Introduction
Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) is a powerful platform for connecting cloud and on-premises applications. However, poor integration design can lead to performance issues, timeouts, backlogs, and scalability problems.
In this blog, we’ll explore key design best practices recommended by Oracle and highlight common pitfalls you should avoid while designing integrations in Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC 3).
Why Integration Design Matters
A well-designed integration:
- Improves performance and scalability
- Prevents stuck instances and scheduler backlogs
- Reduces timeout and failure scenarios
- Ensures smooth interaction between systems
Poor design, on the other hand, can impact the entire OIC instance, not just a single integration.
Different Best Practices:
1. Create Scheduled Integrations Mindfully
The Problem
Having too many scheduled integrations running at the same time can:
- Exhaust scheduler resources
- Cause delays in execution
- Lead to integrations not starting on time
- Long-running scheduled integrations are especially dangerous.
Best Practices
✔ Avoid clustering multiple schedules at the same time
✔ Do not create long-running scheduled integrations (for example, those running over 1 hour)
✔ Spread schedules across different time slots
Recommended Design Pattern
Instead of doing heavy processing inside a scheduled integration:
Convert the scheduled integration into a REST Adapter–triggered integration
Create a lightweight scheduler that:
Triggers the REST-based integration asynchronously
Completes within milliseconds
Benefits
Scheduler starts on time
Reduced resource contention
Better scalability and reliability
📌 Tip: Start converting:
Longest-running schedules
High-frequency schedules (every 10 minutes or less)
2. Follow Guidelines for Synchronous Integrations
A synchronous integration should not depend on asynchronous request–response services.
- One-way (fire-and-forget) asynchronous calls are okay.
- Oracle Integration does not support true asynchronous request–response modeling. Since scheduled integrations internally work in an asynchronous manner, calling a scheduled integration from a synchronous flow is a bad design practice.
- If a synchronous integration calls multiple services and the total processing time goes beyond five minutes, OIC may mark it as a stuck thread.
Best Practices
✔ Keep synchronous integrations short and fast
✔ Avoid calling scheduled integrations from synchronous flows
✔ Fire-and-forget (one-way) asynchronous calls are acceptable
3. Design Long-Running Integrations as Asynchronous
The Golden Rule
If an integration takes more than 2 minutes, it should be asynchronous.
Why?
- Client applications may time out
- OIC has server-side timeout limits
- Long waits block system resources
Recommended Approach
✔ Expose long-running processes as asynchronous integrations
✔ Return immediate acknowledgment
✔ Continue processing in the background
This improves user experience and system stability.
4. Understand Timeouts in Synchronous Integrations
Timeout Reality in OIC
- Synchronous calls must complete within 300 seconds (5 minutes).
But there’s more:
- Oracle Public Cloud proxy default timeout: 120 seconds
- On-premise proxies/firewalls may have their own timeout values
Key Insight
If multiple layers have timeouts configured, the first timeout reached causes failure.
Best Practice
✔ Avoid chaining multiple synchronous calls
✔ Minimize dependency on slow external systems
✔ Use asynchronous patterns wherever possible
5. Send Data to Third-Party Systems Efficiently
The Challenge
Sending data to multiple third-party systems in parallel without hitting timeout limits.
Recommended Design Pattern: Parent–Child Integrations
Step 1: Parent Integration
Receives and processes data
No outbound calls
Step 2: Child Integrations
Handle individual outbound REST calls
Triggered asynchronously
Communication Options
✔ Asynchronous REST (fire-and-forget)
✔ Publish/Subscribe model (queues, events)
Benefits
Parallel processing
Reduced timeout risks
Better resource utilization
🚫 Avoid making all outbound synchronous calls in a single integration—it can easily exceed the 5-minute limit.
Common Design Pitfalls to Avoid
❌ Too many scheduled integrations at the same time
❌ Long-running synchronous integrations
❌ Using schedules for request-response patterns
❌ Chaining multiple synchronous service calls
❌ Ignoring proxy and firewall timeouts
Conclusion
Designing integrations in Oracle Integration Cloud is not just about making systems talk—it’s about performance, scalability, and reliability.
By following these best practices:
You reduce failures and stuck instance
Improve scheduler efficiency
Build integrations that scale with business growth
A small design decision today can prevent major production issues tomorrow.
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