Oracle9i Lite

As a new generation of highly portable and Enterprise ready mobile devices comes to market, the need becomes strong for Enterprises to deploy applications that run locally on these devices, to provide anywhere, anytime access to key business information and processes. Given the complexity of deploying such applications, Enterprises must rely on a proven offline mobile software platform. Oracle9i Lite is this platform, enabling the simplified development, deployment and management of offline mobile applications on all of today's popular mobile platforms: Palm OS, Symbian EPOC, Microsoft Windows CE, and Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/2000. Using Oracle9i Lite, E-Businesses make business data accessible where it is most needed: stored and available at all times in the Smartphones, PDAs, handheld computers, and laptops of their employees and kept 'in synch' with central E-Business servers through wireless or landline synchronization.

Two Simple Components that Simplify Offline Mobile Applications:

Mobile Development Kit
At the heart of the Oracle9i Lite platform is the Oracle9i Lite Database, a powerful lightweight relational database designed by Oracle to run on mobile devices. Oracle9i Lite Database offers complete transactional support, data integrity constraints, and the ability to construct queries on the fly. Oracle9i Lite Mobile Development Kit is a set of tools, APIs, and sample code that accelerate the development of mobile applications that access the Oracle9i Lite Database on Microsoft Windows CE, Symbian EPOC, Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and the Palm Computing Platform. Mobile Development Kit also offers an easy to use packaging wizard that packages all mobile application components (executables, DLLs, images, etc.) into a unique self executable file that is easily deployed to mobile devices.

Oracle9i Lite supports popular development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio and Oracle JDeveloper, letting developers rapidly develop mobile applications using the tools and knowledge they already own. Oracle9i Lite offers support for ODBC and JDBC across platforms, letting Enterprises invest in mobile applications that leverage open standard APIs and are easily extended to new platforms as the business need arises.

Mobile Server
An extension of the award winning Oracle9i Application Server, Mobile Server is a powerful mobile application server that offers comprehensive features to centrally deploy, manage, and synchronize mobile applications on thousands of mobile devices. Mobile Server guarantees that at no time in the lifecycle of your mobile application is there a need for your IT staff to physically handle mobile devices: Mobile Server truly brings the simplicity of the Internet �100% centralized deployment and management� to offline mobile applications. Mobile Server also offers highly scalable bi-directional synchronization of data between the Oracle9i Database Server and thousands of mobile devices over any wired or wireless network.

Multiple Application Models
Mobile Development Kit lets developers choose between four different application models: Native, Java, Web-to-Go, and Branch Office.

Native Applications
Native applications access the mobile device's native operating system (OS) and interface with the Oracle9i Lite Database through ODBC. Native applications are typically developped using C, C++, Visual C++, Visual Basic, ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), Puma Satellite Forms, or MetroWerks CodeWarrior.

Java Applications
Oracle9i Lite provides comprehensive support of Java across all mobile platforms. Java applications use JDBC to access the Oracle9i Lite Database on mobile devices. Oracle9i Lite's fast, ultra-thin, native JDBC driver ensures superior database performance and transactional functionality. The Oracle9i Lite Database also supports Java Stored Procedures and Triggers, which enforce business logic within the database, simplifying application programming and improving data integrity.

Web-to-Go
This unique feature of Oracle9i Lite enables browser-based applications that seamlessly shift between online and offline mode. Web-to-Go lets Enterprises invest in one unique browser-based application that services online and offline mobile users alike.

At anytime, online users may switch to offline mode. The Oracle9i Lite Database, a micro-Web Application Server, and a set of business data specific to each user are automatically brought down to the mobile device. Users may completely shut off the connection to their Enterprise network and keep on using their local browser-based application. The offline mobile application has the exact same look and feel. At anytime, users may connect back into the network, initiate two-way synchronization of their business data, and access the application in online mode again.

Web-to-Go is currently available on laptops running Windows 95/98/NT/2000. Mobile Development Kit enables the rapid creation of Web-to-Go applications using standard Java Servlet and Java Server Pages (JSP) that invoke JDBC.

Branch Office
In addition to its traditional support for mobile e-business applications, Oracle9i Lite now supports the deployment of offline branch office applications. This is enabled by a multi-user version of Web-to-Go. A Web-to-Go client residing on a lightweight Windows NT server in each remote branch office is accessed by up to thirty two different users within each branch office. At regular intervals, data is synchronized between all Web-to-Go clients and corporate systems, ensuring that branch offices always have access to the latest central data, and newly acquired data is seamlessly brought up to central corporate systems.

Highly Scalable, Bi-directional Data Synchronization
Oracle9i Lite Mobile Server offers reliable, bi-directional, Publication and Subscription-based synchronization of data between thousands of mobile devices and the Oracle9i Database Server.

Oracle9i Lite offers an 'asynchronous' synchronization engine: this means that during every synchronization session, each mobile device uploads its client side changes in an "in-queue", and retrieves its server side changes from an "out-queue" without waiting for Mobile Server to process its client side changes. This ensures that Mobile Server scales to support the needs of the most demanding offline mobile applications, where 1,000s of mobile devices simultaneously log into central servers to synchronize.

Key features of Oracle9i Lite synchronization include:

Automatic Creation of Synchronization Logic
Traditionally, the creation of server side synchronization logic in offline mobile applications requires deep knowledge of what is called �database replication� technology. Oracle9i Lite introduces revolutionary new features that automate the creation of this synchronization logic. All that is needed is to upload (or �Publish�) the mobile application to Mobile Server. Mobile Server analyzes information contained in the mobile application to automatically create the application�s server side synchronization logic.

Automatic Conflict Detection and Resolution
Conflicts occur when the same data item has been modified on the server and on the client. Oracle9i Lite Mobile Server automatically detects conflicts and resolves them based on rapidly configurable standard resolution rules such as "Client Wins" or "Server Wins". The mobile application developer may also fully customize the conflict resolution rules to address more elaborate business scenarios, such as 'Manager Wins' or 'Latest Time Stamp Wins'

Centralized Data Subsetting
Using Oracle9i Lite Mobile Server, mobile application administrators may centrally provision individual data subsets to thousands of mobile users. For instance all sales people in an Enterprise may be given data pertinent to their own territory as well as a shared pricing plan.

Support for Multiple Transports
Oracle9i Lite supports synchronization over any wired or wireless network. Out of the box, it provides seamless data synchronization support for any TCP/IP based network including HTTP, CDPD, 802.11b Wireless LAN. IT Departments may also plug-in any new transport by using the Mobile Server Open Transport APIs.

Packaging, Publishing, and Deploying
Once the application's business logic has been created using Mobile Development Kit, the next step in the deployment of an offline mobile application is the packaging of all application components (executables, DLLs, images, etc.) into a single self executable file that may be easily deployed to mobile devices. Oracle simplifies this packaging phase, thanks to a convenient Packaging Wizard.

Centralized Management and Administration
A Web-based administration interface, 'Mobile Server Control Center' enables 100% server side management of all mobile applications and users. The Administrator uses Control Center to publish the mobile application in the production system. After publishing the application, the Administrator may use Control Center to assign application access privileges to users. Using Control Center, the Administrator may easily grant or revoke access to individual users or groups. The Administrator may also use Control Center to perform other administration tasks, such as 'view server status', or 'view mobile device status', etc.

Security and Reliability
Oracle9i Lite offers comprehensive security features that guarantee the end-to-end security of offline mobile applications. Utilities like encrypdb and decrypdb may be used to encrypt/decrypt the Oracle9i Lite database. Strong CAST5 and SSL based encryption is offered to encrypt data during synchronization before transmitting over the wire to prevent any interception.

Summary
Putting today's powerful and lightweight mobile devices to good business use requires an Enterprise class software foundation. Oracle9i Lite is this platform: it is the only integrated platform in the industry that lets you offer all your mobile employees with offline access to shared business data, from any device. Only Oracle9i Lite supports more than thirty different platforms and devices including Palm PDAs, Nokia Communicators, Compaq iPaqs, and standard laptops. Only Oracle9i Lite offers one unique lightweight database with support of Java and ODBC across all platforms. This means that only Oracle9i Lite enables the creation of applications that are easily extended to new devices as the need arises. Only Oracle offers an integrated platform to enable the 'Web-to-Go', a solution that lets you deploy Web applications that are immediately accessible by online and mobile users alike. Only Oracle9i Lite offers end-to-end security across your mobile application. And only Oracle9i Lite guarantees low total cost of ownership with features that enable 100% centralized provisioning, deployment and management of your mobile applications.

Oracle9i Lite Features at a glance

Supported Platform

  • Palm Computing Platform
  • Windows CE 2.0, 2.11, 2.12, 3.0
  • Windows CE Processor: MIPS, SH3, SH4, StrongArm, x86
  • Windows CE Pocket PCs
  • Symbian EPOC OS Release 5 (Revo, NetBook)
  • Windows 95/98/NT/2000

Oracle9i Lite Database

  • Small footprint 50KB to 1MB depending on platform
  • Java Enabled Database
  • Compatible with Oracle Database Servers
  • Fast Native JDBC interface
    • JDBC v1.1 for EPOC
    • Type-4 JDBC for Windows
  • ODBC on all platforms
    • V2.0 for EPOC
    • V3.0-3.5 for Windows
    • Shared Libraries for Palm
  • Self-administrating and self-tuning
  • Supports ActiveX Data Objects for Windows CE/95/98/NT/2000
  • Supports Mobile SQL
  • Multi-User Account Capability
  • Full Transactional Processing
  • SQL and Java Stored Procedures and Triggers
  • Row-level locking concurrency
  • Built-in referential integrity
  • Binary Large Object (BLOB) support
  • Databases size: limited by available storage (Max. 2 GB)
  • Multiple Development Tools: MS Visual C++, MS Visual Basic, Oracle JDeveloper, Puma Satellite Forms 3.5, MetroWerks CodeWarrior

Web-to-Go

  • Now part of Mobile Server
  • Transparent switching of browser-based applications between online and offline mode
  • Centralized wizard-based application development, deployment, and management
  • Supports Static components: HTML pages and image files
  • Supports Dynamic components: Java Applets, Java Servlets, Java Server Pages
  • Supports Database components: Tables, Snapshots, and Sequences
  • Supports External Authentication of mobile users
  • Connection Pooling for fast and scalable database access
  • Java-based HTML library to include HTML objects within the Java Servlet code
  • Sync-only mode for Mobile Client for Web-to-Go
  • JSP compilation support

System Requirements

Mobile Server

  • CPU: Pentium III 360 MHz
  • Disk Space: 200 MB
  • RAM: 256 MB
  • OS: Windows NT 4.0 with SP3, Windows 2000
  • JDK: 1.2.2

Mobile Client for Windows 32 and Web-to-Go & Mobile Development Kit on Windows 32

  • CPU: Pentium III
  • Disk Space: 140 MB
  • RAM: 32 MB

Oracle9i Lite Synchronization

  • Flexible & reliable bi-directional synchronization between Oracle9i Database and any mobile device
  • Publication and Subscription based model
  • Asynchronous architecture ensures high scalability
  • Multiple synchronization and network protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP, CDPD, 802.11b, HotSync
  • Open Transport APIs to support any wireless network
  • Automatic Conflict Detection and Resolution
  • Customized Conflict Resolution
  • Automatic creation of synchronization logic using Packaging Wizard
  • Centralized Data Provisioning
  • Mobile Server Admin APIs
  • Mobile Sync APIs to invoke synchronization within the mobile application
  • SSL Encryption and Data Compression over the wire
  • DML callout customization
  • Schema evolution
  • Priority-based replication
  • Selective application and data synchronization

Mobile Server

  • One server for publishing, deploying, synchronizing, and managing mobile applications
  • Configurable with Oracle9iAS / Apache Server / Oracle HTTP Server
  • Bootstraps mobile clients on a wide range of devices
  • Controls access to mobile application using centralized Web-based 'Control Center'
  • Integrated Mobile Server Repository for Native, Java, Web-to-Go, and Branch Office applications
  • Supports Windows NT/2000
  • Supports Load Balancing between multiple Mobile Servers
  • Supports Batch Administration of Mobile Servers
  • Mobile Server Admin APIs
  • Mobile Server Extension APIs
  • Mobile Workspace APIs

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