Oracle 10g release 2

Database Outsourcing Experts
Oracle 10g release 2
Administration
ASM Command Line Utility
You can now interact directly with ASM files and disk groups using the new ASMCMD command line tool. This
uses Unix-like commands for the manipulation of these files so you don’t have to use SQL or the Enterprise
Manager.
Direct SGA Access
In the case of a hung system when you can’t even login, the Grid Control software can attach directly to the
SGA and retrieve process and system information to help to troubleshoot a problem.
RMAN - Convert Database
The feature introduced to convert datafiles between operating systems has been extended so that you can
copy an entire database with the RMAN “convert database” command.
Segment Shrink Enhancements
This feature now supports LOBs.
Transparent Data Encryption
Data can now be encrypted right down to the table level, meaning only those with the right encryption key can
even make sense of data stored in a table.
RMAN - Convert Database
The feature introduced to convert datafiles between operating systems has been extended so that you can
copy an entire database with the RMAN “convert database” command.
Segment Shrink Enhancements
This feature now supports LOBs.
Transparent Data Encryption
Data can now be encrypted right down to the table level, meaning only those with the right encryption key can
even make sense of data stored in a table.
Automatic Resource Management
The enqueue_resources and db_file_multiblock_read_count init.ora parameters are now self tuning and do
not need to be set.
Online Table Redefinition
Now supports partitions, clusters, queue tables and object data types.
Segment Advisor
This now runs every night during the maintenance window along with the statistics gathering job.
Streams Pool Management Changes
This is now managed within SGA_TARGET.
Transportable Tablespace
Now supports XML type.
Database Outsourcing Experts
Oracle 10g release 2
Backup & Recovery
Flashback Enhancements
You can now flashback the database through a resetlogs operation. This is especially useful with Standby
databases as it means you can flashback to before an activate command was issued. You can also set up
guaranteed restore points which tell Oracle to make sure it has enough flashback data to go back to a
particular SCN.
RMAN - Encrypted Backups
Now you can encrypt backups using passwords or other forms of transparent wallet-based encryption.
Oracle Secure Backup
10g Release 2 saw the release of this tool which aims to remove the need for 3rd party media management
tools when writing backups directly to tape. It can also be used to back up the host file systems and so
provides a one-stop shop for all the server’s backup needs.
Business Intelligence
Partition Change Tracking Enhancements
Materialized view logs are no longer needed to enable partition change tracking meaning all materialized view
types can be fast refreshed without MV logs.
Query Re-write Enhancements
This can now use multiple materialized views to re-write a query.
Significantly Enhanced Oracle Discoverer in Application Server 10gR2
Application Server Release 2 brings many much called for enhancements to Oracle Discoverer Viewer and
Discoverer Plus, making them true Business Intelligence tools.
High Availability
RAC - OCR Mirroring
The Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR) is now automatically mirrored to various locations meaning it is less likely
you’ll need to go to a backup if there is any corruption.
RAC - Connection Failover
Fast Connection Failover is now available for JDBC, OCI & ODP using events.
RAC - Name Changes
Cluster ready Services (CRS) has been reborn as Oracle Clusterware.
Real-time Apply Enhancements
It’s no longer necessary for a log switch to occur to apply data to a standby using the SQL apply method.
RAC - Cluster Verify Utility (cluvfy)
Even though this utility comes with Release 2, it can be independently downloaded and used with Release 1.
This utility can be used to verify the set-up of the server before attempting to install the clusterware and very
the set-up of RAC at various stages throughout the installation process. It can also be used to check system
integrity after installation and is a very handy tool.
RAC - crsctl Utility
This new utility can be used to start and stop the entire clusterware stack and its resources in a single
command. It can also be used to check various aspects of the cluster configuration.
Database Outsourcing Experts
Oracle 10g release 2
High Availability
RAC - Node Cloning
Enterprise Manager Grid Control can be used to create new nodes by cloning existing nodes. All you need to
do is set up access to the new node and it takes care of the rest.
Recovery through Incremental Backups
Incremental RMAN backup sets can now be used to roll forward a standby database.
Application Programming
Asynchronous Commit
You can now change the way Oracle works when committing data, either through a new init.ora parameter or
via an SQL statement. Amongst other options, COMMIT NOWAIT returns control to the application even
though the data has not yet been committed to the redo logs.
DML Error Logging
You can now create error logs for DML statements, meaning that in a batch of updates you can just log an
error and move on without it rolling back the whole process.
XML DB Web Services
Developers can write and deploy web services that can query the database with SQL or XQuery or execute
stored procedures and you can access web services through the Oracle XML DB listener.
Database Change Notification
This enables client applications to receive notifications when the result set of a registered query changes. For
example, if the client registers a query on a table, then the application can receive a database change
notification when a new row is added to the table.
Regular Expression Enhancements
SQL support for common Perl-based extensions has been added.