Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to install the full
Oracle client software just to get connectivity to an Oracle instance? Well, it
is now reality with Oracle’s new Instant Client software offering.
If we wanted to go the java route and name the typical
Oracle Client installation as a "Fat-Client," the Oracle Instant
Client would be called the "Thin-Client." Oracle’s Instant Client is
a small set of software and libraries that allow you to develop and deploy your
applications without having to install Oracle’s Fat-Client. Taking the name and
putting a few definitions around it clarifies everything:
|
Oracle |
We all know who Oracle is. In this case, it is the software, |
|
Instant |
Well, almost instant. With very minor download and setup |
|
Client |
Typical and true client/server nomenclature here. The |
The good news here is, even though Oracle has given us a
very small footprint in this connection mechanism, we do not lose any of the
features associated with the connection mechanism or the underlying database
instance. If you compared Oracle’s full client release against the new Instant
Client you would typically find the following.
|
Instant Client Package |
File Size |
Download Time |
Install Space |
Installation Time |
|
|
|
Basic Package |
~ 30M |
~ 5 min |
~ 80M |
~ 5min |
|
|
SQL*Plus Support |
< 1M |
< 1 min |
< 1M |
|
|
Oracle |
~360M |
~1.5 hours |
~ 460M |
40-60min |
|
James Koopmann has fourteen years of database design, development and performance tuning experience. In addition, he has extensive database administration experience in Oracle and other relational databases in production environments, specializing in performance tuning of database engines and SQL based applications. Koopmann is an accomplished author with several technical papers in various Oracle related publications such as Oracle Magazine, Oracle Professional and SQL>UPDATE_RMOUG. He is a featured author and database expert for DatabaseJournal, a member of the editorial review committee for Select Journal (The Magazine for the International Oracle Users Group), an Oracle Certified Professional DBA and noted speaker at local Oracle User Groups around the country.
DatabaseJournal.com publishes relevant, up-to-date and pragmatic articles on the use of database hardware and management tools and serves as a forum for professional knowledge about proprietary, open source and cloud-based databases--foundational technology for all IT systems. We publish insightful articles about new products, best practices and trends; readers help each other out on various database questions and problems. Database management systems (DBMS) and database security processes are also key areas of focus at DatabaseJournal.com.
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