by Robert Buda | Mar 19, 2015 | Cloud, Database Architecture, Oracle
If you’re thinking of moving to Oracle Database 12c, “the first database designed for the cloud,” one of the most compelling reasons could be the Oracle Multitenant Architecture option. In this revolutionary new architecture, you can “plug” many Oracle databases into a single container database—no application changes required.
Let’s quickly head off any potential confusion around the term “multitenant.” That word has been used for awhile in relation to sharing data elements (records) across databases, especially in contexts like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery. This scenario is now best referred to as tenant striped database. With Oracle’s multitenancy, you can run many databases within one container, with several databases potentially sharing a common set of metadata.
The advantages of Oracle’s multitenant architecture are sweeping, driving economies of scale across both capital and operating expenses. First, plugging multiple databases into a single, multitenant container creates the highest density yet possible, with shared memory and background processes to further enhance hardware utilization. The advantages over the schema-based consolidation possible with Oracle 11 are 1) no application changes required; and 2) pluggable databases are isolated for improved reliability and security.
Next, multitenancy enables rapid provisioning and cloning. Creating, moving and cloning pluggable databases takes just seconds with new SQL commands. Patching and upgrades are also simplified and accelerated—just unplug/plug to an upgraded container! (What will you do with all the time that will save?) The overall theme is “manage many as one” across tasks like backup and recovery. You even get new capabilities in the Resource Manager to optimize allocation of resources among pluggable databases.
What are the best use cases for Oracle Multitenant? There are quite a few but these four stand out:
- Application development/testing
Multitenant makes it very quick, simple, safe and efficient for individual engineers to rapidly provision and recycle private copies of a few “master test databases.” Just the productivity benefits of this one use case might be sufficient to justify implementing multitenancy.
- Infrastructure consolidation
Multitenancy supports the use of fewer, more powerful physical servers.
- Delivering and supporting SaaS applications
Multitenancy is ideal for deploying separate instances of identical applications to individual “tenants.” This model is predicted to be popular among cloud vendors in particular.
- Enabling Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) in a private or hybrid cloud.
Multitenancy has a built-in self-service provisioning mechanism that makes it straightforward to enable self-service provisioning of databases; e.g., in development test environments.
Can you upgrade to Oracle Database 12c and not deploy the multitenant option? Yes… but why would you want to? You can even dip a toe in the water by plugging just one database into a container, which requires no additional license.
If you’re considering upgrading to Oracle Database 12c and want to talk over the architecture and design considerations, I invite you to contact Buda Consulting for guidance on analyzing your requirements and architecting an optimal solution.
by Robert Buda | Aug 5, 2014 | Database Architecture, Oracle DBA
Many organizations have limited their Oracle DBA outsourcing to tactical/operational functions like monitoring, backup and patching. But the changing technology landscape is transforming the DBA role and requiring greater expertise.
Today’s enterprise data stores are increasingly massive and architecturally complex. They must support e-commerce and other critical applications that are web-based and demand continuous availability, on-demand scalability, robust security, maximum performance and mobile device support. Further, more and more of the data that drives these complex, critical applications reside in the cloud.
To meet these new demands, organizations of all sizes increasingly need strategic Oracle DBA capabilities in addition to tactical DBA roles. But it can be hard to hire and retain expert Oracle DBAs with these skills, especially when IT budgets are constrained and the skills are in short supply.
In this increasingly common scenario, outsourcing expert Oracle DBA skills to a trusted, onshore partner can be a lifesaver. Not only can you potentially save money, but also you can improve the availability, security and business value of your most valuable asset—your data. This can give you an edge in the marketplace by improving decision-making, shortening time-to-market for new applications and delivering better performance and service to customers.
What strategic Oracle DBA services should you consider outsourcing? Start with the capabilities that are the most in demand, the hardest to cultivate in-house and offer the greatest benefit. These three will top the list for many organizations:
One: Data integration
Big data and analytics are all about integrating multiple data sources to streamline access while reducing management and storage complexity. At many companies data is siloed, making it difficult to get a comprehensive view of the business. When competitors are successfully leveraging more accurate and comprehensive intelligence, can your business afford not to take these steps? Hiring an expert Oracle DBA consultant can reduce cost, risk and time-to-value.
Two: Database architecture and design
Virtualization, cloud services and clustering offer new ways to derive greater value from existing infrastructure investments. An expert Oracle DBA can help you design and implement a massively scalable and available database system that meets the dynamic needs of a global business. The ability to understand, articulate and address the requirements of both the business and its customers is key to this strategic role.
Three: Cloud services
Setting up, managing and scaling an Oracle RDBMS in the cloud takes more than basic capacity planning and administration. It requires a database that has been properly architected and performance tuned to deal with cloud’s challenges—especially security and compliance. This is perhaps more obvious in regulated industries where compliance concerns are paramount, but many businesses moving data to the cloud face comparable concerns.
There’s a lot of buzz these days about making your business “data driven.” Highly experienced senior database professionals will be key to moving in that direction, and they’re in increasingly short supply. Contact Buda Consulting to discuss your Oracle DBA strategy and needs.
by Robert Buda | Nov 24, 2010 | Database Architecture, Oracle
In a recent change to its long-standing policy, Oracle Corp. will now support its customers running Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) software on VMware platforms in certain circumstances.
This positive move for customers was announced in a document titled “Support Position for Oracle Products Running on VMware Virtualized Environments,” which Oracle posted on its support web page on November 8. You can read the specifics of the new policy there.
Basically, Oracle will now accept service requests (Srs) for Oracle RAC 11.2.0.2 and later releases running on VMware-based virtual servers, provided the customer can demonstrate that VMware is not the source of the problem. Otherwise, “…the customer will be referred to VMware for support.”
Oracle hasn’t gone so far as to certify any of its products on VMware, but it will provide support for issues that “… are known to occur on the native OS, or can be demonstrated not to be as a result of running on VMware.”
Oracle RAC is a single database instance deployed across a cluster of Intel X86 servers. For better scalability and fault tolerance, RAC offers load balancing and high availability… at a significant extra cost versus Oracle’s Standard Edition (SE) database. RAC is included with Oracle SE but the cluster hardware is limited to two CPU cores. To run your database across more than two cores, you need to pay for RAC on top of the more expensive Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) software.
What this means
What prompted this move on Oracle’s part? Ongoing customer pressure. Businesses of all sizes want the advantages of virtualized Oracle databases, like reduced hardware costs, reduced power, rack space and cooling costs, and faster database server provisioning.
Oracle had previously asserted that there were “technical restrictions” when running Oracle RAC on VMWare, and explicitly excluded support. This hindered many organizations – especially midsized businesses, which may not have database expertise in-house – from virtualizing their Oracle databases.
But the fact is that Oracle DBMS runs well in a virtual machine. Hundreds of organizations run Oracle on VMWare every day, and it works fine.
If your business has held back on database virtualization because “Oracle doesn’t support VMware,” you might want to reconsider that decision in light of this announcement.
I invite you to comment on how the availability of support from Oracle might change how you deploy your Oracle databases. Did the explicit lack of support hold you back before, and how quickly will you move to increase your virtual footprint now that limited support is available from Oracle?
