In April the largest conference for Oracle users, outside of Oracle OpenWorld, occurred in Denver. With 6000 attendees “Collaborate”, the annual Oracle user conference sponsored by IOUG (Independent Oracle User Group), OAUG (Oracle Application User Group) and Quest International, is one of the best events For Oracle users, whether it is Oracle Database or any of the other Oracle software products, to learn, network, share and teach. Oh, and have some fun too.
But for companies like Cisco who exhibit and sponsor Collaborate, it is also a great chance to informally “take the pulse” of the Oracle user community. The questions they ask and the sessions they attend provide a clear indicator of where Oracle users are headed, what the trends are and and where they are putting their efforts in the future. Here is what I discovered at this year’s Collaborate.
So unlike past conferences, the Oracle community is actively looking at
a) Virtualization for their Oracle infrastructure, including Databases and
b) Preconfigured/prevalidated hardware solutions (sometimes called converged infrastructure solutions) instead of just the old DIY custom system approach for hardware.
To me these are both major changes in the mindset of those using Oracle Database and applications. And the implications are significant. As virtualization permeates the large Oracle install-base (largest business software vendor), the hypervisor vendors will see significant growth and many operational aspects of Oracle infrastructures will change and improve. That virtualization push includes Oracle who is making inroads with their dramatically updated Oracle VM (virtual machine) product.
The move towards pretested hardware solutions is also a major directional shift which should drive an increased focus on reducing software and database upgrade/version cycle times and downplay the need to do extensive hardware testing. In today’s environment of “do more with less”, pretested hardware solutions may be a great way to help the Oracle IT team address that conundrum.
Can Cisco help with these trends towards more Oracle virtualization and pretested hardware configurations? The answer is a resounding YES! With our storage partners EMC and NetApp, and our software partners Oracle and VMware, we have developed an extensive array of pretested/prevalidated solutions with hypervisors (Oracle VM and vSphere), storage (EMC and NetApp) and software (Oracle Database and applications) all running on Cisco UCS servers and Cisco networking. For more information on Cisco’s Oracle solutions and to see the available Cisco Validated Designs (CVD) for Oracle, go to Cisco.com/go/oracle
Coming up in my next blog, more on the move to virtualize Oracle database and applications.
Collaborate 13, the largest independent Oracle user group (IOUG, OAUG, Quest International) event is the launch point for 3 new Oracle-based, Cisco Validated Designs (CVD). With the Joint Cisco/NetApp “FlexPod” as the hardware platform, the new CVD’s include:
Oracle RAC with Oracle Linux as the operating system
Oracle RAC with Oracle VM as the hypervisor
Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne with Oracle Linux as the operating system
These CVD’s, Prevalidated for Oracle, give Oracle RAC and Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne users the option to select a fully tested and supported solution for their infrastructure.
IT users face a difficult series of challenges; do more and do it better, but do it with lower budgets and staff levels. Prevalidated systems, like these three new FlexPod-based CVDs for Oracle software, can help address these challenges.
Cisco and NetApp, working with software companies such as Oracle, are able to give customers a potent weapon to help IT organizations drive down complexity and deliver prevalidated, converged infrastructure capabilities for their mission critical databases and applications. High availability and fast, reliable performance are benefits of converged infrastructure platforms like FlexPod.
While some may be wary of the number 13, for 3 Oracle user groups (IOUG, OAUG, Quest Intl.) 13 is a measure of success for their joint (collaborative?) conference “Collaborate”, next week in Denver. Now in its 13th year, the 6000 attendee strong Collaborate is the world’s largest independent Oracle user group gathering. And Cisco, along with our storage partners NetApp and EMC will be there demonstrating a breadth of Oracle infrastructure solutions (check Cisco activities and major speaking sessions here)
In addition, Cisco is the sponsor of both the Women in Technology reception and Women in Technology panel discussion. Cisco CEO John Chambers has made news recently with his women’s initiatives at Cisco, so extending that support at Collaborate 13 is a natural.
Cisco will have a large presence in the Collaborate 13 exhibit hall and will also have multiple conference sessions highlighting how Cisco Unified Computing System has been winning the hearts and minds of Oracle users around the world. Whether the Oracle user wants to “build their own” custom system or buy a preconfigured and fully tested “converged infrastructure” solution, or anything in between, Cisco and its Oracle eco-system partners have an answer.
Here are some examples of customers who deployed Oracle solutions with Cisco Data Center architecture.
What need does FlexPod address ? It’s probably been a while since you had to source a motherboard. Many of us have done this in the past, in order to get desktop computer system that met our needs. Pre-configured systems were limited in their abilities, and custom design was beneficial.
But choices of personal computer systems have increased, and most folks don’t need to customize anymore, preferring to buy an entire computer system that’s been tested and designed to meet their needs. On the other hand, customers want to be able to expand the system they have to keep up with new technology, or to add capabilities.
Customers need to support multiple types of applications and have multiple purposes for their infrastructure, and the Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs) for FlexPod reflect that need. The architectures have been validated by engineers from both companies to ensure performance and stability.
But that’s just the beginning. The Cisco Validated Design documents include multiple configurations with multiple types of application and operating systems Read More »
Every business initiative and transaction is enabled by IT – which means that IT is a very powerful force in how organizations work
That power carries a lot of the responsibility. The responsibility to act swiftly to the ever changing needs of the business and make informed decisions about technology platforms, applications, costs and resources. If IT gets it right, chances are so will the business.
Cisco and Intel have teamed up with 3 industry-leading consulting companies who offer clear insight into your mission critical Oracle, SAP and Microsoft SQL environments, and make infrastructure recommendations based on their findings to help your enterprise realize increased performance, more agility and lower operating costs. Here’s the best part: your enterprise may qualify for a complimentary assessment.
Unleash the power of your IT– and together we will celebrate your success.
Take a moment to watch the video and find out how enterprises much like yours achieve better results.
This week I talked with John Kennedy, a Cisco engineer who put a lot of energy on the FlexPod CVDs.
Customers need to support multiple types of applications and have multiple purposes for their infrastructure, and the Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs) for FlexPod reflect that need. The architectures have been validated by engineers from both companies to ensure performance and stability.