Production release of updated UEK

Oracle UEK 2.0 provides advanced features for production environments.

Notable inclusions in this release are as follows

The addition of btrfs (B-tree file system) with copy-on-write functionality which allows for improved performance in VM environments. Btrfs offers improvements in scalability, reliability and ease of management from the widely used ext4 filesystem. The primary benefits of btrfs allow for efficient cloning and snapshot capabilities including snapshot rollbacks.

Linux containers for OS level virtualisation is available on UEK2.0 enabling the running of multiple isolated Linux environments on a single host. Each container is a virtual environment with its own process and network space. Rather than having separate VMs each requiring OS administration, containers allow for a common host OS with isolated environments for services and applications.

DTrace for dynamic troubleshooting of kernel and application problems in real time has also been included. DTrace allows for the inspection of memory, CPU time, filesystem and network resources used system wide or by individual processes. Detailed inspection of individual processes is also possible with logging of arguments passed to functions or file access.

KSplice is incorporated which will allow for kernel updates of your production environments with zero downtime. KSplice allows you to keep up to date with the latest kernel security patches without the need to restart applications or reboot your server. Rollbacks are also possible without reboots should an update cause any unexpected issues.

The release of UEK 2.0 affirms Oracle's commitment to Linux mainline tree.

Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 is included with Oracle Linux 5 and 6.

Streamlining Linux configuration for Oracle deployments

Oracle has recently added a new rpm aimed at simplifying the deployment of RDBMS 10g or 11g on to Oracle Linux systems. This rpm--'oracle-validated'--carries out many tasks which will be familiar not only to Linux users, but also those who have successfully used Solaris JumpStart for much the same purpose.

In brief, it does the following:

• Installs the packages and dependencies needed to successfully run the database
• Creates the required users
• Modifies kernel parameters and other system settings as required

This automates a lot of the routine configuration needed for any Oracle database installation, and is definitely a win for hard-pressed sysadmins. You can find more details here:

• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/ginnydbinstallonlinux-488779.html?msgid=3-5784744152

Delivers better performance, 75% faster than Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Not only is Oracle Linux fast, it is also the only OS that allows the kernel to be updated as its running, reducing downtime when patching.

Anyone can try Oracle Linux for free, check the link below to login or register to get your copy of the latest ISO.

• https://edelivery.oracle.com/linux