Developing Real World

Applications in the Cloud

Joseph Acero, JSA2 Solutions
Gina Haub, STP
Agenda

  Introduction

  Application: ePHQ background & objectives

  Cloud Benefits & Options

  Case Study: ePHQ

Introduction – JSA2 Solutions
  Oracle Gold Partner

  Services
●  Application Design & Development
●  ERP Modernization & Extension
●  Remote DBA Support
●  HP Quality Center Training & Implementation

  Joe Acero: Partner, 12+ Years Oracle

experience. Extensive J2EE & APEX
We’ve worked with…
Introduction – STP

  South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co.

  One of largest nuclear facilities in U.S.

  Provides power to 2M+ Texas homes

  1200+ employees

  Gina Haub: Project Manager

STP Facility
 ePHQ Application

Personal History Questionnaire

ePHQ – background…
  Security is paramount at STP

  All personnel must have comprehensive

security screening

  Existing: Personal History Questionnaire ~30

page paper form (in 7 different formats)

  Labor intensive, multi-step, manual process

ePHQ – objectives…

  New application to automate security screening

workflow

  Allow business administrators to maintain

required questions, notices, legal notifications

  Highly complex questionnaires based upon

applicant specific criteria
ePHQ – objectives…

  Allow authorized “points of contact” (POC) to

invite applicants for screening.

  Allow POCs and STP Admins to track invitation

status & aging.

  Automate integration with internal systems for

status checking
ePHQ – objectives…
  Fully automate complex business rule checking
of applications:

●  Personal data, residences, & identification validation

●  Employment / unemployment / military history
●  Education & certifications
●  Credit history & references
●  Criminal history, legal actions, & fingerprinting
●  Self disclosure & required questions
●  Required notices & acknowledgements
ePHQ – Constraints & goals…
  Technical Objectives:
●  UI to be developed in APEX 4.x
●  Database: Oracle 11gR2
●  Logic & integration: PL/SQL

  Development Objectives:
●  Rapid start up essential
●  Collaborative development: Boston & Houston
●  Option for either Cloud or in-house hosting required
Applicant workflow

  Applicants…

●  …receive invite code (email) & use unique

identifying information to authenticate

●  …are presented with appropriate form & questions

based upon their criteria

●  …can complete forms in one or more sessions

Applicant workflow
  Wizard like form flow that is applicant specific

  Business edits are performed as the sections

are completed –and– upon final submission.

  Upon submission, user receives completed

copy in PDF format via email.

  Application is routed to Administrative users for

processing to external background service.
Results returned to POCs.
Results

  Application used for thousands of applicants to

date
  Reduced workflow time from 6 hours to 1
  Increased applicant info accuracy
  Reduced from 3 FTE to 1
  ePHQ Acknowledged as a leader for the
nuclear industry (Top Industry Practice award)
Cloud Benefits & Options
Benefits: Why use the cloud?

  Rapid start up: no lag to provision hardware or

software environment. Up & running in hours.

  Preconfigured environments or “virtual

machines” that met technical objectives (stack)

  APEX: Perfect for cloud development

  Support for distributed development team

Benefits: Why use the cloud?

  Very cost effective!

  Highly secure* (*if configured correctly)…

  Flexible licensing terms: included or BYOL

  Multiple cloud options available

  Deciding which cloud provider can be tricky…

Choosing the right cloud for you
Questions to consider

  Skills: DBA? Sys Admin? Security?

Networking?

  What degree of control do you need?

  What versions of stack? DB, APEX?

  Do you need access to advanced or EE

capabilities?
More questions

  Are you developing “in” the cloud –or– “for”

the cloud?

●  Development Only?

●  Deployment and ongoing support?

●  Private cloud or Public cloud?

Development Considerations

  Tools: Toad? SQLDev? SQL*Net access?

  Need a specific version of database or APEX?

  Specific Listener or server config?

  OEM Access?

  Command line access?

Deployment considerations

  Publicly facing?

  Availability Requirements / SLA

  Compliance: SOX, HIPPA, PCI, etc.

  Specific backup requirements?

  Monitoring
Cloud Options Considered
Oracle Cloud Architecture
Oracle Cloud (11gR2)
Option S5 S20 S50
Schema(s) 1 1 1
Storage 5GB 20GB 50GB
Transfer (max in/out) 30GB 120GB 300GB
Cost / month (USD) $175 $900 $2000

Notes:
•  License includes “limited right” to RESTful web services, Data Loading,
Application development, SQL Workshop, & Team development

•  Upsizing allowed anytime, downsizing NOT allowed

•  Data transfer = max in/out for given billing month

Amazon Cloud Architecture (AWS)
Selecting the right cloud provider
Provider Advantages Disadvantages
Oracle Cloud Easy Startup No customization options
Includes license Tools limited (no SQL*Net)
Zero Administration Cost
Automated backups

Amazon RDS Easy startup Fairly Configurable

Includes license or BYOL Some Sysadmin work required
Supports more tools
Automated backups

Amazon AMI RDS advantages+ Complex

Fully configurable Requires Sysadmin expertise
Supports complex topologies Requires DBA support
User defined backups/RMAN
Case Study: ePHQ
ePHQ Decision

  Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  AWS provided more flexibility

●  Available VM Images (AMIs)
●  Access to Linux prompt
●  Able to run Glassfish server (upgrade listener, etc)
●  Full config mgt (backups, firewall, VPN, etc).

  Oracle Cloud was in Early Adopter phase

ePHQ Architecture

VPC

EC2 RHES
EC2
AMI +
11.2.0.1 AMI
Glassfish
Review of Key AWS Services & Features

  Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

  Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

  Elastic Block Store (EBS)

  Relational Data Service (RDS)

  Elastic IP (DNS or Route 53)

Review of Key AWS Services & Features

  Management Console

  Linux command line access

  Cloudwatch: monitoring & cost tracking

  RMAN backups to Amazon S3

http://aws.amazon.com/backup-storage/gsg-oracle-rman/
  Cost for ePHQ configuration < $100/month
Other AWS thoughts…

  Use monitoring for deployed cloud apps!

Cloudwatch

  Create private Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)

  See "Amazon Cloud Setup for APEX

Environments" slides from Martin D'Souza for
AWS setup walk through
Summary

  The cloud is ready now!

  Developing “in” –or– “for” the cloud

  Minimal cost to try for a small project to

experiment

  Choose the right cloud for your project

Q&A
 Thank You!

www.jsa2.com

jacero@jsa2.com