Managing Oracle databases is no easy task, especially at a large scale. To solve that, many organizations deploy Oracle databases on AWS, which provides the benefits of scale and flexibility without the costs and overheads associated with other environments.
But there’s more than one way to run an Oracle database on AWS: Users can opt for the fully managed Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) or self-manage an Oracle database built on AWS infrastructure.
Which one of these options is right for you? In this post we’ll help you understand both options, explore their pros and cons in detail, and see how Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSx for ONTAP) offers the benefits of managed solutions with the flexibility of self-managed Oracle database deployment.
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Managed versus self-managed Oracle databases: An overview
When deploying Oracle databases in AWS, organizations end up choosing between two main options: Running the fully managed Amazon RDS for Oracle or self-managing an Oracle database built on AWS infrastructure.
- The managed option: Amazon RDS for Oracle
Amazon RDS for Oracle is the managed service that enables you to deploy, operate and scale Oracle databases in AWS without worrying about the administrative tasks typically associated with database management, such as hardware provisioning, software installation, patching, backups, and monitoring.
- Self-managed option
Oracle Server on AWS instances: You can deploy Oracle databases on AWS infrastructure, where you have full control over compute, storage, networking and configuration. It allows fine grained control over your Oracle database that is often required in large scale deployments.
While there are other ways to deploy Oracle on AWS—such as using Flashgrid Cluster virtual appliances or VMware Cloud on AWS—these options are meant for specific use cases, such as for migrating on-premises VMware clusters or deploying Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) on AWS. Those cases won’t be the focus of this article.
The Managed Option: Amazon RDS for Oracle
Amazon RDS for Oracle is a fully managed service, meaning AWS takes care of various aspects of database management for you. This includes tasks such as provisioning, updating, monitoring, back ups, and hardware scaling.
You have the option to choose between using Provisioned IOPS storage or General Purpose (SSD) storage based on your performance and cost requirements. Additionally, Amazon RDS offers synchronous single or multiple Availability Zone (AZ) replication, allowing you to easily set up high availability with automatic failover in case of hardware or infrastructure failures. Instances can be as large as 64TiB. As of this writing, Amazon RDS supports Oracle Database versions 21c (21.0.0.0) and 19c (19.0.0.0).
Pros of the managed Oracle database option
There are some clear benefits to taking the fully managed route:
- Ease of use
Configuring an Oracle database with Amazon RDS is straightforward; simply choose the database type, version, size, and cores from the provided options. Once selected, the setup process is largely complete.
- Scalability
Amazon RDS lets you easily scale the database up to the maximum RDS instance size, which is 64 TiB. If your database is larger than 64 TiB, or expected to reach this limit, this can become a concern.
- Cross-regional support
Amazon RDS allows you to replicate Oracle databases across Amazon Regions, which improves resiliency. Cross-region read replica support for Oracle databases is possible using Oracle Enterprise Edition versions of Oracle 12.1 and higher releases, and using a BYOL license with a separate license for Oracle Active Data Guard.
Cons of the managed Oracle database option
Consider these factors that come with the fully managed option:
- Configuration flexibility
With a fully managed service, you’re not able to configure or optimize your Oracle instance to meet your specific deployment’s needs. There’s also no access to the file system itself. That limits your options to customize monitoring, backups, management agents, and the restoration processes.
- Versioning
Not every version of Oracle is given ongoing support. This should be less of an issue for new Oracle instances but might be a concern if you haven’t been keeping up to date with the new Oracle versions, or might want to continue using older versions due to organization-specific requirements.
- Managed service charges
When using a managed service, you’re now being charged at a premium for the routine tasks of configuring and maintaining your database on AWS.
- The 64 TiB threshold
Scalability only goes so far when you’re working with a storage limit. Once a database reaches the 64TiB threshold, you’ll have to find a new solution for your operations.
The self-managed option: Oracle databases on AWS infrastructure
Hosting Oracle databases on AWS infrastructure means you have full control over setup and configuration, making it very close to on-premises hosting. You get higher granularity over how your Oracle database is configured, though it does entail complete maintenance responsibility for the deployment, such as provisioning AWS infrastructure, including instances, storage, and networking resources, managing backups, and optimizing usage.
Pros of the self-managed Oracle database option
Self-managing an Oracle database using AWS instances comes with a number of benefits:
- More control over configuration and optimization
Using an Oracle database built on AWS instances provides more flexibility. You can customize settings and optimizations for your instance, such as implementing data striping across AWS storage volumes to improve performance.
- A higher level of scalability
Using an AWS instances-based Oracle database gives you almost unlimited scale, as you can add instances as needed.
- Cross-region replication support
Similar to RDS, on AWS instances you can replicate copies of your Oracle database across AWS Regions to achieve a higher level of protection.
Cons of self-managed Oracle database option
There are some points to keep in mind when considering a self-managed Oracle database deployment:
- Skill intensive
Deploying Oracle databases on AWS infrastructure comes with more control and flexibility, however, all that flexibility does require a higher level of technical skill to manage your custom architecture. Optimizing your architecture requires a database admin or developer with deep knowledge of database technology.
- More moving parts
In addition to your database, you may need to use additional AWS components, each with their own monitoring and management.
One solution to address these limitations is to implement a storage management layer in your AWS environment, such as FSx for ONTAP.
Oracle databases on AWS with FSx for ONTAP: Fully managed storage for the self-managed approach
FSx for ONTAP provides an ideal solution for achieving managed service-like capabilities while deploying Oracle using AWS instances. Bringing trusted NetApp® ONTAP® software to AWS, this fully managed enterprise storage service can bridge the gaps between the two options and resolve challenges related to data protection, performance, business continuity, mobility, and cost optimization.
By leveraging FSx for ONTAP as the storage layer for your Oracle databases, you get the benefits of a managed service without giving up on the flexibility and control of self-managed deployments.
The main benefits of using FSx for ONTAP for your self-managed Oracle database deployments in AWS are:
- Lower costs of up to 50% for running your Oracle databases without a performance tradeoff.
- Shorter development cycles, faster database refreshes, and reduced time to market (TTM) with zero-capacity, zero-cost, instant, and writable thin-clone copies.
- Application aware cross-region backup and recovery capabilities to protect data from AWS regional failures, ransomware attacks, data corruption or any other disaster.
- Multi-AZ high availability provides your Oracle database with a recovery point objective (RPO) of zero and a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 60 seconds.
Below you can see the architecture of the multi-AZ high availability setup for FSx for ONTAP with NetApp SnapMirror® replication technology for multi-region DR:
Self-managed Oracle database deployments benefit from the following additional capabilities of FSx for ONTAP:
- Consistent high performance and throughput with low latency through built-in NVMe caching.
- Fine-tune sizing on the fly to adjust capacity, throughput and IOPS.
- Multi-protocol (iSCSI/NFS/SMB/S3) support to suit all deployment architectures.
- Achieve stringent RPO and RTO through optimized backup and recovery processes.
- Migrate databases effortlessly from ONTAP-based storage environments using NetApp SnapMirror.
By integrating FSx for ONTAP, you can reduce the associated operational overhead of storage management while enjoying greater flexibility and control with self-managed Oracle database deployments on AWS.
How a leading open-source solution company benefited from Oracle with FSx for ONTAP
A leading provider of enterprise open-source solutions has adopted FSx for ONTAP to support its mission-critical applications.
This company runs mission-critical Oracle workloads, including a self-managed Oracle database and Oracle E-Business Suite, which are vital to its revenue streams. As a NetApp customer, the company was familiar with NetApp ONTAP storage solutions, which made FSx for ONTAP the optimal choice for migrating to AWS.
FSx for ONTAP has become integral to their cloud strategy, serving various environments such as production, development, testing, and disaster recovery.
There were several benefits FSx for ONTAP could provide that drove their decision to adopt the service:
- High performance for mission critical databases and applications
- Fully managed storage service provides ease of use with no heavy lifting for operating storage
- Easy migration through NetApp SnapMirror
- Storage cost reduction using proprietary ONTAP storage efficiency features and automated tiering
Optimizing Oracle database storage with FSx for ONTAP
FSx for ONTAP offers best-in-class storage service for Oracle deployments built on Amazon infrastructure. With its enhanced data management capabilities, it makes self-managed Oracle database deployments simpler, faster, and more cost-effective, while improving data protection and business continuity. It takes the best parts of a fully managed database service and adds the tools and flexibility that enterprise deployments require.