64-bit Oracle Support for ENOVIA SmarTeam

The population of 64-bit PCs has steadily increased since their mainstream introduction in 2003, and ENOVIA SmarTeam has supported the use of 64-bit machines since V5R18 SP1.  However, saying that a client-server application supports 64-bit machines can mean a number of different things.  Let’s take a closer look at how 64-bit Oracle is supported in an ENOVIA SmarTeam environment. 

64-bit processing offers considerable benefits in both memory management and processor performance – both of which are important in today’ engineering applications.  That doesn’t mean that you always need a strict 64-bit end-t0-end pipeline to achieve great performance in a client-server environment like SmarTeam.  The first thing to dive into on this topic is 64-bit support on the client versus support on the server.  The second thing that it is important to recognize that there is a difference between 64-bit support and being a 64-bit application.  ENOVIA SmarTeam will work on 64-bit client PCs and 64-bit servers.  However, on the client, SmarTeam is a 32-bit application that runs on a 64-bit system.  Additionally, SmarTeam server applications (i.e., SmarTeam Foundation) also function as a 32-bit applications on a 64-bit system.  Both can connect to a 64-bit Oracle database which takes full advantage of 64-bit environments.

To communicate with the database server, ENOVIA SmarTeam requires 32-bit OLEDB libraries.  Because of this, 32-bit Oracle client software is required on each client, regardless of whether the machine is 32-bit or 64-bit.

Both 32-bit and 64-bit Oracle clients may be installed on the same PC.  This is helpful in environments where other business applications are used that require a 64-bit Oracle client.  If multiple Oracle clients are installed on one machine, be sure to update the TNSNAMES.ORA file in the 32-bit home directory when configuring a connection to ENOVIA SmarTeam.

In regards to the SmarTeam database server, 64-bit Oracle is supported and can provide some benefits such as increased memory support (greater than 2GB RAM).  That said, 32-bit Oracle database servers are sufficient for most ENOVIA SmarTeam environments.  64-bit Oracle media is not provided on the standard SmarTeam installation CD, although it is available upon request.

If creating an ENOVIA SmarTeam test environment with a 64-bit Oracle database server on the same machine as a Foundation server, no 64-bit Oracle client is needed.  Install the 64-bit database normally, and simply install a 32-bit client afterwards.  Remember, there will be two TNSNAMES.ORA files – one in the 64-bit home directory for the server and one in the 32-bit home directory for the client; both need to point to the same database on the server.  Please contact us if you need more help sorting out 64-bit compatibility in your ENOVIA SmarTeam / Oracle environment.

Tags: 32-bit, 64-bit, ENOVIA SmarTeam, ENOVIA SmarTeam V5R18, OLEDB, Oracle, SmarTeam Foundation