Oracle Middeware

Overview

This service consists of centrally managed hardware and Oracle Fusion Middleware software. We host a variety of State of Maine applications for the Executive Branch that are available via the WAN and/or to the public via the Internet, depending on the application requirements.

Oracle Fusion Middleware hosting provide high performance and highly available environments.  This configuration allows for an extremely flexible shared infrastructure. Advantages include:

  • High Performance – The Exalogic environments are self-contained engineered systems created by Oracle specifically designed to optimize performance for their products. This engineered system also provides extremely high performance via its network connection to the Oracle databases using dedicated InfiniBand connections.  This is done by interconnecting the local Exadata Oracle engineered system, the database tier. This provides a private dedicated data highway for the two environments to pass traffic.  This significantly increases performance over the traditional TCP/IP model
  • High Availability – Not only do we provide 24x7x365 support for the production applications, we also provide redundancy inside of the Exalogic stack. This includes redundant virtual servers to allow for a stronger HA configuration.  This allows us to leverage the technology to minimize the impact on routine maintenance
  • Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery – Our production and pre-production environments are configured with site level failover. What this means is that applications hosted in the Exalogic environment that experience a site level failure, an entire data center becomes unavailable, we can move all applications to the secondary data center.  Both the primary datacenter and secondary datacenter are located in Augusta, ME, separated by seven miles
  • Information on the configuration needed to be hosted in this environment, CTS has developed an Oracle template explaining what needs to be done in order to have a successful deployment

Included

  • Initial deployment of the application with some basic debugging assistance
  • Creation of managed servers which includes clustering within a datacenter and failover configuration to the secondary datacenter
  • Creation/configuration of external data sources
  • Auto deployment setup and configuration pre-production environments
  • Production & Pre-Production Deployments
  • Access to logs
  • Log rotation configuration
  • Encryption in Flight, between the middleware layer and the Oracle Databases
  • Load test monitoring and reporting of the testing for Oracle Forms, Reports, Java applications that we host. This is to be used for certification purposes only.  If additional tests are requested additional charges may apply
  • Backup and recovery of infrastructure and/or logs, see the backup rate for the standard backup retention.  Application recovery depends on Application teams latest deploys
  • On-Call Coverage is available for Production Break / Fix 24x7x365. (See Availability above)
  • Monitoring of the production infrastructure, ensuring it is up and available
  • Standard Security build, we will use ECDHE Ciphers, ensure we are at TLS 1.2 protocol between every layer of the infrastructure for the Oracle Middleware stack.  We will also ensure the Oracle software stays patched at the “Premier Support” level. What this means for you is that it ensures your application has the latest security patches and/or enhancements applied to the software
  • Oracle WebLogic Server support which includes Oracle Forms/Reports
  • Upgrade of JDK (Java) at a minimum of twice a year, but likely almost monthly based on the known security vulnerabilities
  • Support of Operating system Patching Cycle quarterly, but likely almost monthly based on the known security vulnerabilities
  • Support of Platinum Patching Cycle quarterly – This is hardware patching of the Exalogic environment
  • Support of Oracle Software Patching Cycle at least twice a year, more likely every month based on security vulnerabilities
  • Annual Apex patching or more frequency based on security vulnerabilities
  • Annual DR Testing upon request
  • OBIEE RPD Deployments
  • AD Group modifications where required at the OBIEE WebLogic layer
  • Server housing costs (power, UPS (uninterruptible power supplies), backup generator, network connection, cooling) located in a secure data center)
  • All hardware purchase and maintenance costs when utilizing the full Oracle stack
  • LB URL’s, direct URL will not be supported
  • All software licensing for WebLogic and maintenance costs for use in the 12cR2 Exalogic environment. 
  • All OBIEE licensing cost at capped processor in the original Oracle license agreement
  • Core Middleware technical support and personnel costs
  • All core middleware administration functions, including application deployment and configuration, upgrades, patching as as noted above
  • Full Restore / Recovery services in the event of disaster, simple hardware failure for the Middleware infrastructure
  • DR for pre-production and production at the environment level
  • Performance tuning assistance and advice
  • Customer Support Center for Problem Reporting
  • All services provided under our Standard Service Level Agreement, available on the State of Maine Intranet web site

Service Level Targets & Availability

  • The standard production published service level agreement can be viewed at the following link: Standard_SLA_CTS_Production Services 
  • Standard business hour coverage is 7:00AM – 5:00PM Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
  • On-Call coverage is available for production break/fix 24x7
    • To report a production break/fix after hours, please contact MaineIT Operations.
    • MaineIT Operations will engage the On-Call Core Technology Duty Manager if necessary

Service Rates: Please see the MaineIT Rate Table 

Current Oracle Middleware charge calculations are based on concurrent sessions that are collected and tracked at the database layer. There is also billing factor based on the type of technology that is used. Those that require more configuration and/or support have a higher multiplier.  For a complete description of how the Oracle Middleware rate is calculated click on Middleware rate explanation from the following link (internal use only).

Options Available for Additional Charge

  • Assistance with desktop/laptop installations & configuration not limited to WebLogic installations and configurations
  • Encryption in flight between the customer’s PCs and the database
  • Encryption in flight between the third-party product (anything other than Oracle middleware) to an Oracle database
  • Encryption in flight between the Oracle middleware and any non-Oracle databases
  • Encryption in flight configuration between application servers and databases that are not Oracle products
  • Batch Processes support
  • Scripting Assistance
  • Off hour pre-production support
  • Monitoring of applications status
  • Security modifications needed to complete a security issue or request that is beyond the standard security lockdown implementation
  • FIPS Configuration
  • Load test monitoring to debug a production issue
  • Support of database configurations that have been coded inside of the application
  • Request of Apex patching more than once a year
  • For Backup and Restore beyond their standard offering.  Please refer to the Backup Service Catalog
  • Recycle of managed servers as a preventative issue for the application
  • Responsive to audit questions, development and execution of remediate plans for specific audits
  • Any services for PaaS and/or IaaS hosted systems (performance monitoring/interruptions of monitoring reports/troubleshooting/security services/audits etc)
  • Dedicated vServers (2 vCPU’s, 2GB of memory) are the base, additional charges apply for additional vServer and memory allocation

Customer Expectations

  • Individual users follow state IT use rules and policies, including all security policies
  • A contact person and backup are designated to interface with the MaineIT team
  • Any issues or problems with this service are reported to the MaineIT team as promptly and with as complete information as is feasible
  • Customer must stay current with software versions supported by Oracle

Technical Specifications

The environment consists of a variety of oracle products which include but are not limited to the Oracle WebLogic Server, Oracle HTTP Server, Oracle Forms and Reports, OBIEE, OPA, SOA, Oracle Traffic Director and Oracle Enterprise Manger.   Some of these products have separate service catalogs, please refer to them for the specifics.  Currently we have enterprise offerings for all but OPA and SOA and rates may vary.

To get help or order this service

  • Call MaineIT Service Center at 624-7700 and assign to the Oracle Database team
  • For application projects (new projects or major enhancements or upgrades), contact the MaineIT Project Management Office (PMO) to get started
  • Footprints ticket are required for all work requests.  All work requests must have a required RFC or Footprints ticket. If applicable a bill code will be required for those items that are not part of the base published rate
  • For new Middleware environments, an intake questionnaire needs to be completed.  Once complete and attach to your Footprint ticket requesting the environment, most request will be completed within 2 weeks from receipt of a completed request
  • If the published SLA is not met, the issues can be escalated to the next priority level by contacting any of the following individuals:
    • Contact an Application Hosting Services supervisor, manager of the Middleware team or Director of Hosting or your friendly TBC (Technology Business Consultant)
    • For after-hours Production Break Fix contact MaineIT Operation at Customer Support 624-7700
    • MaineIT Operations will engage the On-Call Core Technology Duty Manager if necessary