Work with Forms Managed Server

By default (out-of-the-box installation), the Forms Services Java EE application (formsapp.ear) is deployed on Forms Managed Server (WLS_FORMS).

You can manage WLS_FORMS and formsapp.ear using Oracle WebLogic Administration Console or Oracle Fusion Middleware Control. Refer to the following links:

Starting and Stopping Forms Managed Server, as described in Overview of Starting and Stopping Procedures in Administering Oracle Fusion Middleware
Deploying Forms Application to Forms Managed Server, as described in Configuring Forms Using the Configuration Wizard.
Custom deployment of Forms Java EE application, as described in Custom Deployment of Forms Java EE Application.
Expanding Forms Managed Server Clusters, as described in Expanding Forms Managed Server Clusters.
Modifying weblogic.xml, web.xml, application.xml and weblogic-application.xml post deployment, as described in Modifying of Forms J2EE Application Deployment Descriptors.
Starting Forms Managed Server as a Windows Service, see Setting Up a WebLogic Server Instance as a Windows Service in Administering Server Startup and Shutdown for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Custom Deployment of Forms Java EE Application

Users can override the default Forms JavaEE application context root (/forms) and the default Forms servlet alias (frmservlet) and customize it.

The default Forms applications access URL: http://host:port/forms/frmservlet can be changed to http://host:port/<user-context>/<user-servlet-alias>.

To create a custom managed server and deploy Forms application on it, perform the following steps:

Creating and deploying custom application

To create and deploy custom application perform the following steps:

Create a separate managed server using the config wizard. This managed server should not be a part of the default Forms cluster (cluster_forms) and it should use the JRF_MAN_SRV server group selected.

Figure -15 Create a Separate Managed Server

Description of "Figure -15 Create a Separate Managed Server"
Run the frmconfighelper script using the deploy_app option, .

For information on frmconfighelper script, see Oracle Forms Configuration Helper Script.

Post-Patching Tasks

If additional managed servers for Forms have been created and any Oracle Forms specific patches have been applied, follow the steps below. This will ensure that any updates to the Forms servlet included in the patch(es) are applied to the added managed servers.

Ensure that the servers in the Domain have been stopped.
Run the frmconfighelper script using the update_app option after applying the patch.
The managed server has to be re-started after running the update_app option to take effect.

For information on the frmconfighelper script, see Oracle Forms Configuration Helper Script.

Testing the Custom Deployment

Test the deployment using the URL: http://<Host>:<Port Number>/<context root>/<servlet name>.

For the example in this section, the URL would be http://<Host>:<Port Number>/customapp/customservlet. In the case that you are running form with SSO (ssoMode=true or webgate), additional settings with permissions are needed in: DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/system-jazn-data.xml file.

Expanding Forms Managed Server Clusters

To improve the scalability and performance of Forms deployments on high-end machines (multiprocessor and high-memory configuration machines), expand the Forms Managed Server cluster (cluster_forms). Perform the following manual steps to expand the Forms Managed Server cluster:

Perform the following steps to add a new Managed Server to the default Forms application cluster (cluster_forms):
1. Add additional Managed Server(s) using the config wizard. Make sure that you select the FORMS-MAN-SRV Server Group.
  
  Figure -16 Adding Managed Server(s)
  
  Description of "Figure -16 Adding Managed Server(s)"
  
  Adding a new manager server.
2. Ensure that it is added to the cluster_forms after creating the Managed Server.
  
  Figure -17 Assigning Servers to Clusters
  
  Description of "Figure -17 Assigning Servers to Clusters"
  
  Adding a new managed server.
3. Start the newly created Managed Server.

Add the new Managed Server's host and port information to the WebLogicCluster entry in forms.conf:

<Location /forms>
 
SetHandler weblogic-handler
 
WebLogicCluster <HostName>:9001, <HostName>:9010
 
DynamicServerList OFF
 
</Location>

Restart OHS.

Creating Multiple Forms System Component Instances on the Same Physical Machine

If you set up more than one Forms System Component Instance on the same physical machine, then the Forms managed server should be associated with its respective Forms System Component Instance.

This setup can be created by defining forms.instance system property on the Forms managed server and setting it to Forms System Component Instance name.

For example:

Machine 1	forms1	WLS_FORMS
		forms2	WLS_FORMS2

Set the forms.instance system property on WLS_FORMS1 to forms1. Similarly, set forms.instance system property on WLS_FORMS2 to forms2. This can be done using the Managed Server setting in the Oracle WebLogic Remote Console.

Perform these steps:

From the WebLogic Remote Console, select the Edit Tree vertical tab on the left pane.
Click Environment, then Servers to expand both nodes.
Select the managed server (for example, WLS_FORMS2) for editing.
Click the Advanced tab, then the Node Manager subtab.
In the Arguments field, enter desired instance setting and name as follows:
-Dforms.instance=forms2
Click Save to accept the changes.
Click the shopping cart icon on the upper right, then Commit Changes.
Restart any managed servers that have been updated.

Figure -18 Managed Server setting in the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console

Description of "Figure -18 Managed Server setting in the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console"

Modifying of Forms J2EE Application Deployment Descriptors

To customize the Forms J2EE application deployment descriptors, add the deployment descriptors customizations to the Forms J2EE application's deployment plan and update the application in place with the new deployment plan changes.

Example: Modifying a Deployment Plan

Post-deployment, Forms J2EE application deployment descriptors (weblogic.xml, web.xml, application.xml and weblogic-application.xml) cannot be modified in Oracle WebLogic Server.

As a workaround, perform these steps:

Back up the default formsapp deployment plan, $DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/deployment-plans/formsapp/14.1.2/plan.xml.
Add the deployment descriptors customizations to the Forms J2EE application's deployment plan.

Note:

See the following example on how to modify a deployment plan.

To update the deployment plan, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Deploying Applications to Oracle WebLogic Server.
Using the WebLogic Administration Console, update the Forms application (redeploy) and select the option Update this application in place with new deployment plan changes.
Restart the Forms J2EE application using the WebLogic Administration Console.

In this example, the deployment plan is modified to override the Forms Servlet testMode parameter and set it to true. To do this:

Enter the following commands:

mkdir –p $FMW_HOME/forms/j2ee/backup
cd $FMW_HOME/forms/j2ee
cp $DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/deployment-plans/formsapp/14.1.2/plan.xml
vi $DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/deployment-plans/formsapp/14.1.2/plan.xml

Modify the deployment plan. The following is a sample of the deployment plan with the added entries highlighted in bold:

<deployment-plan xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/weblogic/deployment-plan" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.oracle.com/weblogic/deployment-plan http://xmlns.oracle.com/weblogic/deployment-plan/1.0/deployment-plan.xsd">
  <variable-definition>
<variable>  
      <name>vd-/scratch/t_work/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_Home/forms</name>
      <value>/scratch/t_work/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_Home/forms</value>
   </variable>
    <variable>       
       <name>FormsServlet_InitParam_testMode</name>      
       <value>true</value>    
    </variable>
  </variable-definition>
  <application-name>formsapp</application-name>
  <module-override>
    <module-name>formsapp.ear</module-name>
    <module-type>ear</module-type>
    <module-descriptor external="false">
      <root-element>weblogic-application</root-element>
      <uri>META-INF/weblogic-application.xml</uri>
    </module-descriptor>
    <module-descriptor external="false">
      <root-element>application</root-element>
      <uri>META-INF/application.xml</uri>
    </module-descriptor>
    <module-descriptor external="true">
      <root-element>wldf-resource</root-element>
      <uri>META-INF/weblogic-diagnostics.xml</uri>
    </module-descriptor>
  </module-override>
  <module-override>
    <module-name>formsweb.war</module-name>
    <module-type>war</module-type>
    <module-descriptor external="false">
      <root-element>weblogic-web-app</root-element>
      <uri>WEB-INF/weblogic.xml</uri>
					<variable-assignment>      
       <name>vd-/scratch/t_work/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_Home/forms</name>
					<xpath>/weblogic-web-app/virtual-directory-mapping/[url-pattern="java/*"]/local-path</xpath>
				</variable-assignment>
			  </variable-assignment>
        <name>vd-/scratch/t_work/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_Home/forms</name> <xpath>/weblogic-web-app/virtual-directory-mapping/[url-pattern="webutil/*"]/local-path</xpath>
      </variable-assignment>
    </module-descriptor>
    <module-descriptor external="false">
      <root-element>web-app</root-element>
      <uri>WEB-INF/web.xml</uri>
      <variable-assignment>
        <name>FormsServlet_InitParam_testMode</name>
<xpath>/web-app/servlet/[servlet-name="frmservlet"]/init-param/[param-name="testMode"]/param-value</xpath>
      </variable-assignment>
    </module-descriptor>
  </module-override>
</deployment-plan>

Restart the Forms J2EE application using the WebLogic Administration Console.