Release Notes

SharePlex® 10.0

Release Notes

Revision: 5/5/2024

About SharePlex

SharePlex provides high-speed replication from Oracle database to different target databases and messaging containers on major Unix, Linux and Windows operating systems— both on-premises and in the cloud. SharePlex supports a wide variety of configurations to meet different and complex data availability needs.

SharePlex supports reliable Oracle high availability configurations where replication maintains a duplicate database in a different location that is ready for fast, seamless failover and failback in planned or unplanned mode.

You can also use SharePlex to replicate data from Oracle source to maintain a change history database in an Oracle target. Rather than updating or deleting target rows based on the source change, SharePlex inserts a new row on the target for every source change. The result is an archive that reflects the chronological history of every change made to the source database.

SharePlex also includes, at no extra charge, the compare and repair tools that you need to verify the accuracy of a target maintained by replication. These tools not only detect hidden out-of-sync conditions, but they also repair the target to restore parity of your source and target data.

SharePlex value and versatility continues to grow with the requirements and requests of our customers. Although SharePlex is a reliable, relatively low-maintenance solution, our top-rated support team is ready around the clock to help with any trouble you may have. To get you started with your deployment, our professional services team is highly experienced and readily available.

Join our community

For expert advice and the latest news about SharePlex, join the SharePlex Community at https://www.quest.com/community/products/shareplex. Take advantage of our forums, blogs, videos, and more from our own experts, as well as input from our customers and partners.

About this release

This is a minor release with new and enhanced functionality.

This is a minor release and includes new features and enhanced functionality.

Revision History

New Features

New Features in this Release

SharePlex 10.0

Database Support. This release of SharePlex includes support for the following database versions:

• Oracle 19c. This release includes support for capture from and replication to Oracle 19c on all platforms(except HP/UX).
• Oracle 19c on RDS. This release includes support for capture from and replication to RDS running Oracle 19c.

NOTE: Advanced Row (OLTP) Compression is not supported by SharePlex 10.0 for replication of objects using DML operations in Oracle 18c and 19c. This limitation applies to objects in the source database.

SharePlex 9.4

Database Support. This release of SharePlex includes support for the following database versions:

• Oracle 19c on Linux. This release includes support for capture from and replication to Oracle 19c on Linux platforms.

NOTE: 9.4.0 is a Linux only release. To properly replicate from SharePlex 9.4.0 capture (source) to a non-9.4.0 target, set the SP_SYS_TARGET_COMPATIBLITY. See Interoperability between versions for how to use and set this parameter.

NOTE: OLTP compression is not supported by SharePlex for replication of objects using DML operations in Oracle 18c and 19c. This limitation applies to objects in the source database.

New Features for Oracle Source

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Compute Virtual Machine is now supported as a target.

Support for Extended Data Types. SharePlex now supports the Extended Data Type sizes introduced in Oracle 12c. The following maximum sizes are now supported for the following data types in Oracle to Oracle replication:

• VARCHAR2 up to 32767 bytes
• NVARCHAR2 up to 32767 bytes
• RAW up to 32767 bytes

Note: The following limitations apply to support for Extended Data Types:

• Extended Data Types are not supported for the copy command.
• SharePlex does not support the Extended Data Type size on a key column.

Support for Invisible Columns. SharePlex now supports replication of a column that has been defined as invisible, a feature that was introduced in Oracle 12c. Invisible columns are supported in DML and DDL replication for Oracle source to Oracle target.

Improved Performance in the Post Process for CLOB Data. Enhancements designed to improve Post performance when posting CLOB data to Oracle have been implemented in this release. These improvements are applicable to CLOB or BLOB data with a maximum size less than 32768 bytes.

Support for Kerberos Authentication in Kafka. This release includes support for replication from Oracle to Kafka using Kerberos authentication.

Other New Features

Database Support. This release of SharePlex includes support for the following database versions:

• Kafka 2.0.x and 2.1.0. This release includes support for replication to Kafka 2.0.x and 2.1.0 targets.

Use Provision to Change IP Address Only. The provision command includes a new option which allows you to change the IP address only.

• To change the IP address only, use the following syntax:

  provision -o old_ipaddress-s new_ipaddress [-p port ] [-n]

New Parameters

New Open Target Post Process Parameter. The new parameter SP_OPX_ONELINE_DEBUG_COLUMNS controls whether or not column values are logged when SP_OPX_ONELINE_DEBUG is enabled. This is useful for diagnosing out-of sync conditions. To log column values for the objects specified when online debug is enabled, set SP_OPX_ONELINE_DEBUG_COLUMNS to 1.

New Compare Parameter. You can use the new SP_DEQ_THREAD_SELECT parameter to generate an additional thread to keep the TCP/IP connection alive while SharePlex selects the rows for comparison. The selection process runs in the child thread while the parent thread is used to keep the TCP/IP connection alive. This is useful for a table with a very large number of rows where the selection process can run for an extended period of time.

Disable Replication of Add Comment DDL. The new parameter SP_OCT_REPLICATE_COMMENT controls whether or not SharePlex replicates ALTER TABLE to ADD COMMENT and COMMENT ON operations on tables that are listed in the configuration file. To disable the replication of these operations, set this parameter to 0.

SharePlex 9.2.3 to 9.2.10

SharePlex 9.2.3, 9.2.4, 9.2.5, 9.2.6, 9.2.7, 9.2.8, 9.2.9, and 9.2.10 are the patch releases and includes resolved issues. See Resolved Issues and Enhancements for a complete list.

SharePlex 9.2.4: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Compute Virtual Machine is now supported as a target.

SharePlex 9.2.1

SharePlex 9.2.1 is a minor release and includes the following new features and enhanced functionality.

Other New Features

• Oracle 18c. This release includes support for capture from and replication to Oracle 18c.

Note: SharePlex does not support replication of DML operations on objects compressed using OLTP Compression in Oracle 18c. This limitation applies to objects in the source database.

• Kafka 1.1.x. This release includes support for replication to a Kafka 1.1.x target.

Operating System Support. This release includes support for SuSE SLES 15.

Installation

SharePlex installer packages for Linux/Unix. SharePlex installer packages for Linux/Unix are now database independent. You are no longer required to select an installer package based on the database for which SharePlex will be used (i.e., Oracle or Open Target). To install Quest® SharePlex™ or Open Target, simply select the installer package for your operating system.

The SharePlex installer packages now have a slightly different naming convention:

SharePlex-release#-build#-platform-chipset.tpm

For Oracle Solaris (Sun), the operating system version is included:

SharePlex-release#-build#-platform-version-chipset.tpm

SharePlex 9.2

SharePlex 9.2 is a minor release and includes the following new features and enhanced functionality.

New Features for Oracle Source

Oracle UROWID data type. Support has been added for the Oracle UROWID data type. This support applies to Oracle-to-Oracle configurations only.

Support for SCN metadata for HANA target. This release of SharePlex supports posting the Oracle SCN to a column in a HANA target table.

Oracle replication to MySQL 5.7. SharePlex supports replication from an Oracle source to a MySQL 5.7 target on-premises.

Oracle 12c R2 Support

Support for 128-byte table and column names. In Oracle capture, SharePlex now supports table and column names that are up to 128 bytes in length. Please note the following limitations applicable to this release.

• UDT column names more than 30-bytes in length are not supported.
• Type names for UDTs and VARRAYS with names more than 30-bytes in length are not supported.
• IOT names more than 30-bytes in length are not supported.

Other New Features

Support for Windows Server 2016. Support for capture from and replication to databases on Microsoft Windows Server 2016.

Improved Performance in the Post Process.

The following enhancements were made to improve performance of the Post process.

• Implemented multi-threading for SQL Server and PostgreSQL targets: The Transaction Concurrency component of Post Enhanced Performance has been extended to support SQL Server and PostgreSQL targets. A new parameter, SP_OPX_THREADS, controls this feature. When set to a value of 2 or greater, Post runs with the specified number of threads (concurrent operations).
• Batch similar operations: To maximize its performance when applying SQL operations to the target, the Post process groups smaller replicated operations into one larger batched operation. Post groups replicated operations when the operations are identical and the SQL is similar. A new parameter, SP_OPX_BATCH_ENABLE, controls this feature and is enabled by default. Another new parameter, SP_OPX_MAX_BATCH_MBYTES, controls the maximum size of the batched DML operation that Post applies to the target. This supports databases, such as Teradata, that have a maximum transaction size and can be used for other purposes where batch size must be changed.

New jobs status database

• This release includes a new jobs status database. This database resides in the data sub-directory of the SharePlex variable-data directory. The parameter SP_SYS_JOB_HISTORY_SIZE allows you to control the size of this database. Use this parameter to specify the maximum size (in kB) allowed for the database.

Simplified SharePlex Installation Process on Windows

• When installing on Windows, you are no longer required to specify the Oracle database version or specify whether or not you are installing in a non-Oracle environment.
• You no longer need to manually change the default setting for Global Resources memory in the MKS Toolkit after you install SharePlex on a Windows system. The setting is now modified automatically during installation.

Data Type Mapping

This release of SharePlex includes a new typemap command, as well as changes to the default data type mappings. Review the following details.

• Use the typemap show command to display all default data type mappings. Use typemap show source-target to display the mapping for the specified source-target combination, for example oracle-sqlserver. See the SharePlex 9.2 Reference Guide for more information about using the typemap command.
• Use the typemap command instead of the data type option of the target command. (The data type option of the target command has been discontinued in this release.)
• For a list of supported data types, see Supported Data Types: Oracle to Open Targets or .

Other Changes in SharePlex

TLS 1.2 (or later) required for TLS connections. If you intend to use TLS connections in SharePlex, TLS 1.2 or later is required.

Deprecated Platforms and Operating Systems

Platforms and operating systems that have been deprecated in version 10.0:

Oracle Solaris x86 11.0