Ohio Savings Bank's Oracle database uses Linux

Founded in 1889, Ohio Savings Bank has grown from a savings and loan with a single branch office in Cleveland and $20,000 in assets to one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders.

In 2004, the bank adopted an Oracle Database 10g grid computing infrastructure to improve its information technology utilization and deliver a higher quality of service.

Mission-critical Linux

Ohio Savings Bank's grid supports a number of mission-critical systems including the heart and soul of its business - a mortgage wholesale and retail application transaction processing system.

Comprised of an Oracle Database and Microsoft middle-tier applications, the bank's transaction heavy mortgage system manages the lifecycle of loans from origination to funding. It is used by internal branches, loan processing offices, and brokers that originate loans across country and sell the loans to Ohio Savings Bank.

A three-node cluster using Oracle Real Application Clusters on two-way HP ProLiant DL 380 servers with Intel Xeon processors running Red Hat Enterprise Linux v. 3 powers Ohio Savings Bank's mortgage system. This clustered Oracle Database is fully integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 applications running on Windows.

Oracle Data Provider

A key component in the bank's integration of Oracle and Microsoft environments is their use of Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET), a driver that delivers optimized data access to Oracle Database functionality from a .NET environment.

ODP.NET enables developers to take advantage of advanced Oracle Database features, including Oracle Real Application Clusters, Oracle XML DB, and advanced security functionality, among many others. It enables the bank to easily and flexibly use XML throughout its applications and interface and with Oracle Database. ODP.NET can be used from any .NET language, including C# and Visual Basic .NET.

"We really have the best of both worlds - the power of Oracle Database and the ease of use of the .NET development environment," said Jo Ann Boylan, CTO and Executive Vice President, Ohio Savings Bank.

"ODP.NET serves as a bridge - enabling our developers to move seamlessly from the Microsoft world to Oracle world. In the end, our integrated Oracle Database and Microsoft architecture delivers a robust, highly available transaction processing system that drives the core of our business."