Skip navigation.
Downloads | Product Documentation | Support

WebLogic Server 8.1 Upgrade Guide

# Common Upgrade Issues

The following sections briefly describe the issues most likely to complicate your upgrade to WebLogic Server 8.1, and provide solutions and links to further information:

- Classpath, System Path, and Environment Variables
- Data Sources
- Deployment
- JRockit
- JSP Parsing
- Security
- Server Configuration
- XML Parsing

For complete documentation on upgrading to WebLogic Server 8.1, see the chapter for your upgrade path:

- Upgrading WebLogic Server 7.0 to Version 8.1
- Upgrading WebLogic Server 6.x to Version 8.1
- Upgrading WebLogic Server 5.1 to Version 8.1

# Classpath, System Path, and Environment Variables

Properly setting up your runtime environment is likely to be your most challenging upgrade task. WebLogic Server and your application depend on accurate classpath, system path, and other environmental variable settings. The classpath should be updated to contain WebLogic Server 8.1 paths and JAR files, such as `weblogic.jar`, while continuing to point to resources specific to your application.

The following issues involve the configuration of environment variables.

Issue: Classpath pointing to the wrong JDK or compiler.

Symptom: `ejbc` fails when it loads a JAR file.

Solution: Make sure the classpath points to the new JDK shipped with WebLogic Server 8.1, which is JDK 1.4.1. If you have configured a specific compiler in your `config.xml` file, make sure that the 1.4.1 compiler is the one specified.

## WebLogic Server 8.1 Dependencies on JDK 1.4.1

JAXP, the JAAS package, and the Principal Authenticator object were all included in previous versions of `weblogic.jar`, but were left out of the WebLogic Server 8.1 `weblogic.jar` because they are included in JDK 1.4.1.

Issue: Items no longer included in `weblogic.jar` are now in JDK 1.4.1.

Symptom: Build failure with error messages about JAXP, the JAAS package, or the Principal Authenticator object.

Solution: Make sure that your environment references JDK 1.4.1 when you build your classes. The JDK reference is usually in a setenv script. For example:

>     set JAVA_HOME=C:\bea\weblogic81\jdk141_03

# Data Sources

The following data source issue is very commonly encountered.

Issue: No connection with data source.

Symptom: An error message indicating a problem creating a connection, such as:

`<May 20, 2003 2:40:14 PM PDT> <Warning> <JDBC> <BEA-001129> <Received exception while creating connection for pool "petstorePool": Database 'petStore' not found.>`

`<May 20, 2003 2:40:15 PM PDT> <Error> <JDBC> <BEA-001150> <Connection Pool`

`"petstorePool" deployment failed with the following error: 0:Could not create pool connection. The DBMS driver exception was: Database 'petStore' not found..><May 20, 2003 2:40:15 PM PDT> <Error> <JDBC> <BEA-001151> <Data Source "InventoryDB" deployment failed with the following error: DataSource(jdbc.InventoryDB) can't be created with non-existent Pool (connection or multi) (petstorePool).>`

Solution: Check that your domain configuration and start scripts point to the correct datasource, and that you are using the correct drivers for the datasource.

# Deployment

Issue: Deployment descriptors have changed to meet new J2EE standards.

Symptom: An EJB will not load in WebLogic Server 8.1.

Solution: The load failure message from the WebLogic Server EJB container should provide detailed resolution information. If you are upgrading from version 6.x, for example, you may need to repair mismatched resource references. See Fix Erroneous <ejb-ref-name>.

# JRockit

See also the Troubleshooting section of the appropriate version of the JRockit documentation.

Issue: Start scripts not using the correct Java Virtual Machine for JRockit.

JRockit does not support all the same command-line parameters that the Sun JDK does (`-client`, for example).

Symptom: Weblogic Server 8.1 will not start.

Solution: Verify that the command-line parameters on your start command line are all supported by JRockit.

# JSP Parsing

Issue: Minor JSP errors occur under JDK 1.4.

Symptom: The application loads but you cannot browse to a desired page. Or, the build fails with a JSP error message.

Solution: Use the build or runtime error message to find and fix the errors. For an example, see Fix JSP Parsing Errors, where JSP errors in Pet Store are repaired.

# Security

Issue: Pre-7.0 security model not upgraded correctly.

Symptom: Server fails to start, security error message.

Solution: Set up Compatibility security. See Upgrading WebLogic Server 6.x Security to Version 8.1 and Running Compatibility Security: Main Steps in Managing WebLogic Security.

Issue: Digital security certificate fails.

Symptom: `SSLListenThread` error, failure to connect to localhost.

Solution: Either disable the Hostname Verifier (recommended only if you are operating in development mode), or obtain a new digital certificate for the client. See the Security FAQ.

# Server Configuration

Issue: All servers in a domain must be on the same version of WebLogic Server.

For example, a Managed Server running WebLogic Server 6.x cannot obtain its configuration and boot using an Administration Server running WebLogic Server 8.1.

Symptom: Both an Administration server and a Managed server are running WebLogic Server 8.1. The Administration server boots, but the Managed server fails to boot properly.

Solution: Make sure that you have not copied the `running-managed-servers.xml` file from your WebLogic Server 6.x installation directory to your WebLogic Server 8.1 installation directory.

# XML Parsing

Issue: The new XML parser rejects some XML documents that were accepted by the previous parser.

The built-in XML parser for WebLogic Server 8.1 is based on the Apache Xerces 1.4.4 parser, which is stricter than its predecessors.

Symptom: An EAR file's deployment descriptors are all correct, but the EAR still cannot be loaded.

Solution: Verify that the other XML documents in your deployment comply with Version 2 SAX and DOM interfaces. Track down and repair the XML. For 6.x see Apache Xerces XML Parser; for 7.1 see Apache Xerces XML Parser. For an example, see Fix Encoding Error, where a minor encoding error is fixed.