Connection Manager CMAN Oracle Network

The Problem

It seems really simple. We have an Oracle database (on all nodes of a full rack Exadata, to be exact), which a lot of end-users connect to through apps designed in a rather adhoc and haphazard manner - on Excel spreadsheets, Access forms, TOAD reports and other assorted tools. We want to control the access from these machines and streamline them.

The database machine sits behind a firewall. To allow the adhoc tools accessing the database from the client machines mean we have to change the firewall rules. Had it been one or two clients, it would have been reasonable; but with 1000+ client machines, it becomes impractical. So I was asked to provide an alternative solution.

The Solution