STORAGE FROM A TO ZFS

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First Line of Defense Oracle Database Firewall monitors database conversations /19 Upgrade to Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11g Take advantage of the latest OLAP analysis, mapping, KPI, and scorecard features /43

Add Advanced List Interaction Use model-driven LOVs in Oracle ADF to implement smart lists /47

Control the Flow of Execution Part 2 in a series of articles on understanding and using PL/SQL /50

On Better Loading and Fact-Checking Our technologist enjoys the rule of external tables and debunks index scan myths /57

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Rise of the

Machines

One organization lays a

foundation for shared services

with Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata

First Line of Defense

Oracle Database Firewall monitors database

traﬃ c and blocks unauthorized activity

How organizations optimize

storage with tiered Sun fl ash, disk,

and tape solutions from Oracle and

enable uniﬁ ed storage with the

Sun ZFS Storage Appliance

STORAGE

FROM

A TO ZFS

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Fujitsu and Oracle together are creating UNIX history through progressive delivery of

server solutions with SPARC ENTERPRISE. Our customer commitment is reflected in

overwhelming performance and excellent reliability that will protect, grow, and expand,

the unique value of your business assets.

Fujitsu's SPARC ENTERPRISE

delivers Trust and Business Continuity

Please visit : www.fujitsu.com/oracle/

2011 Fujitsu Limited. All rights reserved. Fujitsu, the Fujitsu logo and SPARC Enterprise are registered trademarks or trademarks of Fujitsu Limited in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of open group in the United States and other countries. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are registered trademarks of SPARC International. Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Trusted

Future

Protection

Fujitsu and Oracle together are creating UNIX history through progressive delivery of

server solutions with SPARC ENTERPRISE. Our customer commitment is reflected in

overwhelming performance and excellent reliability that will protect, grow, and expand,

the unique value of your business assets.

Fujitsu's SPARC ENTERPRISE

delivers Trust and Business Continuity

Please visit : www.fujitsu.com/oracle/

Trusted

Future

(4)

Fujitsu and Oracle together are creating UNIX history through progressive delivery of

server solutions with SPARC ENTERPRISE. Our customer commitment is reflected in

overwhelming performance and excellent reliability that will protect, grow, and expand,

the unique value of your business assets.

Fujitsu's SPARC ENTERPRISE

delivers Trust and Business Continuity

Please visit : www.fujitsu.com/oracle/

Trusted

Future

Protection

Fujitsu and Oracle together are creating UNIX history through progressive delivery of

server solutions with SPARC ENTERPRISE. Our customer commitment is reflected in

overwhelming performance and excellent reliability that will protect, grow, and expand,

the unique value of your business assets.

Fujitsu's SPARC ENTERPRISE

delivers Trust and Business Continuity

Please visit : www.fujitsu.com/oracle/

Trusted

Future

Protection

(5)

2

JULY/AUGUST 2011 ORACLE.COM/ORACLEMAGAZINE

FEATURED CONTENT

VOLUmE XXV - ISSUE 4

CONTENTS

most business users don’t spend much time

thinking about storage. They follow a few simple

guidelines and expect their critical information

to be saved, backed up, and duplicated. The vast

storage infrastructure that automates these

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storage—can simplify the essential tasks of storing

and managing enterprise data management. Find

out how Novant Health and the Australian Bureau

of meteorology manage terabytes of new data

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from Oracle. —

By David Baum

/30

Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud is the world’s first engineered system specifically

designed for implementing a private cloud computing environment that can host

everything from small-scale departmental applications to large-scale enterprise

resource planning systems. Since its debut at Oracle OpenWorld in September

2010, Oracle Exalogic has changed the cloud conversation as organizations explore

how they can take advantage of this unique middleware machine. And the perfect

datacenter partner for Oracle Exalogic? Oracle Exadata Database machine. Together,

these standards-based, engineered systems deliver extreme performance for

data warehousing and online transaction processing applications. Read why PHH

Corporation is consolidating disparate technology stacks into a shared services

environment anchored by Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata. —

By David Baum

Rise of the Machines

/ 36

STORAGE FROM

A TO ZFS

flash

disc

(6)

Move your library to the cloud and get instant, unlimited, fully searchable access to the tech books you need – including exclusive online access to books from O’Reilly Media, Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall and more!

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4

DEPARTMENTS

VOLUmE XXV - ISSUE 4

EVENTS

/ 11 Find out about upcoming technology and industry events.

PARTNER NEWS

/ 22

BOOK BEAT

/ 22

COMMUNITY

BULLETIN

/ 25 Survey Says

Oracle Technology Network members weigh in on what they want more of. —Justin Kestelyn

BUSINESS

INTELLIGENCE

/ 43 Upgrade to Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11g Take advantage of the latest OLAP analysis, mapping, KPI, and scorecard features. —Mark Rittman

IN THE FIELD

/ 63 Build and Buy An Oracle technologist looks at the principles for integrating built and bought solutions. —Andy Flower

At Oracle

/ 11

Community

/ 22

Technology

/ 43

Comment

/ 63

RESOURCES

/ 13 Your guide to Oracle Webcasts, podcasts, blogs, and more

BRIEFS

/ 16 The latest product news

ARCHITECT

/ 26 Can You Relate? Your success as a software architect depends on your relationships with stakeholders. —Bob Rhubart

ORACLE ADF

/ 47 Add Advanced List Interaction

Use model-driven lists of values in Oracle Application Development Framework to implement smart lists with autosuggest behavior. —Frank Nimphius

INTERVIEW

/ 19 First Line of Defense Steve moyle, chief technical officer of Oracle Database Firewall, talks about the product’s cutting-edge security features. —Tom Haunert

UP CLOSE

/ 27 The Translator Hans Forbrich helps DBAs understand the broader technology stack. —Jeff Erickson

PL/SQL 101

/ 50 Controlling the Flow of Execution

Part 2 in a series of articles on understanding and using PL/SQL. —Steven Feuerstein

PEER-TO-PEER

/ 28 On Grids and Groups Bob mycroft, Julian Dontcheff, Sheeri K. Cabral —Blair Campbell

ASK TOM

/ 57 On Better Loading and Fact-Checking Our technologist enjoys the rule of external tables and debunks index scan myths. —Tom Kyte

ANALYST’S

CORNER

/ 64 Make the Next Storage Move

Organizations reduce costs by matching the right type of storage to their needs. —David Baum

Up Front

/ 6

FROM OUR

READERS

/ 6 Readers tell us what they think.

FROM THE EDITOR

/ 7 Portable Development for the Mobile Business —Tom Haunert

(8)

5

ORACLE MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2011

EDITORIAL

Editor in Chief

Tom Haunert tom.haunert@oracle.com Senior Managing Editor

Caroline Kvitka caroline.kvitka@oracle.com Contributing Editor and Writer Blair Campbell

Editor in Chief, Oracle Technology Network Justin Kestelyn justin.kestelyn@oracle.com Technology Advisor

Tom Kyte Contributors

marta Bright, Jeff Erickson, Fred Sandsmark, Rich Schwerin, Leslie Steere

DESIGN

Senior Creative Director Francisco G Delgadillo Design Director Richard merchán Contributing Designer Jaime Ferrand Production Designer Sheila Brennan

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ian Abramson, Karen Cannell, Andrew Clarke, Chris Claterbos, Karthika Devi, Kimberly Floss, Kent Graziano, Taqi Hasan, Tony Jambu, Tony Jedlinski, Ari Kaplan, Val Kavi, John King, Steve Lemme, Carol mcGury, Sumit Sengupta, Jonathan Vincenzo, Dan Vlamis

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

Subscriptions are complimentary for qualified individuals who complete the subscription card found in each issue or online at oracle.com/oraclemagazine. For change of address, mail in label with the new address to: Oracle Magazine, P.O. Box 1263, Skokie, IL 60076-8263.

MAGAZINE CUSTOMER SERVICE

oracle@halldata.com Fax +1.847.763.9638 Phone +1.847.763.9635

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Oracle Publishing allows sharing of its mailing list with selected third parties. If you prefer that your mailing address or e-mail address not be included in this program, contact Customer Service at oracle@halldata.com.

PUBLISHING

Publisher

Jeff Spicer jeff.spicer@oracle.com

Production Director and Associate Publisher

Jennifer Hamilton jennifer.hamilton@oracle.com +1.650.506.3794 Senior Manager, Audience Development and Operations Karin Kinnear karin.kinnear@oracle.com +1.650.506.1985

ADVERTISING SALES

Associate Publisher

Kyle Walkenhorst kyle@sprocketmedia.com +1.323.340.8585 Northwest & Central U.S.

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Shaun mehr shaun@sprocketmedia.com +1.949.923.1660 Northeast U.S. and EMEA/APAC

mark makinney mark.makinney@sprocketmedia.com +1.805.709.4745 Mailing-List Rentals

Contact your sales representative.

RESOURCES

IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS. ORACLE EXPRESSLY DISCLAImS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR ImPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL ORACLE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAmAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROm YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON ANY INFORmATION PROVIDED HEREIN. The information is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Oracle Magazine (ISSN 1065-3171) is published bimonthly with a free subscription price by: Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, mS OPL-3C, Redwood City, CA 94065-1600. Periodicals Postage Paid at Redwood City, CA, and additional mailing offices. • POSTmASTER: Send address changes to: Oracle Magazine, P.O. Box 1263, Skokie, IL 60076-8263.

Printed by Brown Printing

ORACLE PRODUCT INDEX

PRODUCT NAME PAGE PRODUCT NAME PAGE PRODUCT NAME PAGE PRODUCT NAME PAGE

AutoVue 18 Oracle Database 14, 23, 24, 30,

50, 57, 63

Oracle Hyperion Planning 22, 23 PeopleSoft Enterprise 24

Hyperion profitability and cost management solutions

13 Oracle Database Firewall 19 Oracle JDeveloper 47 PeopleSoft Enterprise human capital

management solutions

23

Java 14 Oracle Database migration Assistant

for Unicode

18 Oracle Linux 13, 23 PeopleSoft PeopleTools 23

Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 16 Oracle Database, Express Edition 13, 16, 25 Oracle On Demand 13 Siebel Customer Relationship management

23, 24

mySQL 13, 14, 16, 24 Oracle E-Business Suite 23, 24 Oracle On Demand Strong

Authentication Service

18 SPARC servers 13

mySQL Enterprise Edition 17, 23 Oracle Enterprise Gateway 17 Oracle Public Sector 23 StorageTek Automated Cartridge System

Library Software

30

NetBeans 17 Oracle Enterprise manager Grid Control 22 Oracle Real Application Clusters 23 StorageTek SL8500 modular library system

30

Oracle Application Development Framework

47 Oracle enterprise performance management solutions

14, 17 Oracle Retail 24 StorageTek T10000 30

Oracle Application Development Framework mobile Client

16 Oracle Exadata Database machine 13, 14, 16, 36, 64

Oracle SOA Suite 63 Sun Blade server 30

Oracle Application Express 22, 63 Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud 14, 36 Oracle Solaris 14 Sun Storage 6000 30

Oracle business intelligence solutions 23 Oracle Fusion middleware 22, 63 Oracle Solaris Cluster 30 Sun Storage 6780 30

Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

43 Oracle GlassFish Server 13, 16 Oracle Tuxedo 14 Sun Storage Archive manager 30

Oracle Business Intelligence foundation 23 Oracle GoldenGate 14 Oracle Validated Configurations 18 Sun x86 Rackmount servers 30

Oracle Business Process management 16, 63 Oracle governance, risk, and compliance solutions

14 Oracle Vm 13, 22 Sun ZFS Storage Appliance 14, 17, 30

Oracle CRm On Demand 23, 24 Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center

18 Oracle WebCenter Suite 63

Oracle Data Integrator 13, 63 Oracle Hyperion Data Relationship management

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6

FROM OUR READERS

Your corrections, your opinions, and your requests:

Here’s your forum for telling us what’s right and

wrong in each issue of

Oracle Magazine,

and for

letting us know what you want to read.

iPAD POTENTIAL AND PROGRESS

I downloaded the iPad version of Oracle

Magazine with great enthusiasm. I was a bit dis-appointed to see it is just the magazine content moved onto the iPad with the same format. I’m not comfortable reading with the default size.

Anil Shafeeque

The editors reply: We have been working to improve the user experience on our iPad appli-cation. In the current version of the Oracle

magazine iPad app, you will find a much more

readable and interactive experience in portrait view. Not only is the default size larger, but we’ve broken the page elements apart for better read-ability. You can now zoom in on figures and code listings, too. We’ve also added more interactive elements, including animated technical illustra-tions. We hope this will improve your experience with Oracle magazine on the iPad. Let us know what you think.

MORE JAVA!

I’m an enterprise architect and am well versed with the technology landscape in many indus-tries. Given the depth of Java’s penetration in the industry and its wide adoption by cus-tomers, it seems like a good opportunity to have

one to two pages in Oracle Magazine dedicated

to Java.

Ramkumar (Ram) Jeyaraman

The editors reply: We agree that Java needs more magazine coverage, but we also believe that one or two more pages per issue in this magazine is not enough. That’s why Oracle is

launching Java magazine in late July 2011. This essential source of knowledge about Java tech-nology, the Java programming language, and Java-based applications is for people who rely on Java in their careers (or who aspire to).

The editors of Java magazine invite you to subscribe to this free digital publication at bit.ly/javamagsub.

ARE YOU EXCELLENT?

Can a company submit a nomination for the

Oracle Magazine Editors Choice Awards?

Amanda Stewart

The editors reply: The Oracle magazine

Editors Choice Awards have been renamed the Technologist of the Year awards, and they are now part of the Oracle Excellence Awards. You may nominate individuals at your company for the Technologist of the Year awards; nominations are due by June 30, 2011. Please refer to the Oracle Excellence Awards page at bit.ly/kVhJ3Z for more information.

BROKEN BLOCKS

I think the last block to run in the “Name Those Blocks!” section of Steven Feuerstein’s “Building with Blocks” article (march/April 2011, bit.ly/i9rSxd) has a typo. Steven asks us to create the function hello_message, creates a procedure (hello_place) that uses this function, and then says:

I can also call the function from within a SQL statement. In the following block, I insert the message into a database table:

BEGIN

INSERT INTO message_table (message_ date, MESSAGE_TEXT)

VALUES (SYSDATE, hello_place ('Chicago'));

END;

I think that the hello_place procedure should instead be the hello_message function, because I don’t think a procedure will work here. (I get ORA-06550|00904.) So:

BEGIN

INSERT INTO message_table (message_ date, MESSAGE_TEXT)

VALUES (SYSDATE, hello_message ('Chicago'));

END;

Either way, keep up the great articles!

Alan Turnbull

Steven Feuerstein replies: Alan, many thanks for pointing this out. Yes, you are right; the func-tion must be called, not the procedure.

Send your opinions about what you read in Oracle Magazine, and suggestions for possible technical articles, to opubedit_us@oracle.com. Or click the Write the Editors link on our Website, oracle .com/oraclemagazine. You can also follow our @magazineoracle Twitter feed or join us on Facebook at bit.ly/cpY2Z9. Letters may be edited for length and clarity and may be published in any medium. We consider any communications we receive publishable.

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7 FROM THE EDITOR

Portable Development for

the Mobile Business

Oracle software continues to support the latest

cloud and mobile hardware.

I

t’s funny to look back at some of the very large PCs of the 1980s that were called portable—and at early mobile phones that were the size of bricks. Both portable com-puting and mobile communications devices have certainly evolved.

Portable business software has also evolved, and it continues to support a variety of platforms—for use on a variety of data-center, desktop, and mobile devices. And the demand continues for portable business soft-ware that can run on each new mobile device. Oracle has been developing portable soft-ware for more than 30 years, for a variety of hardware and software platforms that now live in the cloud and the datacenter and do business on the desktop, the laptop, and the newest mobile devices. And today’s mobile devices are just the latest stop for portable Oracle enterprise technology and solutions.

PORTABLE ORACLE TECHNOLOGY Oracle recently released Oracle Application Development Framework Mobile Client (Oracle ADF Mobile Client). With it, developers can define a device-independent representa-tion of an applicarepresenta-tion. They can build an appli-cation with Oracle ADF Mobile Client, deploy it to multiple devices, and extend it to new platforms without redevelopment. (For more information, see “Oracle Releases Oracle ADF Mobile Client,” page 16.)

Oracle also recently announced Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.1.5, which introduces support for Apple’s iPad and iPhone through the new Oracle Business Intelligence Mobile feature. Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11.1.1.5 content is opti-mized for use with the iPad and iPhone—no

design changes to existing reports and dashboards are required.

PORTABLE ORACLE CONTENT

The Oracle mobile application for iPhone and iPad collects and delivers the latest informa-tion about all things Oracle, including the latest news, Oracle Technology Network content, videos, events, blogs, and investor and press information. It also collects and links to the latest Oracle mobile applications available for that platform, including Oracle Business Intelligence Mobile and Oracle WebCenter Spaces 11g Release 1, as well as Oracle Magazine and Profit: The Executive’s Guide to Oracle Applications.

For the record, the printed Oracle Magazine has been portable and mobile since its beginnings in 1986, and it has been available in HTML format since the 1990s. A browser-based digital subscription has been available since 2006, and Oracle Magazine has been packaged as an application for mobile devices since 2010.

PORTABLE NOTES

Registration for Oracle OpenWorld 2011, October 2–6 in San Francisco, California, is now open at oracle.com/openworld. . . . Java Magazine is coming. Subscribe now at bit.ly/ javamagsub. . . . The Oracle Magazine Editors’ Choice Awards program has been renamed the Technologist of the Year awards and is now part of the Oracle Excellence Awards program. Nominations for Technologist of the Year and all other Oracle Excellence Awards are now open at oracle.com/us/corporate/awards.

Tom Haunert, Editor in Chief tom.haunert@oracle.com

CONNECT: bit.ly/aVgo69 bit.ly/orclmagfb twitter.com/magazineoracle linkd.in/orclmag

LEARN more about Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.1.5

oracle.com/us/corporate/press/392802

EXPLORE Oracle and the mobile enterprise oracle.com/us/technologies/mobile-enterprise

READOracle Magazine content online oracle.com/oraclemagazine

SUBSCRIBE to

Oracle Magazine

oracle.com/us/corporate/publishing/subscribe

Java Magazine

bit.ly/javamagsub

NOMINATE candidates for Oracle Excellence Awards

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8

MashUp

News. Views. Trends. Tools.

W

S

Weather Alert USA

This app gives you weather reports and forecasts by location, but its best feature is push notification of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration watches, warnings, and advisories for the U.S. US$3.99 (iPhone, iPad, iTouch).

www.softpeas.com

Weather Channel

Bookmark your favorite locations or use the GPS feature to get a local forecast (hourly, 36-hour, or 10-day). Free (iPhone, Android); Ad-free “Max” version US$3.99 (iPhone); or by subscription (BlackBerry, Treo, Windows Mobile, Motorola Q).

weather.com

Fahrenheit

You’ll always know the temperature, because this app puts it on your home screen in real time. Also provides forecasts and radar maps for cities worldwide. Despite its name, it also speaks Celsius. US$0.99 (iPhone, iPad).

itwcalculator.com

WeatherPro

Great worldwide coverage with global satellite images and animated radar maps. Available in 12 languages. Cost varies by platform and subscription (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7).

weatherpro.eu

It’s tough to predict the weather, but these apps try.

SEEK AND YE SHALL (EVENTUALLY) FIND

In a survey of 450 IT professionals and business managers, participants were

askedhow much time they spend each day filing and maintaining informationand

searching internal documents and systems for information they need.

“ Enchantment causes

a voluntary change

of hearts, minds,

and actions.

It

transforms situations

and relationships,

converts hostility into

civility, and changes

skeptics and cynics

into believers.”

—Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions (Penguin Group, 2011)

If you record podcasts, video blogs, conference sessions, or business meetings—or talk via Skype—enhance your sound quality with the i-Microphone from GoBiz. This compact microphone is perfect for travel and works with the iPad, MacBook, iPhone, and other smartphones. The i-Microphone features an omnidirectional condenser microphone that can record up to 12 dB louder than the microphones built into most mobile devices. Weighing less than 0.25 ounces, it offers RF shielding that reduces interference and feedback, a windscreen, and a weatherproof brass body. US$25.99. gobizcorp.com.

MINI MIC

Want the interactivity of a tablet with the functionality of a notebook? Check out Acer’s Iconia-6120 Dual-Screen Touchbook, a dual 14-inch LCD touchscreen notebook. At 6.18 pounds, the Windows 7 –based twin tablet is loaded with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 640 GB hard drive, a 1.3-megapixel HD webcam, Wi-Fi, and USB 3.0, HDMI, VGA, and USB ports. It sports AppCards, a set of Iconia touch-based applications including a touch-based browser, a clipping tool, a social network aggregator, and tools for quick access to multimedia files. With the Touchbook you can use your finger for control, type on a virtual keyboard, or use a combination of both. You can also customize what is shown on each screen—watch a video on the top screen, browse your multimedia library on the bottom one, or view a single Web page across the two displays. US$1,199.99. us.acer.com.

SEEING

DOUBLE

Source: OpenText and AIIM, Capitalizing on Content: A Compelling ROI for Change, aiim.org, opentext.com. 7%

Employees who perceive

themselves as

honest

and

humble

receive

significantly higher job

performance ratings

from their supervisors

.

Source: Baylor University, baylor.edu

CHRIS

S

TR

A

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11 EVENTS

Technology Events

Conferences and sessions to help you stay

on the cutting edge

Latin American Oracle Technology

Network Tour 2011

July 8, Quito, Ecuador

ecuoug.org

f

With information for DBAs, Oracle applications administrators, architects, developers, and other technology leaders, this daylong conference features a presentation by Oracle’s Tom Kyte as well as information from Oracle representatives and partners.

HCI International 2011

July 9–14, Orlando, Florida

hcii2011.org

f

The 14th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction is a forum for the dissemi-nation and exchange of scientific information on theoretical, generic, and applied areas of HCI. It opens with three days of tutorials and then shifts to three days of parallel sessions, poster sessions, and an exhibition. Presenters include michele Snyder and Jeff Sauro, both usability engineers at Oracle.

AGA Professional Development

Conference and Exposition

July 10–13, Atlanta, Georgia

agacgfm.org/pdc2011

f

This education and networking event for gov-ernment financial managers and accountability professionals, sponsored by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), includes technical sessions, keynote presentations, an exhibit hall, and networking opportunities.

OAUG Connection Point—

Release 12.1

July 12–13, Chicago, Illinois

bit.ly/fgfXuz

f

Presented by the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), the North Central Oracle Apps User Group (NCOAUG), and the OAUG Upgrade SIG, this conference helps attendees implement, upgrade to, or reimplement Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1. Case studies and panels cover appli-cation and database tuning, security, and opti-mizing the upgrade process.

Über Conf

July 12–15, Denver, Colorado

uberconf.com

f

Dubbed “The Ü” by its organizers, this confer-ence offers 150 technically focused Java-related sessions, including 25 hands-on workshops on topics including architecture, cloud, security, enterprise Java, languages on the Java virtual machine, build/test, mobility, and agility.

8th International Joint

Conference on E-Business and

Telecommunications

July 18–21, Seville, Spain

icete.org

f

This event brings together six different con-ferences—on topics ranging from e-business to security to multimedia—and includes a worldwide roster of academic keynote speakers, specialized workshops, and dozens of topic-specific sessions.

InSync11

August 16–17, Sydney, Australia

This conference program, developed by Oracle customers for their peers, covers Oracle applications and technologies and features the largest number of Oracle users gathered in one place outside of Oracle OpenWorld. more than 140 speakers from Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere provide updates, presentations, and reports. Get all the details and

sign up at bit.ly/hw8QgJ.

ORACLE USER GROUPS

Sacramento Java Users Group Meetings July 12 and August 9, Sacramento, California sacjug.org

Java Metroplex Users Group Meetings July 13 and August 10, Addison, Texas javamug.org

UKOUG DBMS SIG Meeting July 14, London, England ukoug.org

Oklahoma City Oracle User Group Meetings

July 19 and August 16, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

okcity.oracle.ioug.org

Houston Oracle Users Group Meetings July 20 and August 10, Houston, Texas houg.org

LOSUG-UKOUG Solaris and Open Solaris SIG Meetings July 20 and August 17, London, England ukoug.org

Ohio Oracle Users Group Meeting July 21, Dublin, Ohio

ooug.org

Dallas Oracle Users Group Database Forums

July 21 and August 18, Richardson, Texas doug.org

Southwest Regional Oracle Applications User Group Meeting

July 22, Irvine, California sroaug.org

Central Florida Oracle Users Group Meetings

July 25 and August 22, Orlando, Florida cfoug.org

Austin Java Users Group Meetings July 26 and August 30, Austin, Texas austinjug.org

Indiana Oracle Users Group Training Day July 28, Indianapolis area, Indiana

inoug.org

New Zealand Oracle Users Group Committee Meeting

August 5, online nzoug.org

St. Louis Oracle Users Group Meeting August 11, St. Louis, missouri

sloug.org

Pittsburgh OAUG Golf Outing August 19, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pittoaug.oaug.org

GETTY

ImA

GE

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12

EVENTS

2011 World Congress in Computer

Science, Computer Engineering,

and Applied Computing

(WORLDCOMP’11)

July 18–21, Las Vegas, Nevada

bit.ly/hneBbl

f

This global congress includes 22 different aca-demic conferences, all held at the same time and in the same location. Specific topics include grid computing and applications, internet computing, and software engineering research and practice.

OAUG Connection Point—Enterprise

Performance Management

July 20–21, Seattle, Washington

bit.ly/hse5Bq

f

This in-depth regional forum covers Oracle’s enterprise performance management (EPm), business intelligence, and Hyperion solutions. Educational content includes customer success stories, partner tips and tricks, and information from Oracle executives across all Oracle EPm applications and tools.

Quest Northeast

July 20–21, Uncasville, Connecticut

bit.ly/h9cH9n

f

Quest joins with five Northeast affiliate user groups and the Financial Services Industry User Group for two days of education geared toward Oracle’s PeopleSoft and JD Edwards customers.

Campus Technology 2011

July 25–28, Boston, Massachusetts

bit.ly/gtowTF

f

more than 40 concurrent sessions in six tracks and 10 half-day workshops provide information for faculty, administrators, and IT professionals in higher education. Topics include education applications, social software, immersive plat-forms, the digital campus, instructional design, and leadership.

Open Source Convention (OSCON)

July 25–29, Portland, Oregon

oscon.com

f

more than a dozen tracks—plus colocated con-ferences for Java and data management—make O’Reilly’s annual OSCON the ideal place to see and evaluate new open source projects, tools, services, platforms, languages, and more.

Gartner Catalyst Conference

July 26–29, San Diego, California

bit.ly/evR2qh

f

This gathering focuses on the technologist’s role in identity and privacy, cloud computing, data management, security and risk management, network and telecommunications, and content and collaboration. The conference includes opportunities to network with analysts, vendors, and peers.

Black Hat USA 2011

July 30–August 2, Las Vegas, Nevada

bit.ly/jfKGAQ

f

This conference for the information security community delivers timely, actionable security information in a vendor-neutral environment. Training topics include auditing and assessment,

cryptography, malware analysis, virtualization, vulnerability and exploit deployment, and more. Among the sessions is a two-day hands-on course that covers security problems related to Oracle Database, including unsecure PL/SQL code, patch management, and weak passwords, and how to secure and harden databases using built-in Oracle Database features.

National Forum on Criminal Justice

and Public Safety

July 31–August 2, Jersey City, New Jersey

national-forum.net

f

This gathering showcases programs and tech-nologies that help criminal justice practitioners and decision-makers in states, local communi-ties, and tribal nations address important public safety issues in an era of tight budgets.

NRFtech: IT Leadership

Summit 2011

August 14–16, Lake Tahoe, Nevada

bit.ly/efPtsR

f

The National Retail Federation (NRF) CIO Council sponsors this educational program that provides actionable information on the latest trends in retail technology, business-IT align-ment, and IT governance.

Quest West

August 16–17, San Diego, California

bit.ly/dLoDib

f

Quest partners with six regional user groups for an educational event focusing on networking and idea-sharing between customers, third-party vendors, and Oracle employees.

Innovation and Technology

Management Africa

August 24–26, Pretoria, South Africa

ciipm.co.za/itm

f

Participants in this event will examine the African experience and best practices in enter-prise technology management. Topics include government support and leadership and organi-zational culture.

Head to Portland, Oregon, for OSCON, July 25–29.

REGISTER for Oracle OpenWorld 2011 and JavaOne 2011

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13 RESOURCES

What’s New at Oracle

The latest videos, podcasts, blogs, and more

VIDEOS

TechCast Live: Oracle Database, Express Edition Goes to 11!

bit.ly/lpeQdA

f

Chris Rice, senior director for database tools at Oracle, tells you what you can expect from Oracle Database, Express Edition 11g, a free and redistrib-utable version of Oracle Database (now in beta).

TechCast: Oracle GlassFish Server and Oracle WebLogic Server Interoperability and Integration

bit.ly/lkYZQW

f

Learn about Oracle’s strategy for creating increasing integration between Oracle GlassFish Server and Oracle WebLogic Server.

Avea Improves Performance with Oracle Data Integrator and Oracle Exadata

bit.ly/gpHaag

f

Hear why Avea selected Oracle Data Integrator and Oracle Exadata to implement a real-time data warehousing solution.

Oracle’s Software as a Service

bit.ly/iAYRw7

f

Learn about the software-as-a-service offerings available through Oracle On Demand.

PODCASTS

Edward Whalen on Oracle VM

bit.ly/k5xKYr

f

Edward Whalen discusses his new book, Oracle

VM Implementation and Administration Guide

(Oracle Press, 2011).

Rick Greenwald on Oracle Exadata

bit.ly/jt7e2d

f

Rick Greenwald, lead author of Achieving Extreme

Performance with Oracle Exadata (Oracle Press, 2011), discusses this new book.

Oracle BPM Suite Overview: Social BPM

bit.ly/jP0yX4

f

Hear how social business process management (BPm) provides process lifecycle participants in

business and IT with expanded tools for simpli-fying communication and collaboration.

WEBCASTS

Cloud Computing Webcast Series

bit.ly/khCExa

f

This four-part series will help you develop a strategy and roadmap for cloud computing.

The Value of Linux in Today’s Fast-Changing Computing Environments

bit.ly/mI3Me1

f

IDC analysts discuss the evolution of Linux as a solution for business-critical deployments and the new ways in which Linux is being delivered.

Securing High-Performance Web Applications

bit.ly/efEZn2

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Learn how to optimize your mission-critical Web applications by balancing security and operational performance using Oracle technologies.

Why Pella Corporation Deployed Oracle VM and Oracle Linux

bit.ly/kBTEYM

f

Pella’s datacenter managers and IT administrators discuss why they virtualized their Oracle applica-tions with Oracle Vm and moved to Oracle Linux.

Oracle VM and Cloud Computing: A Reality Show

bit.ly/m9Dzux

f

Learn about the role of Oracle Vm server virtual-ization in the cloud and what you need to know to run an efficient datacenter.

Enterprise Storage Innovations

bit.ly/l8l28A

f

Hear how Oracle, Intel, and other leading com-panies are dealing with skyrocketing amounts of data and other storage challenges.

MySQL on Windows Online Forum

bit.ly/l8yZqm

f

Learn how to reduce database TCO by as much

as 90 percent while increasing manageability and flexibility with mySQL on Windows.

Boost Utilization, Cut Costs with SPARC Consolidation and Virtualization

bit.ly/gsQ3nB

f

Find out how the built-in virtualization capabilities in Oracle’s SPARC servers can increase system utilization levels to as much as 90 percent.

Improve Performance with Enhanced Insight into Profitability and Costs

bit.ly/jgsCMZ

f

Learn how Oracle’s Hyperion profitability and cost management solutions allow you to rapidly identify sources of profitability and increase transparency.

Oracle

Direct

For Oracle product information, call the number for your region.

COUNTRY PHONE NUMBER

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14

RESOURCES

Pull the Plug on Your IBM Mainframe

bit.ly/egF7ek

f

Find out how Oracle Tuxedo and Oracle GoldenGate enable IBm mainframe customers to move to modern, efficient systems with mini-mized risk and cost.

Upgrade Your Custom Java and Forms Applications to Oracle WebLogic Server

bit.ly/kl7cML

f

Hear how upgrading to Oracle WebLogic Server can help you improve your development produc-tivity and flexibility and manage your production applications more efficiently.

No Contest: Oracle WebLogic Outperforms IBM WebSphere

bit.ly/jEpAoQ

f

Learn how Oracle WebLogic Server outperforms IBm WebSphere in TCO, performance, and cloud readiness.

E-BOOKS

The Most Complete and Integrated Virtualization

tek.io/lbbMNG

f

Learn how a complete and integrated virtualiza-tion soluvirtualiza-tion can provide end-to-end visibility and management to lower costs.

Storage Tiering for Dummies, Oracle Special Edition

bit.ly/j5uHmi

f

Learn how to implement tiered storage in your organization and find out how it can intelligently improve storage performance, increase capacity, and drive costs down.

WHITE PAPERS

Consolidated Storage for Virtualized Server Environments

bit.ly/jaVdKc

f

This report details the results from a recent survey

of 200 IT professionals about the storage-related challenges caused by server virtualization.

Gaining Business Advantage Through Storage Management Efficiency with Oracle’s Sun ZFS Storage Appliance

bit.ly/iZyXLN

f

Edison Group analysts provide the results of a manageability study comparing Oracle’s Sun ZFS Storage Appliance to a NetApp storage solution.

In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution

bit.ly/ldBN7Y

f

Clipper Group analysts reveal why tape is the best solution for long-term storage of digital media.

RESOURCE CENTERS

Oracle Optimized Datacenter

oracle.com/goto/dc-optimize

f

Explore the Oracle Optimized Datacenter, which features strategies and solutions to help you solve your datacenter challenges.

Oracle Database 11g Resource Center

oracledatabase11g.com

f

Access the latest Oracle Database 11g tutorials, white papers, customer success stories, and more.

Oracle Exadata Resource Kit

bit.ly/kauRce

f

Learn about Oracle Exadata’s extreme perfor-mance for data warehousing and online transac-tion processing applicatransac-tions through videos, demos, analyst reports, and customer stories.

Enterprise Performance Management and Governance, Risk, and Compliance Center

bit.ly/iKdahb

f

Learn about Oracle’s enterprise performance management and governance, risk, and compli-ance (GRC) solutions through videos, demos, white papers, data sheets, and podcasts.

TRAINING

Self-Study Training for Java

oracle.com/education/sscd

f

Self-study training on CD-ROm is a convenient way to learn. New Java self-study courses include Web Component Development with Servlets and JSPs, Java EE 6; and Developing Web Applications using JSF Technologies.

Certification Value Packages

bit.ly/j4erZy

f

Save up to 20 percent and get the added advan-tage of a free certification retake when you pur-chase an all-in-one Certification Value Package, available for Java, Oracle Solaris, Oracle Database 10g, Oracle Database 11g, and mySQL.

Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud Training

bit.ly/lxCKS3, bit.ly/jYVqp9

f

Get up to speed on Oracle Exalogic with Oracle University’s Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud Overview Seminar and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud Administration course.

TOUR

Tour the Oracle Utah Compute Facility

1.800.633.0738

f

Sign up through your Oracle license sales repre-sentative to tour Oracle’s newest datacenter. This datacenter exemplifies how Oracle uses its own technologies to deliver business results, solve IT problems, and drive down costs.

“Today we have an Oracle Exadata database and we have

almost 25 terabytes. Our ETL [extract, transform, and load]

batch window decreased by one-third. Our query performance

is 10 times better than it was with the old system.”

—Hanife Keskin, ETL Supervisor, BI Solutions at Avea, in the Avea Improves Performance with Oracle Data Integration and Oracle Exadata video (bit.ly/gpHaag).

OVERHEARD

Oracle Blog Center oracle.com/blogs Oracle Consulting oracle.com/consulting Oracle Events and Webcasts oracle.com/events

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oracle.com/goto/storage

or call 1.800.ORACLE.1

Leaders Run

Oracle Storage

10 of the 10

Top Banks

Top Telcos

Top Pharmas

Top Governments

Get Better Results

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16

Product Resources

DEMOS

Oracle Hyperion Data Relationship

Management

Learn how Oracle Hyperion Data

Relationship management models business rules and constraints of managing the busi-ness to streamline change management.

bit.ly/mgeSmz

f

Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.4

Zip Distribution

Find out why Oracle WebLogic Server zip distribution reduces the download size of Oracle WebLogic Server by more than 70 percent and enables faster download-to-running times for users.

bit.ly/lgjVSb

f

Active Cache for Oracle GlassFish

Server (Parts 1 and 2)

This two-part series on the Active Cache feature for Oracle GlassFish Server dis-cusses concepts and basic deployment and setup, reviews the product feature set, and shows you how to configure Active Cache.

bit.ly/ijTaK9

f

bit.ly/juSPSW

f

TUTORIALS

Oracle BPM 11

g

Quick Start Series

This series of four short tutorials covers the essentials of using Oracle Business Process

management 11g to model and simulate,

implement, participate in, and monitor a business process.

bit.ly/jQvfRa

f

Oracle Exadata Database Machine

Best Practices Series

In this tutorial series, members of Oracle’s maximum availability architecture team share tips, tricks, and best practices for implementing, managing, and working with Oracle Exadata Database machine.

bit.ly/kdnTKr

f

Respin Your Desktop Application

Using Java Web Start

Learn how to respin your desktop applica-tion by converting it into a Java Web Start application.

bit.ly/kJpKwP

f

DOWNLOADS

New Downloads

Oracle Database, Express Edition 11g

bit.ly/k1G8xB

f

NetBeans IDE 7.0

netbeans.org

f

Oracle Releases Oracle ADF Mobile Client

Oracle Application Development Framework Mobile Client (Oracle ADF Mobile Client), a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware that allows developers to create applications for mobile devices, is now available. Oracle ADF Mobile Client is based on the same programming paradigm as JavaServer Faces and uses a single Java user interface frame-work and tooling for all supported devices. Developers can build an application with Oracle ADF Mobile Client, deploy it to mul-tiple devices, and extend it to new platforms without redevelopment.

Developers using Oracle ADF Mobile Client can employ a mix of visual editing

tools and Java code to define a device-independent rep-resentation of an application. Oracle ADF Mobile Client provides design tools

and data synchronization services for offline data synchronization, as well as real-time data links via Web services. Data can also be cached locally for hybrid online/offline mobile applications. Applications created with Oracle ADF Mobile Client can access local device hardware (such as cameras, barcode readers, and GPS devices) through Java code embedded in the application.

“The increased adoption of mobile busi-ness applications requires Java developers to create and extend mobile applications faster than ever before,” says Ted Farrell, chief architect and senior vice president of tools and middleware at Oracle. “Oracle ADF Mobile Client enables developers to leverage their existing skill sets to effi-ciently deploy applications across mobile devices and platforms and address rapidly increasing mobility requirements within the enterprise.”

bit.ly/gKrPpm

Java EE 7 Java Specification Request Approved

The Java Community Process (JCP) Executive Committee has approved the Java Specification Request (JSR) for JSR 342, the next release of Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE). Java EE 7 enhances the Java EE platform for cloud environments and will allow Java EE 7–based applications and products to operate more easily in private and public clouds. Features such as multi-tenancy and elasticity will allow Java EE 7 applications to function as a service.

The JCP also approved JSR 340 for Java Servlet 3.1, JSR 341 for Expression Language 3.0, JSR 343 for Java Message Service 2.0,

and JSR 344 for JavaServer Faces 2.2. These submissions complement JSR 338 for Java Persistence API 2.1 and JSR 339 for Java API for RESTful Web Services.

“Java is already the most pervasive server-side development and deployment platform for the cloud,” says Steven G. Harris, senior vice president of Oracle Fusion Middleware product development. “With Java EE 7, enterprise developers and deployers will see additional cloud-specific innovation built into the standard and available across many vendor implementations.”

jcp.org/en/jsr/summary?id=342

MySQL 5.6 Development Milestone Release Available

Now available, the first development mile-stone release for MySQL 5.6 delivers increased performance, scalability enhancements, an improved InnoDB storage engine, and enhanced replication capabilities.

MySQL 5.6 has an improved optimizer, for better query performance; more partitioning options, for faster access to relevant data; and better performance monitoring and tuning. InnoDB now offers more-predictable optimizer plans; more-efficient purge

opera-tions; and comprehensive resources infor-mation for tuning and troubleshooting.

“With this first MySQL 5.6 development milestone release, we are offering early access to new stable features for testing,” says Tomas Ulin, vice president of engi-neering at Oracle. “Oracle continues to inno-vate and enhance MySQL Database, deliv-ering a higher-performing, more scalable, more reliable, and easier-to-use MySQL.”

dev.mysql.com I-HU

A

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17 BRIEFS

Oracle Expands Integrations for Sun ZFS Storage Appliance

Oracle has announced three new integra-tions with the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance, its family of high-performance, high-density storage systems.

First, the appliance now directly connects to the Oracle Exadata InfiniBand fabric. This simplifies deployments and can accelerate

backup and recovery times by more than 50 percent compared to traditional network-attached storage systems.

Second, Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure now integrates with the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance using rapid iSCSI provisioning. This automates desktop pro-visioning and accelerates

virtual desktop deployments.

Third, Oracle Secure Backup works with Sun ZFS Storage Appliance backup and recovery in conjunction with Oracle’s StorageTek tape libraries. This combination brings together unified storage backup and tape.

“Oracle’s Sun ZFS Storage Appliance delivers compelling value for customers on three major fronts: best-in-class manage-ment, with DTrace analytics and hybrid storage pools; a highly scalable architecture using integrated flash combined with the Oracle Solaris operating system; and seam-less integration with Oracle applications,” says Scott Tracy, senior director of flash and disk products at Oracle. “Engineered with Oracle software, the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance offers customers a mature storage solution they can trust.”

bit.ly/hJGMKK

Oracle Enhances MySQL

Enterprise Edition

An update to MySQL Enterprise Edition 5.5— a subscription offering of MySQL that includes MySQL Database; monitoring, backup, and design tools; and 24/7 support—is now avail-able. The update adds the Enterprise Backup feature, which enables hot online backup and full, partial, and incremental backups; and MySQL Workbench, which provides data modeling, SQL development, and compre-hensive administration tools.

MySQL Enterprise Edition 5.5 integrates with My Oracle Support, allowing MySQL customers to access the same support infra-structure as Oracle Database customers.

“With the enhancements to Enterprise Monitor and Enterprise Backup, along with streamlined, global support, DBAs and developers can speed their MySQL deploy-ments while reducing total cost of owner-ship,” says Tomas Ulin, vice president of engineering at Oracle.

bit.ly/hVkPjb

Oracle Enterprise Gateway 11

g

Secures SOA Deployments

To help enterprises secure their SOA deploy-ments, Oracle has unveiled Oracle Enterprise Gateway 11g, which secures, accelerates, integrates, and routes XML, Web services, and other types of data.

Oracle Enterprise Gateway offers out-of-the-box integration with Oracle SOA Suite 11g, Oracle SOA governance, Oracle Identity Management 11g, and Oracle Enterprise Manager. It includes demilitarized-zone-class security for SOA and cloud environments; XML processing that enables SOA and cloud applications to offload resource-intensive operations; an open, standards-based archi-tecture that plugs into third-party platforms

and environments; and XML connectivity and security capabilities that safeguard traffic between heterogeneous environments.

“Oracle is the only SOA and identity management vendor to offer comprehen-sive threat mitigation, identity propagation, secure connectivity, and compliance for SOA environments,” says Amit Jasuja, vice presi-dent of development, ipresi-dentity management, and security products at Oracle. “Using Oracle Enterprise Gateway, our customers have enhanced security and flexibility to confidently extend their enterprise data-center into the cloud.”

bit.ly/g1WIHg

NetBeans IDE 7.0 Released

Oracle has launched NetBeans 7.0, the newest edition of the NetBeans integrated develop-ment environdevelop-ment (IDE). It adds or improves support for several key technologies.

In the area of Java Platform, Standard Edition, NetBeans 7.0 includes Java lan-guage support for the upcoming Java Development Kit 7 (JDK 7). It also features editor enhancements, support for Maven 3, integration with JUnit 4.8.2, and support for remotely hosted Javadoc.

In server technologies, NetBeans 7.0 offers streamlined and faster deployment to Oracle WebLogic Server 11g and supports Oracle GlassFish Server 3.1.

For Oracle Database, NetBeans 7.0 sup-ports editing and deployment of stored procedures, simplifies the connection wizard, and offers guided installation to JDBC drivers.

“Oracle continues to enhance the NetBeans platform, providing developers with a feature-rich, open source IDE for the creation of Java-based mobile, Web, and desktop applications,” says Ted Farrell, chief architect and senior vice president of tools and middleware at Oracle.

bit.ly/iFFUoP

Oracle Updates Enterprise Performance Management System

Oracle has unveiled release 11.1.2.1 of its Oracle enterprise performance manage-ment applications, which includes updates to Oracle Hyperion Disclosure Management and Oracle Hyperion Financial Close Management, as well as enhanced upgrade tools and expanded platform support. The update includes support for inline Extensible Business Reporting Language, enabling compliance with new U.K. financial reporting standards.

The new release is also integrated with Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise financial

man-agement applications, enabling organizations to streamline and manage closing activities.

“As regulatory bodies continue to mandate new global requirements for finan-cial reporting, organizations need ways to simplify execution, while ensuring compli-ance,” says Hari Sankar, vice president of product management at Oracle. “Oracle continues to develop and enhance its perfor-mance management applications to support the changing needs of global businesses.”

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18

BRIEFS

Oracle Introduces AutoVue 20.1

Oracle has unveiled AutoVue 20.1, the latest release of its family of enterprise visual-ization solutions, which delivers a robust enterprise-class architecture that can serve an organization’s complete document visu-alization needs within a single platform.

The release includes new electronic computer-aided design features that support end-to-end, design-to-manufacture processes for customers in electronics and high technology; improved support for paper-based processes for customers in asset-intensive industries; and new inte-gration capabilities that enable partners to build customized solutions. AutoVue 20.1 also includes performance, reliability, and stability enhancements and new tools to simplify deployment and administration. “The value of enterprise visualization is to synthesize visual and nonvisual information in the context of specific business processes to increase efficiency and improve a company’s bottom line,” says Thierry Bonfante, senior director, AutoVue product strategy/ management at Oracle. “We have imple-mented a rich hotspotting framework that can associate parts of drawings to any logic contained in enterprise systems and delivered several high-value business process solutions.”

bit.ly/eWCwYO

Oracle On Demand Adds

Strong Authentication

Oracle On Demand has added strong authen-tication to its service portfolio. This addition addresses the growing number of security threats that target enterprises’ internet-facing applications.

Powered by Oracle Adaptive Access Manager, Oracle On Demand Strong Authentication Service provides both imple-mentation and managed services, eliminating the need to engage a third-party imple-menter. The service requires no changes to the protected application.

“[The new service] provides a unique value for Oracle cloud customers by combining the feature-rich Oracle Adaptive Access Manager product with the benefits of an Oracle managed service,” says Monika Thakur, product manager for Oracle On Demand.

bit.ly/f2GDmt

Oracle Delivers Validated Oracle Linux Configurations

Three new Oracle Validated Configurations, based on Oracle Linux and offering pretested, validated architectures, are now available. The configurations include Oracle Linux 5 with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, Oracle Database 11g, Oracle Real Application Clusters, Oracle’s Sun ZFS Storage 7420 appliance, and one of the following servers: Oracle’s Sun Fire X4800 server (pictured), an 8-socket rackmount x86 system; Oracle’s Sun Fire X4470 server, a 4-socket rackmount x86 system; or Oracle’s Sun Fire X4270 M2 server, a 2-socket rackmount x86 system.

“The Oracle Validated Configurations are yet another example of Oracle’s commit-ment to engineering our hardware and

soft-ware together to deliver high-performance application-to-disk solutions,” says Ali Alasti, vice president of hardware engi-neering at Oracle. “The tight integration between our x86 clustered systems, Sun ZFS Storage Appliance, and Oracle software takes out the guesswork for customers and delivers differentiated value unmatched in the market.”

bit.ly/dOgRRL

Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode Unveiled

Oracle has released Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode, a tool for migrating databases from legacy encod-ings to Unicode. Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode simplifies the migra-tion process and lessens the need for char-acter set migration expertise by guiding DBAs through the migration process and automating many tasks. For databases that already use Unicode, Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode has a valida-tion mode that identifies data not correctly encoded and provides a health check on potential issues.

Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode is available free from Oracle Technology Network and My Oracle Support. The two download packages are identical, but the first is available under the Oracle

Technology Network Developer License (which allows users to evaluate the tool), while the second is provided under the database support contract (which permits migration of production databases covered by the contract).

“This new tool makes it easy for cus-tomers to migrate their databases to Unicode, whether they are expanding the global reach of their database applications or consolidating their global databases,” says Andy Mendelsohn, senior vice president of database server technologies at Oracle. “It allows customers to quickly identify and cleanse problematic data to ensure a safe migration to Unicode, while its unique in-place conversion technology significantly reduces the migration downtime.”

bit.ly/fjD2t3

Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1 Introduced

Now available, Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1 is a solution for integrating, managing, and analyzing clinical trial information. It improves inte-gration, increases automation, and expands data standardization to enable accelerated processing of clinical trial data from multiple sources in a variety of formats.

The automated data load and new execution triggers in Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center increase the timeliness and accuracy of data analysis. The

software can rerun routines and programs automatically when new data arrives.

“Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1 enables organiza-tions to further accelerate data aggregation and reconciliation, streamline preparation for analysis, automate the downstream analysis process, and ensure control and compliance,” says Neil de Crescenzo, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Health Sciences.

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19 INTERVIEW BY TOm HAUNERT

T

om Haunert, Oracle Magazine editor in chief, recently sat down with Steve Moyle, chief technical officer of Oracle Database Firewall, for an in-depth discussion of that product’s cutting-edge security features and functionality. The following is an excerpt from that interview. Download the full podcast at oracle.com/magcasts.

Oracle Magazine: Let’s start at the begin-ning. Our readers are likely familiar with the concept of a firewall, but what’s different about a database firewall?

Moyle: A database firewall has some simi-larities with a traditional network-based firewall, in that it’s about protecting and controlling items that flow across the network. But unlike a network-based firewall that’s predominately focused on ensuring only the right destinations can connect to the right sources, a database firewall is entirely focused on the conversations that are flowing in and out of your databases.

Oracle Database Firewall has a complete understanding of the database language— SQL—and it’s this database language that powers the firewall and ensures that only the conversations you want to have going into your database are permitted. All others can be blocked.

Oracle Magazine: What are some other key features of Oracle Database Firewall? Moyle: The database firewall is there to monitor database activity and to help prevent unauthorized access to and par-ticular attacks on databases, including SQL injections, privilege or role escalations, and illegal access to sensitive data. Oracle Database Firewall has a highly accurate approach to controlling interactions with the database, based on a SQL grammar analysis. This ensures that there are no costly false alarms triggered by the firewall.

The product also provides a very flex-ible level of enforcement options based on

two different security paradigms: a positive security model known as white lists, and a negative security model known as black lists. Customers deploy the firewall using a combi-nation of these two paradigms.

Going beyond this, the firewall has a very scalable architecture that provides enterprise-level performance in many dif-ferent deployment modes. The great news for database administrators and application authors is that it requires no configuration changes at either the application level or the database level to provide a very powerful level of protection in the environment.

Oracle Magazine: You mentioned SQL injec-tion, and that’s of course something DBAs

and database developers must always be con-scious of. How does Oracle Database Firewall address SQL injection and other threats? Moyle: SQL injection is a development-side error. It’s an application-layer error, but it’s not just one single mistake—it can mani-fest in many different ways. It’s also entirely application specific; each application that has a particular SQL injection vulnerability will appear different to its database than its operator.

Since there’s no one-size-fits-all way of looking for SQL injections, the technology for protecting against them needs to under-stand what is normal for each database and application in the operating environment. However, with this level of understanding comes protection against all manner of risks. So although a SQL injection is often caused by a malicious attacker on the outside, the same sorts of controls work for protecting against a malicious user on the inside or perhaps someone who has connected a piece of software to the network that is outside policy. All of these unauthorized access mechanisms can be protected against very powerfully by Oracle Database Firewall.

Oracle Magazine: What are some other key risk areas that Oracle Database Firewall can address to ensure security in the enterprise? Moyle: Oracle Database Firewall reduces the risk profile of a database at the network level by ensuring that only permitted locations can connect through to the database—only permitted applications at permitted times of day with permitted users. For example, high-privilege users may only connect to the database from their workstations at par-ticular times of day, which are their normal hours of business. Should the credentials for a high-privilege user become compro-mised, it would not be possible to use them from another location within the organiza-tion’s network.

Steve Moyle, Chief Technical Officer of Oracle Database Firewall

JOHN

BL

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