While Lehmann characterized the download problem as having lasted for a little over a week, one on the official WebLogic Server forum dates to Oct. 1.

Lehmann's post gives no firm date as to when the downloads will become available again, stating only that "initial reads indicate this could take until the end of the month to resolve."

He stressed that Oracle remains committed to supporting the older software versions under the company's .

"Apologies in advance for the pain this caused -- we were starting to feel pretty good about our record with the migration to OTN so I suppose we were due for some comeuppance," he added.

The download issue is not the only recent problem connected to Oracle's online support systems. Its technical forums were plagued by performance problems several months ago due to a system upgrade.