.

Oracle Database 23C - Interesting Features

 Oracle Database 23C - Interesting Features:

Oracle Database 23C is most awaited and has lot of key features, It's one stop database for modern needs of NoSQL and relational databases, it provides most sought after features such as.

Take Away - Oracle Database 23C supports all the key features of database without need for specialized databases.

JSON:

JSON-relational duality views combine the advantages of using JSON documents with the advantages of the relational model, while avoiding the limitations of each.

Simple SQL 

Interesting features on how SQL is used and made lot of syntax and enhancements with the applications and user support for the database access.

Graph Support

Support for the graph and relationship in oracle database. 

Useful link - https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/23/nfcoa/#Oracle%C2%AE-Database

JSON - https://blogs.oracle.com/database/post/json-relational-duality-app-dev#:~:text=The%20new%20feature%20in%20Oracle,a%20JSON%20Relational%20Duality%20View.&text=Using%20Duality%20Views%2C%20data%20is,JSON%20documents%20(figure%202).

Oracle EBS - How to setup DMZ HTTP Reverse Proxy Server

 Oracle EBS - How to setup DMZ HTTP Reverse Proxy Server

1. Install apache on reverse proxy server.

1.1 Download apache source file : http://apr.apache.org/download.cgi

httpd-2.4.34.tar.gz

mkdir -p /opt/app/software

copy all install packages to /opt/app/software

1.2 Download apache dependent files apr & apr-utility :

apr-1.6.3.tar.gz

apr-util-1.6.1.tar.gz

1.3 Download PCRE ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre/

pcre2-10.31.tar.gz

pcre-8.42.tar.gz

1.4 Before apache install, check C, C++, Libtools, expat-devel and apr-devel compilers.

yum install -y mlocate

updatedb

yum list installed libgcc

yum remove libgcc.i686

yum install -y libgcc.x86_64 gcc-c++.x86_64 gcc.x86_64 compat-gcc-44.x86_64 compat-gcc-44-c++.x86_64

1.5 Download and install openssl which is used by apache

openssl-1.0.2o.tar.gz

Untar file in /opt/app/software

cd openssl-1.0.2o

./config --prefix=/usr/local/openssl -fPIC

make

make install

which openssl -- /bin/openssl

openssl, exit

1.6 Extract and install autoconf

Pre requisite rpms for autoconf : m4.x86_64, perl-ExtUtils-MakeMaker, Data-Dumper-2.161.tar.gz

yum install -y m4.x86_64

yum install -y perl-ExtUtils-MakeMaker

cd /opt/app/software/Data-Dumper-2.161

perl Makefile.PL

make

make install

cd ../autoconf-2.69

./configure --prefix=/usr/local/autoconf

make

make install

which autoconf

1.7 Install libtool

yum install -y libtool.x86_64

1.8 Extract and Install apr, apr-util & pcre.

Untar files in /opt/app/software and rename files by removing version numbers.

tar -xvzf apr-1.6.3.tar.gz

tar -xvzf apr-util-1.6.1.tar.gz

tar -xvzf pcre-8.42.tar.gz

mv apr-1.6.3 apr

mv apr-util-1.6.1 apr-util

mv pcre-8.42 pcre

cd ./apr

./configure

make clean

make

make install

cd ../apr-util

yum install -y imlib.x86_64

yum install -y expat-devel.x86_64 expat.x86_64

./configure --with-apr=/usr/local/apr/bin/apr-1-config

make clean

make

make install

cd ../pcre

./configure --prefix=/usr/local/pcre

make clean

make

make install

1.9 Apache Installation

cd /opt/app/software/httpd-2.4.34

./buildconf

./configure --prefix=/opt/app/dmz --with-including-apr --with-pcre=/usr/local/pcre --with-ssl=/usr/local/openssl --enable-so --enable-mods-shared="ssl proxy proxy_http proxy_ftp proxy_connect headers"

make clean

make

make install

For some reason, if you run into issues during cnfiguring/make , run below buildconf to run configure command again otherwise latest changes won't be affective.

./buildconf

2.0 mod_security for apache Installation:

Download and Install modsecurity-2.9.0.tar.gz

Prerequisites:

yum install libtool.x86_64 -- already installed

yum install -y libxml2-devel.x86_64

Untar and Install

mkdir -p /opt/app/dmz/mod_security

cd /opt/app/software

tar -zxvf modsecurity-2.9.0.tar.gz

cd modsecurity-2.9.0

export PATH=/usr/local/openssl:/usr/local/autoconf/bin:/usr/local/libtool/bin:$PATH

./autogen.sh

./configure --prefix=/opt/app/dmz/mod_security --with-apxs=/opt/app/dmz/bin/apxs

make

make install

2.1 Make sure mod_security2.so files generated in apache directory.

cd /opt/app/dmz/modules

ls -lrt mod_security2.so

cd /opt/app/dmz/mod_security

ls -lrt

Start the apache and check.

cd /opt/app/dmz/bin

ps -ef|grep httpd

./apachectl start

ps -ef|grep httpd

./apachectl stop

1.7.6. Enable mod_security module in httpd.conf.

LoadModule security2_module modules/mod_security2.so

1.8. Now start the services and make sure there are no issues.

2. Add proxy pass entries to httpd.conf

Note: Disable below SSL parameters:

         SSLProxyCheckPeerCN off

         SSLProxyCheckPeerName off

3. Setup url_fw.conf from external node to proxy ${APACHE_HOME}/conf.

4. Enable only Isupplier related url's in url_fw.conf.

Kubernetes Cheat Sheet

 Kubernetes cheat sheet

Listing the below commands which will be useful for administering the kubernetes environment.

 

Version:

# Get kubernetes version: The Server Version line indicates the version of Kubernetes that is running on the Kubernetes cluster.

kubectl version

Pods:

# Get the details of all pods in one namespace

kubectl get pods -n <namespace>

#  Get the details of all pods in all namespaces

kubectl get pods --all-namespaces 

#  Get the details of all pods in the current namespace, with more details

kubectl get pods -o wide  

Deployments:

# Get all  the deployments 

kubectl get deployments

# Check the history of deployments including the revision

Kubectl rollout history deployment <deployment name>

# Rolling  restart of the deployment

Kubectl rollout restart deployment <deployment name>

Interacting with pods:

# Login to pod

Kubectl exec -it <podname> -- bash

#Run the commands in the pod

Kubectl exec <podname> -- ls /

configmap :

# Get all configmap in current namespace

Kubectl get cm

# Edit configmap 

Kubectl edit cm <configmap name>

Secrets:

# Display all the secrets 

Kubectl get secrets

# Display all the secrets 

Kubectl get secrets --all-namespaces 

Services:

# Display all the services 

Kubectl get svc

# List Services Sorted by Name

kubectl get services --sort-by=.metadata.name

Logs:

# Check the logs of the pod

kubectl logs <podname>

# Tail the logs of the pod

kubectl logs -f <podname>

Copy :

# copy  the data from local directory to  the pod

kubectl cp $HOME/data <pod>:/opt/app/data

Storage:

# List all PersistentVolumes

kubectl get pv

# List all PersistentVolumes sorted by capacity

kubectl get pv --sort-by=.spec.capacity.storage

# Describe specific persistent volume

kubectl describe pv <pv_name>

# List all persistent volumes claims

kubectl get pvc

# Describe specific persistent volume claim

kubectl describe pvc <pvc_name>

Create/Delete resources:

# Create specific resource

kubectl apply -f <deployment>.yaml

# Create specific resource using URL

kubectl apply -f https://gcs.io/pod

# Describe specific persistent volume claim

kubectl delete -f <deployment>.yaml

Formatting output:

# Append the following to command to get output in json format 

-o json  

# Append the following to command to get output in yaml format 

-o yaml

# Append the following to command to get output in plain text format with additional information for pods.

-o wide

# Print a table using a comma separated list of custom columns

-o=custom-columns=<spec> 

Cluster details:

# Display the cluster details

kubectl cluster-info

Below bash alias are more useful:

    alias k="kubectl"

    alias allpods="kubectl get pods --all-namespaces"

    alias kc="kubectl create -f"

    alias kg="kubectl get"

    alias pods="kubectl get pods"

    alias ktop="kubectl top nodes"

    alias rcs="kubectl get rc"

    alias sv="kubectl get services"

    alias dep="kubectl get deployment"

    alias kd="kubectl describe"

    alias kdp="kubectl describe pod "

    alias kds="kubectl describe service "

    alias nodes="kubectl get nodes"

    alias klogs="kubectl logs"

    alias ns="kubectl get ns"

    alias deploys="kubectl get deployment"

    alias events="kubectl get events"

    alias kexec="kubectl exec -it "

    alias sec="kubectl get secrets"

 

OCI Cloud - Top 10 things to consider when deploying applications.

Deploying applications on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) involves several best practices to ensure efficiency, scalability, security, and reliability. Here are some key practices for OCI cloud deployments:

1. Well-Architected Framework:

Reliability, Performance, Security: Follow OCI's well-architected framework principles to design and implement your solutions for reliability, performance, and security.

2. Resource Planning and Optimization:

Right Sizing: Properly size compute, storage, and networking resources to meet application demands while avoiding unnecessary costs.

Utilize Autoscaling: Configure auto-scaling policies to dynamically adjust resources based on traffic patterns.

Cost Management: Leverage Oracle's tools for cost management and monitoring to optimize expenses.

3. Security Best Practices:

Identity and Access Management (IAM): Implement least privilege access control, utilize IAM policies, and regularly review permissions.

Network Security: Use Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs), security lists, and security groups to control network traffic.

Data Encryption: Encrypt data at rest and in transit using encryption services provided by OCI.

4. High Availability and Fault Tolerance:

Multi-Availability Domains (ADs) and Regions: Deploy across multiple availability domains and regions to ensure high availability and disaster recovery.

Load Balancing: Use Load Balancers to distribute traffic across multiple instances for fault tolerance.

5. Automated Deployments:

Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use tools like Terraform or Oracle's Resource Manager to define and provision infrastructure, ensuring consistency and repeatability.

CI/CD Pipelines: Implement continuous integration and deployment pipelines for automated testing and deployment.

6. Monitoring and Logging:

Monitoring Services: Use OCI Monitoring and Notifications to set up alerts and monitor resources, enabling proactive issue resolution.

Logging: Centralize logs using OCI Logging to facilitate troubleshooting and security auditing.

7. Backup and Disaster Recovery:

Backup Strategies: Implement regular backups of critical data and ensure their integrity.

Disaster Recovery Plans: Have well-defined plans for disaster recovery, including backup restoration and failover procedures.

8. Compliance and Governance:

Compliance Standards: Adhere to relevant compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and regularly audit configurations.

Governance Policies: Establish governance policies for resource tagging, naming conventions, and access controls.

9. Performance Optimization:

Content Delivery Networks (CDN): Utilize OCI's CDN for caching and delivering content closer to end-users, enhancing performance.

Optimize Database Performance: Utilize OCI's database tuning and optimization features for improved performance.

10. Documentation and Training:

Documentation: Maintain detailed documentation of configurations, deployments, and best practices.

Training and Knowledge Sharing: Continuously educate and train teams on new features, best practices, and security measures within OCI.

Implementing these best practices will help in creating robust, secure, and efficient deployments on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Tailor these practices based on specific application requirements and stay updated with OCI's latest features and improvements for continual enhancement.