PeopleSoft Cloud Manager: Simplify Deployment & Automation on OCI

FEBRUARY 17, 2025 04:30 AM

Overview

Oracle Cloud Manager, a robust application, is designed with simplicity in mind. It streamlines deploying and managing PeopleSoft environments on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enhancing automation and facilitating seamless cloud adoption. This user-friendly tool allows organizations to scale efficiently, optimize resources, and streamline operations with minimal manual effort. As a free PeopleSoft application that runs exclusively on Oracle Cloud, it requires a subscription to OCI for use. Available through the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, Cloud Manager features an interface like PeopleSoft Fluid UI and assists in migrating on-premises PeopleSoft environments to OCI.

One of the key advantages of running PeopleSoft on OCI is the comprehensive end-to-end cloud infrastructure service level agreements (SLAs) that Oracle provides, covering availability, performance, and manageability-an offering not matched by competitors like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Cloud Manager simplifies system maintenance and significantly enhances total cost of ownership (TCO). By automating updates for new releases and patches, enabling application maintenance downloads through subscription channels, and providing a dynamic and elastic download repository with FSS, Cloud Manager ensures systems remain up to date, all while saving costs.

With businesses increasingly moving away from traditional data centers in favor of cloud solutions, Cloud Manager offers a compelling option for PeopleSoft users. However, as it is available only on OCI, running PeopleSoft on other cloud platforms requires additional manual configuration and effort.

New Features Introduced in Cloud Manager 19

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager Image 19 was released on January 23, 2025. Some of the key features introduced in this version are:

Enhanced Environment Advisories

This latest image highlights the enhanced environment advisory feature, previously known as Recommendations. In addition to advisories for Infrastructure CPU and Mid-tier Scaling, users can access advisories at the Application and Server levels. Application-level advisories provide reports on issues such as application errors and crashes. In contrast, server-level advisories are triggered when the available boot volume for an environment falls below a specified threshold. The Cloud Manager administrator can turn advisories on or off across all environments through the Advisory Settings page in Cloud Manager Settings. Additionally, advisories can be managed individually for specific environments.

Support for Exadata Sparse Clone Environments

Cloud Manager Image 19 introduces support for Exadata Sparse Clone databases, a feature that offers significant storage and cost savings. These thinly provisioned databases rely on a shared database for reading data while storing only new writes in the cloned instance. This approach results in substantially less storage and quicker deployment and retains all the benefits of Exadata's high-performance infrastructure.

Customer DPK Enhancements

With the latest update, administrators now have greater control over DPK processing. A new Manual Review feature allows them to pause and review activities at the template level or during environment provisioning. During this process, administrators can override default template settings and adjust selections for individual instances within General Settings. Additionally, if a provisioning step fails, they can retry successful activities or action steps-a capability previously limited to failed steps.

Support for 23ai Databases

Oracle Database 23ai is now available when creating environments in Cloud Manager. As the latest long-term support release, it introduces over 300 new features designed to enhance artificial intelligence capabilities and improve developer productivity. When setting up an environment template that includes a DB Systems node, users can choose Oracle Database 23ai. Currently, it is supported for database tier nodes on DB System, Exadata, and Autonomous Database (ADB), ensuring that Cloud Manager users are always at the forefront of database technology.

Multi-PDB Backup and Restore Improvements

The backup and restore feature is now available across all Database System environments in Cloud Manager, regardless of whether they share a standard Container Database (CDB). Previously, this functionality was limited to environments where the database had exclusive use of a CDB. To take advantage of this feature, users must enable auto-backup settings for the CDB that contains the environment's Pluggable Database (PDB). With this enhancement, Cloud Manager restores databases at the PDB level rather than the entire CDB, providing greater flexibility in database architecture design.

Support for OpenSearch Clusters and Sharing

You can now create a cluster for OpenSearch deployments, providing redundancy and scalability for your search stack. In Cloud Manager, a search cluster consists of multiple search nodes configured to work together within a provisioned environment. To set up a search cluster, assign the same unique cluster name and transport port to all OpenSearch search nodes. When a search is performed within the cluster, results are aggregated from all nodes, ensuring comprehensive data retrieval.

Additionally, search clusters can be configured for shared use across multiple provisioned environments, a feature known as shared search. The feature allows different PeopleSoft applications, such as FSCM and HCM, to utilize the same search cluster, optimizing resource usage and reducing overall costs.

Streamlined Provisioning through Automation

Manually granting access to programs, systems, and data can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. PeopleSoft Cloud Manager streamlines this task through automated provisioning, allowing businesses to manage access efficiently while reducing the workload on IT and HR teams. By automating access control, organizations can accelerate onboarding, seamlessly adjust user roles, and minimize the risk of human errors and system downtime. This enhanced efficiency improves overall productivity, optimizes resource allocation, and reduces operational costs, making PeopleSoft Cloud Manager a valuable solution for modern enterprises.

Tailored Application Deployment

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager enables businesses to create and publish application templates that support customizable and configurable environments. Organizations can easily tailor their application deployments to meet specific needs by leveraging intuitive deployment tools. The platform streamlines the deployment process by integrating best practices and flexible topology, allowing companies to manage their applications more efficiently. PeopleSoft Cloud Manager enhances self-service capabilities, enabling users to configure, analyze, and optimize their environments while promoting sustainable deployment practices.

Lifecycle Management

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager simplifies life cycle management by offering powerful tools that streamline updates and patching processes. Users can subscribe to update release channels, enabling automated application patching and enhanced control over their environments. By configuring channels and schedules for PeopleSoft Release Patch sets (PRPs), downloading updated images, and managing PeopleTools releases, businesses can efficiently maintain their systems while staying up to date. This approach provides greater control and governance, allowing organizations to explore new application features without compromising stability.

A key advantage of PeopleSoft Cloud Manager is its self-service deployment capabilities, which enable users to set up environments on demand. With template-driven provisioning and customizable deployment options, businesses can quickly create environments tailored to their needs. Additionally, users can define specifications within these environments to establish sub-environments for testing, production, or other use cases. This flexibility allows organizations to scale efficiently, adapt to evolving requirements, and optimize resource utilization.

FAQs

What is Oracle Cloud Manager, and what problem does it solve for PeopleSoft users?

Oracle Cloud Manager is a free PeopleSoft application designed exclusively for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). It simplifies deploying and managing PeopleSoft environments on OCI through automation and a user-friendly interface. It addresses the complexities of cloud adoption by providing tools for easy migration, scaling, and optimization of PeopleSoft, minimizing the need for manual configuration and streamlining operations. It is important to note that it only works within OCI, so any customers running PeopleSoft on other cloud platforms would need additional manual configuration.
What are the primary benefits of using PeopleSoft Cloud Manager?

The key benefits include:
- Simplified system maintenance with one-click PeopleTools upgrades and environment cloning.
- Enhanced TCO through automated updates and a dynamic download repository.
- Seamless cloud adoption and efficient scaling.
- Comprehensive end-to-end SLAs from Oracle.
- Support for the latest Oracle Database technologies, including 23ai.
- Streamlined provisioning and life cycle management.
- Robust self-service capabilities enabling on-demand environment creation.
How does Cloud Manager 19 improve environment management?

Cloud Manager Image 19 significantly enhances environment management through several new features, including:
- Enhanced environment advisories that now encompass application and server-level alerts, enabling proactive issue resolution.
- Support for Exadata Sparse Clone databases, leading to significant storage and cost savings; greater control over DPK processing with manual review features.
- Support for the latest Oracle Database 23ai.
- Multi-PDB backup and restore improvements provide greater database architecture flexibility.
- Support for OpenSearch clusters that enable better search performance and scalability.

Conclusion

Oracle Cloud Manager is a robust and valuable tool for organizations looking to deploy, manage, and optimize their PeopleSoft environments on OCI. The tool's emphasis on automation and the benefits of running on OCI offers significant efficiency, cost, and control advantages. The enhancements introduced in Cloud Manager Image 19 further solidify its capabilities, particularly in database management, environment monitoring, and customization options. However, it is crucial to remember that Cloud Manager is exclusively tied to the OCI platform and is not an option for deployments on other cloud providers.

Ready to modernize your enterprise technology? Contact us today and let's make it happen!

SMACT Works is a technology-focused systems integrator and IT/ERP consulting firm. We deliver end-to-end consulting, managed, and implementation services for Oracle Cloud Applications, IaaS & PaaS, On-Premise PeopleSoft & EBS Applications. Headquartered in Dublin, OH, we have a global presence with North America and Asia offices. We are an Oracle Gold Partner Cloud Standard, ISO 9001, and 27001 certified delivery organization serving customers with Excellence and Integrity.