Database Client Prerequisites

This section describes the common configuration tasks you need to perform before a database client can communicate with the Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service

Topics:

• About Database Client Prerequisites
• Enable Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) Access for Client Applications
• Download Client Credentials

About Database Client Prerequisites

Database clients and the Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service must be configured to communicate with each other. These prerequisite configurations include enabling Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) for your service, downloading client credentials, and following the specific installation and set-up instructions for the connecting database client.

Prerequisite tasks for database client connectivity:

• Enable Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) access to your service. See Enable Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) Access for Client Applications.

• Download client credentials. See Download Client Credentials.

• Follow set-up instructions for the specific database client you want to connect with. See one of the following for instructions:

  • SQL*Plus. See Connect SQL*Plus.

  • SQLcl. See Connect SQLcl.

  • SQL Developer. See Connect SQL Developer.

  • .NET and Visual Studio. See Connect with Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio.

  • JDBC Thin Client. See Property Settings for JDBC Thin Driver and UCP.

  • Node.js. See Connect with Node.js.

• Please review the recommendations outlined in Simultaneous Connection Considerations.

Enable Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) Access for Client Applications

The Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service supports connecting to your service from diverse database clients over Oracle Net Services, also known as SQL*Net. Some examples of supported clients include SQL*Plus, SQLcl, SQL Developer, JDBC Thin, ODP.NET, OCI, and Instant Client. Database drivers for popular programming and scripting languages that are supported include Python, PHP, Node.js, C/C++, Ruby and Perl. Enabling Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net) access is a prerequisite for all clients and drivers connecting over Oracle Net Services.

Note:

Client connections to your Exadata Express cloud database automatically disconnects after 30 minutes of idle time. This timeout interval cannot be changed. To keep your client connections alive, make sure they execute an operation on the database at least once during each 30-minute period. See Feature Restrictions and Limitations in Known Issues for Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service.

The Service Administrator must do the following to enable Oracle Net Services (SQL*Net):

1. Open the Develop page of the service console for Exadata Express. See Access the Service Console.

2. Under Client Development Setup section, click Client Access.
3. On the pop-up window, click Enable Client Access.

4. Download the client credentials. See Download Client Credentials.

5. Now, depending on the client-side application and driver being used, you need to configure the application connection string for that application. See Connect Apps, Clients and Drivers.

Download Client Credentials

The Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service service console provides an easy way to download client credentials.

The downloaded zip file contains important information required to make encrypted network connections. Its contents include Oracle Wallet and Java Keystore (both contain a client certificate) as well as essential client configuration files. Two of these files are password protected. When making a cloud database connection, your client will read the credentials zip file, and under certain conditions, prompt for the password you entered upon downloading. Finally, your client will authenticate to the cloud database using a separate database user name and password you will be asked to provide.

Note that client credential zip files should be carefully managed. Please remember to keep the file secure to avoid unauthorized database access. You may wish to share this file with other authorized users who need to connect to your cloud database. If you believe the security of this file has been compromised, then immediately disable client access using the cloud service console. Disabling client access will invalidate existing client credentials, effectively shutting off network access to your database. Later, you can re-enable client access and download a new credentials zip file. If you accidentally delete your credentials zip file, then you can download a new one using the cloud service console without invalidating existing clients.

1. Navigate to the service console for Exadata Express and open the Develop page. See Access the Service Console

2. Click Client Credentials to download a zip file containing your security credentials and network configuration files.

   
   

   
   Description of the illustration download_wallet.png

   
   

3. Enter a password to create a password-protected Oracle Wallet and Java Keystore files for the service.

   
   

   
   Description of the illustration wallet_pwd.png

   
   

4. Save the downloaded zip file to a secure location that is accessible by your database client(s).

5. Now, depending on the client-side application and driver being used, you may need to extract certain contents of the downloaded zip file and/or configure the connection string for your client application. See Connect Apps, Clients and Drivers, about setting up your specific client.