New Downloads

Free Oracle Application Express Resource Kit
Learn how Oracle Application Express can help you address the manageability, security and scalability challenges associated with using spreadsheets and personal databases to store mission-critical data. Request your free Oracle Application Express Resource Kit containing the latest release of Oracle Application Express and a link to related free packaged applications, as well as analyst reports, white papers, and customer testimonials. Download.

Download Oracle Toplink 11g
Oracle TopLink 11g (11.1.1.0.0) is now available for download; it introduces seamless integration with Oracle Coherence, flexible Object-XML binding, and provides out-of-the-box compatibility with Oracle WebLogic Server and Java frameworks including Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) 11g. Download.

New Hands-On Tutorials from Oracle By Example

Check out these new additions to the Oracle by Example (OBE) library:

• 12 tutorials: Oracle WebLogic Server 10g Release 3 (10.3)
• 1 tutorial: Converting Relational Data into RDF Format
• 3 tutorials: Oracle Secure Backup 10.2
• 4 tutorials: Oracle Role Manager 10.1.4
• 1 tutorial: Oracle Data Integrator

Tech White Papers

Tech White Paper: Deploying Oracle Real Applications Clusters in Oracle VM Environments

Now that Oracle RAC is certified on Oracle VM (2.2), get an overview of Oracle RAC components ready to be deployed in Oracle VM, explore various deployment scenarios, and get best practices for optimized RAC deployments in Oracle VM environments. Read the white paper.

Hyperion, CPU, Support, Stats, R12, Sad Announcement, JDE, Links

Hyperion

Looking for the compatibility matrix for Hyperion? The Look Smarter Than You Are blog gives us a link to a new matrix.

October CPU

Security patch time again, and this brief posting at Musings on Database Security has some interesting thoughts, and a plug for something I'd never heard of before called virtual patching.

Oracle Support

When you're looking for some good advice on Oracle support you really can't go wrong with Chris Warticki's blog.

Statistics, Lies and Video Tapes

Well, not actually all of the words in the title, just statistics, Oracle statistics, and some words of caution and a link to other discussions of the same at the Structured Data blog. And another discussion of stats over at Vivek Sharma's Database/SQL Experience blog.

R12

Some good material on installing and cloning R12 over at the Oracle E-Business Suite Technology blog.

RIP Carl Backstrom

I'm very sad to report that one of our regular sources of blog posts and a member of the Oracle family, Carl Backstrom, died in a car accident. You can read more about it here.

JD Edwards

The time is almost upon us for the switch to Metalink 3 as your online interface to Oracle support fro JDE. Read about it in this posting at the JD Edwards Advisor blog.

Links

Links of note, from Eddie Awad, at his blog, on security and other happy subjects.

User Group Events

Quest Conferences:

Quest Southeast Conference, featuring the HCM & Beyond Forum presented by OHUG and Quest, Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, November 12-14. Register now.

Quest Midwest Conference, Renaissance Hotel, Schaumburg, Illinois, December 3-5

Quest West Conference, Marriott Hotel and Marina, San Diego, California, February 11-13, 2009. Submit a Presentation.

Optimizer, Blog of Note, Linux, AIA, JDE, Internals, Oracle Mag

Optimizer at Open World

Did you not make it to Open World? Or if you were there, weren’t able to get all the optimizer wisdom you sought? The Inside the Oracle Optimizer blog has a good follow up posting to help fill in the gaps.

Blog of Note

Christian Antognini’s Striving for Optimal Performance blog was written up by Kevin Closson as a must read performance blog. So don’t wait, here’s the link to start reading it right away.

Exadata Back and Forth

Also at Kevin Closson’s blog is an exchange with an EMC blogger on Exadata. There seems to be some doubt on the part of some, about whether you should go out and buy an Exadata server. As an Oracle stockholder, I say go for it! Buy it, set it up, and then read the exchange. It’s only a couple of million dollars, for goodness’ sake. You’re not going to miss a couple of million dollars. All kidding aside, Exadata is a great concept, something a lot of our clients have been looking for now for many years. It will inevitably lead to reduced support costs because it gives you one vendor to yell at when something goes wrong. I will leave the technical benefits to Kevin and the other gurus who are letting us know the details of Exadata technology.

Linux Monitoring

Kevin Closson, in a record three links in one Infogram, also has some kind words for the collectl, a utility for Linux performance monitoring.

AIA

Using AIA? Read the blog: The official AIA blog has a posting on connecting engineering with manufacturing. Sounds like it would produce a loud metallic clashing sound as the two meet, but apparently AIA smooths things out.

JDE

Part two of a two-part article on Takeaways from Open World over at the JD Edwards Advisor blog.

Internals

Yet another great posting from Tanel Poder, one of my favorite bloggers on Oracle internals. This time it’s on Transportable Tablespaces and ROWID Uniqueness (or: Does your database have rowid collision insurance?)

Oracle Magazine

The November/December issue is on the virtual stands here.

Oracle News

New Agile PLM Solutions Lead Dramatic Growth in Oracle Accelerate Solutions
Led by more than 11 new Agile PLM solutions, the total number of Oracle Accelerate solutions continues to grow dramatically, with 200 solutions offered by 118 partners across 19 industry- and 62 sub-industry solutions in 32 countries. More...

Oracle Launches Its First Cloud Computing Products and Services
As the concept of cloud computing sweeps the industry, Oracle announced on September 22 that customers can license Oracle Database 11g, Oracle Fusion Middleware, and Oracle Enterprise Manager to run in a cloud computing environment. More...

Get the Best of Oracle OpenWorld 2008 for Midsize Organizations
Were you not able to attend? How can you be in more than one place at once? Subscribe to Oracle OpenWorld On Demand. More...

Compliance at Every Level
Companies need a systemic way to manage compliance requirements across their organization. By embedding compliance into the fabric of the organization, your approach will be more sustainable, cost-effective, and adaptable than ad-hoc approaches to governance and compliance. Learn how you can drive down the cost of regulatory compliance and strengthen your reputation for business transparency with Oracle solutions for midsize organizations. More...

Coming Soon: Oracle Develop Roadshow
Registration is now open for Oracle Develop, the premier Oracle developer event. Advance your skills and expand your knowledge in scores of expert-led, in-depth technical sessions and advanced how-tos. More than 130 events will be taking place in Beijing, Mumbai, Moscow, and Prague from December through February. More...

User Group Events

Quest Conferences:

Quest Southeast Conference, featuring the HCM & Beyond Forum presented by OHUG and Quest, Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, November 12-14. Register now.

Quest Midwest Conference, Renaissance Hotel, Schaumburg, Illinois, December 3-5

Quest West Conference, Marriott Hotel and Marina, San Diego, California, February 11-13, 2009. Submit a Presentation.

CRM

Blog Watch: Creating Integrations with Oracle CRM On Demand

CRM On Demand Learning Blog: Do you want to integrate other applications with Oracle CRM On Demand? If so, you may have started investigating Web services. Whether you’re well on your way or just getting started, there are many resources to support you. Click here for more information


New Social CRM and iPhone CRM Applications
At last month's Oracle OpenWorld conference, Oracle announced new applications that extend Oracle's leadership in two of the most important trends in CRM: social CRM and mobile CRM.
More...

Security, BI Logs, HTTP Caching, SQL Developer, Manga, Character Sets, Exadata Server

Security + Laws = Expensive

Several states have already enacted laws governing encryption of customer data. Sounds reasonable enough, especially in view of the string of well-publicized losses of sensitive and personal data on laptops over the last few years, but every benefit comes with an expense, and this is no exception. Think of how much additional money it is going to require if every IT resource your employees use to work with consumer data needs to be encrypted. That pretty much covers all your servers, desktops, laptops and even some smart phones. The Coke machine may be exempt...unless it takes credit cards. 

The Wall Street Journal article I read about this is not openly available on the Web, but there are other articles to read about this, such as this one at the Washington Post, and this blog posting on a Massachusetts law. 

BI Logs

Another great posting from the Rittman Mead Consulting blog, this one on Digging into the Oracle BI Server Query Log File. This stuff is gold. Dig, and ye shall find.

HTTP Caching

A nice demo and some wise words on HTTP caching and why you still have to code for performance at the Service Architecture SOA blog.

SQL Developer Early Adopter Release

The SQL Developer team is pleased to announce their first Early Adopter release of Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeling.

• Use this page on OTN, for access to initial documentation and supporting collateral.
• Access the Early Adopter Download. This download link walks you through a brief one-time survey, before you can download the product. If you had done any of our internal early adopter releases, you will not be required to repeat the survey. 

Manga

Manga is a Japanese cartoon medium that isn't usually thought of in a database technology context. Well, now it is. If you have users with unreasonable expectations you can buy this book linked from the Oracle Alchemist blog. and use magic solutions. From the book's page on Amazon: 'Tico the fairy teaches the Princess how to simplify her data management'. I'm really trying not to crack a smile while typing this. Ok, I smiled.

Different Character Sets

You have two DBs, they are in different character sets, and you need a quick way to have one read the other. The Momen blog has a quick resolution. Ok, as he admits, this is not going to be a fast performance solution, but it's simple, and sometimes that's all you need in a pinch while you are evolving a more elegant solution.

Oracle Exadata Server

A good, detailed critique of Mike Ault's posting on the Exadata Storage product over at Kevin Closson's blog. Is Kevin an Oracle employee? Yes. Is he a straight shooter who bases his article on the technical facts, not any partison considerations? Yup. That too.

Oracle Fusion Middleware - Driving Business Efficiency and Expansion

The Oracle Fusion Middleware Forum is coming to a city near you. Don't miss this special event for IT executives and managers, exploring the impact of IT planning and execution on your corporate strategy.
Join application infrastructure thought leaders and your peers for a range of executive keynotes and technical sessions providing strategies and patterns for maximizing operational efficiency and addressing business expansion. Learn from customer case studies and get in-depth information on the Oracle Fusion Middleware product strategy.

Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - October 2008

A Critical Patch Update is a collection of patches for multiple security vulnerabilities. It also includes non-security fixes that are required (because of interdependencies) by those security patches. Critical Patch Updates are cumulative, except as noted below, but each advisory describes only the security fixes added since the previous Critical Patch Update. Thus, prior Critical Patch Update Advisories should be reviewed for information regarding earlier accumulated security fixes. Please refer to Critical Patch Updates and Security Alerts for information about Oracle Security Advisories.
Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply fixes as soon as possible. This Critical Patch Update contains 36 new security fixes across all products.

Hyperion, AIA, RMAN, Identify Assurance, Total Recall, Troubleshooting

Hyperion

Tim Tow's Hyperion, the best blog on the subject, has a PDF of the 11.1.1 installation available.

My second favorite Hyperion blog, Look Smarter Than You Are, has a pointer to some great utilities from the OLAP Underground.

Innovation and AIA

Some kind words about AIA and the key to Oracle as a company: Innovation, over at ZDNet.

Better Life Through RMAN

How to move from Windows to Linux using RMAN over at Alejandro Vargas' blog.

Identity Assurance

Got buzzwords? Here's a new one: Identity Assurance. No, it doesn't mean getting out a mirror at customs and telling the agents: 'Yes, that's me alright'. It's over at the Talking Identity blog.

Total Recall

Richard Foote has some good things to say about Oracle Total Recall in 11g over in his blog.

Troubleshooting

And so it begins...the pleasant flood of material from Open World. Here's Tanel Poder's material on Oracle Troubleshooting.

Oracle OpenWorld Videos on YouTube

Check out interviews with tech experts and Oracle execs, including Charles Phillips, Chuck Rozwat, and Ed Abbo, and see some of the local sights at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Oracle Appcasts

Siebel AppCast

Empower Siebel 8.0 users with new simple-to-use rules engines (7 min.)
September 4, 2008
Listen to Rick Watts, an experienced Siebel and Haley Authority developer and Sr. Configuration Specialist from Oracle Advanced Customer Services discuss best practices for utilizing the Haley rules engine in a Siebel implementation project.

See All latest Oracle podcasts:

Live with Cliff Godwin:
Regulatory Compliance for Public Organizations—Achieving Stronger Controls and Better Management Practices
(10 min.)
Executive Update: Oracle's Strategy for Industries
(13 min.)
Oracle's Shared Services Model Can Bring You Tremendous Savings
(11 min.)

Lifetime Support Policy Brochure Updates

Global Support is pleased to announce the September edition of the three Lifetime Support Policy brochures. They are available on Oracle.com at no charge.
In the Technology Brochure, the September edition includes the following updated Support guidelines and information:

Support Policies for New Acquisitions:
Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software Release: Support for Exadata Storage Server software has been included in this edition of the Lifetime Support Policy brochure. For additional general information or additional support-specific information please select these hyperlinks.

Support Policy Updates for Product Releases – None this month

In the Applications Brochure, the September edition includes the following updated Support guidelines and information:
Support Policies for New Acquisitions

Oracle’s AdminServer Releases

Support Policy Updates for Product Releases

Oracle’s BEA Releases
Oracle Communications (formerly MetaSolv) Releases:
MessageQ 5.0
Salt 2
Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) releases:
6.2 SP4 – Extended Support changed to Dec 2010
6.5 SP2 – Extended Support changed to Dec 2011
Oracle Communications (formerly MetaSolv) Releases:
Objectel 2.7 – Premier Support changed to Dec 2009
MetaSolv Solution 6.0.15 - Premier Support changed to Dec 2009
MetaSolv Solution 6.0.14 – Premier Support changed to Dec 2008
MetaSolv Solution ASR 34.0 – Premier Support changed to Aug 2008
MetaSolv Solution ASR 35 – Premier Support changed to Dec 2008 and Extended Support changed to Not Offered
MetaSolv Solution ASR 36 – Premier Support changed to Not Offered
MetaSolv Solution LSR 9.2 and LSR 9.3 – Premier Support changed to May 2009
MetaSolv Solution LSR 10.0 - Extended Support changed to Not Offered
Oracle Communications Service and Subscriber Management 3.1.6 – Premier Support changed to Sep 2009
Oracle Communications Service and Subscriber Management 3.1.7 – Premier Support changed to Dec 2008
Oracle Communications Service and Subscriber Management 3.1.9 – New Release
MetaSolv Solution 6.0.16 – New Release
MetaSolv Solution ASR 37 – New Release

There were no changes made to the Retail Brochure this month.

The next update will be available October 31. The Lifetime Support Policy brochures are available for customers on Oracle.com

The Machine, Tom Kyte, Community, VMWare, ADF, JDE, Workflow, APEX, Opinion, BI, Security, Oracle Magazine

The Machine

The HP Oracle Database Machine, that is. Massive throughput, speeds that cause the time-space continuum to go: Yowza!. Here's a link with a picture over at Kevin Closson's blog. And another link over at the Oracle Exadata blog, another at Mike Ault's blog, and yet one more here. It's big, nearly two million bucks, worth every penny of it, and I'm going to get one to keep track of my video collection.

Tom Kyte Podcast

Tom Kyte always has something interesting to say, and his blog links to a podcast of his interview with the editor or Oracle magazine.

Oracle Community

Lots of updates at Eddie Awad's Oracle Community site, as described in this blog entry. Drop in if you haven't checked it out in a while.

VMWare Tip – Installing an OS from ISO images

Playing fast and loose with VMWare, ISO images, and OS binaries, all over at the Oracle Apps Blog.

ADF

They're out there, scribbling away, archiving, preparing, editing....it's the presenters from Open World last week, and 

here's an early release, on Oracle ADF 11g validation, over at the Dive Into Oracle ADF blog.

Kiran Dasari's Contributions:

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.0 Generally Available

23 September 2008

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Audience: JD Edwards EnterpriseOne & JD Edwards World What is being announced? JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.0 with Tools Release 8.98 will be generally available the week of September 22, 2008. For information on what is included and upgrade tasks, visit http://www.peoplesoft.com/corp/en/iou/upgrade/e1_upgrd_resources_evaluate.jsp JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.0 can be downloaded from edelivery.oracle.com

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Workflow

Workflow is a key item, a core schematic like the panels of a powerplant, time, money, work, results, profit, all are tied into workflow, and the product of the same name. Here's the start of a series over at the AMIS Technology Blog on setting up Workflow.

APEX Book

According to John's Blog, his new Pro Oracle Application Express book is shipping.

Opinion: Metered Bandwidth

There is indeed, no free lunch, or at least there hasn't been since some legendary bars of the early 20th century where free lunch was offered....if you bought beer. So there wasn't even a free lunch then. So now we are at a point where people are playing online games, watching movies, using the Internet as a phone and...no free lunch, the ISPs are moving toware metered bandwidth, the subject of this posting over at the Life After Coffee blog.

BI Upgrade to 10.1.3.4

Upgraded to 10.1.3.4? Having problems? Make sure you have a look at this link at Tim Dexter's Oracle BI Publisher Blog.

Backdoor Dealings

Sneaking about to mess with SYSDBA, and related nefarious and duplicitous activities are covered over at Oracle Forensics blog in this posting.

Oracle Magazine

Have you checked out Oracle Magazine lately? Here's a link to the latest issue online.