Oracle has extended the Oracle Validated Configurations program to include Oracle VM server virtualization software. "The Validated Configurations program creates best practices for deploying Linux in the enterprise," Monica Kumar, senior director, product marketing, Oracle, tells 5 Minute Briefing. "Oracle has created a test kit which we share with partners, customers and actually it is an open source test kit. It is available for free download by anyone. You can use a test kit to run multiple tests against a stack, which includes servers, storage, drivers, networking components, operating system-in this case being Linux-and now we have added virtualization to that stack and an Oracle Database version."
The program offers pre-tested, validated architectures, with documented best practices to help improve the performance, scalability, and reliability of solutions, with faster, lower-cost implementations. Oracle Validated Configurations provide details on what to deploy, how to deploy and recommendations on hardware and software combinations that have proven to be the most effective.
"This is very much geared towards best practices for deploying Linux and for making the deployments faster, and helping customers lower costs, so they don't have to spend months and months of testing time trying to figure out what hardware works with what drivers, what version of the OS and what version of Oracle," adds Kumar. With the extension of the Validated Configurations program to include Oracle VM, notes Kumar, not only can customers use it for deployment in a physical environment but they can also deploy solutions in virtual environments.
In related news, Oracle also announced Oracle VM Template Builder and Oracle VM Template for Oracle's Siebel CRM.
All three of the announcements are really geared toward helping customers deploy software faster and manage it easier, says Kumar.
Oracle VM Template Builder is an open source, graphical utility that makes it easy to use Oracle Enterprise Linux "Just enough OS" (JeOS)-based scripts for developing pre-packaged virtual machines for Oracle VM. End-users and ISVs have the option to develop their Oracle VM Templates by using these JeOS-based scripts directly or via the graphical Oracle VM Template Builder.
Oracle VM Templates are virtual machines containing pre-installed and pre-configured enterprise software that can be used by ISVs or end-users to develop, package and distribute their applications for faster deployment. Oracle VM Templates speed and simplify application deployments and help reduce the risk of user errors in production, development, or test environments.
The graphical Oracle VM Template Builder utility is based on the core technology of Oracle's small footprint Oracle Enterprise Linux JeOS operating system image that, along with the accompanying powerful script, is designed specifically for Oracle VM Template creation and build-process integration.
Oracle VM supports both Oracle and non-Oracle applications and offers customers scalable, low-cost server virtualization backed by Oracle's support. Oracle VM Templates are available now for Oracle's Siebel CRM, as well as Oracle Database, Oracle Enterprise Manager, Oracle Fusion Middleware, and more.
See a complete list of templates here.
For a complete list of Validated Configurations, go here.