Release Content Documents for eBusiness Suite Release 12

Oracle has published Release Content Documents for eBusiness Suite Release 12.

Read about the new R12 features in the the content documents available in the Metalink Note 404152.1

E-Business Suite 11i Upgrade Path

In order to minimize the number of issues customers encounter during an 11i upgrade, Oracle strongly recommends to refer the following Metalink Note.

The Metalinkg Note id is 364623.1

If you are looking for a 11i Upgrade document, Then this note can be used as the starting point for the 11.5.10.2 Upgrade.

Oracle Apps R12 available for download

Oracle has released R12 and it is available for download from Oracle Store and E-delivery.(http://edelivery.oracle.com/EPD/GetUserInfo/get_form)

Oracle Applications Documentation Resources for Release 12 (Metalink Note 394692.1)

The Documentation Roadmap provides a landing pad to help you navigate through the wealth of material available, and highlights individual documentation roadmaps at the product and product family level too.

What's New in Release 12?
There are over 1,500 new features in Release 12, with significant new functionality in the Financials area. Release 12 includes the latest in Oracle technology, including the 10gR2 Database and Oracle Application Server 10g

For links to the published Release Content Documents for Oracle Applications, E-Business Suite Release 12, see the following document:

Oracle E-Business Suite: Release 12 Release Content Documents (Metalink Note 404152.1)

Is your OS(Solaris) patched for DST 2007 Changes

How do you check whether your OS(Solaris) is Patched or not for DST 2007 Changes?

Here is the command to check whether your OS(Solaris) is patched or not for DST 2007 Changes.

Login to the Solaris Server. Execute the following command.

$ zdump -v US/Pacific | grep 2007
US/Pacific Fri Jan 26 21:19:27 2007 UTC = Fri Jan 26 13:19:27 2007 PST isdst=0
US/Pacific Sun Apr 1 09:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Apr 1 01:59:59 2007 PST isdst=0
US/Pacific Sun Apr 1 10:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Apr 1 03:00:00 2007 PDT isdst=1
US/Pacific Sun Oct 28 08:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Oct 28 01:59:59 2007 PDT isdst=1
US/Pacific Sun Oct 28 09:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Oct 28 01:00:00 2007 PST isdst=0

If the output is similliar to the above then your OS(Solaris) is not pached for DST 2007 changes.

For patched environment you will get the following output.

$ zdump -v US/Pacific | grep 2007
US/Pacific Fri Jan 26 21:20:39 2007 UTC = Fri Jan 26 13:20:39 2007 PST isdst=0
US/Pacific Sun Mar 11 09:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 11 01:59:59 2007 PST isdst=0
US/Pacific Sun Mar 11 10:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 11 03:00:00 2007 PDT isdst=1
US/Pacific Sun Nov 4 08:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Nov 4 01:59:59 2007 PDT isdst=1
US/Pacific Sun Nov 4 09:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Nov 4 01:00:00 2007 PST isdst=0

Note: Please note that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law in August 2005 to extend daylight saving time. Begining in 2007, daylight saving time in the U.S will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November rather than begining on the first Sunday in April and ending the last Sunday in October, as it did in the past. This change affects Canada as well. Mexico is still using the old DST rules.

To know more about DST please check my other blog at this site:
http://ebsappsdba.blogspot.com/2007/01/daylight-saving-time.html

Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2007

Oracle has released the ninth Critical Patch Update (CPU). Oracle strongly recommends applying the patches as soon as possible.

The January Critical Patch Update (CPUJan2007) addresses a total of 51 vulnerabilities affecting Oracle Database Server, Oracle Applications Server, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Enterprise Manager, and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications

Integrigy has published a detailed analysis of the vulnerabilities and patches and it is available at

http://www.integrigy.com/oracle-cpu-january-2007

The next four Critical Patch Update release dates are:

April 17, 2007
July 17, 2007
October 16, 2007
January 15, 2008

Daylight Saving Time

Recently Oracle released a note in Metalink on Impact of Daylight Saving Time changes in US 2007. The Note id is 403311.1 Oracle has comeup with several patches for this Impact. For people who wants to know what DST is Please read the following article.

Since 1966, most of the United States has observed Daylight Saving Time from at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April to 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. Beginning in 2007, most of the U.S. will begin Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and revert to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time

The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called "Summer Time" in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Countries have different change dates.

If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). But elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the summer than in the winter. The closer you live to the North or South Pole, the longer the period of daylight in the summer. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is usually not helpful in the tropics, and countries near the equator generally do not change their clocks

A poll conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation indicated that Americans liked Daylight Saving Time because "there is more light in the evenings / can do more in the evenings." A 1976 survey of 2.7 million citizens in New South Wales, Australia, found 68% liked daylight saving. Indeed, some say that the primary reason that Daylight Saving Time is a part of many societies is simply because people like to enjoy long summer evenings, and that reasons such as energy conservation are merely rationalizations.

However, Daylight Saving Time does save energy. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that Daylight Saving Time trims the entire country's electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about one percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances.

Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting homes is directly related to the times when people go to bed at night and rise in the morning. In the average home, 25 percent of electricity is used for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs, and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, the amount of electricity consumed each day decreases.

In the summer, people who rise before the sun rises use more energy in the morning than if DST was not in effect. However, although 70 percent of Americans rise before 7:00 a.m., this waste of energy from having less sunlight in the morning is more than offset by the savings of energy that results from more sunlight in the evening

In the winter, the afternoon Daylight Saving Time advantage is offset for many people and businesses by the morning's need for more lighting. In spring and fall, the advantage is generally less than one hour. So, Daylight Saving Time saves energy for lighting in all seasons of the year, but it saves least during the four darkest months of winter (November, December, January, and February), when the afternoon advantage is offset by the need for lighting because of late sunrise.

In addition, less electricity is used because people are home fewer hours during the "longer" days of spring and summer. Most people plan outdoor activities in the extra daylight hours. When people are not at home, they don't turn on the appliances and lights

There is a public health benefit to Daylight Saving Time, as it decreases traffic accidents. Several studies in the U.S. and Great Britain have found that the DST daylight shift reduces net traffic accidents and fatalities by close to one percent. An increase in accidents in the dark mornings is more than offset by the evening decrease in accidents