Enterprise One Tools Release Process Update

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release Process Update Last Updated: March 1, 2007

PURPOSE STATEMENT: “THIS DOCUMENT PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW AND A FAQ OF CHANGES BEING ROLLED OUT FOR JD EDWARDS ENTERPRISEONE TOOLS RELEASES. IT IS INTENDED SOLELY TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES BEING MADE AND TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.” DISCLAIMER: “THE FOLLOWING IS INTENDED TO REVIEW CHANGES BEING MADE TO THE JD EDWARDS ENTERPRISEONE TOOLS RELEASE PROCESS. IT IS INTENDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY NOT BE INCORPORATED INTO ANY CONTRACT. IT IS NOT A COMMITMENT TO DELIVER ANY MATERIAL, CODE, OR FUNCTIONALITY, AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON IN MAKING A PURCHASING DECISION. THE DEVELOPMENT, RELEASE, AND TIMING OF ANY FEATURES OR FUNCTIONALITY DESCRIBED FOR ORACLE‟S PRODUCTS REMAINS AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF ORACLE.”

Introduction In an effort to bring further quality improvements to the EnterpriseOne Tools releases, the Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools team is rolling out several changes to our overall release process for EnterpriseOne Tools Releases starting with Tools Release 8.96. This document will review the changes that we are rolling out and provide a FAQ that should answer most questions that customers may have.

Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release Vehicles

The following represents a listing of each deliverable that the Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Team will deliver from largest to smallest including descriptions and definitions of each.

Tools Major Releases

Who needs it : Customers who wish to take the latest major release of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools.       

Major releases targeted every 1 to 2 years. Contain major functionality uplifts. Contains 3rd Party product uplifts. Contains bug fixes. Multiple full test cycles on all supported operating system, database, and application server platforms. Performance and stress (extended duration) testing. Delimiter : 8.96.2.1

Tools Release Updates

Who needs it: Customers who wish to attain a „fix current‟ status on their Tools Release or have an issue which can be managed until a Tools Release Update with the fix is made available.       

Tools Release Updates targeted to release every 3-4 months. Tools Release Updates will be a repackaging of the Tools Maintenance Packs (see below) delivered to customers between Tools Release Updates. Contains potential 3rd Party Product Version uplifts that can not wait until a Tools Major Release. Contains priority 1 bug fixes. Full test cycles across multiple operating system, database, and application server platforms. Stress testing Delimiter : 8.96.2.1

Tools Maintenance Packs

Who needs it: Customers who need a fix to a mission critical issue between Tools Release Updates.

     

Tools Maintenance Packs targeted to release approximately every month. The Maintenance Packs are a renaming of the Tools One Offs that are delivered today. Contain only priority 1 fixes. Due to quick delivery timeline, testing is focused on the modified software component(s) only. Stress testing. Delimeter : 8.96.2.1

Tools Critical Patch Releases

Who needs it : Tools Critical Patch Update Releases (CPU Releases) are releases that Oracle provides to all of its application software to remedy security vulnerabilities discovered in the product.     

CPU Releases are scheduled once per quarter and generally contain only 1 or 2 security fixes. CPU Release is built from the most recently available Tools Maintenance Pack, plus the 1 or 2 security fixes only. Developer and QA functional tested. Focused regression test performed on a rotating platform basis. Delimeter : 8.96.2.1.CPU

Tools Engineering Fixes

Who needs it : These are only built and delivered to customers when there is a true

production down situation, a go-live in jeopardy or other business critical circumstance. As a part of the Engineering Fix process, a customer works with support to provide a business case as to why they can not wait for the next Tools Maintenance Pack or Tools Release Update to be released. In addition, the customer agrees to move to the next maintenance pack or tools update that contains the fix that was delivered in the Tools Engineering Fix. 

Tools Engineering Fixes are developer tested only and the customer must read and adhere to the Engineering Fix disclaimer that is attached to the delivered fix.

Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release Naming

In addition to the changes to the release vehicles, we are also rolling out a new naming convention for the EnterpriseOne Tools Releases. The older release naming would provide the customer with the Tools level, plus the One Off level.

8.96_F1

 Old naming convention

 Where 8.96 represented the Major Tools Release and F1 represented the One Off. The new release naming for Tools releases eliminates the alpha-numeric character and replaces it with numbers representing the different Tools Release deliverables.

8.96.3.1 Maintenance Pack Number Tools Update Number Major Tools Release Number

In addition to the above naming convention, there is another naming convention that needs to be addressed here. The Critical Patch Update releases (CPU) will be named as follows…

8.96.3.1.CPU Critical Patch Update Maintenance Pack Number Tools Update Number Major Tools Release Number

Please see above for the definition of a CPU Release.

Update 1 8.96.1.0

... 8.96_A1

8.96_B1

8.96_G1

8.96_H1

8.96_I1

Update 2 8.96.2.0 Development / Testing Period Tools Update Full Regression Period 8.96.1.1

8.96.1.2

8.96.1.3

8.96.2.1

Update 3 8.96.3.0

Maintenance Pack Number Tools Update Number Major Tools Release Number

8.96.2.1

8.96.2.2

8.96.2.3

FAQ Which JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release deliverable does Oracle recommend customers take to remain ‘fix current’? Oracle recommends that customers who do not have any critical production issue take the Tools Release Updates to remain „fix current‟. These will be the most vigorously tested deliverable aside from a major tools release and they will be what our customer support organization will recommend as a „fix current‟ strategy.

I am starting a new implementation of EnterpriseOne. What does Oracle recommend as a strategy for staying current with Tools Releases? When beginning an implementation, Oracle recommends always downloading the latest Tools Update and using that release as your starting point. If during the implementation you encounter issues, Oracle recommends applying Maintenance Packs that fix issues included in the latest Maintenance Pack. In addition, once live, Oracle recommends that a customer stay fix current by using multi-foundation to test and promote the latest Tools Update every 3-6 months.

What is the level of testing performed on each one of these JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Releases? Tools Major Releases will undergo functional testing, several full regression tests on multiple platforms and different levels of performance and stress testing. Tools Release Updates will undergo functional testing, full regression tests across multiple platforms and stress testing. Tools Maintenance Packs will undergo functional testing, focused regression testing on a rotating platform and stress testing.

How is this new release process better for customers? This new release process will add the new Tools Release Updates to the current listing of deliverables that Oracle provides to current JD Edwards EnterpriseOne customers. This new deliverable, while not different in packaging from our current One Offs, will undergo a considerably higher amount of testing than we do today in the monthly cycle. As updates come out quarterly, it gives the QA team as well as the development team that much more time to undergo detailed testing and verification of the software prior to GA.

How will I find the new releases on the Update Center? Users will still use the update center as they do today to search for Tools Releases. Instead of entering text in the old manner (8.96_E1*) and performing searches, they will be entering the text in the new format to perform their searches (8.96.1.0*). Please refer to the Artifact document on the Update Center for all component naming conventions.

How frequently will JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Updates be released? JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Updates will be released once every 3-4 months. Oracle will release an update only when we feel that all quality indicators for that update have been met. Therefore, there will be a flexible schedule on the release of Tools Updates.

Where can I find a schedule of the different release vehicles? A schedule of all of the different release vehicle deliverables can be found on the Tools page of the Update Center in the same location that you can find the releases dates for Tools One Offs today. You will be able to see the projected dates for Tools Maintenance Packs as well as Tools Updates in this location.

What does this process change mean to customers on the OneWorld Xe or the ERP 8.0 releases? Currently, this process change is targeted to the 8.96 Tools Release and future Tools Releases. We are currently assessing the possibility of adding this release process to the OneWorld Xe and ERP 8.0 releases for the future SP24 Tools Release.

What does this process change mean to customers who are on older 8.9x Tools Releases (8.92 / 8.93 / 8.94 / 8.95)? Since Oracle is not currently providing One Offs to the 8.92 / 8.93 / 8.94 / 8.95 Tools releases, this process change will not affect those releases.

What is the timeframe for rolling out this change? The process changes will be implemented after the 8.96_I1 Tools One Off is released. Approximately 1 month after 8.96_I1 is released, we will be announcing the release of 8.96.1.0 or Update 1.

Why is Oracle rolling out this process change ‘mid-cycle’ in the life of the 8.96 Tools Release? Oracle has decided to roll this out mid 8.96 release for a variety of reasons. First, the 8.97 Tools Release is still under development and will not be Generally Available for some time. We felt that it made sense to introduce these changes now, rather than waiting for 8.97. Second, we feel that introducing these changes now will only help the quality of the 8.96 Tools Releases moving forward.

What level of testing should be done by customers who take Tools Updates versus Tools Maintenance Packs? Oracle recommends that customers fully test their enterprise whenever applying Tools releases or ESUs to the system. There should be no difference in the level of testing done by customers whether they take a Tools Update or a Tools Maintenance Pack. In addition, Oracle also always recommends that customers use the „Multi Foundation‟ setup when deploying a new Tools Release.

This document is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract.

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In the past, there have been times when the posted date of a Tools One Off Release has slipped. Will this new process address the issue of moving dates for Tools Releases? The main reason that Oracle will delay the release of a Tools Release is to ensure the highest possible quality of the final deliverable. If we encounter an issue during testing one of our deliverables, it can take additional time to correct and retest the found issue. Oracle will always try to meet the posted schedules, however, we will always strive to ensure quality in the product.

If I am on Tools Release 8.96.1.2, what Tools Release can I migrate to that will ensure I am fix current with all fixes I have received from Oracle to date. Oracle‟s recommendation to all customers is to remain fix current on their application software. For JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools customers, we recommend that all customers target a Tools Update as a fix current strategy. If a customer has any questions if one of their fixes will be a part of the next Tools Update, please contact Customer Support and they will be able to answer that question.

If I have taken 8.96.2.0 (Update 2), can I take a Maintenance Pack from a previous Update and be OK? It is not recommended to move „backwards‟ in Tools Releases as it can not be guaranteed that all fixes included in the latest release would have been included in a prior release. If there are issues with the most current Tools Release, the Update Center will advise customers on what version of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release that customers should take at that time.

What Tools Release will contain the latest version uplift of the Websphere Application Server? The JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Updates will be the release vehicle used to roll out 3rd party product uplifts that can not wait until a Major Tools Release. Announcements of support for upcoming versions of 3rd party product versions will be made available on the Update Center.

What if I have other questions about this new process? If you have any other questions surrounding this new Tools Release process, please contact Customer Support.

This document is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract.

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Oracle Applications: JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Release Process Update March 1, 2007 Author: Brian Stanz Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 Worldwide Inquiries: +1.650.506.7000 Fax +1.650.506.7200 http://www.oracle.com/ Copyright © Oracle Corporation 2007 All Rights Reserved

This document is provided for informational purposes only, and the information herein is subject to change without notice. Please report any errors herein to Oracle Corporation. Oracle Corporation does not provide any warranties covering and specifically disclaims any liability in connection with this document. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. All other company and product names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This document is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract.

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