Changing APPS Password in R12.2

APPS Password in R12.2 can be changed either using AFPASSWD or FNDCPASSS utility. AFPASSWD is an enhancement to FNDCPASS.
To change APPS password , follow the below steps

1. Shut down MT Services

2.Use the syntax below to change password.

$AFPASSWD -c apps -s APPLSYS

Sample Output: Enter the ORACLE password of Application Object Library ‘APPSUSER’:
Connected successfully to APPS.
Enter the password for your ‘SYSTEM’ ORACLE schema:
Connected successfully to SYSTEM.  Working…
Enter new password for user:
Verify new password for user:
Working…
AFPASSWD completed successfully.

Note that, to change APPS password we need to give APPLSYS username in AFPASSWD syntax.
APPLSYS and APPS share the same password. Changing APPLSYS password using AFPASSWD utility changes APPS Password also.

3. After the password is changed, start only adminserver on RUN filesystem  using the script adadminsrvctl.sh.

Update the “apps” password in WLS Datasource as follows:
Log in to WLS Administration Console.
Click Lock & Edit in Change Center.
In the Domain Structure tree, expand Services, then select Data Sources.
On the “Summary of JDBC Data Sources” page, select EBSDataSource.
On the “Settings for EBSDataSource” page, select the Connection Pool tab.
Enter the new password in the “Password” field.
Enter the new password in the “Confirm Password” field.
Click Save.
Click Activate Changes in Change Center.

4. Start all the application services using adstrtal.sh

12C New Feature: Invisible Columns

Starting from 12c, Oracle allows columns to be hidden from application.
Columns can be made invisible in the CREATE TABLE statement or  using an ALTER TABLE statement.By default columns are visible. Invisible columns can be made visible again using an ALTER TABLE statement.Any generic access of a table (such as a SELECT * FROM table or a DESCRIBE) will not show invisible columns.

General characteristics for Invisible Columns:

 1.  Any generic access of a table (such as a SELECT * FROM table or a DESCRIBE) will not show invisible columns.
 2.  The database usually stores columns in the order in which they were listed in the CREATE TABLE statement. If you add a new column to a table, then the new column becomes the last column in the table's column order. When a table contains one or more invisible columns, the invisible columns are not included in the column order for the table.
3.Invisible columns are not seen unless specified explicitly in the SELECT list.
 
 
Create Table with INVISIBLE column

SQL> CREATE TABLE test1 (a INT, b INT INVISIBLE, c INT Not NULL);

Table created.

SQL> desc test1;
Name Null? Type
----------------------------------------- -------- ----------------------------
A NUMBER(38)
C NOT NULL NUMBER(38)


SQL> select COLUMN_NAME,COLUMN_ID,HIDDEN_COLUMN from user_tab_cols where table_name ='TEST1';

COLUMN_NAME COLUMN_ID HIDDEN_COLUMN
--------------- ---------- ---------------
C               2          NO
B                          YES
A               1          NO


 The invisible column wont be displayed in a DESCRIBE statement. The column id for an invisible (or hidden ) column will be NULL.



Changing the column to visible / invisible using the ALTER TABLE statement

SQL> ALTER TABLE test1 MODIFY (b VISIBLE);

Table altered.

While inserting data into table with INVISIBLE Columns, proper care need to be taken.
Otherwise,data will be inserted to unexpected columns.

Troubleshooting "Nodemanager Associated with the machine is not reachable"

While trying to start Managed servers from the Administration Console, you may receive the below error

For server soa_server1, the Node Manager associated with machine Machine1 is not reachable. 
All of the servers selected are currently in a state which is incompatible with this operation or are not associated with a running Node Manager or you are not authorized to perform the action requested. No action will be performed.


To fix this issue.

1) Check is the nodemanager is running at OS level using command

$ps -ef|grep -i nodemanager 

2) Verify the nodemanager logfile has no errors

3)Check if the managed server is properly associated with the machine

4) Check the nodemanager configuration(credentials/ Hostname/Port number) details are correctly updated in Console

In the Change Center of the Administration Console, click Lock & Edit (see Use the Change Center).
In the left pane of the Console, expand Environment and select Machines.
Select the machine for which you want to configure Node Manager.
Select Configuration > Node Manager.
In the Type field, select the Node Manager type from the drop-down list.
For more information on Node Manager types, see Node Manager Administrator's Guide.
Note: The values you provide here must correspond to the values you used to configured the Node Manager instance.
In the Listen Address field, enter the DNS name or IP address upon which Node Manager listens.
If you identify the Listen Address by IP address, you must disable Host Name Verification on Administration Servers that will access Node Manager. For more information and instructions, see Using Host Name Verification in Managing WebLogic Security.
Enter a value in the Listen Port field. This is the port where Node Manager listens for incoming requests.
If you have set the Type field to SSH or RSH, you should specify values in the Node Manager Home and Shell Command fields.
For more information on configuring Node Manager using SSH or RSH, see Node Manager Administrator's Guide.
Click Save.
To activate these changes, in the Change Center of the Administration Console, click Activate Changes. 
Not all changes take effect immediately—some require a restart (see Use the Change Center).