Tuesday 25 September 2012

The Next Generation Exadata database server may be released soon!


By Chris Kanaracus, 26-Sep-2012

Many signs suggest that Oracle is about to introduce a next-generation version of the Exadata database machine, the first and apparently most successful of its "engineered systems" that combine Oracle software with servers, networking and storage.For one thing, Oracle's OpenWorld conference kicks off Sunday with a keynote from CEO Larry Ellison, and contrary to prior years, this time Oracle has told the public a bit of what Ellison plans to say.Titled "Hardware and Software, Engineered to Work Together: Why It's A Different Approach," Ellison's talk will cover Oracle's "fundamentally different approach to delivering technology that is engineered to work together," according to the description, which sounds much like the marketing lines the company has long used to pitch Exadata and other systems.It would also make sense for Ellison to unveil a next-generation Exadata given that he has recently revealed Oracle will announce version 12c of its flagship database, which powers Exadata, at OpenWorld.But the most concrete public evidence that a new Exadata is coming soon may be found in an alert to Oracle partners that has been posted on the vendor's website. The alert states that Exadata version X2-2, one of the current editions, is "end of life" with the "last order date" being Sept. 3.Oracle hardware sales, Q1 2012-Q1 2013Oracle senior vice president Juan Loaiza is also scheduled to deliver a presentation on "where Exadata is going in the future" during OpenWorld.An Oracle spokeswoman declined a request for comment on Oracle's Exadata plans.Still, some industry observers have already begun speculating and piecing together clues about what upgraded machines will include.Oracle database administrator Andy Colvin recently posted an image of a Web page inside Oracle's My Oracle Support portal that shows knowledge article listings referring to Exadata X-3 hardware in various configurations, including an "eighth rack" option."Seeing an eighth rack Exadata could be interesting -- possibly along the lines of the seldom-seen Exadata V2 basic system (One compute node, one storage server, one Infiniband switch)," Colvin wrote. "This would be a big sell for customers that want to give Exadata a try, or very small dev/test systems. Keep in mind that there isn't much redundancy in these systems, and the performance isn't quite as great as you'd see on a quarter rack."Details of Oracle's plans for the specialized software that runs on Exadata along with Oracle's database have also surfaced. One attendee of a speech given last month by Oracle database chief Andy Mendelsohn grabbed a snapshot of a slide displayed during the talk.Upcoming features include "in-memory optimized compression," "memory-to-memory Infiniband messaging" and "Flash for all writes," according to the slide. It wasn't clear whether any of the features mentioned are imminent or just part of a long-term plan.Oracle new software license sales, Q1 2012-Q1 2013 A new Exadata product won't be huge news if it just seems to be a bigger, faster version of the current editions, according to Eric Guyer, a consultant who advises Oracle customers on dealings with the vendor and author of the Oracle Optimization blog."The Exadata of today is in my opinion, RAC on steroids," Guyer said in an interview Tuesday, referring to Oracle's Real Application Clusters software. "Exadata has not been a great destination for consolidating dozens and dozens of database workloads because it doesn't have good virtualization.""I would like to see an Exadata version that is capable of things like Solaris containers," allowing customers to run older database versions on Exadata, Guyer added. "Right now it's [database] 11g R2 only with no virtualization. That to me is where they need to go. They've got to make it so customers can slice and dice [Exadata's capacity] better. If the next version is just bigger, faster, stronger, it's kind of a non-announcement to me."The smart money may be on a fairly splashy Exadata reveal from Oracle, either as part of an actual product launch or a statement of future direction.That's because Oracle needs to raise customer interest in the "engineered systems" notion, upon which it is staking the hardware business acquired through the purchase of Sun Microsystems, rather than compete in the commodity server market.Hardware revenues in Oracle's first quarter dropped 24 percent to $779 million, repeating a pattern of decline since the Sun deal closed. While Oracle has emphasized that Exadata, Exalogic and its other appliances are much more profitable than commodity servers, investors may soon become restless for the company to show top-line revenue growth in hardware.
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Source- IDG News Service

Monday 10 September 2012

The Logical Model: Application Definition and Planning


Most of the business objects will end up in the business services tier, with the remaining objects divided between user interface objects in the user services tier and data objects in the data services tier. When creating a logical model using the three-tier architecture, keep the following in mind:
  • Some of the nouns in the conceptual design will not represent actual physical pieces of data but may represent an action on the system or a business object's role on the system. A business object can also be a service that performs some sort of system control, such as a login ID for security.
  • Avoid creating vague business objects by "reading between the lines" in the conceptual model. Such business objects may not be correct, and you should consider them carefully before including them in the logical model. If they appear correct, add them to the conceptual model explicitly.
  • Avoid creating business objects that express the same information or function; duplication can be costly in terms of application speed and performance.
  • Determine object dependencies. Some nouns in the conceptual model may simply be attributes of other business objects. Decide if the attribute can exist independently. If so, it should become its own business object; if not, it should be combined with the appropriate business object.
  • Avoid creating business objects that try to do too much. Overloading business objects can mean more time spent separating code later and can be a maintenance headache. Distinct objects in the conceptual model should not be combined; they should remain separate business objects. You can handle any similarities by using code to delegate their common functions to a business object.
  • Remove any business objects that are not used in any usage scenarios. If the objects are intended to accommodate future growth, consider implementing them after the initial application is completed.
At this point, you can start thinking in terms of the computers and code. From these business services, determine the display and input functionality you need to provide as user services. Define what tables and stored procedures need to be provided as data services. To complete the logical model, define the interfaces for each service and include definitions of each data field and their validation rules. Also include all functions, their syntax, and their parameters.
The service or object definition should not include any aspect of the physical implementation. The intent is to provide a clear guideline for the logical component builders to work from and to enable other programmers to code pieces of the application that may use the component before it is actually completed. In the logical model design, you should document every screen, function, and object. Do not proceed to the physical model or implementation until you meet these criteria. If you proceed while the conceptual model and logical model are not in agreement, you will have serious problems later in the development cycle.
Incremental development of a COM+ application is common. This involves creating a subset of the final, known components and testing them through each layer of the application: client, business, and data tiers—through to data storage. This working model provides insight into additional requirements by the customer and implementation considerations. Often this working model is tested on a single computer.
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