Oracle Distributed Systems [Paperback]

Charles Dye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 1999

Any organization that uses the Oracle relational database management system (RDBMS) these days needs to use multiple databases. There are many reasons to use more than a single database in a distributed database system:

• Different databases may be associated with particular business functions, such as manufacturing or human resources.
• Databases may be aligned with geographical boundaries, such as a behemoth database at a headquarters site and smaller databases at regional offices.
• Two different databases may be required to access the same data in different ways, such as an order entry database whose transactions are aggregated and analyzed in a data warehouse.
• A busy Internet commerce site may create multiple copies of the same database to attain horizontal scalability.
• A copy of a production database may be created to serve as a development test bed.

In a distributed database environment, data in two or more databases is accessible as if it were in a single database. Usually, the different databases are on different servers, which may be located at the same site or a continent away. Communication between the servers takes place via SQL*Net (for Oracle7) or Net8 (for Oracle8).

Distributed database environments offer a number of benefits over single- database systems, including:

• Tunability
• Platform autonomy
• Fault tolerance
• Scalability
• Location transparency
• Site autonomy

This book describes how you can use multiple databases and the distributed features of Oracle to best advantage. It covers:

Table of contents:

Part I: The Distributed System

• Introduction to Distributed Database Systems
• SQL*Net and Net8
• Configuration and Administration
• Distributed Database Security
• Designing the Distributed System
• Oracle's Distributed System Implementation
• Sample Configurations 8. Engineering Considerations

Part II: Replication

• Oracle Replication Architecture
• Advanced Replication Option Installation
• Basic Replication
• Multi-Master Replication
• Updateable Snapshots
• Procedural Replication
• Conflict Avoidance and Resolution Techniques

Part III: Appendixes

Appendix A: Built-in Packages for Distributed Systems Appendix B: Scripts

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... I still heartily recommend this book to anyone Who's designing distributed or replicated databases using Oracle. It's even worth reading if you're using some other database package - the general discussions are just as relevant, and a lot of the specifics are more or less the same.' Computer Shopper, August 2000

About the Author

Charles Dye is the database architect for Excite, Inc. (www.excite.com), where he is responsible for the design and implementation of the databases theat supply content to some of the world's busiest Web sites. Prior to joining Excite, he was the senior database administrator for The Dialog Corporation. Charles also operates a small but growing consultancy with clients in the San Francisco Bay area and Hong Kong. Once upon a time, before fleeing the East Coast for California skies, Charles taught math and physics at the Georgetown Day School in Washington DC. Charles is a frequent speaker at regional and national Oracle events such as Oracle Open World and IOUG-A Live. His favorite topics are distributed databases in general and advanced replication in particular. He also writes for the Northern California Oracle Users Group newsletter and is an active contributor to the Oracle Internet list server. Look for Charles' upcoming O'Reilly book, Oracle Distributed Systems, available later in 1998. Charles lives in Los Altos, California, with his wife Kathy, daughter Natalie, and labrador Jed. You can email him at [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Pap/Dskt edition (April 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565924320
• ISBN-13: 978-1565924321
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,964,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for Replication, February 1, 2000

By 

RAJAVADIVEL (Oracle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oracle Distributed Systems (Paperback)

It would have been better if the author has addressed the common problems faced during replication, how to detect them and solve them. Otherwise a good book. Many packages have changed in Oracle 8i. Better wait till the next release covering 8i is out in the market.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars adequate coverage, October 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oracle Distributed Systems (Paperback)

This book does a reasonable job covering both distributed databases and replication. More coverage on maintenance and problem-solving would be helpful (i.e. What to look at when replication fails dd views etc.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but most info copied from his other book., August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oracle Distributed Systems (Paperback)

This is a good book for replication, but allot of the material is covered in his Oracle Built-in Packages book. Almost word for word.

The built-in packages book is a much better deal for the money.

Mark Greenhalgh Oracle Consultant