor PIA, RPS and WebLogicAdmin (console).

Before registering a WebLogic Domain in EM, you need first to activate IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol) in the WebLogic Administration console, or EM will not be able to communicate with the servers.

- connect to the WebLogic Administration console:
- navigate to Environment > Servers
- repeat this steps 1 to 4 for each server you want to monitor in EM, ie for PIA:
          - 1. click on PIA
          - 2. click on Protocols tab
          - 3. click on IIOP tab
          - 4. check the box “Enable IIOP”




vendredi 20 mai 2011

PeopleSoft Voucher upload configuration to work with a load balancer

You may have to modify the Excel Macro for Voucher upload, in case you are using a load balancer in front of your Web servers.
The reason for this is that the technology used in this macro (xml link) does not behave the same as a direct connection to the PIA.

Search for this code in the macro:
        xHTTP.Open "POST", Sheets(1).Range("K2") & "/Excel_Voucher_Import", False
And replace it by:
        xHTTP.Open "POST", Sheets(1).Range("K2"), False


Edit cell K2 and set it to :
https://[fqdn]/psc/ps/EMPLOYEE/ERP/s/WEBLIB_AP.VOUCHER_ID.FieldFormula.Iscript_Excel_Voucher

mercredi 18 mai 2011

How to kill a socket used by PeopleSoft Application server (JSL), using rmsock on AIX

In project phase, when you build and rebuild environments, you might face the issue where a port is not released correctly by the host.
Here is an example to identify which process is assigned to this port, and how to release it (kill).

psft@AIXHOST0001(ORACLE_SID):/peoplesoft/HRMS91/pt850x/appserv> netstat -@aA | grep 9700
Global  f1000e0007054bb0 tcp4       0      0  AIXHOST0001.9700  *.*                LISTEN
psft@AIXHOST0001 (ORACLE_SID):/peoplesoft/HRMS91/pt850x/appserv> rmsock f1000e0007054bb0 tcpcb                
The socket 0x7054808 is being held by proccess 13959176 (JSL).
psft@AIXHOST0001 (ORACLE_SID):/peoplesoft/HRMS91/AU/pt850x/appserv> kill -9 13959176

mardi 17 mai 2011

Installing PeopleBooks 8.50 on Linux/Unix

You may have faced issues installing PeopleBooks Linux/Unix ?
./setup.aix  -is:tempdir /temp -i console
There is a bug with the installer that is looking for a previous JRE release (1.4.x).

You can use the Java installer instead :
java -jar setup.jar -console

If you issue the following command:
./setup.aix  -is:javahome $/usr/java5 -is:log /tmp/pbooks.log -is:tempdir /tmp -i console
 
You can verify in the logs, that the installer is looking for a 1.4 JVM …
 
Finding a JVM
Checking user specified Java home directory => $/usr/java5
Verifying JVM at $/usr/java5/jre/bin/java
   for JVM: AIX Java 1.4.X by IBM
$/usr/java5/jre/bin/java does not exist
Verifying JVM at $/usr/java5/jre/bin/java
   for JVM: AIX Java 1.4.X by IBM
$/usr/java5/jre/bin/java does not exist
Initiating JVM search based on hints...
Searching for AIX Java 1.4.X by IBM using platform hints
Searching for AIX Java 1.4.X by IBM using path hints
Checking path hint /usr/java14*

nVision drill down bugs in Japanese with PeopleTools 8.49 and 8.50

nVision drill down issues can be very difficult to diagnose, especially if you use drill down report with Japanese data.

You must have specific java librairies on you Web server if Linux/Unix,and specific DLL on the Windows server generating the drill down documents.

This issue is applicable to both PeopleTools 8.49.x and 8.50.x

Contact me if you need additional details.

lundi 16 mai 2011

Configurez votre clavier en Français sous Solaris 11 Express - Set Solaris 11 Express keyboard to French

>>> Français
Si vous avez essayé
la machine virtuelle Solaris 11 Express avec VirtualBox 4.x, vous avez peut être rencontré des problèmes pour configurer votre clavier en Français …
Voici une astuce qui devrait régler votre problème !
Connectez-vous en user root, et créez le fichier :  /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-x11-input.fdi
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
  <device>
   <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keys">
    <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbRules" type="string">base</merge>
    <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbModel" type="string">sun_type6_usb</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbLayout" type="string">fr</merge>
  </match>
</device>
</deviceinfo>
Redémarrez votre VM, et vous devriez pouvoir enfin vous connecter en Français dès l’écran de login.
>>> English
if you tried Solaris 11 Express Virtual Machine in Virtual Box 4.x, you may have faced issues with your French keyboard not detected …
To fix this issue, create a file /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-x11-input.fdi
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
  <device>
   <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keys">
    <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbRules" type="string">base</merge>
    <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbModel" type="string">sun_type6_usb</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbLayout" type="string">fr</merge>
  </match>
</device>
</deviceinfo>
Then restart your VM, and your French keyboard should be active from the login prompt.