Hi, I’m Shruti and I’m a new product manager in the Oracle Database Appliance team! It has been an exciting opportunity to be responsible for Oracle’s popular database engineered system, Oracle Database Appliance, over the past few weeks. Here’s a detailed look at my first impressions:
Self-contained system:
I got the chance to see the Oracle Database Appliance in person, and it is small!
Customers with limited rack space could easily find a place for it. The system’s pre-configured design allows for an easy configuration process. The single-node system is small enough to fit on a desk – I’m amazed at how self-contained it is.
Multiple models for different customer needs:
Customers can choose what works for them – whether that’s a small, large, or high availability (HA) model.
It is interesting to learn more about the architecture of the models. In the high availability model, if a server fails, the failover mechanisms kick in right away and customers can continue to access their data without disruption!
Oracle Database Appliance small and large models are single-node database systems designed to be simple, optimized, and affordable. They are tailored more for small to medium-sized workloads.
Oracle Database Appliance’s HA model is intended for Real Application Cluster (RAC) databases, which enable a very fast database failover. To enhance database high availability further, customers can also use Oracle Database Appliance’s integrated Data Guard feature to protect databases from local disasters with a second Oracle Database Appliance in a remote location.
Simple deployment and management:
Easy learning with the free simulator and labs:
I went through a guided series of quick labs on the system for hands-on practice. Before accessing the system, I followed the steps on the free Oracle Database Appliance simulator. I can see new customers finding this extremely valuable when learning about the system’s capabilities!
Fast Deployment and Database Management:
When getting started with the system, I first went through the deployment process. After configuring the network, I can easily log in to the appliance in a few minutes!
After deploying the appliance, I went through the database management steps to create, delete, and view databases with the Browser-based User Interface (BUI).
Following through the steps on the Oracle Database Appliance lab documentation, I can view more details on disk groups, networks, and databases using commands such as “odacli list-databases”.
By running the command above, you can view a list of the system’s databases. In the output above, you can see the four current databases with specific details such as name, storage type, and version.
Simplified Patching:
During the patching process, I selected the database requiring updates along with its version number. After clicking ‘Actions’ and ‘Apply,’ the patching was completed automatically! The simplified patching and provisioning are incredibly convenient for our users.
Spinning up a VM:
Customers can easily spin up a virtual machine in ODA. Customers can have two types of virtual machines (VMs) in an Oracle Database Appliance. DBSystem is a VM to run your Oracle Databases and an Application VM is a VM to run your applications. Application VMs can be customized to the exact needs of customers – whether that is for running Oracle applications (JD Edwards, Enterprise Manager, etc.) or third-party applications (SAP, Banner, Microsoft Dynamic, etc.).
The process to set up a virtual machine with Oracle Database Appliance is simple and fast. The steps to set up a VM using the BUI are intuitive for any of the different models. It’s great to see how easily customers can handle database lifecycle management with just a few simple steps. Going through the process myself, I’m able to better understand how customers are using their VMs. For example, I can envision a customer running their JD Edwards ERP application and Oracle databases in their ODA. It is exciting to learn about all the possibilities!
Below is a sample of creating a VM instance on the BUI:
Using CLI to see the ODA system:
As an alternative to the BUI, I used the Command Line Interface (CLI) to go through the same activities but with much more granular control including creating VM instances, creating CPU pools, and checking available storage capacity. By running the command “odacli describe-system”, I can easily see appliance, system, and disk information for an Oracle Database Appliance.
Overall, all the CLI steps were straightforward and informative!
As a new PM, my first impressions of the Oracle Database Appliance have been overwhelmingly positive! Oracle Database Appliance provides simplicity, performance, and reliability, enabling customers to easily deploy and manage their databases. It is great option for customers looking for a simple database solution. I’m extremely excited to delve deeper and embark on my product management journey with Oracle Database Appliance!
Interested in learning more about the Oracle Database Appliance?
Connect with the ODA team:
o LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4348075/
Learn more about our latest features:
o ODA Homepage: https://docs.oracle.com/en/engineered-systems/oracle-database-appliance/index.html
o ODA Blog: https://blogs.oracle.com/oda/
o Oracle Database Appliance YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdtXkK5KBY57pMto1ujb7i7io4e_7n4qU