JRE 1.8.0_65/66 Certified with Oracle E-Business Suite

Java Runtime Environment 1.8.0_65 (a.k.a. JRE 8u65-b17) and JRE 1.8.0_66 (8u66-b17) and later updates on the JRE 8 codeline are now certified with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, 12.1, and 12.2 for Windows desktop clients.

All JRE 6, 7, and 8 releases are certified with EBS upon release

Our standard policy is that all E-Business Suite customers can apply all JRE updates to end-user desktops:

• From JRE 1.6.0_03 and later updates on the JRE 6 codeline
• From JRE 1.7.0_10 and later updates on the JRE 7 codeline
• From JRE 1.8.0_25 and later updates on the JRE 8 codeline

We test all new JRE releases in parallel with the JRE development process, so all new JRE releases are considered certified with the E-Business Suite on the same day that they're released by our Java team.

You do not need to wait for a certification announcement before applying new JRE 6, 7, or 8 releases to your EBS users' desktops.

What's new in this release?

Oracle now releases a Critical Patch update (CPU) at the same time as the corresponding Patch Set Update (PSU) release for Java SE 8.

• CPU Release is JRE 1.8.0_65
• PSU Release is JRE 1.8.0_66

Oracle recommends that Oracle E-Business Suite customers use the CPU release (JRE 1.8.0_65) and only upgrade to the PSU release (JRE 1.8.0_66) if they require a specific bug fix.  For further information and bug fix details seeJava CPU and PSU Releases Explained.

There are currently no known issues in Oracle E-Business Suite that require the PSU release but it is certified for customers that may need to use it.

This JRE update is a CPU release. If you are running on the JRE 8 stream, it is strongly recommended to upgrade to this latest and therefore most secure version of the JRE 8 Plug-in.

32-bit and 64-bit versions certified

This certification includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit JRE versions for various Windows operating systems. See the respective Recommended Browser documentation for your EBS release for details.

Where are the official patch requirements documented?

All patches required for ensuring full compatibility of the E-Business Suite with JRE 8 are documented in these Notes:

For EBS 11i:

• Deploying Sun JRE (Native Plug-in) for Windows Clients in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i (Note 290807.1)

For EBS 12.0, 12.1, 12.2

• Deploying Sun JRE (Native Plug-in) for Windows Clients in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 (Note 393931.1)

Known Issues

IE Performance issue: Launching JRE 1.8.0_65 or 1.8.0_66 through Internet Explorer will have a delay of about 20 seconds befre the applet starts to load. Java Console will come up if enabled. This issue does not affect Firefox, where the applet launches as usual.  A fix for this issue is currently being investigated. Please monitor this blog for updates.

EBS + Discoverer 11g Users 

This JRE release is certified for Discoverer 11g in E-Business Suite environments with the following minimum requirements:

• Discoverer (11g) 11.1.1.6 plus Patch 13877486 and later
• Reference: How To Find Oracle BI Discoverer 10g and 11g Certification Information (Document 233047.1)

Implications of Java 6 and 7 End of Public Updates for EBS Users

The Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap and Oracle Lifetime Support Policy for Oracle Fusion Middleware documents explain the dates and policies governing Oracle's Java Support.  The client-side Java technology (Java Runtime Environment / JRE) is now referred to as Java SE Deployment Technology in these documents.

Starting with Java 7, Extended Support is not available for Java SE Deployment Technology.  It is more important than ever for you to stay current with new JRE versions.

If you are currently running JRE 6 on your EBS desktops:

• You can continue to do so until the end of Java SE 6 Deployment Technology Extended Support in June 2017
• You can obtain JRE 6 updates from My Oracle Support.  See:
• All Java SE Downloads on MOS (Note 1439822.1)

If you are currently running JRE 7 on your EBS desktops:

• You can continue to do so until the end of Java SE 7 Deployment Technology Premier Support in July 2016
• You can obtain JRE 7 updates from My Oracle Support.  See:
• All Java SE Downloads on MOS (Note 1439822.1)

If you are currently running JRE 8 on your EBS desktops:

• You can continue to do so until the end of Java SE 8 Deployment Technology Premier Support in March 2019
• You can obtain JRE 8 updates from the Java SE download site or from My Oracle Support. See:
• All Java SE Downloads on MOS (Note 1439822.1)

Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JRE 8 for Windows desktop clients?

No.

This upgrade is highly recommended but remains optional while Java 6 and 7 are covered by Extended Support. Updates will be delivered via My Oracle Support, where you can continue to receive critical bug fixes and security fixes as well as general maintenance for JRE 6 and 7 desktop clients. Note that there are different impacts of enabling JRE Auto-Update depending on your current JRE release installed, despite the availability of ongoing support for JRE 6 and 7 for EBS customers; see the next section below.

Impact of enabling JRE Auto-Update

Java Auto-Update is a feature that keeps desktops up-to-date with the latest Java release.  The Java Auto-Update feature connects to java.com at a scheduled time and checks to see if there is an update available.

Enabling the JRE Auto-Update feature on desktops with JRE 6 installed will have no effect.

With the release of the January Critical patch Updates, the Java Auto-Update Mechanism will automatically update JRE 7 plug-ins to JRE 8.

Enabling the JRE Auto-Update feature on desktops with JRE 8 installed will apply JRE 8 updates.

Coexistence of multiple JRE releases Windows desktops 

The upgrade to JRE 8 is recommended for EBS users, but some users may need to run older versions of JRE 6 or 7 on their Windows desktops for reasons unrelated to the E-Business Suite.

Most EBS configurations with IE and Firefox use non-static versioning by default. JRE 8 will be invoked instead of earlier JRE releases if both are installed on a Windows desktop. For more details, see "Appendix B: Static vs. Non-static Versioning and Set Up Options" in Notes 290807.1 and 393931.1.

What do Mac users need?

JRE 8 is certified for Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.9 (Mavericks), and 10.10 (Yosemite) desktops.  For details, see:

• Oracle E-Business Suite Release Notes Release 12 for Apple Macintosh OS X (Note 1533334.1)

Will EBS users be forced to upgrade to JDK 8 for EBS application tier servers?

No.

JRE is used for desktop clients.  JDK is used for application tier servers.

JRE 8 desktop clients can connect to EBS environments running JDK 6 or 7.

JDK 8 is not certified with the E-Business Suite.  EBS customers should continue to run EBS servers on JDK 6 or 7.

References

• Recommended Browsers for Oracle Applications 11i (Metalink Note 285218.1)
• Upgrading Sun JRE (Native Plug-in) with Oracle Applications 11i for Windows Clients (Metalink Note 290807.1)
• Recommended Browsers for Oracle Applications 12 (MetaLink Note 389422.1)
• Upgrading JRE Plugin with Oracle Applications R12 (MetaLink Note 393931.1)

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