Part 2: Creating Siebel Install Image

This article is Second in series of How to Install Siebel 8.1.1.10 on Windows 8.

It explain how to create Siebel Install Images on Windows 8 using files downloaded in Part 2: Download Siebel Jar files from Oracle
Before proceeding with installation make sure you are logged in using administrator user, and latest JRE is installed if not please use: Java.com

Download Java

After installing JRE,  follow these steps in sequence.
Point to be noted:

1. Full install image need to be created for Siebel 8.1.1  
2. Patch Image need to be created for Siebel 8.1.1.10
3. Siebel Image creator will need to be run in console mode for 8.1.1 (only 8.1.1.10 image creation is shown below).

Part 1: Download Siebel Jar files from Oracle

This article is First in series of steps to Install Siebel 8.1.1.10 on Windows 8.

It explain which files to download from Oracle Software Delivery Cloud for installation of Siebel 8.1.1.10
As explained earlier to install Siebel 8.1.1.10 we need to download binaries for version 8.1.1 also.

Siebel 8.1.1 installation downloads required:

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 Siebel Client(Part 1 of 2)

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 Siebel Client(Part 2 of 2)

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 Siebel Client Part 2 (Part 1 of 2)

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 Siebel Client Part 2 (Part 2 of 2)
Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 Siebel Tools
Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.0 ImageCreator Files

Siebel 8.1.1.10 installation downloads required:

Siebel Industry Applications Version 8.1.1.10 Siebel Client

Siebel Industry Applications Version 8.1.1.10 Siebel Tools

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.10 Sample Database Files

Siebel Business Applications Version 8.1.1.10 ImageCreator Files

These files in total are around 10 GB, luckily Oracle software delivery cloud allows opening multiple connections for downloading files. I was able to download @ 2Mbps using Free download manager, otherwise download speed drops soon after reaching 20%.

I highly recommend to use Free Download Manager to manage Siebel downloads.

http://download.cnet.com/Free-Download-Manager/3000-2071_4-10301621.html 

Next in series: Creating Siebel Installation Image for Siebel 8.1.1.10 and Siebel 8.1.1.0

Installing Siebel 8.1.1.10 on Windows 8

Installing Siebel Tools and Web Client can be very daunting sometimes, especially when you trying to install  a new Version of Siebel on a new operating system. I spent many weeks to get my Siebel 8.1.1.10 (technically ver 8.1.1.10.0) self learning environment on Windows 8 and as expected process was difficult.

Every step in installing there was some sort of issue, I have created list of issues I found and the work around. I have divided steps into posts:

Downloading Siebel Jar file from Oracle
Creating Siebel Install Image
Installing Siebel 8.1.1
Patching Siebel 8.1.1.10

Before proceeding with the steps please be informed about following: 

1. Siebel 8.1.1.10 Tools and Client can not be installed at directly, you will have to install Siebel 8.1.1 first and then create patch-set to install Siebel 8.1.1.10. However it is possible to create single Siebel 8.1.1.10 Server installation image.
2. You should have administrator privileges and have the latest version of JRE from java.com
3. You would need oracle accoun to access and download all the files from  Oracle Software Delivery Cloud  required for Siebel 8.1.1 and Siebel 8.1.1.10

Disclaimer: Windows 8 is not supported/recommended platform for Siebel, please use solutions provided at your own discretion.

How to take backup of Siebel Tables?

This article explains how to take backup of Siebel Tables or any other table in Oracle database. It is a good practice to take backup of data before making any changes to schema or before updating bulk records. However Siebel does not provide any archiving or data backup solution out of the box.

There are couple of solutions available if you are using oracle database, some of them are:
1. First option is to copy the table with all the data into a new table in same or any other database.As compared with the any other option turnaround time is very less, as this command executes on the server and there is no payload transferred between client and server.

This can be done with the help of create table command with select statement.

CREATE TABLE new_table  AS (SELECT * FROM old_table);

SBL-DAT-00309 :You do not have the privileges required to view detailed information for this record.

We detected an Error which may have occurred for one or more of the following reasons:

You do not have the privileges required to view detailed information for this record. Please contact your systems administrator if you would like access to this record (SBL-DAT-00309)

How to download Siebel bookshelf?

This article will explain  you how to search and download Siebel Bookshelf from oracle software delivery cloud. Software delivery cloud is the download site for Oracle's all the software products and training materials. You will need to create a Oracle Web Account to proceed with any download.

It is recommended for new Siebel Developers to download a local copy of bookshelf to make it easier to read through and understand the product in detail. Bookshelf contains product's technical and sometime end user guides. It can prove as a useful weapon in your arsenal to debug issues and reference.

Step 1: Login to Oracle eDelivery cloud & Search for Siebel CRM Product suite

Step 2: Select the version you are after, din't woryy it wont start the download yet.

How to create Pick list field in Siebel?

This is one of the most common problem that is faced by new siebel developers. Answer of this question can tell a lot about actual hands on experience of the developer and how much experience he holds in debugging.

There are only few reasons why picklist doesn't work, which can be summarized as below:

1. Pick map of the new field is not populating the foreign key field of the field.
2. Join created to pull the value of the field is not created properly.
3. If no values are shown in drop down then pick list is might not compiled yet, or the LOV type and values are not created in administration views.
4. If value is not displayed after selecting value from pick applet then wrong field is selected in pick map of the field.
5. Update only if null is not configured properly. 

Related Questions:

Question :What are the reasons for field based on picklist not showing drop down or pick applet icon?

Answer: Pick applet might not be selected on the list item or control of the applet or runtime property of the control is set to false.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have faced any other issue with the pick lists. 

Popular Interview Questions:

• What is the performace impacts of using applet toggles?

• What are different forms of applet toggles?

• What is the difference between Constraint pick map and Copy pick map in Siebel?

• What is the difference between Picklist and MVG?

• How to create a new static picklist in Siebel?

SBL-SRB-00047: Could Not Route Message to WfProcMgr With Registered Key (Null)

Problem: This error can be found in Siebel server logs when workflow monitor agent is not able to contact  workflow process manager and requests get queued up in S_ESCL_REQ.
This simply means that workflow monitor agent is not able to execute workflow because another component is down or looks like unavailable to SR Broker.
Impact: As a result interface calls to the external interfaces or any other asynchronous process configured using policy will get delayed.

Workarounds:

Output of EAI Webservice with Soapui is Gibberish

This is most likely the first response from a Siebel Webservice when you use SOAP UI to test an Inbound web service.

Siebel Configuration Interview Questions - Applet Toggles

In an Siebel Technical interview consultant may face some questions on applet toggles, which seems to be quite easy topic, this section will help you to quickly understand the applet toggles.

Some quick facts about Siebel Toggle Applets:

• A static toggle applet does not require to reference the same business component!
• A dynamic toggle applet must reference the same business component, which can also be a VBC (virtual business component). 
• Applet toggles can be based on List as well as Form Applets.

Question : When do you think applet toggle should be implemented?

Answer: Applet toggles should be implemented when number of relevant fields are less than displayed fields. With use of applet toggle, only relevant fields can be displayed to the user which decreases the time spent in data entry.

Question : Is there any performance impact on the application of using applet toggles?

Answer : Yes, Siebel loads all available applets each time user navigates to a view having toggle applets, and complete screen is refreshed when applet is changed.

"Siebel CRM loads all available applet toggles each time the user navigates to an applet."

Question : How to debug a toggle applet in Siebel?

Answer:
Check the field name in business component on which applet toggle is based on.
Expose the field on the applet to verify the value and verify the value.
Check if the field's Immediate Post Change property is set to true.
Test toggle applet with two applets first and then increase numbers if required.
Compile all objects again. 

Question : What are different forms of applet toggles?

Answer: Static and Dynamic Applet Toggle
Static Applet toggle gives user option to choose the applet from drop down control, whereas dynamic applet toggle refreshes the view with new applet depending upon the field value.

Question : How to configure a new dynamic applet toggle in Siebel?

Answer:
A) Create a copy of applet and change the fields as required.
B) Go to the original applet and create new applet toggle record.
C) Specify the Applet toggle field and applet toggle value along with the name of the new applet.
After this configuration new applet will show instead of the original applet whenever the field value matches with the value specified in the tools.

Bookshelf links for further reading:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14004_01/books/ConfigApps/ConfigApps_ScreensViews11.html
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B40099_02/books/ConfigApps/ConfigApps_Procedures_UI_layer10.html

How to create one for yourself, complete step by step guide: http://siebelunleashed.com/dynamic-toggle-applets/

Popular Interview Questions:

• How to fix a picklist field?

• What is the performace impacts of using applet toggles?

• What are different forms of applet toggles?

• What is the difference between Constraint pick map and Copy pick map in Siebel?

• What is the difference between Picklist and MVG?

• How to create a new static picklist in Siebel?