Episode #5 Weblogic sucks

Weblogic sucks. Ok, so it isn't as much as a who, as a thing... And that things sucks.
Oh yah: major nerd alert.

For those of you who don't know about J2EE Application Servers with JSP and EJB containers, BEA Weblogic Server (WLS) was the one of the first ones out there, so many companies use the damn things. Our app is basically an ear file, and can install on WLS... but the database connections, data sources, application, usernames, and security are all taken care of by configuration on the WLS Server. And for whatever reason, there is a difference in the JNDI lookups for things like the datasources between Windows and Unix (Solaris/Linux/HPUX) So when ever we install on a widoze box, someone has to go in an manuall change the jndi names for the data source connections. No big deal, about a minute worth of work, and a bounce of the server later, and your done. If that was my only complaint about WLS, then I wouldn't be posting to this pissypants blog.

I suppose the problems start with a fresh clean install. We have a normal install-anywhere style installer... it is kinda complex, asking for database connection information, data and index tablespace sizes, schema names, etc... by default we install with a wonderful open source J2EE server: Jboss. Jboss Rocks, Weblogic sucks. Installs with Jboss are almost always successful. Once the install is done, drop the license file in the classpath, and jboss can be started right up. Simple. But then weblogic comes around. Besides the normal db stuff, there is a section that asks to connect to the WLS admin server on a port, in order to run a configuration script. At one point in the install, after the majority of files are copied over, the WLS Admin server has to be restarted with our specific files and directories in the classpath. So this means, if the admin server is running, it has to be stopped, the startup script (.cmd or .sh) has to be editied, and then the thing restarted... but wait, ... no really, wait until the admin server is up and running again before the install can complete. Sysadmin don't like to wait for things... and I'm the one they complain to about this, since I'm the most senior person out there that can help with this shit, and I'm the only one in the company that's been the bea training. Suck.

After the installer is complete, the install isn't done yet. You have to login to the admin console and target 6 Data sources and 6 connections. Ok. So that isn't that bad either. But it isn't documented, and noobs, or clueless sysadmins bitch up a storm. Still with me?

If you want to do an application upgrade, there is a whole new level of pain. Now, maybe not for me, but for the noobs. You have to delete a buch of temp folders, and a folder named... .wlNoDelete. That's right. We delete the folder called don't delete during an upgrade. I get asked about this quite frequently. My latest answer donesn't go into the technical details of the architecture of the EJBs in relation to the java vm... I now just say "just delete it... i'll answer your question later." I never do.

Lastly, there is a bunch of FUD out there about BEA being faster. It isn't ... infact it is 20-30% slower than Jboss. But a bunch of PHB's have it in their head that WLS is fast. When I show them the load test results we get, they normally say "hummm" but keep weblogic around. All except one company... they were in a pre-production mode, and were balking at the price of BEA. When we showed them the test results, they dropped WLS faster than OJ dropped the glove.

I lied... one more thing. Price. WLS is something like $5000 a CPU. Jboss is free. We spend more time on WLS support than jboss... and the customer usually calls us first for support... us being the good guys, research and spend a buncha-time finding an aswer, and it turns out to be a wls problem. Ok. I'm done. And I still hate Weblogic.


Posted by DMZ++ but reposted for order by Shellie