Actifio improves database integration of copy data management software

Oracle wasn’t the only vendor to toot its own storage horn at Oracle OpenWorld this week. A couple of smaller vendors played up their budding relationship with the database giant to show how they are growing their number of enterprise customers.

Array vendor Nimble Storage added a pre-validated SmartStack reference architecture for Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne application and copy data management pioneer Actifio increased its integration with Oracle apps to attract more database administrator customers.

Nimble first introduced its SmartStack reference architectures in late 2012 through a partnership with Cisco, and claims more than 200 SmartStack customers. The JD Edwards version consists of Nimble’s CS300 storage array, Cisco UCS Mini Server, Oracle VM, Oracle Linux, Oracle Database, and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.1.

Nimble’s previous SmartStack flavors include VDI for Citrix and VMware, Microsoft Critical Applications, Oracle Critical Applications, Desktop/Server Virtualization, Server Virtualization/Private Cloud and Data Protection with CommVault.

Radhika Krishnan, Nimble VP of product marketing and alliances, said the JD Edwards SmartStack came about because more enterprises are starting to deploy Nimble storage, and JD Edwards can be a tricky app to size correctly.

“Sizing tends to be challenging, depending on the number of end users you have,” she said.

Actifio used the conference to show off its expanded support for Oracle applications, allowing it to become an Oracle Platinum Level partner. The expanded support for Actifio CDS includes Oracle Database 12c, RMAN and Exadata products.

The value of Actifio’s software is it allows organizations to uses one copy of data for production, backup, test/development or any other application.

Actifio reps said they modified their platform’s workflows to enable DBAs to automate the data flow, with the help of RESTful APIs.

Oracle DBAs can use the automated workflow to provide copies of their databases to developers in minutes, according to Actifio senior director of global marketing Andre Gilman.

“I call it RMAN on steroids,” he said. “The old school way can take days to weeks, and even with newer technologies it takes hours.

“You can create a live clone of a database and update a virtual image to all your developers at the same time. You don’t have to repeat the process as part of daily maintenance. You put it in as one workflow and it’s all automated.”

Actifio director of product marketing Chris Carrier said the integration came from months of co-development work with Oracle. He said Actifio uses RMAN to do its change-block tracking and built its LogSmart log management system specifically around Oracle, although it works with other databases. “If you show Oracle DBAs a different way to manage data, they get nervous. But if you’re leveraging RMAN, they like that,” Carrier said.