Mozilla Firefox Quantum Extended Support Release 60 is certified as a macOS-based client browser on macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13) for Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 and 12.2.

What Use-cases Are Certified?

Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) R12 has two interfaces: a web-based (OA Framework/HTML) model for modules like iProcurement and iStore, and Oracle Forms/Java based model for our professional services modules like Oracle Financials.

Firefox Quantum Extended Support Release (ESR) 60.x is now certified with macOS for both web-based and Oracle Forms/Java based models as outlined below.

  • Firefox ESR 60.x is certified for EBS users running web-based (HTML / OA Framework) screens.
  • Firefox ESR 60.x is certified for running Java content in EBS using Java Web Start (JWS) technology.
  • Firefox ESR 60.x is not certified for running Java content in EBS using Java Plug-in technology.

Certified Versions

Oracle E-Business Suite

  • Oracle E-Business Suite 12.2
  • Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1

Desktop Operating System

  • macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13.3 and later updates on the 10.13 codeline)

Java Web Start (JWS)

  • JRE 8 Update 171 and later updates on the JRE 8 codeline

While this is the minimum recommended Java release, users are encouraged to upgrade to the latest and therefore most secure Java 8 CPU release available.

Prerequisite Patch Requirements

Running Firefox on macOS using Java Web Start (JWS) with EBS requires additional patching.

For further information on patch and set up requirements see

Implications for Safari 12 on macOS

Customers have been asking about the compatibility of new versions of the following Apple products with Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2:

  • Safari 12 (works with macOS 10.13.6 and 10.12.6)
  • macOS Mojave (macOS 10.14)

Neither of these two products have been certified with either EBS 12.1 or EBS 12.2 as of October 18, 2018.  

Safari 12 is unable to launch Java in the way that prior Safari versions could. This will prevent E-Business Suite 12.1 and 12.2 customers from running Forms-based products. Therefore, customers should *NOT* upgrade to Safari 12 on macOS desktop platforms.

macOS Mojave (macOS 10.14) includes Safari 12. Customers should *NOT* upgrade to macOS Mojave.

What changed in Safari 12?

Safari 12 introduces an important change: it removes support for “legacy NPAPI plug-ins”. This affects all EBS releases. macOS Mojave includes Safari 12.

Some products within Oracle EBS 12.1 and 12.2 run via HTML in browsers. These products are sometimes called “self-service web applications”. They are expected to run without issue in Safari 12, but our certification testing is still underway.

Some products within Oracle EBS 12.1 and EBS 12.2 use Oracle Forms. Oracle Forms requires Java for desktop clients. On the macOS desktop platform, the only certified option today for launching Java is via the JRE plugin via the NPAPI approach.

This means that Safari 12 and macOS Mojave (macOS 10.4) will be unable to use the current JRE plugin-based launching technology for Java and Forms for EBS desktop users.

Recommendations for EBS customers on macOS platforms

As of today, the latest certified versions of Safari and macOS are:

  • Safari 11 (works with macOS 10.13)
  • macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13)

EBS customers should use only certified configurations. EBS customers who use Forms-based products should avoid upgrading to Safari 12 or macOS Mojave today.

EBS customers who have upgraded to Safari 12 on macOS 10.13 can use Firefox ESR 60 to run Forms-based products via the Java Web Start technology.

What is Mozilla Firefox ESR?

Mozilla offers an Extended Support Release based on an official release of Firefox for organizations that are unable to mass-deploy new consumer-oriented versions of Firefox every six weeks.  For more details about Firefox ESR, see the Mozilla ESR FAQ.

E-Business Suite certified with Firefox Extended Support Releases Only

New personal versions of Firefox on the Rapid Release channel are released roughly every six weeks.  It is impractical for us to certify these new personal Rapid Release versions of Firefox with the Oracle E-Business Suite because a given Firefox release is generally obsolete by the time we complete the certification.

From Firefox 10 and onwards, Oracle E-Business Suite is certified only with selected Firefox Extended Support Release versions. Oracle has no current plans to certify new Firefox personal releases on the Rapid Release channel with the E-Business Suite.

Plug-in Support removed in Firefox ESR 60

Mozilla has removed plug-in support in Firefox ESR 60. This means Firefox ESR 60 cannot run Forms-based content in EBS using the Java plugin method. 

If your Firefox ESR 60 end-users run Forms-based content in EBS, you must switch from the JRE plugin to Java Web Start. 

EBS patching policy for Firefox compatibility issues

Mozilla stresses their goal of ensuring that Firefox personal versions will continue to offer the same level of application compatibility as Firefox Extended Support Releases. 

Oracle E-Business Suite Development will issue new E-Business Suite patches or workarounds that can be reproduced with Firefox Extended Support Releases.  If you report compatibility issues with Firefox personal releases that cannot be reproduced with Firefox Extended Support Releases, your options are:

  1. Deploy a certified Firefox Extended Support Release version instead of the Firefox personal version
  2. Report the incompatibility between Firefox ESR and Firefox personal to Mozilla
  3. Use Internet Explorer (on Windows) or Safari (on Mac OS X) until Mozilla resolves the issue

EBS Compatibility with Firefox ESR security updates

Mozilla may release new updates to Firefox ESR versions to address high-risk/high-impact security issues.  These updates are considered to be certified with the E-Business Suite on the day that they’re released.  You do not need to wait for a certification from Oracle before deploying these new Firefox ESR security updates.

References

Related Articles