Oracle Network Course Prerequisites

In order to get the most from this course, you should have a basic understanding of the UNIX operating system, PL/SQL coding techniques, and the following Oracle database concepts:

1. Oracle tables and tablespaces
2. Oracle instances
3. The Oracle data dictionary

1. Identify Networking Business Trends and Problems

   • Oracle 11g: Focused on traditional on-premise connectivity, IP-based bottlenecks, and manual troubleshooting.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Understand modern multi-cloud connectivity, zero-trust architectures, and network micro-segmentation.
     • Identify latency-sensitive workloads (e.g., AI model inference or hybrid transactional/analytic processing).
     • Address network automation and observability gaps in Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
     • Track business shifts toward serverless and edge computing where networking must adapt to ephemeral services.

2. Describe Oracle’s Networking Solutions

   • Oracle 11g: Oracle Net Services, TNS, Oracle Connection Manager.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Explain Oracle Net Services in a hybrid/multi-cloud environment, including private endpoints, VCNs, Dynamic Routing Gateways (DRG), and FastConnect for low-latency links.
     • Include Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Service Gateway and DNS-based resolution through OCI’s internal DNS.
     • Discuss Oracle Connection Manager in Traffic Director Mode (CMAN-TDM) for secure, load-balanced, and policy-driven routing.
     • Mention JSON Duality Views and REST-based connectivity for data exchange and network access from outside Oracle.

3. Develop an Oracle Network Topology

   • Oracle 11g: Based on IP layout, TNS names, and listener routing.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Design a topology that includes cloud-native resources: Autonomous DBs, private access endpoints, compartment-based networking, and API Gateways.
     • Incorporate Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure or OCI-Azure Interconnect, depending on customer architecture.
     • Use multi-region replication topologies involving Data Guard and GoldenGate over secure VCN peering.

4. Define the Procedure by Which Oracle Net Establishes a Server Connection

   • Oracle 11g: Uses TNS names, resolves alias, contacts listener, spawns server process.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Now includes load balancing through SCAN listeners (if Exadata or RAC).
     • Cloud-native services often use secure listener-less connections with pre-authenticated session tokens, especially in Autonomous DB.
     • Use mutual TLS (mTLS), network security groups (NSG), and vault-based credential management in the connection handshake process.
     • For REST clients, Oracle 23ai may use HTTPS-based endpoints via ORDS or native duality views.

5. Create a Network that Utilizes the Transparent Network Substrate (TNS)

   • Oracle 11g: Required for all Oracle network communication.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • TNS is still part of the Oracle Net Services stack, but is abstracted away in most cloud-based use cases.
     • In Autonomous Database, developers rarely interact with tnsnames.ora directly — connectivity is handled by wallets or token-based methods.
     • When manually managing TNS-based networks (e.g., Exadata Cloud@Customer), the same fundamentals apply, but managed using OCI CLI, Terraform, or Console UI.

6. Configure the Listener Using Oracle Net Manager

   • Oracle 11g: Graphical tool to manage listener.ora, port settings, aliases.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Listener configuration is automated or invisible in most managed services (Autonomous DB, ADB-D).
     • For customer-managed environments (e.g., on Compute VM or Exadata Cloud@Customer), use command-line tools (e.g., lsnrctl) or OCI Console-based provisioning.
     • Net Manager GUI is deprecated; replaced with scripting tools, REST APIs, and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) via Terraform or Resource Manager stacks.

7. Set Up Multiple Listeners on the Same Node

   • Oracle 11g: Manually configure different ports and listener names in listener.ora.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Still supported in on-prem or private cloud configurations.
     • On OCI, this is rare — services are containerized and segregated by VCN or availability domains, not by listener multiplexing.
     • When needed, configure through containerized Oracle DB images, k8s deployment scripts, or OCI VM scripts using environment variables for listener setup.

8. Install the Oracle Net Services Client Software

   • Oracle 11g: Separate installation of Oracle Client.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • No longer required. Instead:
       • Use lightweight Oracle Instant Client or
       • Wallet-based secure connection bundles for Autonomous Database (includes sqlnet.ora, tnsnames.ora, and credentials).
     • Use Python, Node.js, Java, or REST clients with appropriate SDKs (OCI SDK, cx_Oracle, JDBC thin).
     • Also possible: Database Tools in OCI Console for direct SQL without installing a client.

9. Use the Host-Naming Method to Test Oracle Net Connectivity

   • Oracle 11g: Hostname-based resolution to skip tnsnames.ora.
   • Oracle 23ai Update:
     • Mostly obsolete. In OCI:
       • Use database OCID, wallet aliases, or private IPs within VCN subnets.
       • OCI provides FQDN-based private endpoints — no need for manual hostnaming logic.
     • DNS is centrally managed inside VCNs, and Host Naming is now a legacy fallback, not a best practice.

In addition, you should be able to:

1. Identify networking business trends and problems
2. Describe Oracle’s networking solutions
3. Develop an Oracle network topology
4. Define the procedure by which Oracle Net establishes a server connection
5. Create a network that utilizes the (TNS) transparent network substrate
6. Configure the listener using the Oracle Net Manager
7. Set up multiple listeners on the same node
8. Install the Oracle Net Services client software
9. Use the host-naming method to test Oracle net connectivity

If you do not feel comfortable with one or more of these topics, techniques, or procedures, you may want to consider taking the

1. Oracle Network Topology and
2. Basic SQL

In the next lesson, we will outline what you need to realize the full potential of this course.