Dear Rdb Product Family Customers,

Oracle Rdb Engineering is pleased to announce the production release of Oracle Rdb 7.2.1.0, with support for the latest dual-core Montecito based HP Integrity Servers.

The kits are now available on Metalink (patch numbers 5742090, 5742089, 5742094), OTN and will shortly be available on Oracle E-Delivery. This version of Rdb is certified to run on OpenVMS 8.3 and the full range of HP Servers running OpenVMS.

With Oracle Rdb Release 7.2.1.0, customers can now take advantage of the performance, scalability and new feature enhancements available in OpenVMS 8.3 as well as all the price/performance benefits of the new d! ual-core Montecito based HP Integrity Servers. HP OpenVMS 8.3 is the minimum OS version required if deploying Rdb on Montecito systems. A full list of the OpenVMS versions supported with Oracle Rdb 7.2.1.0 on Integrity and Alpha servers can be seen in the Rdb Product Compatibility Matrix. Included in this matrix you will find the other Rdb family of products such as Oracle CODASYL DBMS Release 7.2.1.0 and SQL/Services/OCI Services for Oracle Rdb Release 7.2.0.1 which are also released and certified to run on OpenVMS 8.3 and Montecito HP Integrity systems.

As was the case when we first released Oracle Rdb on HP Integrity Servers a year ago, nearly all Oracle Rdb-based applications running on HP OpenVMS AlphaServer systems today need only to be recompiled, linked and tested to run on Integrity servers (including the latest Montecito based servers). You can deploy on standalone or clustered Itanium-based servers or add Itanium-based database servers to your existing OpenVMS cluster of AlphaServer systems.

Oracle Rdb Release 7.2.1.0 also continues to allow direct database access from multiple nodes in mixed-architecture clusters. Simultaneous access to the same database from Integrity servers and AlphaServer systems within a cluster allows you to port your existing applications on your own schedule rather than forcing an "all-or-nothing" migration. These options give you maximum protection for production environments and permit you to migrate to lower cost commodity hardware when it makes sense for your business.

As well as mixed-architecture cluster access, Oracle Rdb also continues to offer remote database access. Existing applications connected via a network can access an Oracle Rdb database located on either AlphaServer or Integrity server systems. For most applications, this can be done with a simple logical name change and no application rebuilds. You can continue to run many applications unchanged while you take advantage of performance improvements and reduced cost-of-ownership available with the newest Itanium-based servers.

In addition to HP OpenVMS 8.3 and dual-core Montecito based Integrity system certification, Oracle Rdb Release 7.2.1.0 provides a number of new enhancements including:

• Hot Standby Status Symbols From RMU /SHOW AFTER_JOURNAL /BACKUP_CONTEXT
• RMU BACKUP, COPY, MOVE /THREADS=n New Qualifier
• Support for GNAT Ada on Alpha and Itanium
• Enhancement to SQLCA
• RMU /BACKUP /COMPRESSION Enhanced Algorithm
• Enhancements for Compression Support in RMU Unload and Load
• CALL Statement From Trigger Action That Can Now Update Tables
• Using OpenVMS Reserved Memory Registry With Rdb
• Increased Date/Time String Display Precision
• Enhanced System Table Lookup in Multischema Databases
• New SET FLAGS Option: REBUILD_SPAM_PAGES
• Improved Management of the AIP (Area Inventory Page) Data by SQL Commands
• A New RMU Show AIP Command
• A New RMU Set AIP Command

A complete list of enhancements and new features is listed in the product release notes. Rdb Engineering invites you to download the product and discover the advantages of Rdb 7.2.1.0 and related product family releases for yourself.

		Best regards, Kevin Duffy Director of Development Oracle Rdb