Using SQL with multi-protocol Functionality

Oracle Connection Manager provides multiple protocol support, enabling a client and server with different networking protocols to communicate with each other using a protocol conversion. ^[1]
This feature replaces functionality previously provided by the Oracle MultiProtocol Interchange in SQL*Net version 2.
Net 8 could traverse as many networking protocol stacks as could be installed and supported. In fact, the number of networking protocols supported was limited only by those restrictions imposed by the specific node's hardware, memory and operating system.
The figure below shows how a client in an SPX/IPX network can route its session to a server over a TCP/IP transport through to the Connection Manager.

Each connection to the database takes up valuable network resources, which can impact the overall performance of a database application. Oracle's Connection Manager (CMAN), illustrated in Figure 6-9, reduced the number of Oracle Net client network connections to the database through the use of concentrators, which provide connection multiplexing to implement multiple connections over a single network connection. Connection multiplexing provides the greatest benefit when there are a large number of active users.

You can also use the Connection Manager to provide multiprotocol connectivity if youstill have some clients and servers not using TCP/IP. Oracle Database 10g introduced dynamic Connection Manager configuration, enabling the changing of CMAN parameters without shutting down the CMAN process.
The next lesson concludes this module.

[1] protocol conversion: A feature of Oracle Connection Manager that enables a client and server with different networking protocols to communicate with each other. This feature replaces functionality previously provided by the Oracle Multi-Protocol Interchange under SQL*Net version 2.