Seleccion robustos from CERN

Today I have finished a condensed course for a bunch of DBAs from CERN. Again I had a group which I really could challenge and they also gave me a hard time by asking questions with an average of  3/minute at least I guess.

These people come from all over the world to work for CERN and it was a pleasure to have them as students again.
Yesterday we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby and anyway I think that we all had a lot of fun this week. Aint’t it so?

It was such a pity that I forgot to take a picture in time

  so this picture only shows a subset of the group since some had already left when I got my camera out of the bag.

At the end of the class they even surprised me with a present. I was really so much moved that I could not open it right away.
And when I came home in the night I found this:

It is a collection of five very well smelling Habana Cigars:
- a Montecristo
- a Cohiba
- a Romeo Y Julieta
- a Partagás
- and a Hoyo de Monterrey
You are so lovely, people! Thanks a lot. I will smoke one of them next week with my old neigbor who will be 92 on Friday and tell her about you!

Hope to see you again and have a nice weekend!

=;-)

Oracle 11g New Features book

I am writing some chapters in a book on Oracle 11g New Features.
It is planned to be published at the beginnig of next year.

See more details on the book here!

We are a team of four authors working on it. The others are:
- John Garmany, Steve Karam, and V.J. Jain

Table of Contents:

John Garmany

Steve Karam

V.J. Jain

Lutz Hartmann

CHAPTER 1 – Overview of 11g New Features Improved 11g managementRepository enhancements Advanced 11g advisors CHAPTER 2 – Oracle 11g DBA new features Interval partitioning for tablesNew load balancing utilitiesWeb server load balancingListener Load Balancing New table Data Type “simple_integer”Improved table/index compressionFaster DML triggersImproved NFS data file managementServer side connection poolingScalability EnhancementsScalable executionVirtual columns “super” object-oriented DDL keyword Oracle 11g XML data storage New Trigger features Partitioning by logical object and automated partition creation. New high-performance LOB features. Incident Packaging Service (IPS) Feature Based Patching Enhanced Read only tables Table trigger firing order CHAPTER 3 – Oracle11g High Availability & RAC new features RAC instance load balancingOracle 11g RAC parallel upgradesOracle RAC load balancing advisorADDM for RACOptimized RAC cache fusion protocolsOracle 11g RAC Grid provisioningHot patchingStandby snapshot Quick Fault Resolution CHAPTER 4 – OEM Oracle 11g new features: Interfaces to ApplicationsOEM Easy de-installDatabase repair wizardBetter OEM Grid tools CHAPTER 5 – Oracle 11g language & PL/SQL New Features PHP – Improved PHP driver for Oracle.PL/SQL “continue” keywordDisabled state for PL/SQLImproved native Java & PL/SQL compilers.Easy PL/SQL compilingOracle 11g XML EnhancementsImproved PL/SQL stored procedure invalidation mechanismScalable PL/SQL and Java Improved sequence management Intra-unit inliningEnhanced PL/SQL warningsNamed notation CHAPTER 6 – Oracle 11g SQL New Features The /*+result_cache*/ SQL hintXML SQL queriesSQL ReplayImproved optimizer statistics collection speedSQL execution Plan ManagementDynamic SQLFully Automatic SQL TuningImproved SQL Access Advisor

CHAPTER 7 – Oracle 11g Performance Tuning new features: 11g SQL Performance Analyzer (SPA) 11g Multi-column hybrid histograms CBO correlating statistics New Oracle11g Advisors Automatic Diagnostic Repository (ADR)Automatic Memory TuningResource ManagerADDM for RACFaster sortingAWR BaselinesAdaptive Metric Baselines CHAPTER 8 – Oracle 11g security & auditing new features Database Replay Secure PasswordsAuditing Defaults in 11gDatabase Administrator Security SetupTransparent Data Encryption (TDE) enhancementsTDE and LogminerEncrypted TablespacesEncrypted LOB columns using Oracle SecureFilesHardware Secure Module versus Oracle Wallet TDE and Logical Standby Database FGAC for UTL_SMTP, UTL_TCP and UTL_HTTP EM new Security Features Policy Manager Label Security Administration in EM Enterprise Users Administration VPD configuration Application Contexts configuration CHAPTER 9 – Oracle 11g Streams, replication and Data Guard enhancements Data Guard Load Balancing Data Guard supports “Flashback Standby”. CHAPTER 10 Oracle 11g Change Management RAT – Real Application Testing - SQL Performance Analyzer (SQL Replay)- SQL Plan Manageability (SQL Plan baselines)- Database replay - The technology behind it- capture workload- replay workload on test system- analyze replay (compare periods)- Using EM for replay database CHAPTER 11 – 11g Flashback New Features What’s new about UNDO and transactions in 11g?Optimized UNDO BACKUPTracking transactional changes on tables over its lifetime by using FLASHBACK DATA ARCHIVEThe technology behind itEnabling Flashback Data ArchiveViewing Flashback Data Archive InformationDDL limitations for Flashback Data ArchiveFlashing back transactions: using DBMS_FLASHBACK using 11g OEM for flashback transaction CHAPTER 12 – Oracle 11g ASM enhancements ASM Fast Mirror ResyncASM Preferred Mirror ReadASM Performance EnhancementsASM Disk Group Checks enhancedASMCMD new featuresSYSASM role in 11g

Certifying CERN again on 10g

This week I have delivered a workshop on backuo and recovery for Oracle University in Geneva.

Next week I will also be in Geneva at the World Trade Center and teach a bunch of DBAs working for CERN again.

This is going to be fun I guess. We will squeeze 10 days of normal training into five days which is really challenging since these guys use to be so advanced in dealing with really large amounts of data.

When CERN will start its experiments some time later this year they will have a throughput of terabytes/second comming in and their database will grow to a size of 2 digit petabytes fastly.

I am really looking foreward to having a look at the environment there.

=;-)

3 different Oracle Database 11g courses in Switzerland announced for early birds

Today I have received an E-Blast from Oracle University Switzerland.
Here is a slightly modified version which you can use to register directly for any of these events through sysdba database consulting GmbH from

here

Oracle University is pleased to bring you a preview of

Oracle Database 11g

through three brand new courses given by

Lutz Hartmann – Oracle ACE 

 Oracle Database 11g: New Features Overview Seminar (1 day)

Oracle Database 11g: Change Management Overview Seminar (1 day)
or for more in depth insight plus hands-on

Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators (5 days)

Please read the below outlines of these courses
and enroll directely from this post: 

Oracle Database 11g: New Features Overview Seminar (1 day)In this seminar, you are introduced to the planned key new capabilities of Oracle Database 11g Release 1 and gain an understanding of how to take advantage of them.

Topic areas covered include new features for

• Managing storage
• Ensuring high availability
• Improving scalability and performance
• Strengthening security
• Managing data warehouses

The instructor lecture is supported by recorded product demonstrations. By attending this seminar, you can more effectively plan your use of Oracle Database 11g Release 1.  

Date	Location	Price	Enrollment
27 August 2007	Baden	SFR 850	enroll now
31 August 2007	Geneva	SFR 850	enroll now

 

Oracle Database 11g: Change Management Overview Seminar (1 day)

Although change can bring improvement, it also can produce disruption. This course focuses on Oracle Database 11g Release 1 innovations that enable you to mitigate the chaos that database and application upgrades can cause.You learn about planned features you can use to record production workloads and then play them back in a test environment so that you can determine and eliminate potential issues before deploying changes to your production environment.The instructor lecture is supported by recorded product demonstrations. By attending this course, you can more effectively realize the positive benefits of database and application upgrades while minimizing the negative side effects.  

Date	Location	Price	Enrollment
29 August 2007	Bern	SFR 850	enroll now

Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators (five days) (5 days)
This course gives you the opportunity to learn about – and practice with – the planned new change-management features and other key enhancements in Oracle Database 11g Release 1.
You will examine the benefits and use of

• Planned new features in managing change
• Diagnosing and recovering from problems
• Ensuring high availability
• Improving scalability and performance
• Strengthening security
• Other areas that concern database administrators

The hands-on practice sessions help reinforce your understanding of these planned new capabilities in Oracle Database 11g Release 1 so that you will be ready to apply them when you return to your office.  

Date	Location	Price	Enrollment
17-21 September 2007	Baden	SFR 4250	enroll Now
24-28 September 2007	Geneva	SFR 4250	enroll Now
05-09 November 2007	Zürich	SFR 4250	enroll now
12-16 November 2007	Geneva	SFR 4250	enroll now
17-21 December 2007	Baden	SFR 4250	enroll now

 » Learn Technology from the Source  

Oracle U.K. accused of hacking passwords

Today I was informed about a very strange incident for which I cannot really believe that it can be true:

On July 13th. John Leyden published a post on THEREGISTER in which Oracle U.K. is accused to host computers from which SSH brute force password attacks are launched against servers which run SSH software since May 3rd. 2007.

…Here is Oracle’s response as quoted on Register’s website:

“In response to Register inquiries, Oracle supplied a statement saying that an ongoing investigation is yet to confirm whether its systems have been misused or not.

“Security is a matter Oracle takes seriously and the company’s first priority is meeting customer needs and reducing their risk. As soon as Oracle became aware of the situation an investigation began, which is ongoing, but to date the company has found no evidence for any SSH brute-force attack originating from the Oracle owned machine currently listed on the DenyHosts website.” ®” …

=?-(

I cannot believe it!

Can you?

My top 10 Oracle 11g New Features Part 2 – DATABASE REPLAY

As promised I will continue with my series of posts about top 11g new features.

After talking about the SQL Analyzer (Sql Replay) in part I of this series I will continue with another Change Management functionality Oracle database 11g ships with. It is called Replay Database. 
This is one of the very big highlights of Oracle database 11g. And this is what many prodution DBAs have been hoping for since a long time.

Any change to a database system, such as an upgrade or changes to the configuration like new hardware or changed parameters, can have dramatic impacts on the performance of the application. It is necessary to test and validate these changed conditions under real life conditions in order to get around possible pitfalls before applying such changes to prodution. This is often a not easy to manage challenge for a DBA.

Oracle database 11g gives us the possiblity to capture a workload of a production system and run it in a testing environment. With this we can identify possible negative impacts of changes and analyze them under real conditions by comparing performance benchmarks for workload periodes in different systems.

How does it work?
On the prodution system we record all client activities for a typical workload periode with a new built in struture in the RDBMS. In fact it is a new built in package named DBMS_WORKLOAD_CAPTURE which is used . The captured worklaod consists of binary  files which hold metadata information for the workload and as well as replay files which are stored in a special directory. It is possible to use filters for certain session which should not be captured. The recording user as well as the replaying user needs at least SYSOPER privileges because it is necessary to restart the database before starting the capture process.

After capturing the workload data we need a testing system which should be axactely the same state as our prodution system before the capture process.  Now we start one or multiply replay clients (a binary called wrc) to run the pre processed workload against the testing system. Internally another new built in package named DBMS_WORKLOAD _REPLAY is use for this.

After the replay phase we can use analytic tools like ADDM to analyze the workload performance and compare it against teh original wokload performance.

There are a number of new DBA_WORKLOAD_* as well as V$WORKLOAD_* views that can be used to manage and manage the different steps (capture and replay).

Also Oracle Enterprise Manager comes with a very handy interface for the capture process as well as for the replay and analyze steps.

 Some good scenarios for database replay could be:
-  testing a migration from single instance to RAC
-  reproducing of bugs for debugging 

Challenging Oracle in Rome

Yesterday evening I have arrived in Rome after a fife hours!! trip from Munich. The plane had come from London and of course was late because of yesterday’s  security threat in GB.

I will go for the Oracle Cerified Master challenge tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. This time Oracle will have a 10gR2 environment for the exam the first time. Until June 30th. Oracle had used 10gR1 for the master exams. So I will be the test bunny again I guess!

Hopefully the exam will not be cancelled again in the last minute. This is my third attempt to get an exam date from Oracle. Two times I had enrolled for the exam and it was cancelled.

   Right now I am relaxing at my hotel thinking some things over which might pop up as tasks in one of the exam sessions. After these two days of exam I will get back to my 11g new features series here, promised!