Working Notes

I'm still trying to digest everything that I learned from OOW13. Plug-able databases, data modeling, CTX package, etc. I found myself emailing my boss on occasion during the conference to say stuff like 'hey boss, I just learned about this. We should totally being to this thing .' And it was hard not to wall myself up in my hotel room and work on it until it was finished. Fortunately, I resisted the urge, and kept on attending sessions. Let it be said that Open World is NOT a training conference. I'm not sure I came away with more tangible skills on Friday than I had on Sunday. What I do have, is more knowledge of the tools available. As the saying goes, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. After each Open World conference, I feel like I have a new tool available to me. I don't like the idea of being one dimensional, so having a wide range of tools to solve problems helps me be more valuable. Finally, it's not always WHAT you know, but ...

Dimensional Modeling in Oracle SQL Developer This session started of with a fine review of basic data modeler concepts: fact tables, dimension tables, granularity, star schema, etc. After the review of concepts, the session jumped into some demonstrations of how to build relationships, tables, and so on using the data modeling tool within Oracle SQL Developer. Database as a Service: Creating a Database Cloud Service Catalog This was the sort of dry presentation that is usually scheduled for Thursday morning. In fact, it was pretty dry, service catalogs aren't the most exciting things. What resonated for me was how applicable this was to my organization, and how easy it is to build. As a DBA, how many times do we get asked "Can I have a database for this little project?" First we say, 'No', then we say 'it's expensive' and then, and the project manager gets involved, we say 'okay fine'. Chances are, is someone asks for a database, they n...

Best Practices for Implementing Database as a Service This was not a best practices conversation, but something else. I was disappointed by this presentation and left early. Cloning and Snapshots with Oracle Database 12c Much has been talked about regarding the new features in 12c, including the multi-tenant option and now the new cloning features. First of all, multi-tenant / pluggable databases look like a game changing technology for the next couple years. The cloning and snapshots really are the same things they always are. The differences introduced in 11g and 12c allow for the the DBA to have more control over the creation of clones and snapshots by leveraging the underling SAN technology. Yes, you heard that correctly: you can use database functionality to take a NFS snap. This is supported by an NFS client that comes as part of delivered functionality. Data Modeling 101: Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler This was an hands on lab which allowed users to walk through seve...

Day Two started in a much more traditional way, with a more traditional focus. Database. Database. Database Oracle NoSQL an Oracle Database Working Together Pretty much anyone on the Database track knows Oracle RDBMS pretty well. However, understanding of what NoSQL is, and how it may fit as a solution within an organziation is still a mystery to some. NoSQL is a key-based datastore that is used in applications which require fast read or write operations, without the need for 100% consistency. This is different than reliability, but that's a topic for another day. NoSQL can be used to store or supply information to applications where it typical latency associated with an heavy RDBMS would be considered unacceptable. NoSQL is also part of the systems associated with Hadoop and other Big Data solutions. High Volume Text Indexing with Oracle Text: A Guide for Developers I attended a lab session on this topic yesterday. These sessions seemed to have been scheduled out of orde...

The great thing about flying west to a conference, is that you can wake up at 5:30am get two hours of work done in you're local time zone before having to do any work in your current time zone. It also means I can get up early, write my "Day One" post, on day two. This tactic only has marginal utility of 2-3 timezones, I'm guessing. Day One started with a bang, or really a slash. Despite the best efforts of my brain to convince me otherwise, I met a handful of really nice folks for a morning swim near the Dolphin Club on the bay. Some enterprising gentleman brought a thermometer and promptly reported the temp was 15 degree Celsius; I have no idea what that means. Pictures were taken, swim caps distributed, and we were off. I walked into the chest deep water, and was cool, but not cold. However, once I decided to dive in and swim again, my lungs and diaphragm spasmed...the cold literally took my breath away. But I did what anyone would do in this situation...breast...

So, I ran out of time to write a proper preview. So, here we are on Day one! I started my day with a morning jog, a swim with @OracleNerd, Chet Justice and Yuri Velikanov and other luminarys and colorful internationals. To further exemplify the international flavor of this event, the water temp was measured in Celsius...so I really had no idea. Once I got it, it literall took my breath away; my diaphram contracted in strange ways, until I settled in. After that, I got a good 1/4 mile swim in, and collected the t-shirt, which was all I wanted anyway.  But, back to the preview: I'm focusing my conference sessions on some labs involveing data modeling, as well as a review of some cloud based architectures from Oracle and Amazon. I also have sessions on Golden Gate replication, which I'm already familiar with and a handful of other interesting sessions.  I'll post/update sessions daily, or as needed. You can follow me on Twitter as well, @gscottwalters.  5 minutes ...

Oracle Tech Network (OTN) has some awesome demos available at the OTN lounge. I'm going to stop by the following, at least for a bit. OTN Meetup – Tuedsay 9/24 4:30pm - 5:30pm Join OTN Community Managers and team members, Oracle Product Managers, and community members to meet and mingle. Be sure to mention the special code word ("I love OTN") at the OTN Lounge info desk to receive your free gift (you'll need that gift for access to the refreshments).  Meet the Oracle ADF Team –   Wednesday 9/24  2:00pm - 3:00pm  Meet with the Oracle ADF community peers, network with product managers, get to know Oracle ACEs who specialize in Oracle ADF. We'll also have free give-aways (while supplies last). RAC Attack – Tuesday / Wednesday 9/24-25 10:00am – 2:00pm Install Oracle 12c RAC on your laptop to have a training hands on environment Answers Oracle 12c RAC related questions Install Oracle 12c Single Node instance Ninjas will explain how to install it at hom...

This will be my fourth year attending Open World, and as a relative expert in navigating the process, I thought I'd document some helpful tips. Find a Track It's easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of sessions available. In many ways, it's like trying to decide what classes today without declaring a major. Find two or three topics you want to discover and start registering. Plan your day, not your week. Once you've got a track, limit your session list to a particular day. Unofficially, the best sessions are scheduled  Monday - Wednesday. Thursday sessions are good too, depending on how much you enjoyed the Wednesday event. Mix up your schedule; find some labs, sessions and discussions every day. Avoid the Wait list Wait lists require you to reserve a time block for something you might not even see. Instead, save the session you want, with a star and find something else. Seats in a session are reserved for the first 10 minutes; after that's it's fair ga...