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I used to use the SNAGIT software tool periodically the past 3 - 5 years when doing software development and needing to leverage an existing image on the web.  When I was doing web work, I tended to do a cut/paste and then manipulate and work within the Macromedia Fireworks.

Now that I am doing a mix of software development, web development, and presentation creation, I find myself using SNAGIT more and more for productivity.  It’s ability to “understand” application destination sources and targets ( like Internet Explorer, MS Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, … ), I find it taking 10% of the time it used too when I want to “mashup” and/or manipulate content ( a portion of a powerpoint slide, an image, … combining pieces into a new content item ).  I believe this is the first blog entry I’v done on a product since starting to Blog in 2004, but SNAGIT saved me so much time today ( and made the results better )

How many times do “less time” and “better quality” come together?  With SNAGIT, it does.  If you have not tried an image / content capture utility, I recommend giving SNAGIT at try.  I believe I bought mine at $39.95, I see it is $49.95 presently.  Perhaps I got it on special?  Either way, the productivity to me just today makes makes it worth that much to me when I was writing some new Business Processes using BPEL Process Manager, and then documenting ( in Word and Powerpoint ) what they  does.  I now find myself using it at least weekly, usually several times a week.

I recommend the investment.  You can check SNAGIT out here.  It’s available as a free 30 day trial download.  The usability on it has increased so much through these “source” / “target” application adapter like architecture, that I bought it earlier this year, and have been more productive since.

FWIW - your mileage may vary - but this one is one of those tools that ( to me ) falls in the “jewel” category.

I have seen the following question asked multiple times lately, so I thought it was time for a post here. 

Question:

 ”Is Oracle 11g is certified as a ODI repository database?”.

Answer: 

Yes, Oracle Database 11g is certified as an Oracle Data Integrator Repository for Oracle Data Integrator 10.1.3.3 and higher.

Having recently helped a team fix an Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Agent installation problem, and from the number of questions I see related to the ODI Agent, I thought a post that put most of the information related to the ODI Agent in a single place would be a valuable and productive topic to cover.

What is an ODI Agent, and why do you need one?

• One question to ask yourself is “Do I need one?”.  The answer is “not necessarily”.  If you are doing development on your own, you can run Local (No Agent) versus installing an Agent.  In this case, the Oracle Data Integrator GUI is acting as the Agent.  When first using the product, this choice is fine.  However, when you start working with others on a project (and quite probably have to setup an Oracle Data Integrator shared team environment “in a hurry”), having knowledge about the Agent, and how to install and configure it will pay dividends.  And when going into Test or Production, you will need one.  The goal of this article is to help you understand the installation and configuration of the Agent so that you can avoid having the Agent become an obstacle to productivity and success for your development, test, and deployment teams.
• So - What is an ODI Agent?  The Agent, which runs in a separate lightweight Java Virtual Machine (JVM), is the ODI component that orchestrates your ODI processes.  Agents come in two flavors - Listener Agent, and Scheduler Agent.  For the purpose of this article, we will be discussing Listener Agent unless otherwise noted.  In addition to orchestrating processes, the Agent has the following additional responsibilities:
  • Takes the information stored in Knowledge Modules and generates the appropriate SQL for the technology that will Extract, Load, or Transform data
  • Connection Management with Sources and Targets
  • Transmission of the generated code for Execution on the Source or Target
  • Receive the response
  • Populate the Repository with return code and processing statistics, updating the logs (note:  these logs are in the Database, not Log4J logs) which can be viewed by the Operator module

How do I install an Agent?

The default Agent port is 20910.  Make sure that port (or the non default port you choose) is not in use before getting started (you can do this by running “netstat -a” from a command line interface).

How do I run (start) an Agent?

Run agent.bat (or agent.sh) from a command line interface.  Parameters are:

• -port=<port>                 The default port is 20910
• -help                               Prints help for the command
• -name=<agentname>    You may wish to encode your lifecycle development phase and project name in the Agent name ( -name=DevelopmentMasterCustomerData )
•  -v=                                Tracing output - specify a number from 1 to 5.  You may wish to redirect output to a file ( agent.bat “-v=5″ > trace.txt ).  Number 4 will trace the SQL queries executed

How do I stop an Agent?

Run agentstop.bat or agentstop.sh.  If no port is specified, the default port (20910) is assumed. 

Example:  agentstop.bat “-PORT=20200″ on Windows.

When using the Windows operating system, how do I start an Agent as a Service?

When the Agent platform is Windows, it can be useful to automatically launch the Oracle Data Integrator Agent when rebooting Windows.  To do that, you need to:

1. Edit the /bin/odiparams.bat file.   When the Agent is launched as a Windows Service, the service uses the agent startup parameters specified in odiparams.bat.  To avoid complexity, you should setup/define your Master and Work Repository before modifying Windows to run the Agent as a Windows Service.  In particular, eyeball the section of the file “Repository Connection Information” to make sure the information is correct.
2. From a Command Prompt, go to the /bin sub-directory of the Oracle Data Integration installation folder 
3. Run agentservice.bat with the appropriate parameters to install the service
4. Once the service is installed, you must go to Windows Service Manager to start / autostart the Service ( you can run this directly by typing services.msc in a command prompt or Run command )

Parameters for AgentService.bat are:

agentservice.bat -i|-r -a|-s [<agent_name> [<agent_port>

[<wrapper_configuration_file>]]]

You must specify two parameters:  -i or -r, and -a or -s.  The others are optional.

• -i installs the service, -r uninstalls the service
• -a installs the listener agent (uses the snpsagent.conf parameter file)
• -s installs the scheduler agent (uses the snpsagentscheduler.conf parameter file)
• agent_name is the agent name previously defined in Topology Manager (required if specifying -s above)
• agent_port is the listening port for the agent
• wrapper_configuration_file - outside the scope of this article

How many Agents do I need, and where do I install them?

• This answer is dependent on your understanding of Work Repositories.  While the subject of Repositories is itself a separate article ( I hope to be publishing a comprehensive “Best Practices” article on ODI Topology Manager in the September issue of Select Journal ( published/sponsored by IOUG ) as part of their TIPS and Best Practices collection ), the recommendation is to have a Work Repository for each development lifecyle environment you have ( for example: Development, Test, QA, Pre-Production, Production ).  The recommendation is to have one Agent for each Work Repository you have.  In that example, you would have five Agents (and five Work Repositories that “talk to” a single Master Repository), one for each lifecycle environment.  In summary, you have a Physical Agent for each development lifecycle environment, and for each Physical Agent, create a corresponding Logical Agent (make it obvious by incorporating the lifecycle process name in the Agent name ( for example, ProductionCustomerMasterDataAgent )
• The criteria used to decide on which servers (where) the ODI Agents should be installed, depend on the technical architecture, the precise requirements for Data Integration processes, and the environments used for the lifecycle development of your project.A general rule of thumb is to install ODI Agents on or close to the servers hosting your Target data servers.  Reliable connectivity and low network latency from Agent to Target data servers are factors to consider.  You do not want your ODI Agent installed in San Francisco when all of your frequently accessed Target data servers are in your New York Data Center.  The speed of light is fast, but not that fast.     
• The number of Agents is also influenced by whether you plan to do Load Balancing for Agents.  That topic is outside the scope of this article, but when adding Load Balancing for Agents, there will be additional agents ( additional for each lifecycle environment where load testing will be validated for your project).   
• When first starting to work in a project team development environment, have the developers use a single shared Agent installed on a commonly accessible server rather than each developer using an Agent that they have on their own laptop/workstation.  This will resolve countless “well, it works when I run it on my machine” situations from arising. 

I hope this information makes you more productive when working with Oracle Data Integrator Agents.  Now you know what you need to know, and where to find it!

Here is a set of my “Go To” External Links for Oracle Data Integrator (ODI):

• Product Documentation

  • ODI 10.1.3.4 Release Notes
  • ODI 10.1.3.4 Installation Guide
  • ODI 10.1.3.4 User’s Guide
  • ODI 10.1.3.x Reference Manual

• Dave’s Favorite ODI Links

  • ODI on Oracle Technology Network
  • ODI and CDC for Activity Monitoring ( Viewlet )
  • ODI Technical Overview - Whitepaper (2006)
  • Enterprise Data Services in SOA using ODI Suite - Whitepaper (2008)

I will make period updates to this Link collection.  Hopefully something in the above will make you more productive and successful with Oracle Data Integrator.

Last year, DFW Airport authority signed an agreement with Chesapeake Energy for rights to drill for Natural Gas on Dallas-FortWorth (DFW) Airport property.  The agreement called for an upfront (non refundable) payment to the DFW Airport Authority (managing entity of the Airport) of $200 million.  In addition, if Gas is found, they get 25 cents on the dollar of the value of the Gas extracted.  A timetable for drilling wasn’t given at the time, but with a $200 million check being written, that’s quite a motivation to “get started”.

I have noticed “white towers” springing up on DFW property now.  You can see one from Hwy 114 / 635 as you enter the North entrance.  There are others noticeable as the plane taxi’s on the property ( pre or post takeoff ).

The DFW Airport property is part of an exanded 5 county area in North Texas known as the Barnett Shale reserve.  Devon Energy (stock symbol DVN) and Chesapeake Energy are two of the larger exploration/drilling participants.  Last I read, it is now the largest known natural gas reserve in the continental US.  There were hundreds of new Gas wells being drilled in Forth Worth County in 2007, with an anticipated higher number in 2008 (some close to high density residential property).  I asked one acquaintance I met at a fundraiser who is a divorce attorney “How’s business?”.  He said it was “robust”.  When I asked why, he said “Barnett Shale”.  Shale?  Well, alot of people in North Texas  are being told that their former “ho hum” North Texas Property is as good as gold, as companies approach land owners for drilling rights and sudden new wealth.  

T Boone Pickens was on CNBC the morning of February 21 2008 stating he felt natural gas was a direction to pursue for alternative gasoline powered motor vehicles (he has been spot on regarding price of oil predictions the past two years (75 before I’m 75, and later gave a  $100 target on his prediction late summer/early fall 2007).

Now, with DFW airport charging an “airport use tax” on each flight departure/landing, airport terminal parking fees, a $200 million “signing bonus” for drilling rights, and a new revenue sharing income stream for all natural gas extracted, one wonders what they will do with all that money?  

Perhaps:

    1) Airport usage rebate rather than tax ( a credit to the airfare ticket rather than an add on for flights going through DFW )

    2) Reduced Parking Fees

    3) Additional incentives for airlines to increase service at DFW

    4) Provide Free Wireless Internet in the Terminals for Passengers

With the former “Delta” Terminal at less than full occupancy, and American Airlines announcing yet another ( 8% ) segment flown reduction, what will be happening to DFW Airport passenger traffic in 2008 and 2009?  With Terminals A, B, and C being dominated by American Airlines, DFW Airport health is tightly linked to the health of American Airlines.

One story I haven’t seen:  American Airlines Headquarters is just south of DFW Airport property, and they have a fair amount of land.  Are they getting natural gas revenue from drilling rights/activity on their property?

Since I spend time from time to time in the evening either viewing or “tinkering with” this web-site, I thought I’d add Stock information on stocks I currently find of interest (not necessarily because they are doing well, or poorly - most likely there has been a significant shock or predicted industry trend (that will shock) the stock.  This way I don’t have to go to http://finance.yahoo.com separately

My stocks of current interest are:

• Oracle.  They have made acquisitions a core competitive advantage
• STP.  Suntech Power.  A Chinese stock that is considered one of the top four Solar companies in the world.  I find them of interest because not only are they Solar, but also International ( affected by fluctuations in the value of the dollar).  And not only International, but Chinese.  With the upcoming Olympics this year, it will be interesteing to see if there is a short term / medium term positive “shock” to Chinese companies as the Olympics approach and start getting coverage
• EMC.  I started at IBM in 1985 as a VM Operating System product developer.  I caught the “fever” early on about how cool/productive Virtual Platforms can be.  When EMC bought VMWare, they piqued my interest in following them as a stock
• ETFC.  E-Trade, CDO’s, Financial Industry, Risk, … I find this company of particular interest among those in the fallout of the CDO story.  They were in the mid-upper 20’s in Summer 2008.  They went down to $2 and change in January.  Cowabunga!  A 90% drop in their market capitalization (share prices x # of shares outstanding).  A statement about potential losses in the “banking arm” decimated the stock.  This will be interesting to see how they turn thing around.  I like their new advertising campaign ( “Hong Kong, that’s China” ), showcasing their ability to trade foreign stocks on foreign exchanges.  Time will tell.  Personally, I think 90% was a bit harsh.

Would you like to add Finance content to your site/blog?  Visit: Yahoo Finance .  In WordPress, paste the generated code into a “Text” element.  Instructions for that are:

 1) Log into Wordpress admin. 

  2) Click Presentation. 

  3) Then select the Widgets subcategory under presentation ( that is there because I run the Max adsense and Adman Wordpress plug-ins ).

  4) Create an extra “Text” entry if you don’t have one or used yours up.  The bottom of the page lets you allocate new ones

  5) Drag the new Text area to the order/position you want with any any existing entries

  5) Paste the code Yahoo generated into the Text area that pops up .  Click outside the text area and it will close automatically.  Apply changes.  Now visit your Blog URL again, you should see the Finance Content in your Blog sidebar.

    6) Voila!  Done.  Congratulations!