At Oracle’s invitation, Nuage Networks was honored to be part of the Linux Partner Pavillion at Oracle Open World this week. Not surprisingly, we chatted with numerous Oracle Database Administrators (DBAs) during the show. Each reported frustration – from mild to extreme – with how Oracle databases were provisioned with network resources in their organization. They were amazed that a networking company such as Nuage could help them with their problems. So, let me quickly summarize how Nuage completely changes the game for applications – including, of course, Oracle databases and ERP packages – installed on bare metals servers, in VMs, or in containers. A representative Oracle environment (ERP application with a web server front-end and an Oracle database back-end) is depicted below. In short, this application configuration requires a secure network environment with a load balancer, multiple network subzones, and cascading firewall definitions (to prevent hackers from emulating the Web Server to break into the ERP Server and emulating the ERP Server to break into the Oracle Database). Having to deal with all this network complexity makes life challenging for both DBAs and Network Administrators.
Here’s how Nuage Networks changes the game entirely, including how the Application Designer and Infrastructure / Security teams interact:
- The Infrastructure / Security teams define the network at a virtualization level. For the example above, there is one network domain (depicted by the blue oval) that has three subzones:
- Web / Load Balancer: Includes all devices that can be accessed from the Public Internet such as Web Servers and Load Balancers.
- Security Appliances: Includes Firewalls and other security devices.
- Application / Database: Includes application and database servers.
- The policy definitions include how each device and layer can interact (e.g. Firewalls separate each subzone from the other) as well as the permissions for the application designer.
The application designer does not have to understand the network. Using the Nuage API or our REST API, the application designer then independently creates the following declarative policies (i.e. policies that provide explicit guidance without using specifics such as fixed IP addresses):
- Web Servers can access the ERP Servers and MUST use HTTPS authentication.
- ERP Servers can access the Oracle Database Servers and MUST use HTTPS authentication.
Then, Nuage Network’s policy engine intelligently combines the network and the application definition policies into a single virtualized network that is optimized for the desired Oracle implementation. The network flexes automatically as new application or database servers are added to the mix.
The net impact: Oracle Sys Admins and DBAs can get exactly what they need, quickly and securely, with Nuage. And, they can schedule their work independently to maximize their group’s effectiveness – and very possibly their appreciation for the Infrastructure / Security group!
To learn more, you can watch Amir Sharif’s presentation at OOW, you can read Umair Hoodbhoy’s blog that discusses our application-level capabilities, or watch the “Nuage Networks Application View of Networking” segment at Network Field Day 8 in its entirety.