Oracle Corp is claiming that it is the first among the relational database vendors to develop client-server database encrytion software. Secure Network Services, already released as part of AccessMaster 2.0 under its joint development and marketing agreement with Compagnie des Machines Bull SA (CI No 2,657), has now been released as an add-on to Oracle’s SQL*Net. Secure Network services is said to encrypt data, SQL statements and procedure calls between Oracle clients and servers running applications to Oracle7 databases, it says. It will support all protocols which SQL*Net already supports, says Oracle, including TCP/IP, Novell Inc’s SPX/IX, DECnet, X25, NetBIOS and Open Systems Interconnection. Oracle has also added client management software to its Oracle7 Workgroup Server. Shared Oracle is designed to make software upgrades and version compatibility easier to manage. It automates the installation and management of Oracle client software over networked personal computers and automatically updates applications across the network. Updates are loaded onto the file server using the Oracle Windows Installer. A shared directory containing all shared Oracle applications can then be set up incorporating each user’s profile information and privileges. An intelligent agent on each networked personal computer then monitors this directory for changes, such as different user privileges or new software, and makes these changes on the client. Shared Oracle runs under NetWare and SPX/IPX or a Windows NT File Server, and it is available now.
