Oracle is excited to announce the release of Oracle WebLogic Server Version 14.1.2! WebLogic Server 14.1.2 is a new version, including continued support for Jakarta EE 8 and adding support for Java SE 17 and 21. It is supported on-premises and in the cloud, including support and tooling for running Oracle WebLogic Server in containers and Kubernetes, and certification on Oracle Cloud.   We integrate with a wide variety of platforms and Oracle software that deliver high performance and availability for your applications. Software is available for download from Oracle Technology Network and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud and you can view our updated product documentation here.

Increased performance

Oracle WebLogic Server 14.1.2 provides support for Java SE 17 and 21.  Micro-benchmarks comparing applications deployed to WebLogic Server 12.2.1.4 JDK 8 to applications deployed to WebLogic Server 14.1.2 JDK 17 showed performance gains of up to 28% in certain use cases.

WebLogic Server and Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) provide an alternative option to round-robin routing called “Intelligent Load Balancing” which improves overall system performance.  WebLogic Server sends OHS server instance “health score” and OHS routes traffic to the healthiest WebLogic servers.  By default, WebLogic Server has a health care provider based on CPU, Memory, and Data Source connections maximum capacity.  WebLogic provides a plugin implementation so that users can write custom healthcare providers.

Manageability

In WebLogic Server 14.1.2 the WebLogic Remote Console replaces the WebLogic Administration Console web application.  WebLogic Remote Console is a new open source console built with modern UI framework and uses the WebLogic management REST API to communicate to the Administration server. WebLogic Remote Console is used to manage and monitor WebLogic Server domains running anywhere, such as on a physical or virtual machine, in a container, Kubernetes, or in the Oracle Cloud. Some benefits of the WebLogic Remote Console are it is lightweight, security, and the ability to manage many domains from a single UI.

WebLogic Server 14.1.2 includes the Oracle JDBC 23ai driver, the driver can be extended through a Java Service Provider Interface (SPI).  The extension feature uses cloud vaults (e.g. OCI Vault or Azure Vault) and enables the removal of the database credentials and connection properties from a local WebLogic Data Source configuration and allows for the information to be stored in a single location (the vault) for all applications that use the database.  It also centralizes where the database information can be updated with no change to the application or the WebLogic Data Sources.

In 14.1.2 you can use DBClientData modules which include tnsnames.ora files, wallet files, keystore and truststore files, basically all the database client connection data used by a Data Source, are managed by WebLogic as a deployment module. DBClientData modules make it easy to manage and move database client data, into the file system of all servers in a domain. In maximum availability architecture (MAA) environments and in domain migration scenarios DBClientData moves with the domain; there is no requirement to make configuration changes even when the databases are different. DBClientData modules are supported on-premise or in the cloud.

Improved security

WebLogic Server continues to provide features that secure WebLogic application deployments and environments. In WebLogic Server 14.1.2, when you create a new Production Mode domain it enables Secured Production Mode by default.  When a domain is in Secured Production Mode, WebLogic Sever automatically sets some security configurations to more secure values. For example a domain that has Secured Production Mode enabled will have the SSL ports enabled, non-SSL listen ports disabled, and the Administration port enabled for WebLogic administration traffic by default.

WebLogic Server 14.1.2 introduces domain-based demonstration digital certificates.  Each domain has a unique demo certificate generated when the domain is created in PKCS12 format. Demo Certificates and Certificate Authority have a smaller life span, demo CA expire after 5 years, and demo certificates expire after 6 months. These changes to demo certificates make them more secure for development and testing environments.

WebLogic Server 14.1.2 supports Open ID Connect (OIDC) by introducing a new WebLogic OIDC provider. This provider is an authentication and identity assertion provider that facilitates access to web applications.  The WebLogic OpenID Connect provider consumes OIDC tokens for authenticating to applications which provides improved security and reducing the risk of data breaches. 

SAML SSO Enhancements in WebLogic Server 14.1.2 include support for single logout feature such that both login and logout requests can be supported with an external SAML 2.0 certified Identity provider, and support configuring SAML 2.0 in WLST offline mode or with the WebLogic Deploy Tooling (WDT). WDT support of SAML2 extends these configurations to WebLogic domains running in Kubernetes. 

In WebLogic Server 14.1.2 WLST is enhanced to provide support for outbound two-way TLS connection to a WebLogic server instance. WebLogic Server added the ability of configuring client certificate information required for TLS communication in the user config file to not expose the configuration data and keep it secure.

Local Domain Security secures intra-domain transaction communication by configuring a user in the credential mapper to establish transaction communication between servers in the same domain.  Please see Developing JTA Applications for Oracle WebLogic Server for more details.

Cloud Native

The WebLogic Kubernetes Toolkit has been enhanced to manage WebLogic Server 14.1.2 domains.  The WebLogic Kubernetes Operator (operator) and the WebLogic Deploy Tooling (WDT) know how to upgrade 12.2.1.4 or 14.1.1 domains with Model in Image to 14.1.2 domains running in Kubernetes.  WDT can introspect, modify configuration, and create 14.1.2 domains in VMs, PVs in Kubernetes, and the Cloud.

One of the benefits of running WebLogic domains in Kubernetes is the elasticity of WebLogic Server clusters.  The operator integrates with Horizontal Pod Autoscalers (HPA) so that a user can create rules based on exported WebLogic metrics, when the rule is met the operator acts and scales up or down the WebLogic cluster.  WebLogic 14.1.2 has introduced an enhancement to JMS so that JMS servers can be rebalanced in the WebLogic cluster after a scale down followed by a scale up operation.  This rebalancing distributes work evenly across the servers in the WebLogic cluster.

Oracle released certification of Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) running in Kubernetes. OHS 12.2.1.4 and 14.1.2 GA images are published to the Oracle Container Registry and in a quarterly basis Oracle publishes OHS CPU images with the latest security patches applied. Oracle has delivered documentation that explains how to configure OHS on a shared Kubernetes cluster where Oracle Access Management is deployed, or on its own independent Kubernetes cluster. Please see Oracle HTTP Server on Kubernetes.

The WebLogic Kubernetes Toolkit is broadly used by Fusion Middleware 14.1.2 products running in Kubernetes.  WebLogic Server, Fusion Middleware Infrastructure, SOA/OSB, WebCenter Portal, Sites, and Content, and OHS all standardize in the use of the WebLogic Image Tool to create 14.1.2 images which are published to the Oracle Container Registry.  The WebLogic Operator manages the lifecycle of SOA/OSB, Fusion Middleware Infrastructure, WebCenter Content and WebCenter Portal 14.1.2 domains in Kubernetes.  Please see Oracle Fusion Middleware on Kubernetes documentation for details.

Integration with Oracle Database

Oracle WebLogic Server continues to offer the best integration with the Oracle Database.  WebLogic Server 14.1.2 has been certified with the Oracle JDBC 23ai drivers and 23ai Databases to provide new functionality to WebLogic Server users. WebLogic Server supports JSON DBs, users can store relational storage in JSON AJD Databases and use SODA drivers to query JSON data. The Oracle JDBC 23ai drivers have delivered enhancements to Diagnostic and Logging, support for Oracle DB Sharding with the Native UCP Data Source, support Native Boolean datatype, and deliver enhancements to Transparent Application Continuity. Please see Administering JDBC Data Sources for Oracle WebLogic Server and Quick Peek into New Features/Capabilities from Oracle JDBC 23ai.

For more information about new functionality in Oracle WebLogic Server 14.1.2, see What’s New in Oracle WebLogic Server. We expect 12.2.1.4 and 14.1.1 applications will be readily upgradeable to 14.1.2.  We provide new upgrade tools that simplify and automate the upgrade of WebLogic applications. 

Finally, Oracle WebLogic Server 14.1.2 has been designated as a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, providing eight years of error correction support. WebLogic Server customers can continue to enjoy superior application performance, reliability, and security with clear paths to modernization and next-generation cloud technologies when ready to make the move.

We invite you to try Oracle WebLogic Server 14.1.2, and to monitor this blog to track additional announcements that will give you more options for building and deploying your applications on-premises or in the cloud.