When choosing a database platform for your business, several options are available in the market. Oracle Database is one of the most popular and widely used database management systems, offering a variety of deployment options, including on-premises, cloud virtual machine (VM), and database services. In this blog post, we will discuss the pros and cons of each deployment option from a DBA perspective to help you make an informed decision.
1. Oracle Database On-Premises:
Oracle Database On-Prem Pros:
- Full control over the physical hardware and network infrastructure.
- Ability to maintain legacy database and applications on current infrastructure
- Ability to customize the configuration of the database and the underlying operating system.
- No dependence on third-party vendors or service providers
- Ability to leverage existing infrastructure and resources
- High level of security and compliance with data privacy regulations
- Potentially lower costs in the long run, particularly if the organization has an existing investment in hardware.
Oracle Database On-Prem Cons:
- Requires significant capital investment in hardware and software
- Increased maintenance and management overhead, keeping up with security patches and upgrades
- Responsibility for database maintenance and upgrades falls solely on the organization
- Requires in-house expertise to manage and troubleshoot the database environment and all hardware and network infrastructure
- Limited scalability and flexibility, as expanding the database requires additional hardware and software investments
2. Oracle Database in a Cloud VM:
Oracle Database in a Cloud VM Pros:
- Flexibility to scale resources up or down as needed
- Reduced hardware and software capex costs compared to on-premises deployment with a pay-as-you-go pricing model
- Minimal setup time and maintenance required
- Ability to quickly deploy and test new applications
- Allows customers to apply current Oracle licenses to the Cloud VM with bring your own license (BYOL)
- Many cloud providers will offer free trial periods for the compute resources for you to install your Oracle-licensed software on
Oracle Database in a Cloud VM Cons:
- Increased management and maintenance overhead, similar to on-premises.
- Limited control and customization over the environment
- Dependence on the cloud service provider for database uptime and performance
- Additional costs may be incurred for data transfer and network bandwidth
- Potential security concerns, as data is stored on a third-party server
- Limited availability and disaster recovery options.
- Higher costs for long-term usage, compared to fully managed services
- Oracle does not support Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) on Non-Oracle public cloud environments
3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Oracle Relational Database Service (RDS):
Amazon RDS for Oracle Pros:
- The ability to quickly deploy an Oracle database without waiting for hardware to be purchased or infrastructure to be in place on-premise
- Automatic software patching, which can help ensure that the database is always up-to-date with the latest security updates and performance improvements
- Flexible pricing options based on usage lower costs for long-term usage compared to running a virtual machine.
- Scalability, High availability, and disaster recovery features built-in.
- Easy integration with other AWS services
- Managed service takes the burden of maintenance, patching and management of backup, high availability and disaster recovery.
- RDS for Oracle supports Managed Oracle Data Guard Switchover allowing reversing of the roles, which help with DR testing if you have EE version
- Quickly create a new DB instance using snapshots and point-in-time backups for test or dev without needing to purchase new hardware.
- New feature, “Amazon RDS Custom,” allows you to better customize the underlying os or database to accommodate legacy applications or packaged business applications for Oracle.
Amazon RDS for Oracle Cons:
- Less control over the underlying infrastructure and network configuration.
- Some configuration options may be limited compared to running a database on a virtual machine or on-premises
- Some Oracle database features may not be available compared to on-premises deployment, such as Automatic Storage Management (ASM).
- Additional costs may be incurred for data transfer and network bandwidth
- Downtime needed for patching and scaling out may not always fit into your uptime requirements
- Oracle does not support Oracle RAC on Non-Oracle public cloud environments
- RDS for Oracle does not support the Flashback database feature
- Attempting to run unsupported features in an RDS for Oracle instance could damage the data dictionary
- Oracle Database 11g, Oracle Database 12c, and Oracle Database 18c are legacy versions that are no longer supported in Amazon RDS.
- Inability to use SYSTEM, SYS, or other Oracle administrative accounts
- RDS doesn’t provide shell access to DB instances
- No free RDS for Oracle trial period
4. Oracle Database Service for Azure:
Oracle Database Service for Azure Pros:
- Scalability, high availability, and disaster recovery features built-in.
- Automatic software patching can help ensure the database is always up-to-date with the latest security updates and performance improvements.
- Easy integration with other Azure services
- Flexible pricing options based on usage lower costs for long-term usage compared to running a virtual machine.
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Azure multi cloud partnership, with low latency OCI-Azure connectivity
- $200 credit to use in 30 days for testing
Oracle Database Service for Azure Cons:
- Limited control and customization over the environment
- Limited or no access to underlying infrastructure and os resources
- Additional costs may be incurred for data transfer and network bandwidth
- Some features may not be available compared to an on-premises deployment
- Oracle does not support Oracle RAC on Non-Oracle public cloud environments
- Very limited free tier for Oracle databases for learning or testing purposes
5. Oracle Cloud OCI Database Service:
Oracle Cloud OCI Database Service Pros:
- High level of security and compliance with data privacy regulations
- Automatic backups and software patching
- Flexible pricing options based on usage
- High availability and scalability
- Easy integration with other Oracle projects in OCI
- Optimized for Oracle workloads
- Includes Oracle Linux Premier Support at no additional cost
- Linux kernel updates occur with zero downtime using Ksplice
- Rapid deployment using pre-configured and pre-validated Oracle images
- OCI and Azure multi-cloud partnership, with low latency OCI-Azure connectivity
- Fully supports both Exadata and RAC
- An automated migration and provisioning tool for migration Oracle E-Business Suite to OCI
- Free 30-day trial and always-free resources for the life of the account
Oracle Cloud OCI Database Service Cons:
- Initial setup may not be as streamlined as competitors’ cloud implementations
- Technical blogs and free training resources for OCI may not be as available as other cloud competitors
- Limited access to underlying infrastructure and resources
- Additional costs may be incurred for data transfer and network bandwidth
- Some features may not be available compared to an on-premises deployment
In conclusion, each Oracle Database deployment option has its own advantages and disadvantages. Organizations should evaluate their specific needs and requirements, including factors such as cost, scalability, control, and security, before making a decision. It is also important to consider the level of expertise available within the organization for managing and maintaining the database environment. Ultimately, the deployment option choice will depend on each organization’s unique needs and priorities.
Contact us with any questions and see what our managed DBA services can do for your business!