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.”
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:
Time Machine saves ten-fold or more on resources and costs associated with temporal testing of applications. It enables you to finish your large scale software projects on time and under budget. Some other usage scenarios of Time Machine include Cloud migration, time zone adjustment, data aging, Big Data analysis and online training. Time Machine is the original date and time simulation software for Unix and Windows since 1997 and it is Cloud ready. Thousands of customers worldwide utilize Time Machine successfully across all industries on a daily basis; including 47 of the Fortune 100 companies.
About Solution-Soft:
Solution-Soft is the leader in virtual clock, time shift testing software solutions for the ever-changing digital world. Our flagship and market proven product, Time Machine, opened up brand new possibilities in the application testing landscape upon its release in 1997. Today, thousands of applications have been tested with Time Machine, and IT professionals recognize that using a virtual clock is the ideal and safest way to conduct date and time testing. As pioneer in our field, we've created the Time Machine Product Suite and Time Machine for Container, a collection of cutting-edge testing software that augment Time Machine to further streamline enterprise cloud initiatives, containerization, micro services, and IT modernization for end-to-end integration testing, cloud migration, test automation, Agile/DevOPs, Continuous Operation, and Test Data Management.
We proudly provide our 2000+ domestic and international customers, including 47 of Fortune 100 companies, with our advanced solutions to optimize their testing and help deliver projects on-time. Solution-Soft's customers are across all market sectors including 3M, AMEX, AIG, Australia Tax Office, BBC, Boeing, British Gas, Covered California, Dept of Works & Pension, Deutsche Bank, Discover, FedEx, Federal Reserve Bank, Orange, National Australia Bank, SNCF, and Zurich Insurance. We bolster our market presence through robust partnerships with companies including Accenture, Capgemini, DXC, HPE, IBM, Infosys, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, and RedMane.
Founded in 1993, Solution-Soft is privately held and based in Santa Clara, CA.
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