Deployment Packages: Hands-on Review

PeopleSoft Cloud Architecture (PCA) is the most interesting and talked about feature of PeopeTools 8.55 that was released in December 2015. A key feature in this architecture is Deployment Packages (DPK) which is used to install and configure a PeopleSoft environment.HCM 9.2 Image 16 released couple of weeks back, is the first application release on DPK and in this article I share my experience using this new feature.

Preparation

Until now application images were released using Oracle Virtual Box technology which required a physical machine to run, virtual box didn’t run on virtual server, which made provisioning the infrastructure to a demo environments little bit harder.

A welcome change in DPK architecture is the ability to deploy and run a PS demo environment (source image) on a virtual server. Putting this to best use, we provisioned an Amazon EC2 instance and got it up and running in no time. Truly a BIG step in taking PeopleSoft to cloud.

For those who are keen, Amazon EC2 instance specification: M4.large, 8 GB RAM, 120GB Memory, running Windows 2012 R12.

Software download

Ideal place to start is application specific PUM homepage in Oracle support (Doc ID 1641843.2), which provides necessary information on the latest releases.

Deployment packages for HCM 9.2 Image 16 is available for both virtual box and ‘Native OS’ format. As I am installing on a virtual server, I opted for Native OS option for windows server. (Patch 22522474: PEOPLESOFT HCM UPDATE IMAGE 9.2.016 – NATIVE OS).

Installation Process

Installation document on PUM Homepage is must read before commencing installation.  (Title – PeopleSoftDPK_UpdateImages_Installation_PT8.55_January2016)

Installation instruction document is handy in introducing software tools/framework like puppet, Hiera, YAML which are used in building these DPKs.

A section of significance to my installation was Task 5-2-2: Setting Up the PeopleSoft Virtual Machine on a Microsoft Windows Host Using the PeopleSoft Application Bootstrap DPK.

Tip: Decide on your answers to the questions in installation process like DB name, username and passwords etc. beforehand.

While following the installation procedure using DPK bootstraps, I encountered following items that you could watch out for,

• Installation stopped during Database server with an error relating to TNS Listener. After trying out various option to resolve it myself, I had to report it to Oracle support, who were very quick in responding and providing resolution

Oracle Support Reference:SR 3-12100309681

Error: TNS-00515: Connect failed because target host or object does not exist
Resolution: There is a Ruby bug in the Images created 8.55.01 that requires the hostname be all lowercase. So I had to use a lowercase hostname and also have to map it explicitly in windows host file – C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

• Installation stopped while executing ‘unzip’ command to extract DB files. Just re-starting the installation process resolved it.

Once these issues were resolved, installation ran to completion. It took roughly couple of hours for full deployment. HCM 9.2 demo application was up and running when deployment finished.

Verdict:

Without doubt ‘Deployment Package’ feature delivers on its promise!

• Ability to deploy on virtual servers – Check
  • Ability to deploy and run on a cloud service like Amazon provides substantial cost benefit (pay for what you use).
• Allows for fast deployment – Check
  • DPK effectively automates all these activities
    • Gathering the necessary installation programs
    • Installing third-party products such as Oracle Tuxedo and WebLogic and the latest patches (CPUs)
    • Installing Application Home (PS_APP_HOME)
    • Installing both PeopleTools and the PeopleTools patch binaries
    • Configuring the PeopleSoft domains
  • PeopleTools middle-tier deployments can be achieved in 15 minutes as marketed!
• Ability customize installation using configurable files – Check