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Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging system and describes its major features.

This chapter contains the following topics:

• Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Overview

• Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Features

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Overview

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging uses the Oracle9i database as a single message store for e-mail, voice mail, and fax messages, taking advantage of Oracle's core competencies in providing access to, storing, and managing all types of information. Using the highly scalable and reliable Oracle9i message store as a foundation, Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging provides message delivery, standards- based client access, telephone applications, wireless notification, browser-based clients (both Web and wireless), and administration utilities.

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Features

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging is designed to grow to almost any size while maintaining its performance and ease of administration. The Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging system can be customized based on how many messages need to be stored, how many users access the system under peak loads, and how many messages are sent and received over a period of time. The Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging internet computing architecture enables customers to support thousands of users on a single system, if necessary. Customers have the option of creating a two-tier system with a single host supporting a few thousand users, or a three-tier system with the protocol access servers are separated from the message database supporting thousands of users. This architecture allows customers to add hardware at any tier, expanding the system to support a virtually unlimited number of users.

Message Store

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging stores all messages, including e-mail, voice mail, and fax, in the same Oracle9i database. This eliminates the need to synchronize message stores and the chore of administering multiple stores that each contain different message types. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging users can access and manage all messages from the interface of their choice, including a Web browser, phone, PDA, and fax machine. The Oracle9i database enables Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging to offer data availability, data integrity, low recovery time, and fault-tolerance capability. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging takes advantage of Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging multithreading, parallel processing, high availability support, and high performance.

Open Standards-Based Messaging

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging enables users to access messages with the messaging client of their choice. Messages can be accessed using any client compliant with Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP4) or Post Office Protocol (POP3), such as Netscape Messenger, Microsoft Outlook Express, or Eudora Pro Lite. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging provides directory services using the light-weight directory access protocol (LDAP) standard compliant Oracle Internet Directory.

Thin Client

The Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Thin Client provides Internet access to Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging through a standard Web browser. Browser-based clients provide all of the advantages of internet computing: increased reliability because no dedicated client is needed; decreased support and administration costs due to the system being maintained in a professional data center; and increased message access because there are no local message storage requirements. Users can access and manage all aspects of their Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging account, including Calendar and to-do lists through the browser-based interface. Wireless functionality is also available through the wireless web using Wireless Markup Language (WML) and the Oracle9iAS Wireless Edition.

Standards Based Telephone Applications

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging provides a basic voice mail interface with the ability to change user preferences through both the telephone and Web interface. Because Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging is a single store solution, actions taken on a message or account preferences set through the voice channel are visible through all channels. Voice mail and faxes are stored directly in the user's inbox as industry standard MIME-compliant messages with.wav (voice) or.tif (fax) attachments that are configurable to different en coder types, and are easily rendered messages through GUI clients.

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging telephone applications are built on the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF) standards. These standards, collectively known as CT Server, define the infrastructure needed to build and support platform-independent computer telephony (CT) applications and allow Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging telephone applications to easily integrate with a variety of enterprise and carrier class switches.

Calendar

The Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Calendar provides Web-based Calendaring and scheduling for enterprises and service providers. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Calendar leverages components of Oracle9iAS and the Oracle9i database to provide a scalable, reliable, and secure Calendar solution. This approach provides users with full Calendar functionality from any Web browser and a single source of information for PDA synchronization.

Extended Server Side Filters

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging extends the server side filters that were available in the previous release. Filters now provide additional predefined actions that can be applied to a wider range of mail events, including sending, forwarding, deleting, and expunging a message from the system. These filters include a PL/SQL API that enables customers to write their own customized actions for filters. Server side filters also provide integration with the Oracle9i Advanced Queueing to enable sophisticated e-business applications to work with mail. Server Side Filters can be used to identify and delete virus messages as they come. In addition, there is a standalone virus cleanup utility that can be used to scan the whole mail system for virus infections.

Integration With Other Applications

PL/SQL and Java programmers can create custom applications to integrate Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging with other applications. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable applications to directly manipulate stored messages as well as create outgoing messages that follow the MIME-standard. Combined with server side filters, applications integrated with Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging can process and manage large numbers of messages.

Enhanced Administration Features

Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging simplifies administration and management by integrating with Oracle Enterprise Manager, enabling consolidated, Web-based management of the total Oracle environment as well as integration into existing system monitoring infrastructures. Oracle9iAS Unified Messaging also supports multiple domains with delegated administration on the same system, enabling hosting.