It’s happened to us all, especially when we’re working for multiple clients and each client has multiple environments.

Should you forget your admin password for Oracle Virtual Directory, here’s a quick fix!

Go to OVD_HOME\conf and open server.os_xml

Find the <rootUser> node and replace with following

<rootUser>
<name>cn=admin</name>
<password>{SSHA}qLzLcgk/WLpCE6Z72OmQ7zXfCp4nTvj7</password>
</rootUser>

This will set cn=admin and password as “secret” for the admin account.

I keep a copy of this on my machine, so should I ever need to get into an OVD box, I just copy / paste, and I’m in!

.: Adam

Initially OVD will not install on Oracle Linux 5 due to one line of code in the installer file that needs to be commented out:

Cause – ovid1014.bin includes:
export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5

Solution
Comment out the “export” line in the ovid1014.bin, retaining the same number of characters per line. For example change to:

#xport LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5

Use the following steps:

1. Backup the original file:

cp ovid1014.bin ovid1014.bin.bak

2. Issue this command to edit the line:

cat ovid1014.bin.bak | sed “s/export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL/#xport LD_ASSUME_KERNEL/” > ovid1014.bin

After that, you just run installer in console mode. I didn’t make any configurations to the OS or the kernel. I used OEL v5 out of the box install.

.: Adam

I was tooling around with OVD (Oracle Virtual Directory) a while ago, and I needed to add a certificate so that I would have SSL connections everywhere. Here’s the steps I followed:

1. In OVD Manager, right click on the server, then select Manage > Server Certificates > click the Generate New Key button to generate a server certificate. Supply the necessary fields, but do not check “Self-Signed”.

2. Click Finish and the key will be displayed in the Key Manager.

3. Select Request Certificate to export the certificate to a text file for processing by the certificate authority.
The certificate will be exported in PEM or Base-64 encoded format.

4. With the exported certificate file, submit the certificate request as instructed by your certificate authority for signing.

5. When the signed certificate is returned, import it using the Import Signed Cert button.

When prompted, enter the certificate file name of the Base-64 (PEM) encoded certificate and the alias name to import as.

6. After clicking Finish, activate the certificate by enabling SSL on one of the listeners and specifying the certificate alias as the certificate to use.

The set up is now complete.

.: Adam

This question comes from Rick:

“My company is looking to start offering Identity Management services (just Oracle), what are some questions I should ask a prospective client so we have a good understanding of what they have / want?”

First let me point out that for a company to just suddenly decide to start offering Identity Management services, is a bold step. IdM services are not like anything else out there. You really need to have someone that knows what they’re doing. But, a lot of services companies, like yours I would imagine, do one type of service really well. So well, that one of their clients say, “Hey! We just purchased this IdM suite from X and have no idea how to implement it. Do you?” And you say, “Of course!” Over half of my calls come from this exact scenario after they figure out what’s really involved =)

But, if you’re really serious about starting this type of work, more power to you!