As large companies move to implement a global IT infrastructure, the choice of network topology becomes of increasing importance. This section describes the most significant strategic factors that can affect performance.
A large, worldwide organization will typically benefit from the use of a "hub and spoke" network topology, with high-capacity links to regional hubs, and medium-capacity connections from the regional hubs to local offices. The locations of the regional hubs should be based on organizational need, carrier availability, pricing, and network latency. The routes and hops need to be as short and efficient as practicable. Network design for the Oracle E-Business Suite should be based around the needs of the majority of users; satellite users, for example, will normally be a small minority.
Additional Information: For a discussion of the effects of different network layers on load balancing, see My Oracle Support Knowledge Document 380489.1, Using Load-Balancers with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.
Network latency is the time for a packet to travel from its source to its destination, and is a key determinant of network efficiency. In general, Oracle E-Business Suite works very well with average application tier to client latencies up to 300ms, and is usually found to give acceptable performance with latencies up to 500ms. HTML-based applications generally perform better than their traditional Oracle Forms counterparts at higher latencies. The Oracle E-Business Suite database tier and application tier should be connected using an isolated, low latency, high bandwidth network.
Wireless technology is becoming of increasing interest and use to many organizations. However, its deployment must be planned carefully. As well as the security aspects of wireless use, there are several technical considerations. For the Oracle E-Business Suite, the most important issue is the stability of the connection. It is not uncommon to experience dropouts (momentary loss of service) while using a wireless LAN. These may occur as a result of not having the latest firmware revision, or interference from devices that use a similar wavelength, such as cordless phones.
As far as supportability of wireless LANs goes, they are simply considered to be another network topology. As such, it is feasible to run E-Business Suite client PCs over a wireless LAN. However, in the event of problems, it would be desirable to be able to determine whether the problem also occurs via a normal network link, i.e. whether the cause lies in the E-Business Suite or the network. Use of the Forms Listener Servlet architecture may be of benefit in a wireless LAN environment, as it is designed to attempt reconnection (via a configuration parameter) in the event of a network interruption.
Satellite links can be used with the Oracle E-Business Suite. They are considered to be just another network type, and may be the only choice for users in remote locations. In general, however, they should be employed only where use of terrestrial services is not feasible.
If satellite links are to be used, the network stack should be examined and tuned by a network specialist, to ensure device timeout settings, for example, are configured optimally. The goal is to achieve reliable operation, while maintaining an acceptable response time.