 |
|
DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / AUGUST 11, 2003; VOL. 2 NO. 32
|
Special Features:
FLAGSHIP DATABASE ALMOST READY FOR GRID USAGE
A flagship database from Oracle Corp. is being modified and upgraded for Grid
computing usage, which will provide users with more levels of scalability
and management.
Oracle 10G, which will be unveiled at OracleWorld, sets the style for
computing that will eventually incorporate diverse data elements—including
everything from e-mail to mobile devices and enterprise applications—that are
distributed across a grid of interconnected servers. Early grid-computing
components in the update include integrated messaging, heightened scalability
and speed, and self-storage management capabilities.
The database will allow organizations to share the unused processing power of
computers and databases over the Internet. In addition, it will enable users
to push, pull and transact information from a grid, using it to alert people,
form messages, engage in workflow or crunch algorithms.
Beta testers of the software said the database will ship with elements that
will make it easier to deploy across grids, such as improved XML handling,
enhanced Web services APIs and 8-exabyte file support.
Sources said that to make such extreme scalability possible, Oracle enhanced
the RAC (Real Application Clusters) technology in its database, as well as
improved the way it distributed SQL statements across a cluster in a blade
server farm.
While Oracle officials, in Redwood Shores, Calif., declined to discuss this
story, they cautioned that not all beta testers are given the same feature
sets. As such, it should not be assumed that everything in beta will
automatically make it into the final version.
In addition to scalability, beta testers said Oracle 10G will feature
metadata-handling enhancements, in particular the ability to export
definitions and other metadata through procedure calls. Sources said metadata
improvements will also enable Transportable Data Spaces, an existing
capability that was enhanced so data can be moved across servers from
different companies.
Self-storage management capabilities in Oracle 10G, whose final release date
is not known, in the form of Big File Table Spaces is another new feature
sources lauded. "We have a customer, a DBA; all she does all day is add data
files," said an Oracle consultant and beta tester who declined to be named.
"[With 10G], the storage parts of a database don't need as much attention. ...
Being able to manage data files without hands-on interaction is wonderful."
But not all in the Oracle community are sold on grid computing. Cost scares
many, combined with the fact that few enterprises need the huge capacity they
promise. One person who uses Oracle databases extensively and who requested
anonymity said Oracle's promises of RAC invincibility haven't held up. "The
problem is, when you introduce new clusters, new machines to a system, your
availability actually and statistically can go down," he said. "When you begin
introducing new machines to this cluster, you introduce more points of
something potentially going wrong."
Toronto Oracle User Group President and beta tester Craig Read said he doesn't
expect Oracle to provide true grid support for at least five years in Oracle
12. "[Oracle 10G] sets the stage for Version 12, when Oracle will market a
complete and unified messaging architecture," said Read, who is also an IT
director at MTrilogix Inc., in Toronto. "Grid computing is a component of that
vision. It is the right way to go if [Oracle] gets their pricing organized."
|