Using Cygwin to Maintain Oracle Applications Release 11i on Windows

Using Cygwin to Maintain Oracle Applications
Release 11i on Windows

November 2010

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This document describes how to use Cygwin in place of MKS toolkit to maintain Oracle Applications Release 11i on Windows. It leads you through the process of installing and using Cygwin, whether you are doing a fresh install of 11i or migrating from MKS on an existing system.

Attention

Cygwin is a collection of tools/packages that provide a Linux-like environment for Windows which may be used in lieu of MKS Toolkit for the installation and maintenance of the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS). Some versions of these packages (outlined below) are the only versions known to work with Oracle Applications Release 11i. Due to the large number of packages and their frequent updates, users may see unforeseen issues with latest versions of these packages as they're released. Please file a Service Request (SR) with Oracle Support outlining the details of the issue for Oracle Development to be notified.

Note
Cygwin is free software, and is not supported unless you purchase a support contract from a third party. MKS toolkit is required if you are using Discoverer or installing the End User Layer as discussed in document 139516.1, "Using Discoverer 4i with Oracle Applications 11i." MKS toolkit is also required while using the Oracle Diagnostics shell-based tools.

This document serves as a supplement to "General Requirements for Windows" in the Oracle Applications Installation Update Notes. Please read the Installation Update Notes carefully before proceeding to this document. The most current version of these notes is document 302895.1 on My Oracle Support. It contains the following sections:

• Section 1: Prerequisites
  Describes needed pre-installation tasks and requirements. 
• Section 2: Downloading and Installing Cygwin
  Outlines steps required to download and install the Cygwin package.
• Section 3: Using Cygwin for a New 11i Installation
  Describes steps required to deploy Cygwin; pertains to users who have not yet installed the Release 11i software. 
• Section 4: Migrating to Cygwin from MKS Toolkit
  Details procedure to migrate to Cygwin from MKS for an existing Release 11i installation. 
• Section 5: Testing Cygwin with Release 11i
  Outlines steps necessary to test that Cygwin works in the Release 11i environment.

Conventions

�	Convention	Meaning
�	Application Tier	Includes all machines running Forms, Web, and other servers. Also called middle tier.
�	Database Tier	Includes machine(s) running Oracle Applications database.
�	CONTEXT_NAME	The CONTEXT_NAME variable specifies the name of theApplications context that is used by AutoConfig. The default is _. For systems installed with Rapid Install 11.5.8 or earlier, the context name will typically be .
�	CONTEXT_FILE	Full path to the Applications context file on the application tier or database tier. The default locations are as follows. Applications context file: /admin/.xml Database context file: /appsutil/.xml
�	Monospace Text	Represents command line text. Type this command exactly as shown.
�	<�>	Text enclosed in angle brackets represents a variable. Substitute a value for the variable text. Do not type the angle brackets.

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Section 1: Prerequisites

This section describes software component version requirements that must be met before using Cygwin to maintain Release 11i on Windows. Make any necessary upgrades to an existing or newly installed 11isystem before proceeding.

Software	Minimum Version	Location	Details
AutoConfig	Latest Version	Application tier	Implement AutoConfig and/or upgrade to TXK.N or higher. See My Oracle Support Doc 165195.1, Using AutoConfig to Manage System Configurations with Oracle Applications 11i.
Oracle Applications DBA	AD.I.2	Application tier	Upgrade to AD.I.2 or higher. See My Oracle Support Doc 233044.1, About Oracle Applications DBA Minipack 11i.AD.I.2.

If you have not yet installed Oracle Applications, perform sections 2, 3 and 5. If you are using MKS Toolkit with an existing Oracle Applications system, perform sections 2, 4 and 5.

The following table shows the versions of particular tools known to work with EBS 11i:

Cygwin Package	Versions
cygwin	1.7.1-1 or higher
make	3.80-1*
bash	3.1.17-6 (from the package version 3.1-9), 3.2.9-11, and 3.2.25-16

*: Note that this version of make requires a separate download and is a downgrade from the latest available make (3.81) which is known to not work with E-Business Suite 

An alternative to the 3.80-1 version of the Cygwin make is the utility from MinGW:

MinGW Package	Versions
make	3.81

See Instructions below in Section 2 for downlading and installing this MinGW package 

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Section 2: Downloading and Installing Cygwin

Conduct the following steps to download and install the Cygwin software.

• Step 1 - Log inLog in as a local administrative user (the user who runs the Rapid Install.)
• Step 2 - Create a Cygwin directoryCreate the directory where you plan to install Cygwin (called the Root Directory). This directory cannot be under Program Files, or any other directory with blank spaces in its name. In addition, it cannot be under the APPL_TOP.
• Step 3 - Download the Cygwin software

Do the following to download the Cygwin software:

• Navigate to http://www.cygwin.com and click on "Install or Update Now!" to download setup.exe to your machine.
• Run setup.exe and click Next, which will bring up the Choose Installation Type screen.
• Choose Option 2, Download without Installing.
• Click on Next to go through the next few screens, where you will be asked to choose the directory to store the packages (called the Local Package Directory), your Internet connection type, and a download site.
• Click on Next again to get to the Select Packages screen, and select the following packages (click on  to toggle):
  • All  Install
• Ensure that the 'Hide Obsolete Packages' check box is unselected.
• Click on Next again to download the full set of files (required with the latest Cygwin 1.7.1 or higher for use with EBS 11i)


• Step 4 - Install CygwinOnce the download is complete, perform the following steps to install Cygwin.
  
  • Launch setup.exe again to conduct the install.
  • From the Choose Installation Type screen, choose Option 3, Install from Local Directory.
  • Click Next, and specify the Root Directory where you wish to install Cygwin (created in Step 2), and DOS as the Default Text File Type.
  • Click Next and specify the same Local Package Directory from Step 3.
  • Click Next to get to the Select Packages screen.
  • Choose All  Install (click on  to toggle). Note: Do not choose All  Default, since this will not include all the necessary files.
  • Ensure that the 'Hide Obsolete Packages' check box is unselected.
  • Click on Next again to conduct the installation.

• Step 5 - Verify package versionsVerify that the versions of packages, such as bash and make, are the ones known to work with Oracle Applications Release 11i. See the Attention note at the top of this document for these versions.
  To determine the package versions:
  
  C:\> cd [cygwin directory]
  C:\> uname -a
  C:\> make --version
  C:\> bash --version
  

  Note
  Depending on how the packages are installed, the Cygwin Installer may display the incorrect package version information. Use the command-line interface to verify the correct package version.

  
  
  
  
  
  If any of the package versions do not match, perform the following to update the specific package:
  
  • Download or build the correct version of the package from one of the following sites:
    • ftp://www.fruitbat.org/pub/cygwin/release/
    • http://mirrors.omnicomp.org/Cygwin/release/
    • http://www.ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/mirrors/cygwin32.old/mirrors/cygnus/release/
    • http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/make/

  If these websites are down, use an internet search engine to find similar sites that host the relevant Cygwin packages.

  • If downloading a version, you must pverwrite the existing version of the package with the new version of the package:C:\> cd [cygwin directory]
    C:\> tar -xjvf [package download location]\[package name]
    
    Otherwise if you are building from source, copy the gnumake executable built in the previous step to the Cygwin bin directory.

• Step 6 - Download and install MinGW make if required If you don't have or are unable to obtain the version of Cygwin make noted above, use the following instructions to obtain the MinGW make (3.81) utility instead:
  
  
  • Go to: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/
  • Scroll down and select the MinGW -> make folder on this web page
  • Open make-3.81-20090914-mingw32
  • Copy make-3.81-20090914-mingw32-bin.tar.gz to a location on your local hard drive and extract the files
  • Copy the file MINGW32-MAKE.EXE executable to the bin subdirectory under your cygwin Home and rename it as gnumake.exe
  
  
• Step 7 - Add the Cygwin directory to system pathAdd the cygwin bin directory to the system path. For instance:

C:\> set path = %path%;D:\cygwin\bin

Attention
If you use Cygwin with Oracle Applications, use the make utility installed with Cygwin. The system path must contain only the gnumake.exe in the Cygwin bin directory.

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Section 3: Using Cygwin for a New 11i Installation

Follow these instructions if you are installing 11i for the first time, and do not have MKS Toolkit installed on your system. Otherwise, go to the next section.

Note
Releases 11.5.10.2 and greater contain the software known to work with Cygwin. If you are installing 11.5.10.2 or greater for the first time, there is no need to perform the software upgrades in Step 3.

• Step 1 - Rename Cygwin's rmdir executableIf installing 11i with Cygwin 1.7 for the first time, users are required to rename rmdir.exe to some other name (like rmdir_cygwin_orig.exe) in the Cygwin directory before proceeding with running Rapid Install to ensure that the Windows command shell RMDIR is used instead
  . 
  
• Step 2 - Run the Rapid Install
  Review Installing Oracle Applications, Oracle Applications Release Notes, and Oracle Applications Installation Update Notes before beginning. Follow the instructions to invoke the Rapid Install wizard and install Oracle Applications 11i. On one of the configuration screens, where you are asked to specify the MKS directory, provide the pathname to the bin directory under the Cygwin Root Directory instead (in this example, "D:\cygwin\bin").

  
  Figure 1: MKS Directory prompt within Rapid Install Wizard.

• Step 3 - Verify AD and ADX versions 
  
  Verify the minimum required AD and ADX Minipack versions and update the system, if necessary. Refer to the instructions in "Section 1: Prerequisites."

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Section 4: Migrating to Cygwin from MKS Toolkit

Follow these instructions if you have both MKS Toolkit and Oracle Applications Release 11i installed on your system, and wish to migrate to Cygwin.

• Step 1 - Verify AD and ADX versions 
  
  Verify the minimum required AD and ADX Minipack versions and update the system, if necessary. Refer to the instructions in "Section 1: Prerequisites."



• Step 2 - Deinstall MKS Toolkit
  Navigate to the Control Panel, choose Add or Remove Programs, highlight MKS Toolkit, and click Remove.
  
• Step 3 - Modify configuration parameters 
  
  Use the Oracle Applications Manager (OAM) AutoConfig utility to edit the MKS Directory (s_mksdir) system configuration parameter to point to the bin directory under the Cygwin Root Directory (see "Modify Configuration Parameters" in Oracle Applications Maintenance Procedures). Change the value of variable s_mksdir from "D:\mksnt" to "D:\cygwin\bin", for example.
  


• Step 4 - Run AutoConfig
  
  Run AutoConfig on the application tier:
  

  C:\> cd \admin\scripts\[CONTEXT_NAME]
  C:\> adautocfg.cmd

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Section 5: Testing Cygwin with Release 11i

Perform the following tests to insure that the Cygwin implementation is successful.

• Step 1 - Relink FND programs
  Use AD Administration (adadmin) to relink FND programs, and review the log file for any errors.
  
• Step 2 - Generate graphics files 
  
  Use the AD Administration (adadmin) to generate graphics files for any 2 products, and review the log file for errors.

Refer to Oracle Applications Maintenance Procedures and Oracle Applications Maintenance Utilities for more information on using the AD Administration utility.