Upgrading WebLogic Server

·       Identify the correct steps, and related issues, in the process for performing a rolling upgrade, including backup, shutdown, upgrade and restart.

·       Describe a "rolling upgrade" and how it differs from other upgrades. Identify upgrade types offically supported for WebLogic rolling upgrades. Identify issues with multiple installation locations and domain locations. 

·       Describe how to leverage WebLogic Clusters to avoid down time

·       Bring down and patch servers individually; Use multiple install/domain folders for cluster members

 

Creating and Extending Domains 

·       Create a domain template with the Template Builder

·       Create an extension template with the Template Builder

·       Create a domain using a template

·       Extend a domain with a template

·       Recognize template concepts, including: Template contents, template exclusions, and script replacement variables; Recognize concepts associated with extension templates. Describe Fusion Middleware templates. Explain reasons for using custom templates. Apply techniques for correctly using the template builder. Correctly select the Template Domain Source. Use the Custom Extension Template with the Configuration Wizard.

·       Execute post-domain creation tasks

 

Server Operations

·       Configure Node Manager to start failed servers. Identify how to manage crash recovery per-domain node manager

·       Configure Node Manager to start on system boot

·       Describe the Node Manager architecture. Identify Node Manager default behavior. Configure a Java-based Node Manager. Configure the Node Manager to start on system boot under Windows, Linux, and Solaris

·       Describe how the Node Manager restarts an administration server and a Managed Server

·       WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) & JMX

·       Create, Modify, and monitor a domain with WLST

·       Run commands in WLST interactive mode

·       Write simple WLST scripts

·       Identify how to run WLST scripts

·       Program Jython variables, conditionals, loops, I/O commands and exception handling to work with WLST. Identify key WLST concepts, including online and offline modes. Record scripts using the WLST administration console. Use tools such as configToScript, Script recording, and Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse) to help write WLST scripts. Use online and offline WLST commands. Apply Java Managemant eXtension (JMX) concepts as they apply to WLS Mbeans

·       Execute common WLST tasks including:

·       Connecting to, configuring, and monitoring a Server

·       Managing passwords

·       Modifying WLST Variables

·       Adding a Server to a Cluster

·       Creating and monitoring a Data Source

·       Creating an LDAP Authentication Provider

·       Modifying a Domain Offline

·       Deploying an Application

 

Transport Layer Security

·       Configure keystores in WLS. Describe keystore concepts.

·       Configure WebLogic SSL with the following architectures: WebLogic Proxy Plug-ins, Oracle HTTP server, Hardware Load Balancers.

·       Describe SSL concepts as they relate to WLS, including: symmetric encryption and decryption, assymetric encryption and decryption, digital certificates, certificate authorities, SSL communicaiton and one-way and two-way SSL handshakes.

·       Use the keytool utility for managing keys and certificates

 

Applications and Deployment

·       Configure a server's staging mode in staged, no stage, and external stage modes. Deploy an application to multiple environments (development, test, production). Explain deployment descriptor Values

·       Create and use deployment plans in different environments. Use tools to accelerate deployment plan creation, including the administration console, WLST createPlan option, and weblogic.PlanGenerator Java class. Explain how Java EE deployment descriptors such as appmerge and appc  configure Java EE application features.

·       Deploy an application as a shared Java EE library with the console, with weblogic.Deployer and with WLST. Apply an understanding of shared Java EE library concepts to deploying an application as a shared library.

·       Deploy versioned applications (Production Redeployment)

·       Explain key characteristics associated with production redeployment, including how WebLogic maintains the user state, advantages of production redeployment, the production redeployment process, application retirement, distributing versioned applications, administration mode, and roll backs.

·       Apply an understanding of redeployment strategies, including In-place, partial redeploy of static files, partial redeploy of Java EE modules, and Production redeployment.

·       Apply an understanding of application versioning, including the redeployment process,

·       Deploying a New Version of an Application,

·       Distributing and Starting a Versioned Application in Administration Mode

·       Transitioning a Versioned Application from Administration Mode to Active

·       Rolling Back a Versioned Application to a Previous Version

 

Application Work Managers

·       Create and use work managers

·       Apply an understanding of WebLogic Request Handling concepts:  WebLogic Server Threads, Monitoring a Server Thread Pool, Monitoring Server Threads, Stuck Thread Handling, Configuring Stuck Thread Handling, Application Stuck Thread Handling

·       Explain Work Manager Concepts, including: Work Managers, Work Manager Scope, Work Manager Architecture

·       Apply an understanding of the following concepts to create a Work Manager:

·       Request Classes, Creating a Work Manager, Creating a Request Class, Constraints, Creating a Constraint, Work Manager WLST Example, Work Managers and Stuck Threads, Assigning Work Managers to Applications

 

Data Sources

·       Suspend and resume a data source, Perform operations on your data source, including suspend, force suspend, resume, reset, shrink, stop and start.

·       Configure a multi data source, manage members. Apply concepts of Multi Data Sources, including: Multi Data Source Architecture, Comparison of GridLink and Multi Data Sources, Failover Option, Load Balancing Option

·       Identify key concepts associated with GridLink Data Source , Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC), Oracle GridLink for RAC

·       Identify the role and techniques for Connection Testing when configuring failover

·       Security Realm

·       Define users, groups, policies, and roles for an embedded LDAP server

·       Configure auditing, role mapping, and credential mapping, including: Sample Auditing Output, Security Audit Events, WebLogic Auditing Architecture, Custom Versus Default Auditing Provider, Creating and configuring the Default Auditing Provider, Configuration Auditing

·       Apply an understanding of key concepts and techniques about the embedded LDAP Authentication System, including: Users and Groups, Group Membership, Roles, and Policies, Configuring New Users and groups; , nd group memberships, Configuring New Roles, Configuring Role Mapping, Configuring Roles and policies Using WLST, Security Configuration Sources, Configuring Sources Using WLST and weblogic.Deployer, emmbedded LDAP Server, Configuring the Embedded LDAP Server

·       Describe troubleshooting of log-in issues

·       Configure an audit provider to audit domain configuration changes

 

Disaster Recovery

·       Create a backup administration server

·       Configure service-level transaction migration

·       Describe whole server migration for WLS

·       Apply disaster recovery concepts, including: Site Symmetry, Recommended Architecture, General Best Practices

·       Address Admin Server backup techniques and concepts, including: Impact of Administration Server Failure, Backing Up a Domain Configuration, Recovery of the Administration Server, Restarting an Administration Server on a New Computer

·       Apply the concepts and techniques for service-level migration, including: Service Migration Prerequisites, Service Migration Architecture: Database Leasing.

·       Explain Service Migration Architecture: Consensus Leasing, Migratable Target, Policy Options. Configuration Roadmap

·       JTA Service Migration: Before Failure and After Failure, Configuring JTA Service Migration, Set Up Automatic JTA Service-Level Migration

·       Apply the concepts and techniques for whole server migration, including: Automatic Server Migration Architecture:No Failure, Automatic Server Migration Architecture:Machine Failure

·       Diagnostic Framework

·       Configure WebLogic Diagnostic Framework (WLDF) to monitor a domain

·       Apply the concepts and techniques associated with the WLDF, including: WLDF Architecture, Diagnostic Archives, Configuring Server Diagnostic Archives, Diagnostic Modules, Dynamic Diagnostic Modules, Resource Descriptors, Creating a Diagnostic Module, New WLST Commands for WLDF

·       Apply concepts and techniqiues associated with diagnostic images, including capturing a server diagnostic image

·       Describe a Harvester and configure a metric collector to capture WebLogic runtime MBean data

·       Describe and configure watches and notifications

 

Clustering

·       Describe differences between configured vs dynamic cluster

 

Coherence

·       Configure and use Coherence*Web for HTTP session persistence; Apply key concepts and techniques for Coherence*Web session replication, types of Session Persistence, Coherence*Web definition and requirements, Coherence*Web and WebLogic Clusters, Coherence*Web Session Failover, Configuring Coherence*Web in WebLogic

·       Configure and use managed Coherence servers

·       Describe key concepts associated with Oracle Coherence, with particular reference to its use to cluster an applications's objects and data

·       Apply key concepts and techniques for Managed Coherence Servers, including: the relation between Coherence and WebLogic Server, WebLogic Managed Coherence Servers Operations, Grid Archive (GAR), Coherence Application Deployment on WebLogic, Coherence Container: Benefits

·       Coherence Cluster

 

JMS Concepts, Configuration & Monitoring

·       Discuss the benefits of enterprise messaging. Define terms such as:  producer, consumer, and destination. Compare two different messaging models. Explain the JMS communication architecture.

·       Describe a message-driven EJB

·       Discuss WebLogic's JMS administration architecture

·       Create and target a JMS server

·       Create a JMS module and define subdeployments. Create connection factories. Add a connection factory to a module. Create queues and topics. Configure error destinations. Create destination quotas; configure a JMS server quota.

·       Use destination templates; create a destination from a template; configure an existing destination's template

·       Monitor basic JMS and MDB statistics, Monitor destinations on a JMS Server, Monitor connections and sessions, Use the Monitoring Dashboard

·       Administer JMS including: Inspect in-progress messages, Create test messages, Move messages across destinations, Pause JMS services for maintenance and troubleshooting

·       Describe common causes of poor JMS performance, Identify symptoms Identify "quota too low",  "quota too high"

·       Discuss some best practices with your JMS developers

·       Tune quotas, message, paging and flow control

·       Tune message-driven EJBs

·       Investigate issues by using logs and debug flags

·       Use JMS Troubleshooting tools to investigate issues

·       Configure JMS logging to investigate issues

·       Discuss some common JMS configuration issues

·       Describe some common JMS runtime problems

·       Describe JMS Security (policies for JMS and JNDI resources)

·       Describe JMS Integration

·       Describe Message Ordering

 

JMS Persistence, Transactions, and Durability

·       Compare JMS persistence options

·       Configure file or JDBC persistence for JMS

·       Explain the use of transactions with JMS

·       Configure and monitor JMS transactions

·       Manage and monitor durable subscribers

 

JMS & Clustering

·       Target JMS resources to both configured and dynamic clusters

·       Discuss the advantages of distributed destinations

·       Describe how clients interact with distributed destinations

·       Create and target a uniform distributed destination

·       Describe how JMS load balancing decisions are made

·       Discuss the challenges of making JMS highly available

·       Configure the cluster leasing service

·       Configure automatic server migration

·       Manually migrate a failed server

·       Compare service and whole server migration

·       Configure and use migratable targets

·       Configure automatic service migration

·       Manually migrate JMS and related services