Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server 10g

Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server provides integrated and complete middle-tier infrastructure to enable enterprise mobile strategies. Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server can be used simply for device management (e.g., remote command execution) or application provisioning (e.g., initial download and subsequent update of application binaries), but frequently is used together with the Oracle Database Lite Client to enable mobile and disconnected applications that require secure, bi-directional data synchronization and central management of applications, users and devices.

A proliferation in mobile devices and their rising performance and storage capabilities have led to increasing user expectations for sophisticated enterprise application and data access functionality. Additionally, administrators grapple with the daily challenge of leveraging and managing a growing number of enterprise mobile assets.

Ideally, these mobile devices are constantly connected to a wireless or wired network simplifying both the user and administrative challenges. However, many times, a constant network connection for mobile workers is often not possible, practical or desirable. Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server centralizes application provisioning and mobile asset management, and provides the experience of continuous access to enterprise data and applications unconstrained by network bandwidth and coverage.

Mobile disconnected applications are crucial in helping businesses streamline field operations, automate data capture processes, improve customer service, optimize distributed assets, and most importantly, sell more. Offline mobile applications developed using Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server and Database Lite Client allow employees to connect to the network and bring a set of business data from their enterprise's central systems down to their mobile device. Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server extends the grid environment to mobile and embedded devices, allowing mobile workers to access enterprise data through mobile applications even in the absence of a network connection. The employee can choose to re-connect to the network when it is available to synchronize data.

Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server is deployed as middleware, but provides platform-specific client stacks that allow it to interoperate with various client platforms including Windows 2003/XP/Vista, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC, Linux, embedded Linux and the Symbian OS. In addition, it provides comprehensive application development tools and APIs that enable quick and simple mobile application development and rollout.

Key Features

	Data Synchronization - The high-performance, many-to-one, scalable synchronization architecture is designed to support concurrent synchronization by thousands of mobile devices. On-the-wire data compression enables efficient use of limited network bandwidth typical in mobile scenarios. Encrypted, HTTP-based communication channel enables network transport independence.
	Application Deployment and Provisioning - The application run-time environment is provisioned in one step by downloading and installing bootstrap file that then provisions clients with relevant data and applications. Pending application updates are detected and downloaded automatically by mobile client.
	Device Management - Commands issued using the device management capabilities can collect database or device information or perform actions that allow administering the deployed devices and remotely managing applications and data on the client devices. For example, an administrator can enforce corporate security policy on a lost or stolen device by executing a remote command to synchronize and delete the application database.
	User Management - Administrators can use the Mobile Manager interface to create and manage users and groups and assign them application access privileges. In addition, Mobile Server is interoperable with any external user authenticator. For example, it can be used to provide enterprise single-sign on capabilities by authenticating against a centralized corporate LDAP directory.
	Application Management - Using Mobile Manager, administrators can publish and manage applications on the Mobile Server. Administrators can further modify application properties, suspend/resume applications and customize data subsets for each user.
	System Management and Performance Tuning - Using Mobile Manager, administrators can schedule background jobs and set various operational parameters such as trace logging settings. They can monitor on-going synchronization sessions and resolve any resulting errors and conflicts. Finally, Mobile Server allows administrators to tune the synchronization performance and respond to a changing operating environment by profiling candidate database queries that can be used during synchronization and selecting the most efficient one for the current conditions.
	Developer Tools - Mobile Server provides tools to define mobile application schemas and deploy mobile applications. Additionally, Mobile Server exposes underlying APIs to allow developers to customize default client or server behavior, or accomplish tasks not exposed by the tool user interfaces.
	Multiple Data Update Policies - Application developers can select either incremental synchronization (Fast Refresh) or full table (Complete Refresh) synchronization as required by the mobile application and dictated by business needs. Alternatively, developers can customize data refresh by manually managing data synchronization queues.
	Customizable Conflict Handling - Developers can select between built-in default "Client Wins" or "Server Wins" conflict resolution rules, or write code to provide custom conflict handling.

New Features in Release 10.3

	Automatic Synchronization - Automatic synchronization eliminates the need to manually invoke synchronization and enables synchronization to occur in the background while users continue to work with their applications and access the database. Developers define rules based on device state (e.g., remaining power or memory), network bandwidth and pending changes that can trigger synchronization from either the client side or server side.
	Developers Tools - A repository diagnostics tool, MSRDT, allows developers to examine and diagnose the Mobile Server's repository. New development wizards in the Mobile Database Workbench tool and additional management screens in the Mobile Manager simplify and accelerate application development and management.
	ADF and OC4J Support - A new version of the Web-to-Go client based on the Oracle Containers for Java (OC4J) J2EE container enables greater robustness and scalability through seamless integration with the latest version of Oracle’s Application Server. Using JDeveloper, developers can build disconnected web applications based on Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF).

Product Information

New/Updated Information for 10g Release 3
	Oracle Database Lite Business White Paper (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Technical White Paper (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Datasheet (PDF)
	Adding Mobile Capability to an Enterprise Application With Oracle Database Lite (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Automatic Synchronization White Paper (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Synchronization White Paper (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Device Management White Paper (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Reviewers Guide - Installation 10g 10.3.0 (PDF)
	Oracle Database Lite Reviewers Guide - Mobile Database Workbench 10g 10.3.0 (PDF)