Security Patching Survey -- Available Now 

IOUG, in collaboration with Oracle, is launching the second security assurance survey.  The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback from as many organizations as possible about their security patching practices and to identify which security assurance topics are most relevant to Oracle customers.  This survey is the second of its kind:  the results of the first survey were published in February 2009.

A participant to Oracle's Secure Customer Advisory Council, IOUG partnered with Oracle Global Product Security for the creation of these surveys to provide meaningful feedback to Oracle about its security programs.  For example, the current survey provides you a chance to give feedback about Patch Set Updates (PSUs) and the CPU documentation.  It also provides you a chance to tell Oracle which Security Assurance programs you would like to get more information about: would you like more security documentation or training from Oracle, or would like to see default configurations install more securely by default?  In the past, the feedback provided through the Security Customer Advisory Council has resulted in the definition of new security policies and changes to existing policies.  This survey is a very effective means to share your experience and try to influence Oracle Software Security Assurance programs and activities.

The findings of the survey will be kept confidential.  Survey results will be analyzed jointly by Oracle and IOUG.  These results will be presented at the next Security Customer Advisory Council meeting currently scheduled to take place in November 2010.

Login to take the survey and if not yet a member of the Enterprise Best Practices SIG, sign up now for free SIG membership.

The survey is located at: 

  http://ioug.itconvergence.com/pls/apex/f?p=201:19:1858764829334518::NO

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COLLABORATE 10 - IOUG Forum

April 18-22, 2010
Mandalay Bay Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

Make plans to join the ENTERPRISE BEST PRACTICES Special Interest Group and the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) in Las Vegas, April 18-22, 2010 at COLLABORATE 10 - IOUG Forum. Registering with the IOUG will give you access to sessions that feature essential Oracle technology education across eight tracks including: Application Strategy and Services, Infrastructure Technologies, BI/Data Warehousing/EPM, Database, Development, Governance Risk and Compliance, Master Data Management/Application Integration and Professional Development. The Enterprise Best Practices SIG will also be holding a meeting on Monday, April 19 from 3:45pm - 4:45pm.

Expand Your Oracle Knowledge During Full-Day Training Sessions

Register* for one of the following seminars to obtain an in-depth dive into topics such as these.

D1: Sun Virtualization Technology for Oracle Technology Professionals
George Trujillo, Trubix & Steve Lemme, CA
In this deep dive, attendees will learn the benefits of using virtualization to facilitate the management of database and application servers. You will learn the setup and configuration of a VM using Solaris Zones and the fundamentals of Zone administration and management for databases. Virtualization best practices and guidelines will be emphasized throughout the deep dive. Virtualization's role in Cloud Computing will also be included in the presentation.

D3: Installations - Tips, Tricks and Best Practices
Michelle Malcher, DRW Holdings
If installations were just clicking through install screens we wouldn't be offering a deep dive into installation tips and tricks. The first tip is that a default install might be good to check out what gets installed but it is not normally what is adopted as a standardfor enterprise environments. More details will be provided as to what should be installed, prepartion work that needs to be done before the even installing. Also, let's not forget about security and realizing that some of that starts with the owners of the processes and software install. This sesssion will look at best practices around what to install while looking at future growth and needs, as well as the secure configuration for installs. We will also look at developing a standard configuration to have repeatable and consistent installations.

D4: Backup, Recovery and Failover
Tim Quinlan, TLQ Consulting, Inc.
This course will address the topic of achieving high availability using Oracle's Recovery Manager (RMAN) and Data Guard products in Oracle 10gR2 and Oracle 11g.  Many new features have been added to both Rman and Data Guard in 11g and this course will visit them. Along with new features and functionality we will discuss the architecture, configuration, performance, integrity and management using these tools.  This is a fast-paced seminar intended for any DBA wanting to use RMAN and Data Guard to achieve high availability.

D7: 11gR2 New Features
Daniel Liu, Oracle
The innovation continues with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 to lower IT costs and deliver a higher quality of service.  This technical session is designed for Oracle professionals to gain in-depth knowledge of Oracle Database 11g Release 1 and Release 2 New Features.  Topic highlights include: Active Data Guard, Advanced Compression, Real Application Testing, RAC One, hybrid columnar compression, security, virtual column based partitioning, ASM enhancements, Exadata, upgrade strategy, and more.

If you are an Oracle technology professional, be sure to register through the IOUG to access IOUG's exclusive offerings. Register by April 8 to save $200 off the onsite rate! When you register, please choose priority code EBPSIG during the demographic section (step 4) of the registration process.