1. What is AutoConfig?
AutoConfig is a configuration tool that
automates the configuration of an Oracle Applications system. The information
required for configuring an Applications system is collected into a repository,
called the Applications Context; there is one Applications Context for each
application tier, and one for the database tier. When AutoConfig runs, it uses
information from the Applications Context file to generate all configuration
files and update database profiles.
2. What is the difference
between the application tier and the database tier?
Before we can answer that, let’s define a few terms in the
context of the Release 11i architecture: A node or machine is a computer. A
server is a collection of one or more computer processes that perform a
specific function. A tier is a logical grouping of one or more servers or
computer processes. Now let’s answer the question. The application tier (also
called the middle tier) consists of a number of servers, such as the concurrent
processing server, web server, forms server, and administration server, that
process the transactions of the Release 11i system, as well as provide
communication between the desktop tier and the database tier. (Such servers are
also referred to as application tier servers. Likewise, the nodes on which such
servers run are also referred to as application tier server nodes.) The
database tier consists of the database server, which stores all the data of the
Release 11i system. The primary location of the files used by the application
tier servers is the APPL_TOP, whereas the primary location of the files used by
the database server is the Oracle8i or Oracle9i ORACLE_HOME. For more
information about the Release 11i architecture, refer to Oracle Applications
Concepts, Release 11i.
