Time Machine® Framework for Oracle and AIG

Friday, October 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM EDT

Topic

AIG began leveraging Time Machine in 2005 to test their Policy Administration System, Navysis, so they can time travel to different policy life cycle time points quickly.  Time Machine continues to be a productive addition to their test environment as the application has migrated to new OS platforms including Windows, Solaris, AIX, and Linux.  The new project is to migrate it to a shared Oracle Exadata environment and later on to Oracle Cloud with Exadata.

Project/Challenge:

AIG had a goal of consolidating all Oracle database functions into one powerful Exadata server.  There are hundreds of Oracle instances and PDBs running on the Exadata system which serves a variety of applications by multiple business units.  One instance is for policy management, which requires time travel when testing.  The challenge was they wanted only the Policy Management instance to time travel, while the rest of the Oracle instances should continue seeing the system time.  

Option #1:

The traditional approach to time travelling applications is to adjust the server system clock, but this will time travel all applications and processes on the server.  Any user working on another application, or Oracle instance, would have to stop and wait until the clock is reset to current time.  This approach was not acceptable.   Changing the system clock also would void Oracle Exadata support, so it is a non-starter.

Option #2:

Another alternative approach is to dedicate a separate box to serve the policy management database instance and utilize Time Machine to time travel, but that would require an additional investment in hardware and software.  This defeats the goal of the project to consolidate all Oracle database instances into one system, and is not an efficient use of resources.  Plus, they would not to be able to enjoy the power of the Exadata system.  This approach was not acceptable.

The Time Machine Solution:

Solution-Soft provided AIG with Time Machine and Time Machine Framework for Oracle.  This framework’s unique capability allows selected Oracle users to time travel individual databases within an instance, without affecting any other database users, or database instances, running on the same server.  AIG is now able to migrate data, and test within Oracle database instances accurately and efficiently.  The result is an increase in test productivity, valuable budget dollar savings, and accelerated application releases. 

Recently, AIG wanted to migrate the Exadata server to the Oracle Cloud to gain further efficiency and flexibility.  AIG is happy to learn that Solution-Soft is an early adaptor of Oracle Cloud and is featured in an Oracle Cloud success story and white paper.  In fact, the enabler in this case Time Machine Framework for Oracle and other Time Machine suite products are developed and tested in Oracle Cloud.  As expected, Time Machine and Time Machine Framework for Oracle perform faultlessly in the Cloud and enable AIG to isolate specific PDB to time travel and test them as easily as if they were on premise.

“Our Exadata system is shared by multiple business units and hundreds of applications.  Time Machine Framework for Oracle enables us to isolate a particular application to time travel without impacting other applications and instances is a game changer for us.”

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About AIG:

American International Group (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

About Time Machine:

Software Virtual Clocks for Time Travel Testing. Simulate past and future dates effortlessly with Time Machine®, enabling comprehensive testing of your date- and time-sensitive applications. Ideal for validating critical business processes like quarter-end and year-end processing, billing cycles, regulatory compliance (including Year 2038), and policy lifecycles during integration, upgrades, virtualization, cloud migration, and containerization. Eliminate the risks and downtime associated with system clock resets in complex environments like Active Directory and Kerberos.

About Solution-Soft:

The Leader in Virtual Clock and Time Travel Testing Solutions

Since 1997, Solution-Soft has been at the forefront of virtual clock software and time travel testing solutions, empowering organizations in the ever-evolving digital world. Our flagship product, Time Machine, has revolutionized application testing, enabling thousands of companies, including 47 of the Fortune 100 US companies, to reduce costs and accelerate project delivery by an average of 3 – 10 times across traditional systems and containerized applications.

The Time Machine Product Suite extends these capabilities, optimizing cloud migration, test automation, Agile/DevOps, and containerization testing. Our latest innovation, Time Machine for Containers, supports standalone Docker containers and large-scale Kubernetes and OpenShift clusters (including a 16,000+ CPU core, 1,300+ namespace deployments).

Trusted by over 2,000 customers worldwide across diverse industries (including 3M, AMEX, BBC, Boeing, and more) and partnered with industry leaders like Accenture, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat, Solution-Soft, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, provides cutting-edge solutions for your time-sensitive testing needs. Learn more at www.solution-soft.com or call +1.408.346.1400.

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