Oracle8i delivers a lot of new functionality which will be useful to even better support SAP R/3. Some of those new features are:

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1 1 of 5 Dear Systemintegrator, dear SAPPHIRE-visitor, here is the first issue of the Oracle-SAP Technology Update Letter. In several presentations and in meetings with you at Sapphires, TechED or other events, it was your explicit wish to receive this kind of information. The purpose is to inform you about the latest news about Oracle products and services for SAP/R3. Content of Volume Oracle8i - the database for SAP R/3 Strong Midmarket Solutions + Activities with Ready-to-Run R/3 on Oracle Core Technology Consulting for SAP R/3 Customers Oracle Management Pack for SAP R/3 SAP R/3 Release Matrix Events overview, Oracle SAP Competence Center If you have questions don't hesitate to contact us. Kind Regards Oracle SAP Competence Center ORASAPCC@DE.ORACLE.COM Oracle8i delivers a lot of new functionality which will be useful to even better support SAP R/3. Some of those new features are: Automated Standby Database: The already familiar standby database was enhanced by new features like automatic transfer of redo logs and the option to open a standby database in read-only mode. Partitioning: Oracle8i introduces hash and composite partitioning as partitioning methods. Parallel Query: Oracle8i simplifies the administration of the parallel query mechanism. Most of the initialization parameters used so far have been replaced by a single new parameter, PARALLEL_AUTOMATIC_TUNING. Long Operation Monitoring: You can monitor the progress of long running operations to get an idea of the estimated completion time. - Bitmapped Tablespaces (Locally Managed Tablespaces): This new tablespace type automatically sizes all new extents at standard sizes, improving space allocation performance and eliminating free extent fragmentation issues. Transportable Tablespaces: This new feature allows a user to move or copy a subset of one Oracle8i

2 2 of 5 database to another Oracle8i database. Transporting a tablespace from one database to another can be orders-of-magnitude faster than either export/import or unload/load because it involves only copying data files and integrating metadata. Index Only Tables (IOTs): It is now possible to build additional indexes on index organized tables. Online Reorganization: Oracle8i supports online reorganization of indexes and IOTs. Optimizer Plan Stability: This feature gives application developers the ability to pre-tune their applications, then force database access via the path they designed. The plans are maintained using stored outlines of the statement execution paths, which are kept in the data dictionary. The new monitoring features provide information about which tables have stale statistics and a mechanism to automatically gather new statistics for stale objects. Block Corruption: The new package DBMS_REPAIR can be used to detect, report and repair corrupt database blocks. Oracle 8i will be available in Q1 CY 99. The first SAP R/3 release to include Oracle8i will be 4.6B (Q4 CY 99). Since the SAP Ready-to-Run R/3 preconfigured and preinstalled packages became available to better cover the requirements of small to mid-sized companies, a majority have chosen this quick start R/3 solution for NT on the famous Oracle data server. Now these Ready-to-Run R/3 packages are also used more and more as a base for dedicated tailored SAP business solutions for special markets. Hardware platform vendors like Sun have released a Ready-to-Run R/3 based solution called StartKlar! on their Sun-Solaris UNIX operating system running the Oracle data server. With this variety of new platforms (NT and UNIX), customers now have a broader choice with Oracle to better cover their business and IT infrastructure needs. "Ready-to-Run R/3 on Oracle" integrates the complete, world-renowned Oracle database technology, with its extraordinary functionality, easy to use, flexibility, high degree of security, and performance, just as it is used in the majority of R/3 installations worldwide. Oracle supports all SAP-specified package sizes on all NT and selected UNIX platforms. It is available for R/3 version 4.0 and will actually be ported to R/ Customers response has been very positive (e.g. WEGU on Siemens PRIMERGY). Since the two components Readyto-Run R/3 and Oracle have been optimized to run together, the customer can benefit from a unique and powerful system synergy. Activities with major partners, what is next? To show the benefits of the Oracle8 data server for all kind of SAP Mid Market projects on NT, Oracle and SAP IT partners like Compaq have successfully offered customer seminars joining many important SAP System houses. Coming next is a roadshow with TDS AG, a major SAP outsourcer and system house in Germany incorporating the powerful HP/Oracle NT Truck, a joint project by Oracle and HP. At CeBit99, Sun booth in Hannover, Oracle and Sun will present the first SAP CPG product bundle on Sun s UNIX Readyto-Run R/3 platform StartKlar!. Of course the new SAP Business Information Warehouse is available and can be seen there as well running on Oracle. If you are also interested in the valuable Oracle Services for R/3, come and visit us.

3 3 of 5 Customers Performance analysis and recommendations Obtaining optimized performance from the SAP R/3 system is one of the main concerns of R/3 customers. An optimized parameter setup suiting the customer environment cannot be provided without specific R/3 knowledge, because the R/3 data access patterns to the database are rather different from other Oracle implementations. As a consequence, the Center of Excellence for SAP offers to monitor the customer system over a defined period of time and then recommend which parameter settings would be the best for that customer. Migration Services for SAP R/3 A large majority of all SAP R/3 installations run on an Oracle database. For companies who wish to migrate their SAP R/3 installation from a non-oracle database to Oracle, the Center of Excellence for SAP is certified by SAP for R/3 database migrations. Professional service for migrations of any SAP database can be provided. Several customer systems have already been successfully migrated by the Center of Excellence for SAP. We offer you the best migration service you can get, because we have the experience to handle any problems that may arise from the database administrator s point of view. The Center of Excellence for SAP also offers - Integration Services for SAP R/3 Customers Most of the data that describes a company is stored within the R/3 system. Often the customer needs some of the data within another application. Unfortunately, not all data is stored within transparent tables: it cannot be downloaded easily. Data insertion or writing of data values to your R/3 system is even more complicated. On a database level, no constraints are implemented; these constraints are all set within the application. Just writing directly to a SAP table therefore could end in a disaster. Our team offers two different ways to access your SAP data: Via the Oracle Transactional Bridge for SAP Via SQL*Net and database links Database Links Database links are created using Oracle Net*V1/ Net*V2 connect strings to access SAP tables from another application it is the easiest way of data exchange; however, special requirements or conditions need to be followed: A network connection needs to be established between the two databases The data being accessed needs to be stored in a transparent SAP table The character set of the SAP database needs to be the same as at the target database The Oracle Transactional Bridge for SAP The need to consistently read and write data to and from a SAP R/3 system and develop software without using the R/3 development tools was brought to the Center of Excellence for SAP by several customers. They then developed an interface connecting directly to the R/3 application. This enables us to consistently read and write to the database with application interfaces. Contacting Oracle Consulting Services for SAP For Oracle Consulting Services for SAP, contact: Oracle Americas Core Technology Services Oracle Deutschland Gmbh Center of Excellence SAP

4 4 of 5 John Laufers 8300 Norman Center Drive Suite 575 Minneapolis, MN Phone: Fax: jlaufers@us.oracle.com Karlheinz Heigl Robert-Bosch-Str Dreieich Germany Phone: 49 (0) Fax: 49 (0) kheigl@de.oracle.com Oracle Enterprise Manager is the cornerstone for management within the Oracle environment. Containing a comprehensive set of system management tools, Oracle Enterprise Manager offers a single point of control to manage and administer a distributed, heterogeneous environment. This integrated management solution saves time and money by significantly easing the burden incurred when deploying enterprise systems. The new Oracle Management Pack for SAP R/3 extends these same benefits to SAP deployments by integrating R/3 management into Oracle Enterprise Manager. Oracle Management Pack for SAP R/3 extends Oracle Enterprise Manager's advanced tools to monitor the R/3 environment, diagnose problems, and plan for future needs. The pack builds on Oracle Enterprise Manager's host and database management infrastructure and incorporates the R/3 system as a peer to its other managed services. R/3 Release 3.1x R/3: 3.1G 3.1H 3.1I 3.1J Oracle: a) All 3.1 releases will be certified with and by end of 1998 (Desupport of 7.3.3) b) as terminal release of Oracle7.3 is available and certified by SAP as of 01/99. c) as terminal release of Oracle8 will be available and certified by SAP by end of R/3 Release 4.0/4.5 R/3: 4.0A 4.0B 4.5A 4.5B 4.6A 4.6B Oracle: i FCS: 12/97 03/98 08/98 03/99 07/99 Q4 CY1999 GA: 01/98 05/98 10/98 no GA 08/99 Q1 CY2000 1) FCS:First Customer Shipment, limited to early customers 2) GA: General Availability, all customers receive product 3) 4.5A will be the first release on 64 bit (December 98) Available now on Digital UNIX 4.0D/E, IBM AIX 4.3, HP-UX Please ask your SAP or Oracle contact for availability on SNI Reliant UNIX 5.44 and

5 5 of 5 SUN Solaris7. 4) 64 bit 4.5A (64 bit client libraries) with 64 bit in Q1/99 5) Full 64 bit support (database and application) for 3.1I, 4.0B and 4.5B in later 99 6) as terminal release of Oracle8 will be available and certified by SAP by end of March CeBIT 99, hall 1, 8 A2 (Germany) * March Oracle Open World Asia Pacific, Singapore April IOUG Denver, International User Group, USA May 2-5 SAPPHIRE'99 Nice (France) ** June Oracle EOUG Copenhagen, (Europ. User Gr.), DK September SAPPHIRE'99 Philadelphia (USA) October 30 - November 2 SAPPHIRE'99 Singapore November Oracle Open World Americas, Los Angeles (USA) * Don't miss the High Availability Seminar (free of charge) at CeBIT 99 in Hannover. For more information send us a mail: ORASAPCC@de.oracle.com **Are you visiting SAPHHIRE EUROPE in Nice? The Oracle-SAP Competence Center would like to invite you on Sunday morning, May to Technology Update Letter Session in the NEGRESCO Hotel, Promenade des Anglais in Nice, 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Please apply for this Technical Briefing session (free of charge), ORASAPCC@de.oracle.com