Many of our clients are considering—or are already in the progress of—moving their JD Edwards EnterpriseOne systems to 64-bit processing. We’ve been getting a lot of questions about why they need to upgrade and the benefits which we addressed in a previous article. Now, we’re going to tackle the rest of these questions about the challenges and solutions to upgrading. 

How We Got Here

EnterpriseOne has supported 64-bit hardware, databases, Java, operating systems, and middleware for many years. In addition, multiple JD Edwards components, such as HTML Server, AIS Server, Orchestrator, and other Java-based components, are 64-bit enabled. So, to come full circle, JD Edwards is enabling 64-bit processing for the Enterprise Server and development client itself. One thing to remember, however—the minimum application release required for this upgrade is 9.2. 

Technical Challenges

Transitioning to 64-bit processing is a technical uplift, so there shouldn’t be any impact on your business processes or business data. However, there are some technical challenges you should be aware of before you make the move, including…

  • Package build times will increase due to the temporary dual maintenance of 32-bit and 64-bit objects. Note that this increase in package build times will cease once dual maintenance ends and the installation is entirely 64-bit. 
  • Due to the increased size of 64-bit pointers, Enterprise Server Memory footprint will increase. 
  • IBM System I will show minimal improvements from a switch to 64-bit because the System I operating systems already have 128-bit processing.

Recommendations for Upgrading to 64-bit Processing

While it is possible to upgrade to Tools Release 9.2.3/64-bit directly, upgrading to Tools Release 9.2.3 or later/32-bit first will reduce the number of variables, which is wh yOracle recommends upgrading in a phased approach. Once validated, an upgrade to Tools Release 9.2.3 or later/64 bit should progress more smoothly.

Some real-world strategies for this would be to install 9.2.3.x 32-bit now, and run it until you’re ready to do your next Tools release before going to 64-bit. Or install 9.2.3.x 32-bit, do the technical work, and then immediately move to 64-bit. (But don’t forget to test once with 64-bit! That’s vital.)

Why It’s Important to Upgrade to 64-bit Processing

It’s your choice when and how you want to enable 64-bit on the Enterprise server. However, we recommend that you leverage other activities in your system—such as an upgrade to Applications 9.2, your code-current strategy, or moving to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure—as a good time to move to 64-bit enablement. 

Here are three reasons why it’s essential to upgrade: 

  1. Enabling 64-bit future-proofs your IT environment for future technology enhancements and JD Edwards innovation.
  2. Other vendors are starting to deliver 64-bit-only components for databases, Java, etc. which means you’ll need to upgrade eventually. 
  3. An upgrade to 64-bit processing has shown improvements of up to 10-15 percent performance improvement for heavy logic-based processing. 

Other Things to Know About of 64-bit Enablement 

We outlined several advantages to upgrading to 64-bit in our first article, but if you’re still concerned about making the move, don’t worry. Upgrading to 64-bit is optional and only available on applications release 9.2, so if you’d prefer to upgrade in phases, (or remain at 32-bit for a while), you can do that. As for patches, those are delivered through a single ESU. New ESUs will contain both 32-bit and 64-bit, while existing ESUs will remain 32-bit. Finally, JD Edwards will continue to develop in 32-bit, so you don’t need to feel forced to make the move right now. You can test in 32-bit and 64-bit and build in both packages as well.  

Of course, if you’re ready to make the switch (or just want to learn more about it), we’re here for you.

Need to Call in the Experts? 

Upgrading to 64-bit processing in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne can provide tremendous benefits, but it does require time and expertise. Our team of senior-level JD Edwards consultants can assist you with enabling 64-bit, as well as any other JD Edwards upgrades you need. Contact us today to learn more and get started.