EPM Maintenance Release 11.2.15 is Here
Oracle has released the latest version of EPM software, EPM 11.2.15. This code set has been long anticipated for Hyperion Planning and Essbase customers, as it is the first release to incorporate Essbase 21c into the Hyperion EPM stack.
What follows are some high-level thoughts about this new release, based on the readme. Future articles from iArch Solutions will discuss the ins-and-outs of installation and deployment, so stay tuned.
For starters, the first item of note is this is a full installation of EPM, and not a patch set. Additionally, moving forward the readme states that:
Beginning with Release 11.2.15, Essbase 21c (Version 21.5.3) is embedded with EPM System release and will be the only Essbase release certified with the EPM System.
So, for all of those Essbase and Planning customers wondering if non-Essbase 21c will continue to be patched, this does not appear to be the case. Those customers will not see future development of Essbase (really Essbase 11.1.2.4 under the covers) past 11.2.14.
As a stand-alone install, customers not already on EPM 11.2.x can start with 11.2.15. Those customers already on 11.2.x EPM have a number of supported paths to this release.
Customers on versions prior to EPM 11.2.8 must get to that base version, to be able to patch to any version after EPM 11.2.8.
Customers on versions between EPM 11.2.8 and to 11.2.11 must patch to 11.2.12 through 11.2.14. Once on one of those three versions, you can then update to 11.2.15
An additional item of note and concern is the following statement in the Oracle documentation:
Note: Currently, Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System does not support application and artifact migration from Release 11.2.12, 11.2.13, and 11.2.14. You must update these environments to make their snapshots compatible with Release 11.2.15. You cannot directly migrate artifacts and snapshots taken from existing Release 11.2.12, 11.2.13, and 11.2.14 deployments of Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System to a new Release 11.2.15 deployment.
Oracle plans to offer direct application and artifact migration from Release 11.2.12, 11.2.13, and 11.2.14 to Release 11.2.15 through an upcoming patch release in the near future. Based on the current release roadmap, the next patch to Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System is planned for the end of 2023.
The implication of the above paragraph is that Oracle is only supporting ‘in-place’ upgrades of systems already running EPM 11.2.12-11.2.14. So customers thinking about standing up net-new hardware and just installing new EPM systems and migrating are recommended to hold-off until January of 2024.
The readme also provides a full breakdown of the included updates for the non-EPM components and their updated versions. A sample of this list includes:
Essbase 21c (version 21.5.3).
Added support for Linux 8.0
Java 8 Update 381.
WebLogic Patch Set Update 12.2.1.4.230714.
Fusion Middleware (FMW) Third Party Bundle Patch Set Update 12.2.1.4.230628.
Application Data Framework (ADF) Bundle Patch 12.2.1.4.230615.
Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) Patch Set Update 12.2.1.4.230707.
There are no Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Patches in Release 11.2.15.
To read more about this release, the full Readme can be found here.
As always, we at iArch Solutions are here to support you for all of your Cloud, EPM, or other application and infrastructure needs. Stay tuned for further blogs and updates around this exciting version and thanks for reading.