FAQ - Oracle Validated Configurations

What are Oracle Validated Configurations?

Oracle Validated Configurations are pre-tested, validated architectures with software, hardware, storage and networking components together with documented best practices for deployment. Oracle and its strategic partners offer and recommend these configurations to enable end-users to deploy fully tested solutions to achieve standardization with high performance, scalability and reliability while lowering infrastructure costs.

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What are the benefits of Oracle Validated Configurations?

There is a higher level of assurance that these configurations will run well as these component stacks have undergone a higher amount of stress testing. These recommendations also reduce testing and discovery efforts for end-users and enable them to deploy solutions more quickly. They help:

• Achieve standardization, scalability and reliability with lower cost
• Accelerate and simplify deployment of Oracle on Linux
• Lower cost for end-users cost by eliminating need for expensive testing of the stack
• Mitigate customer risk

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What is the difference between Oracle Validated Configuration and Oracle Product Certification?

Traditionally, Oracle certifies its products to an operating system, which allows Oracle products running on any Linux supported hardware platform to be fully supported by Oracle. Oracle Validated Configurations go a step further by testing the "complete component stack" and providing recommendations on versions, settings, and fixes for a stack (software, hardware, and storage) based on experience with running workloads in the Oracle and Partner Linux Test Lab.

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Do I have to pay to get access to Oracle Validated Configurations?

No. This is simply best practices documentation based on extensive stack testing. You do not need to pay to get access to this information.

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Oracle is partnering with the leading vendors in each category as outlined below:

• Server and Storage: Compellent, Dell, Egenera, EMC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Inspur, Huawei, Liquid Computing, Network Appliance, Pillar Data, Sun, Unisys
• Platform Technology : AMD, Intel
• Operating System: Oracle Enterprise Linux, RedHat, SLES
• HBA Drivers: Emulex, QLogic
• Networking: Brocade, Cisco Systems

The initial configurations will be delivered on some of these partner components. Eventually, we will deliver configurations including all the above partner technologies.

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Why has Oracle chosen Linux x86-64 as the architecture for the initial configurations?

Oracle is seeing significant end-user demand for Linux x86-64 architectures and is fully committed to developing, advancing and promoting the 64-bit commodity Linux. All new chipsets and servers are now being shipped with x86-64 architecture, thereby offering a much wider hardware selection to end-users than some of the other architectures. Therefore, Oracle has chosen to initially make Oracle Validated Configurations available on Linux x86-64.

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What versions of Oracle Database are included in Oracle Validated Configurations?

Oracle Validated Configurations are currently based on Oracle Database 11g and 10g Release 2 and in the future will include newer versions of Oracle Database. We do not plan to make these configurations available on Oracle9i or Oracle Database 10g Release 1.

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What versions of Linux distributions are included in Oracle Validated Configurations?

The current validated configurations are based on Oracle Enterprise Linux 5, Oracle Enterprise Linux 4, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5), Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 (RHEL4), and SUSE Enterprise Server 9 (SLES9). Together with our partners, we plan to continue publishing additional configurations on these operating systems.

How are the hardware and operating system combinations chosen?

The Linux distribution choice—Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat or SLES—for a particular Oracle Validated Configuration does not imply that only a specific hardware is suitable for only Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat, or only SLES.

Does Oracle intend to limit its list of configurations to include only a few options?

Oracle is offering these configurations as recommendations and best practices. Along with our partners, we intend to publish a variety of configurations with different hardware and software combinations, over time. Our intent is to offer well-tested choices to our users and channel partners. This by no means implies that other custom configurations deployed by end-users will not be supported. We will still continue to offer support for all Oracle products certified on Linux regardless of whether someone deployed them using an Oracle Validated Configuration or not.

How do I get support for Oracle Validated Configurations?

You will be able to get support for Oracle Validated Configurations in exactly the same way as you get support for any other Oracle and partner products today. You will need to buy the appropriate license and support for the various components of the stack if you choose to deploy Oracle Validated Configurations. Oracle and its partners already have joint support processes in place for the joint handling of any customer support issues that may come up for Oracle Validated Configurations. The delivery of a complete and integrated support solution leads to faster problem resolution and reduced support costs, which are critical to our customers' success.

How do I get a list of the available Oracle Validated Configurations?

To find out more about Oracle's Validated Configurations offerings, visit the Oracle Validated Configurations homepage on OTN.

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