Welcome to 5 Minute Briefing: Oracle an information resource prepared by Database Trends and Applications Magazine and published in cooperation with the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG). To subscribe, click here.

Oracle to Acquire ClearApp

Oracle announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire ClearApp, a supplier of application management solutions for composite applications. ClearApp products, said Oracle, are intended to address the increasingly difficult task of managing composite applications built on SOA platforms by providing visibility of business services across all related application components. The combination of ClearApp products and Oracle Enterprise Manager are expected to provide customers with a comprehensive application management solution, enabling enhanced service levels, reduced system down-time and improved return on SOA investments.

"As customers deploy more SOA-based applications, the task of effectively managing them becomes paramount," said Leng Leng Tan, Oracle vice president, Applications and Systems Management, in making the announcement. "With the addition of ClearApp’s technology to the Oracle Enterprise Manager product family, our customers are expected to get continuous and uninterrupted top-down views of their business services and applications, helping them maximize service availability while reducing IT operations costs." The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2008, and until the deal closes, each company will continue to operate independently. For more information, go here.

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HiT Software Releases Optimization Enhancements in DBMoto Data Replication Solution

HiT Software, a leader in data integration, synchronization and replication, has announced the release of DBMoto 6.5, the newest version of the company's flagship real-time data management engine that replicates, migrates and synchronizes data among heterogeneous databases. "Data replication projects can be complicated and require administrative expertise. Our objective is to have DBMoto reduce that complexity so that any IT manager or user can easily implement important projects,” said Giacomo Lorenzin, president and CEO of HiT Software.

With this version of DBMoto, HiT Software has “streamlined the amount of time and effort that goes into replication projects,” Carolyn Hughes, director of marketing, told 5 Minute Briefing. “The DBMoto product already has a number of features in it that make a data migration and replication synchronization project an easy project to manage but what we are trying to do is reduce the amount of time and so we added a number of automated tasks, things that we didn't have before.”

DBMoto 6.5 now includes functionality to increase the velocity of data migration to Oracle databases, reducing replication time. ”We already had a powerful database replication for Oracle, however we wanted to increase the speed,” Lorenzin said, noting this becomes particularly important when there is “a massive amount” of data to move. “We used some features that Oracle provides to streamline and make data movement faster.”

DBMoto's "grouping" feature that is designed to stack replication execution now includes a tool that automatically prioritizes replication order based on database relationships, applying referential integrity as dictated by the database. Replication prioritization is usually handled manually, “and if you don't do it right it could cause significant issues,” said Hughes. Another new feature in grouping allows users to more quickly and easily recover from system interruptions by enabling data replication restart at the point of interruption.

With DBMoto 6.5, a graphical interface view of high performance log filtering has also been added. “We have had high performance log filtering for a while but what we heard from a number of users is that if they could spot the errors right away graphically, then they could zone in on them and fix them quickly,” said Hughes.For more product details, go here.

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Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse Now Available

Oracle has announced the availability of the Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse, a new component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, which the company says marks the first free Eclipse 3.4 environment to support Oracle WebLogic Server 10g Release 3. For organizations using the Eclipse IDE, Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse delivers a certified set of Eclipse plug-ins to accelerate database, Java, Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) and Oracle WebLogic Server development.

With Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse, Eclipse 3.4, Eclipse 3.3 and Oracle WebLogic Server customers can develop, debug and deploy applications to Oracle WebLogic Server 10g R3, in addition to earlier versions, either locally or remotely. Key new development features of Oracle WebLogic Server are supported by this release, according to the company, including FastSwap, the ability to redefine Java classes without redeployment; helping developers streamline lengthy iterative development cycles.

Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse is among a series of products that combine technology from Oracle Fusion Middleware and BEA Systems, and, said Oracle, will be the basis for Oracle's strategic Eclipse offering, combining the best Java EE development features of Oracle Workshop for WebLogic and Oracle's independent contributions to the Eclipse platform. For information, go here.

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New Embarcadero Release Paints Database Performance History

Embarcadero Technologies announced a new version of Performance Center, a monitoring tool that incorporates features to help DBAs resolve performance issues and improve end-user service satisfaction levels.

"We are pushing the notion of three very simplistic ways to link together performance resolution issues," Greg Keller, Embarcadero's chief evangelist for DatabaseGear products, told 5 Minute Briefing. This includes detection, diagnosis and correction of database performance issues. Performance Center is a detection agent. It "sits there, lights out, 24x7 and just trolls and looks for anomalies that database administrators are interested in looking at."

All of this falls in line with the data explosion problem and the fact that there are too many databases and not enough people resources, said Keller. "Anything that can help tether together lots of infrastructure - in this case databases - and automating a particular job - in this case automating monitoring - is what we are about."

The latest release, version 2.5, enables DBAs to review both current and historical performance information for all monitored databases. Understanding the historical performance spike patterns helps avoid future performance problems. Details on database activities that could be hampering performance, such as memory, I/O, contention, space, network, and other information can be tracked from a single Web-based console that also provides point-in-time health summaries and customizable reports.

New graphical productivity features in Performance Center 2.5 enable DBAs to easily monitor multiple database platforms from a single view. New graphing zoom features and an enhanced Enterprise View with enterprise-wide alert and health status information help mitigate large-scale database monitoring. Also, the addition of configurable alert thresholds, notifications and escalation paths allow users to anticipate database issues and capture a wide array of performance metrics.

Performance Center, like other Embarcadero DatabaseGear tools, offers cross-platform support for Oracle as well as IBM DB2 for Linux, Unix and Windows, Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE). For more information, go here.

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What Data Professionals Earn: The 2008 IOUG Salary Survey

Do you know how well Oracle database professionals and managers are being paid in the market? Does certification make a difference? How large is the gap between smaller businesses and large organizations? A new survey among members of the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) tracked the salaries of key categories of data professionals and managers, and found that size, location, and certification can make a difference. In July 2008, Unisphere Research conducted a study for the IOUG to measure the changes impacting the jobs of data managers and professionals. Click here for the executive summary of this study to learn more.

If you’re not an IOUG member, join now to gain first-hand access to future research studies like this and research archives to help you benchmark where you are in your career and where your company is with their technology environment.

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Presenting Renowned Keynotes at BIWA Summit 2008

Attend the only international conference devoted exclusively to Oracle-based Business Intelligence, Warehousing and Analytics – BIWA Summit 2008, December 2-3 in Redwood Shores, CA. Don’t miss your chance to hear from these renowned professionals, including:

• Jeanne Harris, Executive Research Fellow and Director of Research, Accenture Institute for High Performance Business
  
• Usama Fayyad, Chief Data Officer/Executive VP of Research & Strategic Data Solutions, Yahoo!
  
• Juan Loaiza, Vice President of Systems Technology Group, Oracle
  
• Ray Roccaforte, Vice President of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Platform, Oracle

Learn more about this conference here. And register by September 15 to save $100!

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Two Oracle Education Events in Utah Next Month

Receive top-notch Oracle education this October! UTOUG Fall Conference 2008 and the IOUG's University Seminar is taking place in Salt Lake City, UT, October 27 - 28. This University Seminar, Oracle Database 10g Streams: Data Replication, is one you can't afford to miss:

Using Oracle Streams you can propagate data, transactions, user defined events and messages in a stream of information within a database, or from one database to another. Oracle Streams offers more flexibility than other replication solutions in capturing, propagating and applying the information to other databases or applications. In this session, you will learn all about Oracle Streams architecture, configuration, administration and monitoring. Once configured and managed properly Oracle Streams can be very efficient and effective method for replicating data. An elaborate demonstration will show how Streams replication works.

This seminar includes breakfast, lunch, a snack and session handouts. Register for this seminar by September 26 to save $100!

And, click here to register for UTOUG Fall Conference on October 28.

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IOUG Presents Customer-driven Education at Oracle OpenWorld

The IOUG is once again presenting a stellar lineup of customer-driven education sessions across numerous tracks during Oracle OpenWorld, September 21-25, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. Don’t miss your chance to attend:

• IOUG SIG Day, taking place Sunday, September 21, where more than 45 technical sessions in valuable focus areas will be presented by the SIGs.
  
• BEA sessions, taking place Sunday, September 21, where the IOUG will co-host BEA-specific sessions with the Oracle Development Tools Users Group (ODTUG).
  
• Additional sessions, taking place Monday, September 22 – Thursday, September 25, where the IOUG will present more than 20 sessions in tracks like database, application server and transaction processing and identity management.

Click here to learn more about the IOUG at Oracle OpenWorld. Then, register for Oracle OpenWorld today. Make sure you indicate you’re an IOUG member when registering!

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Oracle Presents Fusion Middleware Sessions at Oracle OpenWorld

This year, the content for Oracle OpenWorld 2008 is divided into four streams—Applications, Database, Industries, and Middleware—so you can focus on your area of interest and easily get face time with experts in your field.

The Middleware stream addresses your most in-depth technology needs. With more than 175 sessions to choose from, you will:

• Discover new ways to increase your organization’s capacity for growth and change
  
  
• Find out how a new generation of middleware optimizes and extends your current investments in Oracle Database and enterprise applications
  
  
• Get the latest developments in portals and process management, application infrastructure, identity management, developer tools, enterprise management, business intelligence, and much more
  
  
• Learn everything you need to know about collaborative Enterprise 2.0 technologies, content management solutions, and an intuitive and integrated user experience

Thomas Kurian, along with Satyam executives, will present the Middleware stream’s general session on the latest strategies for Oracle Fusion Middleware. To help you navigate the conference, all Middleware sessions will be located in the same area, so you can easily get from one to the next. And don’t forget to visit the Middleware Lounge, where you can network with experts and peers who share your interests.

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A Big “Thank You” to the IOUG RAC Attack! Speakers

The IOUG thanks the following people for speaking at IOUG RAC Attack!, a two-day hands-on lab and lecture, which took place August 4 - 5, 2008 in Chicago, IL.

• Alex Gorbachev, Pythian: Under the Hood of Oracle Clusterware and Connections! Connections! Connections!
  
• Dan Norris, Piocon: Building a RAC Test Environment on VMWare for Free
  
• Jeremy Schneider, Ardent Performance Computing: Oracle Services on RAC: How They Work and What You Should Use Them For?
  
• Krish Telikicherla, Oracle Corporation: Demystifying Oracle RAC Internals and RAC Installation & Configuration Best Practices
• Edward Whalen, Performance Tuning Corporation: Backup and Restoring a RAC Database Using RMAN and Performance Tuning Oracle RAC on Linux

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COLLABORATE 09 Sponsorship and Exhibit Opportunities Now Available

The IOUG invites you to sponsor or exhibit at its premier annual conference for industry education and networking - COLLABORATE 09 - IOUG Forum, May 3-7, 2009, Orange County Convention Center West, Orlando, Florida - and access the greater Oracle community, comprised of:

• Application Server Administrators
  
• Architects
  
• BEA users
  
• DBAs
  
• Developers
  
• Essbase users
  
• Hyperion users
  
• Oracle Fusion Middleware users
  
• Stellent users
  
• System/Security/Storage Managers
  
• And many more!

Don't miss your chance to take advantage of COLLABORATE 09's unique sponsorship opportunities, ranging from speaking opportunities to social events to signage and more.

View the Sponsor Prospectus to find out which opportunities are right for you.

Feel free to contact Scott Narug, Senior Sales Manager, at 312.673.5974 or scott_narug@ioug.org with any questions, including the ability to combine sponsorships for special pricing.

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Save the Dates for IOUG Boot Camp Seminars this November

The IOUG is excited to announce that it's co-hosting educational seminars with various Regional Users Groups (RUGs) this November. Receive top-notch training from an IOUG Boot Camp Seminar, without having to travel far from home:

• November 6 in partnership with National Capitol Oracle Users Group in Reston, VA
  
  
• November 7 in partnership with Ohio Oracle Users Group in Dublin, OH
  
  
• November 14 in partnership with Dallas Oracle Users Group in Plano, TX
  

All seminars include a presentation by Michael Ault titled Zen and the Art of Database Tuning, which focuses on SQL and Database tuning techniques. Topics include: proper table and partitioning design, proper selection of indexes for a specific database and SQL type and more.

Keep checking the IOUG Web site for more information, as registration will open shortly!

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Download the Latest Tools from Oracle

Live Webcast: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 – 11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET
Application Grid: Oracle’s Vision for Next-Generation Application Servers and Infrastructure- View this live Webcast to hear senior Oracle executives Hasan Rizvi, Steve Harris, and Adam Messinger discuss the application grid. Learn how Oracle is combining cutting-edge technologies from its recent acquisition of BEA with the Fusion Middleware portfolio. Discover a new level of reliability, performance, and "scale-agility" in your data center, with emphasis on efficiency for today’s challenging economic environment. Register now.

Help save paper – and our planet - Choose Oracle E-mail
When it comes to waste paper, prevention really is better than cure, as it reduces the environmental impact of both manufacture and recycling. That’s why we’re committed to cutting back our paper consumption and postage by encouraging you to adopt e-mail as your preferred method of receiving communications from Oracle.

Get Started with Oracle on Windows DVD
Learn how Oracle gives you the power to grow by providing a scalable, easy-to-use platform for running your business at a price you can afford. Request your free copy of this DVD, containing Oracle Database 11g software, whitepapers, tutorials, etc.

FREE Oracle Data Masking Resource Kit
Stop inadvertently exposing sensitive or regulated information when you copy production data into your non-production databases. Learn how you can de-identify production data to create realistic and functionally complete databases in our FREE Oracle Data Masking Resource Kit with industry expert webcasts, data privacy protection and regulatory compliance guides, step by step tutorials, and more.

FREE Oracle Database Vault Resource Kit
Protect sensitive application data in your database with the industry's most advanced real-time database security product, Oracle Database Vault. You can even control what privileged DBA users can and cannot do, as well as when, where, and how they do it. Learn how you can enforce database security policies in our FREE Oracle Database Vault Resource kit with industry expert webcasts, data privacy protection and regulatory compliance guides, step by step tutorials, and more.

Oracle Webcast: Powerful Testing For Fast Low-Risk Deployments
First impressions are so important. That's why Oracle offers powerful testing tools to help your company deploy higher-quality, more reliable applications—in a fraction of the usual time and effort. Click here to learn more!

Oracle Webcast: View Your Web Sites and Applications Through the Eyes of Real Users
Your web sites and e-commerce applications are only as good as your users think they are. Oracle Real User Experience Insight offers an industry-leading solution to help your company track and analyze real user experiences. Learn more!

Webcast: Drive Competitive Advantage With Better End-user Experience For Web sites and Applications
In this on-demand webcast, you will hear J.P. Garbani from Forrester Research discuss successful strategies and best practices to help you deliver better online experience to your customers. Learn more now!

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Founded in 1993, the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) (formerly International Oracle Users Group) is a user-driven membership organization for Oracle technology and database professionals serving more than 15,000 database administrators, developers, architects, technical managers and other Oracle professionals throughout North America and worldwide. The IOUG empowers its members and the broader Oracle community through their technical publication, SELECT Journal, Web site resources including more than 3000 papers, tips and articles and networking with other users through online discussion forums, Special Interest Groups and a network of regional Oracle user groups. For more information about the IOUG, please visit the IOUG Web site.

Database Trends and Applications, published by Unisphere Media, a division of Information Today, Inc., provides timely coverage of the technology and intelligence needed to conceptualize, plan, initiate, implement and manage large-scale integrated information projects. Unisphere Media also publishes 5 Minute Briefing: Data Integration, a summary of news, trends, and insights addressing crucial data integration challenges and 5 Minute Briefing: MultiValue, a review of news, technical tips and insights for the MultiValue database community. Visit our Web site here.

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