Oracle Net8 Administrator's Guide Release 8.0 A58230-01 |
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# 12
Extending Net8 Functionality

Several related Oracle products extend Net8 functionality. Those products include:

- Section 12.1, "Oracle Enterprise Manager"
- Section 12.2, "Oracle Advanced Networking Option"
- Section 12.3, "Oracle Security Server"

## 12.1 Oracle Enterprise Manager

Oracle Enterprise Manager is included with the Oracle8 Server. It combines a graphical console, agents, common services, and tools to provide an integrated, comprehensive systems management platform for managing Oracle products. From the Oracle Enterprise Manager console you can:

- administer, diagnose, and tune multiple databases
- distribute software to multiple servers and clients
- schedule jobs on multiple nodes at varying time intervals
- monitor objects and events throughout the network
- integrate participating third-party tools

Oracle Enterprise Manager requires SQL*Net or Net8 to communicate across the network. In turn, some Net8 features are controlled by Oracle Enterprise Manager including Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Support.

##### SNMP Support

Support for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) allows a database and other network objects to be remotely monitored by any SNMP-capable management software in a TCP/IP network. SNMP is a de facto standard underlying many popular network management systems such as Hewlett Packard's OpenView, Novell's Network Management System, IBM's NetView/6000, and Sun Solstice. It enables Oracle products such as the Net8 network listener, Oracle8 Server, and Names Servers to be located, identified, and monitored by a management station running at one or more centrally located nodes.

For more information about SNMP Support and the information it provides, refer to the Oracle SNMP Support Reference Guide.

## 12.2 Oracle Advanced Networking Option

Oracle Advanced Networking Option is an optional product that works with Net8 and SQL*Net release 2.1.4 and later. It includes the following features:

- Security Services
- Authentication Services
- Oracle DCE Integration

##### Security Services

Oracle Advanced Networking Option enables Net8 and related products to use network data encryption and checksumming so that data cannot be read or altered. It protects data from unauthorized viewing by using the RSA Data Security RC4 or the Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm. To ensure that data has not been modified, deleted, or replayed during transmission, the security services of Oracle Advanced Networking Option can generate a cryptographically secure message digest and include it with each packet sent across the network.

Oracle Advanced Networking Option is supported by Oracle Connection Manager. Clients and servers using different protocols can securely transfer data across network protocol boundaries. For example, clients using LAN protocols such as NetWare (SPX/IPX) can share data securely with large servers using different protocols such as LU6.2, TCP/IP, or DECnet.

##### Authentication Services

Oracle Advanced Networking Option includes enhanced user authentication services such as support for single sign-on. These authentication services enhance the existing security facilities of Oracle7 and Oracle8 such as secure network access control logon, roles, and auditing by providing reliable user identification. No changes to applications are required. Oracle Advanced Networking Option works over all protocols, operating systems, and name services. It also supports token authentication through Security Dynamics ACE Server, Kerberos, and DCE Security Server, and biometrics authentication through Identix.

These services are available to most products that implement Net8, including the Oracle8 Server, Developer 2000 tools, and any other Oracle or third-party products that support Net8.

##### Oracle DCE Integration

Oracle Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) Integration is an optional product that works with Net8 and SQL*Net 2.1.6 and later. It enables users to transparently use Oracle tools and applications to access Oracle7 and Oracle8 Servers in a DCE environment. It provides authenticated RPC (Remote Procedure Call) as the transport mechanism, which enables multi-vendor interoperability. The DCE security service enables a user logged onto DCE to securely access any Oracle application without having to specify a username or password. This is sometimes referred to as "external authentication," formerly referred to as "OPS$ support".

Oracle DCE Integration also provides support for DCE Cell Directory Service (CDS), which allows Oracle7 and Oracle8 services to be transparently accessed throughout the DCE environment. Users can connect to Oracle database servers in a DCE environment using familiar Oracle service names. Oracle service names can be managed from a central location with standard DCE tools. For more information, refer to the Oracle Advanced Networking Option Administrator's Guide and your Oracle platform-specific documentation.

## 12.3 Oracle Security Server

The Oracle Security Server is included with the Oracle8 Server. Oracle Security Server is a security product based on public-key cryptography that supports authentication and authorization in an Oracle networking environment. It requires Net8 functionality for communication between its major modules.

Oracle Security Server features:

- a global centralized authentication and authorization framework that is based on public-key cryptography. It contains two modules: Oracle Security Adapter and the Oracle Security Repository. This framework supports X.509 certificates, an industry standard method of authentication.
- the Oracle Security Manager, a management tool that configures the framework.
- the Oracle Cryptographic Toolkit, a programmer's toolkit that accesses the authentication and authorization resources provided by the Oracle Security Server framework. This toolkit is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that are available in two forms: Oracle Call Interfaces (OCI) and PL/SQL code. These APIs enable application programs to access cryptographic functions, such as generating and validating digital signatures. They provide assurance to a wide variety of user applications, for example, electronic mail and electronic commerce. This toolkit is accessible to both Oracle and non-Oracle applications on Oracle networks, and to Oracle applications on non-Oracle networks, such as the World Wide Web and the Internet.

For more information on Oracle Security Server, refer to the Oracle Security Server Guide. For more information on the Oracle Cryptographic Toolkit, refer to the Oracle Cryptographic Toolkit Programmer's Guide.

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