What's New in Oracle Database for Windows

This chapter describes new and deprecated features of Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) for Windows and provides pointers to additional information. It also retains new and deprecated features information from previous releases to help those users migrating to the current release.

The following sections describe the new features in Oracle Database:

• Oracle Database Support on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems

• Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2) New Features for Windows

• Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2) Deprecated Components

• Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) New Features for Windows

• Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) Deprecated Components

Oracle Database Support on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems

Oracle Database is supported on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based systems starting with the 10.2.0.5 release. Use the Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2.0.5) for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 media available in the 10.2.0.5 media pack and the Oracle Technology Network site.

Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2) New Features for Windows

This section contains this topic:

• Oracle Clusterware Name and Functionality Change

Oracle Clusterware Name and Functionality Change

Starting with this release, Oracle Clusterware has the following changes:

• Its new name is Oracle Clusterware.

• You can install and use Oracle Clusterware without having to install Oracle Real Application Clusters. At least one server in the cluster must be licensed for Oracle Database 10g.

Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2) Deprecated Components

The following Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) components that were part of Oracle Database 10g release 1 (10.1) are not available for installation with Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2):

• Legato Single Server Version (LSSV)

  Instead, use Oracle Database Recovery Manager (RMAN)

• Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) component of Oracle Advanced Security

Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) New Features for Windows

This section contains these topics:

• Automatic Storage Management

• Database Password Encryption

• Data Pump Import and Data Pump Export

• Instant Client

• Large Page Support

• Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control

• Oracle Home Selector

• Oracle Provider for OLE DB

• Oracle Scheduler

• Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server

• Renamed Components

Automatic Storage Management

Automatic Storage Management enables creation of a single disk group from a collection of individual disk devices.

Database Password Encryption

When a user attempts a remote login to an Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2) database, the password is automatically encrypted before it is sent to the remote database.

Data Pump Import and Data Pump Export

Two new utilities, Data Pump Import and Data Pump Export, offer faster transfer of files to and from Oracle databases. The previous file transfer utilities, Import and Export, are retained for use with Oracle databases created with earlier versions of Oracle software.

Instant Client

The Instant Client feature of Oracle Call Interface (OCI) simplifies OCI installation. The activation of Instant Client mode is only dependent on the ability to load the Instant Client data shared library. It requires only two dynamic link libraries to be loaded by the dynamic loader of the operating system.

Large Page Support

Large page support provides a performance boost for memory-intensive database instances running on Windows Server 2003. By taking advantage of newly introduced operating system support, Oracle Database now can make more efficient use of processor memory addressing resources.

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control is installed in the same Oracle home as the database and supports standalone Oracle Containers for Java (OC4J) instances.

Oracle Home Selector

Oracle Home Selector is no longer available from the Start menu. Instead, use Oracle Universal Installer, which has functionality similar to Oracle Home Selector.

Oracle Provider for OLE DB

Oracle Provider for OLE DB 10g Release 2 (10.2) includes the following new features:

• Support for Oracle grids

  Oracle Provider for OLE DB is grid-enabled, allowing developers to take advantage of Oracle database grid support without having to make changes to their application code.

• Support for the following data types introduced with Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2):

  • BINARY_DOUBLE

  • BINARY_FLOAT

• Support for multiple Oracle homes

  You can install Oracle Provider for OLE DB in multiple Oracle homes, starting with Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2). However, being a COM component, only one instance can be active on the computer. This means that the current (latest) installation renders the previous one inactive.

  To make multiple homes available, some of the Oracle Provider for OLE DB files now include a version number, and the use of a HOMEID is required.

Oracle Scheduler

This release includes a new database scheduler, Oracle Scheduler, to provide enterprise scheduling functionality. You can use the OracleJobScheduler service to start external jobs. This service is disabled by default. To use the external jobs functionality, the administrator must set the user name and password for the user account under which this service must run, and then enable the service.

Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server

Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server supports .NET transactional applications with Oracle Data Provider for .NET through the Oracle Provider for OLE DB, and ODBC.NET through the Oracle ODBC driver.

Renamed Components

The following components were renamed in this release:

Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) Deprecated Components

The following Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) components that were part of Oracle9i Release 2 (9.2.0) were not available for installation with Oracle Database 10g release 1 (10.1):

• INTYPE File Assistant (IFA)

• Migration Utility

• Oracle Names

• Oracle Trace (use SQL Trace and TKPROF instead of Oracle Traces)

• Pro*C GUI

• Pro*COBOL 1.8.77