One of the first things I do when I get new trainees is take my time trying to explain them what Oracle Fusion Middleware IS. It sounds like a simple matter, but it is not.

Oracle owns probably hundreds (or even thousands) of technologies, they are roughly divided in product lines and platforms: Operating Systems and Virtualization, Database, Fusion Applications, Fusion Middleware, etc.

Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW, also called OFM) is a huge platform comprising several different suites and dozens of applications. Sometimes it's difficult to describe what FMW is because it includes so many wildly different applications that it stretches the meaning of the "middleware" concept: from Business Intelligence, to WebCenter, to BPM, including the underlying WebLogic application server, the Application Development Framework and all the available Integration services. Maybe it's best to let Oracle define it:

Oracle Fusion Middleware is a collection of standards-based software products that spans a range of tools and services[...]
Middleware provides the infrastructure which facilitates creation of business applications, and provides core services like concurrency, transactions, threading, and messaging. When configured appropriately, it also provides security and enables high availability functionality to your enterprise.
Middleware includes Web servers, application servers, content management systems, and similar tools that support application development and delivery. It is especially integral to information technology based on Extensible Markup Language (XML), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Web services, SOA, Unicode, Web 2.0 infrastructure, and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

http://docs.oracle.com/middleware/1213/core/ASCON/intro.htm#ASCON272

So there you have it. But I see this definition also as somewhat vague and arbitrary, I guess you could call BPM or BI middleware, but I think a case could be made that they are business applications on their own.

 

It's interest to think that maybe the best way to think about FMW is by defining what it isn't:

Sometimes it feels as if someone at Oracle said "if it's not database, and it's not an enterprise business application, it must be middleware".

http://www.quora.com/What-is-Oracle-Fusion-Middleware

And I tend to follow this approach often in order to make it simpler to understand for those who are not familiarized with FMW. If you exclude the easily identified technologies and platforms that Oracle has to offer (that is: OS and virtualization, Database, and Enterprise Applications), what you're left with is mostly Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Another confusing situation is that Oracle is not very consistent with the categories it defines to divide their offerings inside FMW and how they are located inside the different sections of their portal, sometimes you'll see BPM as an independent category, other times you'll see it inside the SOA Suite. It also changes with the version of the products, as what was called IDM (Identity Management) in 9i and 10g is completely different to what it is called IDM in 11g and 12c.

I find it useful to group products in FMW in the following way:

• Core:
  • Java JDK (JRockit / Oracle JDK)
  • WebLogic Server
  • Coherence
  • WebTier 
• Identity Management:
  •  Access Management
    • Access Manager (OAM)
    • Mobile and Social Access Service
    • Identity Federation (OIF)
    • Adaptive Access Manager (OAAM)
    • Entitlements Server (OES)
    • Web Services Manager (WSM)
    • Security Token Service (STS)
    • API Gateway (OAG)
    • Enterprise Single Sign-On (ESSO)
  • Directory Services
    • Internet Directory (OID)
    • Virtual Directory (OVD)
    • Unified Directory (OUD) 
    • Oracle Directory Server Enterprise Edition (ODSEE)
  • Identity Governance
    • Identity Manager (OIM)
    • Identity Analytics (OIA)
    • Privileged Account Manager (OPAM)
• SOA and BPM
  • Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
  • Service Bus (OSB)
  • Business Process Management (BPM)
• BI and EPM
  • Business Inteligence (OBIEE)
  • Enterprise Performance Management (EPM/Hyperion)
  • Data Integrator (ODI)
• WebCenter
  • WebCenter Portal
  • WebCenter Content
  • WebCenter Sites
• Dev Tools
  • Application Development Framework (ADF)
  • JDeveloper
  • Forms

Obviously this is not a totally comprehensive list, rather the main applications of each category, and yes, it could also change with time, but I believe it is the most simple and logical way to organize them as they stand today.

One last thing I would like to mention and that I think a lot of people get wrong, is that FMW is not a monolithic structure that is released as a whole package each time a new version or release (or even patchset) is finished.

Take for example the last 3 releases of FMW:

• 11g Release 1
• 11g Release 2
• 12c Release 1 

One would think that every product would move from 11gR1 to 11gR2, and only then jump to 12c, but that's not the case. There are lots of products that are not part of 11gR2 and are (probably) never  going to be part of it, because they have been already developed or are under development for 12c. That's how you can have ADF 11gR1, 11gR2 and 12c, but SOA/BPM jumps from 11gR1 directly to 12c.

The same happens with patchsets (patchsets, PSUs, and bundle patchs will be the topic of a different post because they are also a handful to explain), in 11gR1 there are products that have a PS7 and some that seem to be stuck in PS6 forever, or at least until the support plug is disconnected. 

And there is also the matter of timing. Most products or suites have their own development cycles and are released at different dates: at this point in time, the only products upgraded to 12c in the FMW portfolio are some of the core technologies -WebLogic application server, OHS, Coherence-, the entire SOA/BPM Suite, and some of the Dev Tools.

At a high level, that's the important stuff to understand about FMW. Hope this post helps to make it a little simpler for those who are new with Oracle.

Document References:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/fusion-middleware/overview/index.html
http://docs.oracle.com/middleware/1213/core/ASCON/intro.htm
http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/lifetime-support-middleware-069163.pdf

 

Disclaimer - Views expressed in this blog are author's own and do not necessarily represents the policies of aclnz.com