R12 External Access

Question

Hi Hussein,
In my test env, I have one single node instance of R12 (12.0.6) running over RHEL 5.3. This instance environment is wrapped within a VPN. I want to give access to R12 instance to some users for testing who are outside the VPN (through internet). I want to build a test environment to learn DMZ. R12 is configured using a dummy test domain for test instance by putting entries in hosts file at server as well as client side internally. I don't need any load balancing requirement at this point as it is only for testing.
I just want to build a very simple configuration with minimum additional HW/SW which can meet my above requirement. Please help me with the following. Any step by step instructions or guide will be really appreciated.
http://r12.west.domain.com - Current VPN access URL
http://r12.domaon.com - Proposed external access URL
Do I need a seperate server outside the VPN.
How many additional public and Private IPs (VPN) needed.
Do I need to have any Public Domain.
Do I need to have any network component like switch/router.
Any additional software component need to be installed.
I have the following note for 11i from your previous post which I did not have a chance to implement as I upgraded the instance to R12.
Note: 287176.1 - DMZ Configuration with Oracle E-Business Suite 11i
https://metalink2.oracle.com/metalink/plsql/ml2_documents.showDocument?p_database_id=NOT&p_id=287176.1
Please suggest/advise.
Thanks
-Samar-

Answer 1

Hi Samar,
There are many deployment options available for making Oracle E-Business Suite R12 accessible via the internet. The following document outlines these different scenarios in details.
Note: 380490.1 - Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Configuration in a DMZ
https://metalink2.oracle.com/metalink/plsql/ml2_documents.showDocument?p_database_id=NOT&p_id=380490.1
The simplest configuration to make your TEST server accessible via internet is to change the IP Address to public and that is all, but as you know this option is not acceptable as it is unsecure, plus you are not gaining any extra knowledge when implementing it. Since you want to avoid reverse proxy and load balancers, then the only option you have is configuring an external web tier behind a DMZ external firewall (please refer to the document referenced above for details -- Option 2.2: Using Separate Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 Web Tiers).
Web cache could be used here as it can act as a reverse proxy, web caching, and load balancer. More details about this configuration can be found in the following document.
Note: 380486.1 - Installing and Configuring Web Cache 10g and Oracle E-Business Suite 12
https://metalink2.oracle.com/metalink/plsql/ml2_documents.showDocument?p_database_id=NOT&p_id=380486.1
I would suggest you go through the documents/links referenced in this reply, and see if you could reconsider the configuration of this test environment you want to build. If you go with web cache for example, you may implement a reverse proxy or load balancer, and hence go with a different deployment option.
What Does "DMZ Certification" Mean?
http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2007/04/what_does_dmz_certification_me.html
Troubleshooting DMZ Setups for Apps
http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2007/09/troubleshooting_dmz_setups_for.html
In-Depth: Demilitarized Zones and the E-Business Suite
http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2006/05/indepth_demilitarized_zones_an.html
Advanced Deployment Architectures for Oracle E-Business Suite
http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2008/11/advanced_deployment_architectures_for_oracle_ebs.html
Advanced Deployment Architectures for Oracle E-Business Suite
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/applications/events/oow-2008/EBS-Advanced-Configurations-IvoDujmovic.pdf
Regards,
Hussein