[Editor Sep 8 Update:  Added section to discuss virtualization recommendations for client/server Apps components]

I don’t know if VMware has launched a new marketing campaign recently, but there’s been a notable surge in questions lately about support for their virtualization software with the E-Business Suite.

VMWare ESX Architecture:


Our standard support policy for third-party products applies to E-Business Suite application and database servers running on virtualization software such as VMware, Microsoft Virtual Server, and Citrix, namely: 
  • Oracle will triage and attempt to diagnose issues reported for these configurations. 
  • Specific problems isolated to virtualization software that cannot be reproduced in standard Oracle environments — i.e. environments without virtualization software — may need to be referred to the third-party vendor for advanced debugging and resolution.
Use in Production Environments

I’ve heard a number of anecdotal reports from Apps customers using VMware and Citrix, but the Applications Technology Group doesn’t have formal recommendations or guidelines for this configuration. 

If you plan to use virtualization software for your application and database servers in a production environment, the usual advice applies:  conduct thorough functional tests, perform peak load-testing, and have detailed fallback plans in case of issues with production environments.

Special Case:  Use with Client/Server Apps Modules

The information above applies to the E-Business Suite’s application and database servers.  There is a special case for E-Business Suite client/server modules, which make direct connections to the E-Business Suite database.  These should be deployed on servers rather than end-user desktops, so remote server configurations are recommended for the following products:
  • Account Hierarchy Manager
  • Applications Desktop Integrator
  • Balanced Scorecard
  • Configurator Developer
  • Discoverer Administrator
  • Financial Analyzer
  • Financial Dimension Hierarchy Manager
  • Financial Services Suite
  • Sales Analyzer
  • Warehouse Builder
  • Workflow Builder
  • XML Gateway Client
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