Create new (external) site in a PUM image

This post will describe how we can create a new site in a PIA domain without modifying any existing configuration settings. As an example, we will focus on a delivered PUM image (HCM 9.2 PUM Image 29) installed as a VirtualBox instance.

If you are a PeopleSoft Administrator, then this might be second nature to you. But for others who only venture into the dark side occasionally, it might seem like a complex task.

Why?

Many of us download a PUM image (PI) and install it as a VirtualBox instance on our laptops/PCs to evaluate the latest features in the application releases or in some cases the PeopleTools releases.

Let us say we want to evaluate the latest features in the HCM 9.2 - External Candidate Gateway, FSCM 9.2 External Supplier Portal or even the latest HCM 9.2 - Absence Assistant Chatbot functionality. Unfortunately, the delivered PUM images do not contain these external sites by default, so in order to perform a true test, we might need to create a new (external) site in a PUM image and set it up appropriately.

How?

I am going to describe how I successfully created a new site in a PUM image (of course involving a lot of trial and error). I am sure there are more efficient ways to perform this task and I look forward to learning from your comments/feedback. I already know based on discussions with Dan from psadmin.io that we could also create a new site using DPK.

Anyway, after reviewing documentation in PeopleBooks, I found the following resources as a starting point.

Install Guides
PeopleSoft 9.2 Application Installation on Oracle (PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.57)

"Task 15-1: Installing the PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture in Silent Mode" in the Installation Guide provides documentation on how to install various components of the PIA.

Based on this documentation, we can see that we simply need to update a response file with appropriate configuration settings and then kick off the command line to execute the site creation process "silently".

Updating resp_file.txt

"Task 15-1-1: Editing the Response File" mentions that this response file will be located here:
PS_HOME/setup/PsMpPIAInstall/scripts

But on a PUM image (HCM 9.2 - PI 29), I found it one level up.

I made a copy of this resp_file.txt and edited it to suit my needs.

External Site: ps_ext
Web Profile: KIOSK

Here is a copy of the resp_file.txt file that I used containing with only the parameters that are necessary.

Here are some items to keep in mind.

Where is the Weblogic Home directory?

I had no idea and could not find any documentation that pointed to this information. After some trial and error, I found that the Weblogic Home directory (at least on a PUM image) should be as follows.

BEA_HOME=/opt/oracle/psft/pt/bea

Note: If we use PeopleSoft Cloud Manager to create the PUM image instead of using the VirtualBox approach, then our Weblogic Home directory would be as follows.

BEA_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/pt/bea

Install action and Domain type

Use ADD_SITE and EXISTING DOMAIN as follows.

INSTALL_ACTION=ADD_SITE
DOMAIN_TYPE=EXISTING_DOMAIN

What is the App Server Name and JSL Port (particularly on a PUM image)?

I ended up accessing PS Admin (via Putty) and reviewing the configuration on the existing delivered site to pick up this information. The assumption here is that, the new site will also connect to the same App Server.

PeopleSoft PIA Administration > Web (PIA) Domain Administration > Administer a domain > peoplesoft (default domain for PUM image) >Administer a site > ps (existing delivered site) > Configure this site

We can use the Application Server Connect String as the PSSERVER parameter value as shown below.

PSSERVER=pi029.hcm92.edu:9033

Site Name and Web Profile

Provide the name for the new site as well the web profile that we want to use.

WEBSITE_NAME=ps_ext
WEB_PROF_NAME=KIOSK

Other items

The rest of the parameters in the resp_file.txt are either self explanatory or passwords.

Executing command line to create new site

Simply change the directory to the PsMpPIAInstall folder and execute the setup.sh script in silent mode passing in the resp_file.txt location as a parameter.

Demo

Delivered Site (ps) on PUM Image

New Custom/External Site (ps_ext)

Additional Resources

HCM9.2-CG: How To Configure The External Candidate Gateway URL On PUM16+ When The External Link Is Invalid (Doc ID 2145957.1)

DIY - PeopleSoft on the Cloud - Part 3

In this third and final part, I will demonstrate how to access the demo instance (PUM image on OPC) via SQL Developer and App Designer from an on premise workstation.

Step 1: Create Security List for database access and add to the instance

Create Security IP List:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security IP Lists > Create Security IP List

Enter the public ip address(es) of your on premise workstation(s). This will ensure that only a trusted list of on premise ip addresses can access the database (via SQL Developer/App Designer) of your demo instance (PUM image running on OPC).

Note: If you are not sure of the public ip address of your on premise workstation then simply visit https://whatismyipaddress.com/ using a browser on the workstation.

Create Security Application:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security Applications > Create Security Application

Create a Security Application to open TCP port 1522 to allow database access. You might wonder how I figured the database for the demo instance is using port 1522? We can find it in the tnsnames.ora file located in /opt/oracle/psft/pt/tools_client/ which we can access via WinSCP (refer: Part 2).

Create Security List:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security Lists > Create Security List

Create Security Rule:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security Rules > Create Security Rule

Using the Security IP List, Security Application and Security List that we just created, create a Security Rule as follows:

Add Security List to Instance:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Instances tab > View > Under "Security Lists" > Add to Security List

In my example, the security list that I added is called 'psftuser_sec_list_1522'.

Step 2: Installing Oracle and PeopleTools Clients (SQL Developer and App Designer)

Hypothetically, if we had installed the PUM image locally and if we did not already have the Oracle and PeopleTools clients installed on the local workstation, then we would have mapped the samba drive and installed the clients from there.

I was not able to figure out how to map the samba drive of the demo instance (PUM image) running on OPC to an on premise workstation. The alternative/workaround is to connect to the instance on OPC using WinSCP from the on premise workstation (as described in Part 2), download the relevant folders locally and install the necessary clients.

We can find the content of the samba drive under the following location using WinSCP:
 /opt/oracle/psft/pt/tools_client

Step 3: Updating the tnsnames.ora file in the on premise work station

Find the database name of the instance:

Login to the instance online and navigate to the following page:
Navigator > PeopleTools > Lifecycle Tools > Update Manager > Update Manager Dashboard > Update Manager Utilities > About PeopleSoft Image

Add database to the tnsnames.ora file on the on premise workstation:

For a typical Oracle client installation, the tnsnames.ora file can be found in the following directory:
C:\oracle\product\12.1.0\client_1\network\admin

TNS Details:

HOST: Enter the public ip address of your instance
PORT: 1522
SERVICE_NAME: Enter the database name of your instance which we determine in the preceding steps

<ENTER_DBNAME> =
   (DESCRIPTION =
       (ADDRESS_LIST =
           (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = <ENTER_PUBLIC_IP>)(PORT = 1522))
       )
       (CONNECT_DATA =
           (SERVER = DEDICATED)
           (SERVICE_NAME = <ENTER_DBNAME>)
       )
    )

For Example:

Step 4: Access OPC instance via SQL Developer from on premise workstation

Default Username/Password: SYSADM/SYSADM

Connection Properties:

Successful Connection:

Step 5: Access OPC instance via App Designer from an on premise workstation

Note: The default connect id and password is the same as people/peop1e

If you have not configured the default connect id/password then you can do so using Configuration Manager.

The PeopleTools client installation should be in your C drive.
For example: C:\PT8.55.11_Client_ORA\

We can find Configuration Manager (pscfg.exe) and App Designer (pside.exe) in the following location:
C:\PT8.55.11_Client_ORA\bin\client\winx86\

Connect via App Designer:

Use the database name of your OPC instance which we determined in the preceding steps.

Successful Connection:

DIY - PeopleSoft on the Cloud - Part 2

Now that we have the PeopleSoft PUM Image (DEMO environment) up and running on the Oracle Compute Cloud, we can move on and dive deeper into more interesting topics! This post will detail how we can set up SSH access and connect to the PUM Image via PuTTY and WinSCP to perform PSADMIN activities such as configuring, bouncing and clearing cache on the app/web/process scheduler servers.

Step 1: Create Security List for SSH access and add to the instance

Create Security List:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security Lists > Create Security List

Create Security Rule:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Network tab > Security Rules > Create Security Rules

Add Security List to Instance:

Oracle Compute Cloud Service console > Instances tab > Instances > View > Under "Security Lists" > Add to Security List

In my example, the security list that I added is called 'allow_admin_clients'.

Step 2: Configuring PuTTY and logging in to the instance using SSH

After creating the Security List and adding the instance it (step 1), we are now ready to proceed with the steps detailed in the tutorial:
- Logging in to your instance using SSH

The steps detailed in this section of the tutorial are straight forward. I was able to use the "Logging in from a Windows System" instructions and connect to my PUM image (running on OPC - Oracle Public Cloud) via SSH using PuTTY running on my on premise workstation.

Note: The first time we successfully login via PuTTY as opc user, we will be prompted to change the default password (OracleCloud). Make sure that you change and notate the new password!

Refer: Changing the default password for opc user

Step 3: Configuring WinSCP and logging in to the instance using SCP

Before I proceed with demonstrating how to access PSADMIN using PuTTY, I want to detail how to similarly configure WinSCP to connect to the instance running on OPC. I use WinSCP heavily for various activities such as navigating to and deleting web server cache folder, viewing db/app/web server log files, loading custom javascript libraries to the web server, loading custom jar files to the app/web servers and so on.

Open WinSCP > New Site
- File protocol: SCP
- Host name: Enter the public IP of your instance
- Port number: 22
- User name: opc
 Advanced Site Settings > SSH > Authentication:
- Private key file: Point to the location where you stored your SSH private key (.ppk)

Save the configuration and login. You will be prompted to enter your SSH Key passphrase.

Step 4: Accessing PSADMIN via PuTTY

We already saw in step 2, how we could connect to the instance via PuTTY. This involves using the opc user provided to us as part of the tutorial instructions.

In order to access, PSADMIN it is best if we use psadm2 (one of the default users created in PUM images). Here are the commands that allow us to switch from opc user to psadm2 user and invoke PSADMIN.

Command: sudo -s
Description: Switch to root

Command: su psadm2
Description: Switch to psadm2

Command: cd $PS_HOME/appserv
Description: Change directory to appserv folder under $PS_HOME

Command: ./psadmin
Description: Invoke PSADMIN

Once we are in PSADMIN as psadm2 user, the steps to bounce and purge cache on the app/web/process scheduler servers are the same as detailed in one of my older posts.
Refer: PeopleSoft PUM Image - Virtual Machine - How to access PSADMIN

We are now able to access PSADMIN of our demo instance (PUM image running on OPC) via PuTTY (SSH) from an on premise workstation!

DIY - PeopleSoft on the Cloud - Part 1

There has been tremendous improvements in PeopleTools 8.55 - which we have seen over the past year - specifically involving changes that make deploying PeopleSoft on the Cloud a very real, intuitive and easy prospect.

Of course, deploying PeopleSoft on a hosted environment is not new and has been done in the past. But 8.55 makes it so much more easier.

Most of us who work in the PeopleSoft space are already getting used to the various messaging from Oracle around Cloud and what it means to those using PeopleSoft applications. There are several great presentations (at conferences), webinars and documentation relevant to this subject which I guess is one of the hottest topics right now.

In this series of blog posts, I plan to take a very basic use case of deploying a PeopleSoft Update Image (DEMO) on the Oracle Compute Cloud and document the steps that I followed. I also intend to go beyond the immediate necessity of getting the environment up and running; and accessing the PIA for evaluating the latest features, enhancements and bug fixes. Additionally, this blog series will also cover how we can connect to the PUM Image - running on the Oracle Compute Cloud - using PuTTY, winSCP, SQL Developer, App Designer, etc. from an on-premise workstation to perform PeopleSoft administration and development related activities.

Note: At the time of writing, I am using a FREE TRIAL (30 day) access which is available for most Oracle Cloud services.

Part 1 (current post): Will cover what it takes to sign up (for the initial 30 day free trial), get started, up and running with a PeopleSoft Update Image (available on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace) deployed on the Oracle Compute Cloud.

Part 2: This post will cover how we can access the PUM Image deployed on the Oracle Compute Cloud (via SSH) using PuTTY and winSCP from an on-premise workstation to perform PSADMIN activities like administering and configuring the servers at various tiers.

Part 3: This post will cover how we can access the PUM Image deployed on the Oracle Compute Cloud using SQL Developer and App Designer from an on-premise workstation to perform PeopleSoft development related activities/research.

Before I proceed with Part 1, I would like to share a few resources that I highly recommend for those who are new to the concept of "PeopleSoft on the Cloud".

Resources:

Quest Webinar: PeopleSoft on the Cloud - so, how do you use it?
Information Portal: PeopleSoft on Oracle Cloud
Oracle Red Paper: Getting Started with PeopleSoft Environments on the Oracle Compute Cloud Service
PeopleSoft Apps Strategy Blog: PeopleSoft on Oracle Cloud

I would also like to make a special mention to Logesh Balasubramaniam - from Presence of IT and author of "Lean IT Designs" blog - who was very helpful in sharing his knowledge and experiences on this topic.

The rest of this post will be heavily based on the following tutorial with some of my tips and experiences:
Deploying PeopleSoft Applications on Oracle Compute Cloud Service Instances

Step 1: Request a free trial access to the Oracle Compute Cloud

If you are - like me - new to hands on activity on the Oracle Cloud, you may perhaps be reminded of the following quote from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

"Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."

To me, it was not very obvious which of the myriad Oracle Cloud Services I should be subscribing to and activating to deploy a PeopleSoft PUM Image from the Oracle Cloud Marketplace.

After working with the "Live Cloud Chat" team, I figured I needed the "Oracle Cloud PaaS and IaaS" Service.

To get started, navigate to https://cloud.oracle.com/tryit and click on the "Try It" link under "Platform and Infrastructure".

At this point, you will be prompted to signin with your Oracle account. Based on my personal experience and what I heard from the support team, the chances of getting the trial request processed in a timely fashion are much higher if you are using your enterprise id instead of a personal id.

Here is an excerpt from my conversation with the "Live Cloud Chat" team:
"Please note trials coming from personal email addresses (Yahoo/Gmail/Hotmail etc.) are not being processed at the moment, if you want to request for a trial of our cloud services please register using an official email ID (enterprise email: @yourcompany.com)"

Step 2: Wait until you receive an email from Oracle!

If you used an enterprise email address, you should get an email from Oracle (within an hour) which contains the access and subscription details.

Now we are ready to proceed further.

Step 3: Follow steps 1 through to 6 in tutorial

Now we are ready to go through the following steps in the tutorial:
Deploying PeopleSoft Applications on Oracle Compute Cloud Service Instances

1. Generate an SSH key pair using an on-premises Linux or Microsoft Windows system.
2. Upload the SSH public key to Oracle Compute Cloud Service.
• Refer: Tip 1
3. Configure the Oracle Compute Cloud Service instance for HTTP access.
4. Determine the PeopleSoft application to be deployed and initiate deployment in Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
5. Use the Oracle Compute Cloud Service web console to configure the instance that will be used to host the PeopleSoft application.
• Refer: Tip 2 and Tip 3
6. Sign in to the PeopleSoft application.

Note: Please review Part 2 before proceeding with further steps in the tutorial (related to using SSH) because there are some security steps that are missing.

Once we complete the above mentioned steps (1-6) from the tutorial, we can login to the PIA of the PUM image running on the Oracle Compute Cloud. Since we opened the http port 8000 (or https depending on your choice), we can access the environment from anywhere via the internet!

Tip 1: Uploading the SSH public key

How do we determine our Cloud Data Center while signing into Oracle Cloud My Services application?

One way is to login to the "My Account Administration" received in the email (Step 2).

From Email:

Note the Oracle Compute Cloud Service Details from the Dashboard.

Tip 2: Configuring the instance

The screens for configuring the instance have changed in comparison to the tutorial but here are the main items to consider.

Image Settings:

Shape Settings:

Instance Settings:

Make sure you add the SSH Public Key (created in Step 1 of the tutorial):

Storage Settings:

Tip 3: Waiting for the instance to be "Running" after initiating the creation

After configuring, reviewing and creating the instance, I was not able to see the created instance (in "Preparing" status) in the Instance tab right away. Instead, I could only find 3 orchestrations with statuses as shown in the image below. This is normal!

I would encourage you to remain patient and wait for at least a couple of hours for the instance to show up in the Instance tab with a "Running" status as shown below before proceeding with subsequent steps.

Related Links:

DIY - PeopleSoft on the Cloud - Part 2
DIY - PeopleSoft on the Cloud - Part 3

Using Bower to manage javascript packages in PeopleSoft Applications

I previously experimented with several open source javascript libraries in PeopleSoft (E.g.: Using ACE Editor for Branding Objects). In most instances, I manually downloaded the js libraries and placed them on my web server domain folder.

I wanted to see if we could use Bower for managing such js packages in PeopleSoft. We may not use it as heavily in PeopleSoft as others do in the web development world. Nevertheless, Bower drastically simplifies the task of downloading the packages (taking into account all the dependencies, etc.) and managing them (including keeping them updated as required).

Further, I wanted to create a seamless/dynamic method to load these packages by mounting the bower_components folder on the PeopleSoft web server domain folder. For the proof of concept, I will be installing Bower on my local desktop and then mounting my bower_components folder (which contains all the libraries installed) to the web server of a HCM 9.2 PUM Image 17 installed as a VBox Image on the same desktop machine.

Note: The following steps are a proof of concept only. It is intended to create a seamless javascript package manager for a PUM Virtual Box Image which is primarily used as a development playground. The same concept could be extended to other PeopleSoft development environments.

Step 1: Install Node.js, Git and Bower on the destination machine

In my case, I installed them on my desktop which is running Windows 7 as the OS. I will be using my desktop computer as the location to run Bower.

1. To download and install Node.js click here.
2. To download and install Git click here.
3. I used an online resource (click here) for instructions to install Bower. Note: While the blog title states Windows 8, the steps work for Windows 7 as well.

Finally, make sure that the Git bin and cmd directories are also added to the PATH system variable. In my case, my Git directories were in the following location:
C:\Program Files\Git\bin;
C:\Program Files\Git\cmd;

Step 2: Using Bower - Installing Packages

Run 'Power Shell' as an Administrator. Then navigate to the directory where we want to install our bower packages.

Bower Init (Optional)

This should created our bower.json file.

Bower Search and Install

As an example, I will be using the ACE Editor as the package to search and install.

After executing, bower install ace --save, we should now see the ace editor library installed under the bower_components folder in the current directory. If there are dependencies for the library, then they will also be installed automatically. In this case, there are none for ACE Editor.

Also, the bower install ace --save, should update the bower.json file (if bower init was executed).

Step 3: Mount the bower_components directory on the PeopleSoft Web Server

Thanks to Michael Ripley who helped me with this part of the requirement on the psadmin.io Slack community.

Before starting the VM (PUM Virtual Box Image), create a Shared Folder (that points to our bower_components folder) using Virtual Box Manager Settings.

Now, start the VM and create a bower_components folder on the web server domain (ps - in my case) folder as follows:

Then, update /etc/fstab file to add the following line:

bower_components /home/psadm2/psft/pt/8.55/webserv/peoplesoft/applications/peoplesoft/PORTAL.war/ps/bower_components vboxsf defaults 0 0

This should take care of mounting the shared folder, bower_components, on to the web server during boot up.

Finally, once we restart the VM, we should now see the shared bower_components directory contents on the web server.

Now, we can start referencing and using the libraries under the bower_components directory just like any other js library on the web server!