In Oracle Applications Release 11i (11.5.7 and higher) the TCF (Thin Client Framework) SocketServer is implemented as a servlet that runs within the Apache JServ engine framework. The TCF SocketServer enables certain Java components of the Oracle Applications user interface to communicate with the middle tier and database tier. These components include the AK Object Navigator, the Function Security Menu Viewer, BOM Flow Routing Network Designer, WIP Manufacturing Scheduling Workbench, and others. The TCF SocketServer process should always be running in a production installation.
Prior to Release 11i (11.5.7 and higher) the TCF SocketServer was implemented as a standalone process.
This new implementation does require that you have Apache and Apache Jserv installed. There are no additional manual steps required for the TCF SocketServer, assuming that the Apache installation is set up properly. However, there are some recommended steps related to the Apache configuration. First, you should check that the Apache JServ engine is configured properly to run servlets. Second, you should add the TCF SocketServer to the list of servlets that are started automatically when the Apache Jserv is started. For more details, see below.
If the AOL/J Setup Test is available you should run it to check that the Apache JServ engine is configured properly to run servlets. Assuming it is, the Applications Servlet Agent (APPS_SERVLET_AGENT) profile will already be set to point to a proper servlet zone. The TCF:HOST and TCF:PORT profile options should automatically be updated so that the TCF Socket Server uses the same zone. The profiles are only updated at the site level.
If the Applications Servlet Agent profile is not set up to point to a servlet zone properly, check your Apache installation to see what servlet zones are defined. Typically, zones will be defined in the jserv.properties file; look also for ApJServMount calls in the jserv.conf file for zone aliases. The default zone for oracle servlets is expected to be called 'oa_servlets'. The Applications Servlet Agent profile (and the TCF:HOST profile) should look something like 'http://hostname:port/oa_servlets'.
One other recommended step is to add the TCF SocketServer to the list of servlets that are started up automatically when Apache Jserv is started. This prevents the first user of the Socket Server from having to incur the overhead of starting it up.
To do this, find the <zone>.properties file corresponding to the servlet zone being used, and add the line:
servlets.startup=oracle.apps.fnd.tcf.SocketServer
to it. You will have to bounce your Apache server for any changes to Apache configuration files to take effect. If your setup is already correct, you may still need to bounce the server anyway depending on whether your Apache server is set up to load classes from the 'apps.zip' file dynamically.
You can check the status of the TCF SocketServer using the TCF Status function on the AOL/J Diagnostics menu.
To navigate to this menu, log in to Oracle Applications with the System Administration (Oracle Self-Service Web Applications) responsibility. The navigation path is Navigate region, Self-Service > System Administration > Diagnostics, AOL/J Diagnostics.
If you encounter the following issues when upgrading to the TCF servlet, you can make the appropriate changes in the Apache configuration files.