At COLLABORATE 19, a conversation was started about how to lift and shift your PeopleSoft solution to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and begin leveraging the OCI File Storage Service (FSS). The session gave an overview of OCI FSS and walked through a customer case study of how it can be leveraged within an organization.

The PeopleSoft Research and Development team has focused quite a bit on the enablement of Cloud Computing for PeopleSoft customers. Service and Infrastructure innovations represent an opportunity for PeopleSoft customers. However, it’s important to understand that Oracle is not offering a PeopleSoft Software as a Service (SaaS) license. New customers are not subscribing to PeopleSoft. They buy the software license, just like customers always have.

OCI FSS Overview

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a true enterprise Cloud, offering an industry-first end-to-end cloud infrastructure warranty—a unique differentiator when compared with competitors. Oracle covers availability, performance, and manageability. One of the ways this coverage takes place is through file storage in a fast and predictable physical network infrastructure.

In comparing Oracle Cloud to First Generation Cloud, OCI offers:

• Unbeatable price/performance
• Predictable performance
• High-scale database workloads
• Uncompromised security
• Cloud-native without lock-in

OCI File Storage Service (FSS) is a fully managed enterprise-grade shared file system that scales up in the Cloud without any upfront provisioning. Key characteristics of OCI FSS include:

• NFS v.3 with NLM for POXIS
• AD-local service available in all OCI regions
• Predictable pricing for capacity stored
• Elastic performance where throughput grows with the capacity stored, best suited for parallel workloads

Use cases for OCI FSS include:

• On-demand scaling for shared access and capacity
• Lift and shift applications
• Backup in the cloud
• Storing structured or unstructured data for big data and analytics
• Testing and development
• Big Data and analytics
• High Performance Computing (HPC)

Some scenarios where OCI FSS comes in handy include those with local AD access, remote access from another AD, and remote access from another region. In the first case, the user can easily mount from local VMs or BMs, containers, and Kubernetes. In the remote scenario, users can configure network connectivity VCN to allow traffic and easily mount from remote VMs or BMs. Lastly, when remote access is needed from another region or data center, FSS can help setup FastConnect or VPN.

OCI FSS provides customers with several benefits, including Network-Attached Storage (NAS), a fully managed service, and unparalleled user value.

Moving PeopleSoft to OCI

There are a lot of different pieces that you will need to consider with moving your PeopleSoft system to OCI.

Deployment Options

There are several options for moving your PeopleSoft system to the Oracle Cloud. Deployment options include:

• Single node on IaaS
• Multiple nodes on IaaS
• IaaS + DB/Exa Cloud service

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager

One tool that can help you move PeopleSoft to the Cloud is the PeopleSoft Cloud Manager. This new PeopleSoft application runs in the Cloud and has a familiar Fluid look and feel. PeopleSoft Cloud Manager can assist PeopleSoft customers with:

• Cloud Computing
• Lifecycle Management
• Migrate to Oracle Cloud
• Self Service Provisioning

PeopleSoft Update Manager

PeopleSoft Update Manager (PUM) is another tool that is helpful for running PeopleSoft on OCI. It can help you upload environments, create change packages, run source steps, copy change packages, run target steps, and more.

Lift and Shift Considerations

With PeopleSoft Cloud Manager, you can perform a Lift and Shift of PeopleSoft to the Cloud. However, there are a few requirements to keep in mind. You must have the following prerequisites to perform a Lift and Shift:

• Oracle 12c
• Minimum of PeopleTools 8.55 with the latest patch
• PeopleSoft 9.2 applications
• Linux OS using Python (for Lift)

OCI FSS Case Study: Virence Health

Virence Health provides analytics software to help hospitals manage their financial, clinical, and human capital workflows. Its portfolio includes revenue cycles, ambulatory practices, and workforce management solutions. The company was created when Veritas Capital acquired GE’s Value Care business. It was a new company with no existing on-premise infrastructure.

The desire was for the new company to use a Cloud-first approach with PeopleSoft FCSM 9.2, PeopleTools 8.56, and Non-prod and DR on OCI. Leaders selected Oracle Cloud because they wanted an automated Lift and Shift of PeopleSoft to OCI using the PeopleSoft Cloud Manager. The company desired a rapid implementation, with integration tied to security and performance capabilities on OCI. The solution was purpose-built for Oracle workloads, with Oracle DBCS, EEEP, and RAC for production.

The use of OCI FSS provided Virence Health with:

• Rapid implementation
• Common file shares for multiple batch servers and app servers
• A single point of SFTP integration
• Shared PS Home files and Reports in the repository folder
• Technically no limits on the file size volume

To learn more about Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and OCI File Storage Service (FSS), check out the presentation from COLLABORATE 19 and additional Quest resources attached below.

Additional Resources

If you’re looking for more PeopleSoft content, join us at RECONNECT 19, the premier deep-dive PeopleSoft focused event of the year! The event will take place July 16-18 in Rosemont, Illinois. Register by July 11 to take advantage of Advanced rate prices!

To learn from the experiences of your peers within the Quest Oracle Community, check out the PeopleSoft Customer Stories page that houses 30+ PeopleSoft customer stories about Selective Adoption, user experience, PeopleSoft in the Cloud, PeopleSoft Human Capital Management, PeopleSoft Enterprise Resource Planning, and PeopleSoft tools and technology!