Oracle Big Data Appliance

The Oracle Big Data Appliance consists of hardware and software from Oracle Corporation designed to integrate enterprise data, both structured and unstructured. It includes the Oracle Exadata Database Machine and the Oracle Exalytics Business Intelligence Machine, used for obtaining, consolidating and loading unstructured data into Oracle Database 11g.^[1] The product also includes an open source distribution of Apache Hadoop, Oracle NoSQL Database, Oracle Data Integrator with Application Adapter for Hadoop, Oracle Loader for Hadoop, an open source distribution of R, Oracle Linux, and Oracle Java Hotspot Virtual Machine.^[2]

History

Oracle announced the Oracle Big Data Appliance Mon, October 3 at Oracle OpenWorld 2011.
Oracle is notorious for acquiring other companies' software / hardware and making its own software compatible. They have maximized their position in the field of Big Data by maximizing their platform capabilities by acquiring the web tier, the middleware, the database software, the database tier and the storage tier. This allows them to offer what they consider the total package for Big Data.

The Challenge

The purpose of Oracle’s Big Data appliance is to integrate all enterprise data, structured and unstructured using a combination of hardware and software. This integration includes capturing the mountains of data from department silos, from weblogs, social media feeds, smart meters, sensors and other devices that generate massive volumes of data that are found in most enterprises. This maneuvering of data will change how business users perceive data and use it,

Hardware

The major hardware components of the Big Data appliance consist of: a full rack configuration with 864GB of main memory and 432 TB of storage. A full rack consists of 18 servers nodes that include a Sun server which is made up of: 2 CPUs (6-core Intel processors), 48 GB memory per node (upgradable to 96 GB or 144 GB), 12 x 2TB disks per node, InfiniBand Networking and 10 GbE connectivity. ^[3]

Software

• Oracle NoSQL Database is a distributed, scalable, key-value database based on Oracle’s Berkeley DB Java Edition High Availability storage engine. It is reputed to have predictable levels of throughput and latency and requires minimal administrative interaction. NoSQL database will be available in both open-source and commercial versions.^[4]
• Apache Hadoop is a framework that allows for the dispersed processing of large data sets across groups of computers using a simple programming model.
• Oracle Data Integrator with Application Adapter for Hadoop
• Oracle Loader for Hadoop (OLH) enables users to use Hadoop MapReduce processing to create enhanced data sets for efficient loading and analysis in Oracle Database 11g. The difference between this loader and others is that it generates Oracle internal formats to load data faster and use less database system resources.
• Oracle R Enterprise tool is the combining of the open source distribution of R, a programming language and software environment for statistical computing and publication-quality graphics (Winter, 2011) with Oracle Database 11g. Oracle R Enterprise uses the approach that the models will run in-database and process large data sets, using the Oracle Database 11g and Exadata.
• Oracle Linux is an enterprise-class Linux distribution supported by Oracle.
• Oracle Java Hotspot Virtual Machine is a core component of the Java SE platform. It implements the Java Virtual Machine Specification, and is delivered as a shared library in the Java Runtime Environment.^[5]

The software available will also be sold separately, to allow customers to define their own configurations with their existing Big Data infrastructure as well as a component in the data appliance.^[6]

How it Works

A simplistic view is an organization would use the Oracle Big Data Appliance (Hadoop and NoSQL) to capture the data, then use Big Data Connectors to a data warehouse where they can use Oracle Enterprise R or any other data mining techniques to analyze the data further...

Support

In partnership with Cloudera, the Hadoop software and services provider, Oracle will provide first-line support, Tier 1, for the appliance and all software (including the Hadoop distribution and Cloudera Manager) through its issue-tracking support infrastructure (My Oracle Support). Cloudera will handle Tier 2 and 3 support as well as training and consulting engagements.^[7]

Additional Information

• Oracle Digs in On NoSQL, Hadoop, End-to-End Big Data
• Oracle Big Data Appliance Overview

References

1. Darrow, Barb (2011-10-03). "Oracle BigData Appliance stakes big claim". Retrieved 30 December 2011.
2. Dijcks, Jean-Pierre. "Oracle: Big Data for the Enterprise" (PDF). Oracle Corporation. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
3. Winter, Richard (December 2011). "Big Data :Business Opportunities, Requirements and Oracle's Approach" (PDF). Winter Corporation. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
4. Oracle Corporation. "ORACLE NOSQL DATABASE 11G". Oracle Corporation.
5. Oracle Corporation (1 Jan 2011). "Java SE HotSpot at a Glance". Oracle Technology Network. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
6. Kanaracus, Chris (3 Oct 2011). "Oracle Rolls Out 'Big Data' Appliance". CIO. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
7. Henschen, Doug (10 Jan 2011). "Oracle Makes Big Data Appliance Move With Cloudera.". Information Week. Retrieved 24 January 2012.