Release Highlights — DataDirect Connect for JDBC, Release 3.7, Service Pack 1
DataDirect Connect for JDBC is the fastest and most comprehensive suite of Type 4 JDBC drivers for all major databases—Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2, Sybase, and Informix. DataDirect Connect for JDBC is the SPECjAppServer/ECPerf performance and scalability leader, and supports advanced functionality such as distributed transactions, connection pooling, updating BLOB/CLOB data types, and Operating System (OS) Authentication and SSL Encryption. DataDirect Connect for JDBC consistently supports the latest database features and is fully compliant with Java SE 6.0, Java EE 5, JDBC 3.0, and select JDBC 4.0 functionality. Click here to view all supported Java platforms.
In Release 3.7, DataDirect Connect for JDBC offers the following new features and functionality:
- New Operating Systems (OS) authentication support for Oracle
- SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption support
- JDBC 4.0-specific feature support
- Enhancements to the statement pooling capability
- Support for IPv6 – The U.S. government has mandated that federal agencies use IPv6 by June 2008. In Release 3.7, IPv6 is supported by the DB2, Informix, SQL Server, and Sybase drivers.
Additional features available in Service Pack 1:
- New MySQL driver (see below for more detail)
- Oracle LOB handling performance enhancement
- New database support (e.g., Oracle 11g, DB2 V9.1 on z/OS, Informix 11)
- DB2 GRAPHIC data type support
- DB2 SSL for iSeries
A detailed list of what’s new is included below, along with a summary of what’s included for each database.
What’s New in Release 3.7
Operating System Authentication (aka Single Sign-On/Kerberos)
With this release, organizations using Oracle can now benefit from the authentication capability that is already supported in our SQL Server, Sybase, and DB2 drivers.
Kerberos-based authentication allows organizations to create a Single Sign-On environment that bolsters security, eliminates the need for users to log in separately for each application, and reduces the costs associated with managing user accounts. DataDirect's OS authentication features allow the JDBC driver to integrate seamlessly into that environment.
The following authentication features are supported:
- Delegated credentials – Provides the ability for the application to act on behalf of the user. For web-based applications, the application or web server can use the delegated credential that represents the user vs. the credential that represents the server administrator. This bolsters security because the application can base permissions on the actual end-user. In addition, the application audit trail can associate usage with the end-user vs. a generic system administrator ID.
- Re-authentication – DataDirect provides the ability to re-associate a pooled connection with a different authenticated user. Applications that use connection pooling can use this feature to more efficiently re-use connections while minimizing the number of connections required in the pool. Support for re-authentication is dependent on the database (refer to database specific section for more information).
- Comprehensive KDC support – Support for both Active Directory and MIT.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption Support
SSL is an industry-standard protocol for sending encrypted data over database connections. SSL secures the integrity of your data by encrypting information and providing client/server authentication. With Release 3.7, DataDirect Connect for JDBC drivers support SSL to protect critical data that is transmitted between the database and the application, data that could otherwise be compromised. Support for data encryption and encryption algorithm is dependent on the database (refer to the database-specific section for more information).
JDBC 4.0 Features
- Connection isValid – DataDirect now supports the ability to determine whether a connection is valid using a JDBC standard API. This functionality previously available as an optional proprietary method is a common operation performed by connection pool managers.
- Connection Client Info – DataDirect now supports the ability to get and set client information using standard JDBC 4.0 APIs. This functionality previously available as proprietary APIs can be used to distinguish between connections in a pool that are typically created using the same user id and password. This information is necessary to determine which application is using a connection, provides the ability to identify the source of a run-away query, provides usage statistics and can be used to adjust the priority of work.
- Auto Load Driver – DataDirect drivers can now be automatically loaded by the Java SE 6 VM. This important ease of development feature of the JDBC 4.0 specification eliminates the need to register the JDBC driver in the application.
Validation with Hibernate – Extensive testing has been completed to ensure reliable database connectivity using Hibernate and the DataDirect driver for Oracle.
Statement Pool Monitor – The DataDirect statement pooling capability has been enhanced to control which statements are added and removed from the pool. This allows the developer to add frequently used statements vs. pooling all statements resulting in a more efficient pooling mechanism. DataDirect has also added monitoring capability to the statement pool, which can be used to troubleshoot statement pooling performance as well as the ability to clear the contents of the statement pool. The monitoring support is implemented using Java Management Extensions (JMX) allowing support for JMX-compliant tools such as JConsole.
IPv6 Support – The pool of IPv4 Internet addresses is shrinking rapidly. IPv6 (Internet protocol version 6) opens up a large number of additional Internet addresses and is supported by the latest version of all major databases. The U.S. government has mandated that federal agencies use IPv6 by June 2008. In Release 3.7, IPv6 is supported by the DataDirect Connect for JDBC DB2, Informix, SQL Server, and Sybase drivers.
New MySQL driver (included in Service Pack 1)
DataDirect Technologies extends its unparalleled breadth of database coverage to include MySQL:
Highlights:
- 100% Type 4 JDBC driver with the standard functionality and high quality available in all DataDirect JDBC drivers
- Fully compliant with Java SE 6.0, Java EE 5, JDBC 3.0, and supports select JDBC 4.0 functionality.
- Supports MySQL Enterprise database version 5.0
- Supports InnoDB, MyISAM, and Memory (HEAP) storage engines
- Unmatched reliability
- Performance Tuning Wizard to ensure maximum performance
- Outstanding technical support available from DataDirect
- Supports deployment into any standard web or application server environment including, but not limited to Apache's Jakarta projects (Tomcat, Turbine, Velocity, etc.), JBoss, BEA WebLogic, and IBM Websphere Application Server 4.0
- Database independent Connection Failover and Load Balancing support
- Interoperability features to allow for ease of development / support for multi-database applications and environments (e.g. SQL Leveling)
- Problem-free support for the following:
- Auto-generated keys
- Full Calendar Support
- Server-side prepared statements
- Unicode data
- Statement pooling
- Stored procedures
- Streaming result sets
- Large BLOBs and CLOBs
- Parameter metadata for a variety of statement types
- Batches
- Savepoints
- Scroll-sensitivity
DB2-Specific Features
- DB2 GRAPHIC data type support (included in Service Pack 1)
- SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption support for iSeries (included in Service Pack 1)
- Support for DB2 V9.1 on z/OS (included in Service Pack 1)
- DB2-specific authentication support
- Authentication methods supported –
- User ID/password
- Kerberos
- Client authentication
- Re-authentication
- DB2 9.1 and higher for Linux/UNIX/Windows
- DB2-specific data encryption support
- Database-specific encryption for LUW and z/OS
- Performance enhancements – General performance improvements have been made primarily related to fetch performance
- DB2 V5r4 Features
- JTA support – DataDirect supports the ability to use distributed transactions in a DB2 V5r4 environment (this is the first iSeries release which has implemented the DRDA functionality needed to enable XA functionality via DRDA).
- 128 bit column names – IBM now supports 128 bit column names, DataDirect support this capability in the latest release.
- Raise Error – DataDirect now supports returning errors from stored procedures and SQL statements using the RAISE_ERROR function.
- XML Data Type (for DB2 v9.1) – IBM, along with the other database vendors, has started to add support for a native XML data type that will allow you to store native XML data. A database table can now be created that contains one or more XML data type columns. Unfortunately, the data type implementation approaches used by the database vendors vary, making it difficult to develop interoperable database access code. In this release, DataDirect added support for XML data types in the DB2 JDBC drivers. DataDirect is providing a consistent mechanism to interact and manage XML data across databases (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, and SQL Server) and across DataDirect products (ADO.NET, JDBC and ODBC).
Oracle-Specific Features
- Oracle LOB handling performance enhancement (included in Service Pack 1)
- Support for Oracle 11g (included in Service Pack 1)
- Oracle-specific authentication support; authentication methods supported –
- User ID/password
- Kerberos
- NTLM
- Client authentication
- Re-authentication – Oracle 8.1.6 and higher
- Oracle-specific data encryption support
- SSL for all platforms
- Server and Client validation
- DataDirect supports the ability to use tnsnames.ora file to map connection information for each Oracle service to a logical alias. This capability has been enhanced to support encrypted data connections.
- INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE with RETURNING clause – DataDirect adds standards-based support for RETURNING clause on INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements. Using a RETURNING clause allows your application to return inserted, updated, or deleted values of a row into a variable, eliminating the need to execute additional statements to return this information.
- Auto-Generated Keys Support – DataDirect has enhanced the ability to retrieve information about a key generated by the database to include support for a list of column names. An application can return values of auto-generated keys using a result set object with a column for each auto-generated key. This capability better supports applications like Hibernate that work with a list of column names.
- SYSDBA / SYSOPER login support – DataDirect provides the ability to associate the SYSDBA and / or SYSOPER role with a user. This allows users or applications to perform privileged administrative tasks via the driver.
- XML data type support – The database vendors have started to add support for a native XML data type that allows you to store native XML data. A database table can now be created that contains one or more XML data type columns. XML data type columns are stored as large binary objects enabling the XML model to support document order and recursive structures. Unfortunately, the data type implementation approaches used by the database vendors vary, making it difficult to develop interoperable database access code. DataDirect supports XML data types and provides a consistent mechanism to interact and manage XML data across databases (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, and SQL Server) and across DataDirect products (JDBC, ODBC, and ADO.NET).
- Asynchronous Commit Functionality – DataDirect provides the ability to control whether aspects of a commit operation are performed synchronously or asynchronously. This capability provides better control to the developer so that the developer can make trade-offs between transaction control and application response time.
SQL Server-Specific Features
- SQL Server-specific authentication support; authentication methods supported –
- User ID/password
- Kerberos
- NTLM
- Re-authentication – SQL Server 2005 and higher
- SQL Server-specific data encryption support
- SSL
- Server validation
- Auto-Generated Keys Support – DataDirect has enhanced the ability to retrieve information about a key generated by the database to include support for a list of column names. An application can return values of auto-generated keys using a result set object with a column for each auto-generated key. This capability better supports applications like Hibernate that work with a list of column names.
- XML Data Type Support – The database vendors have started to add support for a native XML data type that allows you to store native XML data. A database table can now be created that contains one or more XML data type columns. XML data type columns are stored as large binary objects enabling the XML model to support document order and recursive structures. Unfortunately, the data type implementation approaches used by the database vendors vary, making it difficult to develop interoperable database access code. DataDirect supports XML data types and provides a consistent mechanism to interact and manage XML data across databases (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, and SQL Server) and across DataDirect products (JDBC, ODBC, and ADO.NET)
- Updated TDS specification – Based on our close relationship with Microsoft, DataDirect has access to and now leverages the new SQL Server 2005 TDS protocol. This allows DataDirect to support features that are not possible using the old protocol, including complete support for MAX data types. Products from other third party vendors do not have access to the latest TDS specification and can not leverage these new capabilities unless they reverse engineer the protocol.
Sybase-Specific Features
- Sybase-specific data encryption support
- SSL
- Server validation
