I know, it's cheap to paraphrase a well-known writer. However, it doesn't make the question less valid. Usually the migration to a new major release of a software product is quite an undertaking. This is certainly true for Oracle SOA Suite 11g. That said, there are more than enough reasons to go for 11g, as it delivers a whole lot of new functionality that you might need. That new functionality is not the subject of this post, but you can find any information you need on OTN.
What I expect to see happening however, is a limited amount of back-porting of 11g functionality into the current release (going for 10.1.3.4 or even 10.1.3.5). So, depending on your needs it is imperative to have a good look at your current and future situation, to determine what will be the right strategy for you to take. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have specific questions about the way forward to 11g.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Podcast on SOA Governance
A while ago I was at Oracle HQ talking to Dave Berry, product team manager of Oracle Fusion Middleware, about governance. We started out a discussion on our blogs and we felt it would be a nice idea to convert our discussion into an article.
Somehow Bob Rhubart, manager of the Architect Community within Oracle, got wind of our discussion and invited us to give our take on Governance in general. The result is two podcasts on Governance:
* OTN Arch2Arch Podcast: SOA Governance: It's Cultural
* OTN Arch2Arch Podcast: SOA Governance Perspectives.
Let me know what you think of it!
Somehow Bob Rhubart, manager of the Architect Community within Oracle, got wind of our discussion and invited us to give our take on Governance in general. The result is two podcasts on Governance:
* OTN Arch2Arch Podcast: SOA Governance: It's Cultural
* OTN Arch2Arch Podcast: SOA Governance Perspectives.
Let me know what you think of it!
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Holidays
This is my last day before I take a well-deserved 3-week holiday. Meaning I won't be posting any thoughts or comments in the next 3-4 weeks. Probably won't have much access to the Internet and besides, who cares about my holiday pics anyway?
So, see you all in August!
So, see you all in August!
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g launched. Did you miss it ?
Yesterday Oracle launched the long-awaited 11g release of Fusion Middleware. Perhaps you missed it? Well, nothing lost! You can go to OTN and see a replay of the launch. You'll also find all the downloads and additional information that will help you get started!
Go for it! It's definitely worthwhile!
Go for it! It's definitely worthwhile!
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Process Engines vs State Engines
Process Engines, usually BPEL engines or Workflow engines, execute proces-steps based on a predefined process. This is a sound practice, however not for long-running processes.
Long-running processes have the nasty habit to change over time. This will affect all active and running processes. Why? Because the process engines usually store the process state and corresponding data in a persistence store. The effect of a change in the process requires you to migrate all those saved instances, unless you are able to leave them running the old version of the process.
A different approach is a State engine, where the next step in the process is not determined by the predefined steps in the process, but on the current state of the subject and the event that has been received. This leads to more decoupling between process and services. However, so far I haven't seen any Process engine that works like this.
In theory there's not much difference between the two approaches. You could state that a process engine uses implicit states as defined in the process, whereas a state engine uses explicit states. The end result could/should be exactly the same. A state engine would give some more flexibility, but also needs more functionality to be able to have an overview and control of the process.
Anyone knows of any tool that works like a state engine? I'd really like to know.
Long-running processes have the nasty habit to change over time. This will affect all active and running processes. Why? Because the process engines usually store the process state and corresponding data in a persistence store. The effect of a change in the process requires you to migrate all those saved instances, unless you are able to leave them running the old version of the process.
A different approach is a State engine, where the next step in the process is not determined by the predefined steps in the process, but on the current state of the subject and the event that has been received. This leads to more decoupling between process and services. However, so far I haven't seen any Process engine that works like this.
In theory there's not much difference between the two approaches. You could state that a process engine uses implicit states as defined in the process, whereas a state engine uses explicit states. The end result could/should be exactly the same. A state engine would give some more flexibility, but also needs more functionality to be able to have an overview and control of the process.
Anyone knows of any tool that works like a state engine? I'd really like to know.
Monday, 22 June 2009
ODTUG Update: SOA Symposium
Yesterday at 8 pm we started the SOA Symposium at ODTUG (yes, Sunday and Father's Day to boot). ODTUG is well known for its technological content, but as SOA becomes more and more mainstream, SOA will become a integral part of ODTUG.
The symposium was organized by three Dutch Oracle Ace Directors: Lonneke Dikmans, Lucas Jellema and myself. The setup we choose was a little different then one would expect from a symposium. From the start, we aimed to get a very interactive symposium where the goal is to meet other SOA adepts and to exchange experiences. We managed to achieve this by doing just 3 presentations (to create a mindset) followed by two workshops and a panel discussion.
The day was divided in two parts. In the morning we approached SOA from a business point of view, in the afternoon we discussed technology. The average knowledge level and experience of the participants was rather high, which made discussions very very interesting. It was good to see that there were a lot of Oracle Ace Directors present.
We've made several very interesting conclusions which will be put on the Oracle Wiki.
The symposium was organized by three Dutch Oracle Ace Directors: Lonneke Dikmans, Lucas Jellema and myself. The setup we choose was a little different then one would expect from a symposium. From the start, we aimed to get a very interactive symposium where the goal is to meet other SOA adepts and to exchange experiences. We managed to achieve this by doing just 3 presentations (to create a mindset) followed by two workshops and a panel discussion.
The day was divided in two parts. In the morning we approached SOA from a business point of view, in the afternoon we discussed technology. The average knowledge level and experience of the participants was rather high, which made discussions very very interesting. It was good to see that there were a lot of Oracle Ace Directors present.
We've made several very interesting conclusions which will be put on the Oracle Wiki.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)