Now Available Amazon RDS for Oracle Database

A few months ago I told you that we were planning to support Oracle Database 11g (Release 2) via the Relational Database Service (RDS). That support is now ready to go, and you can start launching Database Instances today.

We've set this up so that you have lots of choices and plenty of flexibility to ensure a good operational and licensing fit. Here are the choices that you get to make:

Database Edition

• Standard Edition One
• Standard Edition
• Enterprise Edition

License Model

• Bring Your Own License (all editions)
• License Included (Standard Edition One)

Instance Class

• Small
• Large
• High-Memory Extra Large
• High-Memory Double Extra Large
• High-Memory Quadruple Extra Large

Pricing Options

• On-Demand DB Instances
• Reserved DB Instances

 

If you already have the appropriate Oracle Database licenses you can simply bring them in to the cloud. You can also launch Standard Edition One DB Instances with a license included at a slightly higher price.

The AWS Management Console's Launch DB Instance Wizard will lead you through all of the choices, starting from the database engine and edition:

If you select an Oracle database engine, you can choose your license model:

And your engine version:

All of the instances are preconfigured with a sensible set of default parameters that should be more than sufficient to get you started. You can use the RDS DB Parameter Groups to exercise additional control over a large number of database parameters.

As is generally the case with AWS, we'll be adding even more functionality to this service in the months to come. Already on the drawing board is support for enhanced fault tolerance.

We have also added a new feature to the console that will make it easier for you to see the range of options available to you when you use RDS. Just click on Orderable DB Options to see which database engines,  versions, instance classes, and options are available to you in each Region and Availability Zone:

You can get this information programmatically using the DescribeOrderableDBInstanceOptions function or the  rds-describe-orderable-db-instance-options command.

When I demonstrate Amazon RDS to developers I get the sense that it really changes their conception of what a database is and how they can use it. They enter the room thinking of the database as a static entity, one that they create once in a great while and leave thinking that they can now create databases on a dynamic, as-needed basis for development, experimentation, testing, and the like.

Read more about Amazon RDS for Oracle Database!

 -- Jeff;

Comments

[Frankmunz]

Hi Jeff,

kudos for this! Exactly what we (the middleware / appserver people) love.

I summarized RDS with Oracle engine provisioning in a whitepaper
(including how to use it with Oracle WebLogic):
http://www.munzandmore.com/2011/cc/rds-real-cloud-computing-with-oracle-databases

keep going!

Frank

[Fadi Samara]

Is Oracle APEX included? If not, is this something will be considered? If yes, do you have time frame when this will be included?

[Bryce Lynch]

APEX is not included, nor is access to the sysdba privilege through the SYS user which is needed to install APEX. That alone makes it a pointless release for me.

[Antonio Ramos]

Nice stuff guys, some questions:

about rman backup, how to do it without shell access? Snapshot is good but with rman would be better for me, rman backupset on s3 to recover database in other location without rds for example

oracle secure cloud module support with rman should be great solution (on premise and cloud deployments)

dataguard support for replication in different zones or with on premise deployment would be an important plus feature for some customers

Can you share more information about how to have an enterprise edition release installed in rds mode?

[Bryce Lynch]

No idea regarding Enterprise - that option is "bring your own license" so only interested in Oracle Standard Edition One which I could license by the hour.

To summarise my position – because Oracle did not include APEX on RDS I would be forced to use Oracle's AMI or build my own database on a supported AMI which would require that I pay at least for a 1 year processor license for every APEX AMI I boot up ‘vs’ £3 or less than 2 USD per day per machine if APEX was included in RDS.

So to have ten Oracle APEX machines up and running at the same time for one single day IF they included APEX in the RDS would cost £30 a day.

Using the same ten APEX machines for one day via an AMI I would need to buy ten 1 year processor licenses which including support would be £15,500 excluding tax and without support £7,780 exc tax just for one single day!!! (Prices taken from Oracle's UK store).

That is, of course for production use. Oracle's concept of "Production" would/could include a forum written in APEX or something simple like a basic CRM etc. You have to play safe with Oracle as they apparently come down on you like a tonne of bricks if they suspect you are using unlicensed software. So in summary for a SME or a startup the ability to spin up APEX instances for "production use" short term is gone.

I'm tired so this reply is hastily written, but I hope constructive enough to explain why I’m very upset by this omission.

[Charles Hand]

When do we get PostgreSQL in RDS!?

[Ashok Kumar]

Hi Jeff,

I am using RDS before 6 - 7 months. Now i want to monitor RDS services via cloud watch. But its not clear in cloud watch, How can we monitor any application.

You are requested to change some function on cloud watch so that it can be easily understand.

[Ranko Mosic]

@Bryce Oracle Secure Cloud Module for backup and Data Guard options are applicable in Amazon AWS setup ( not for Amazon RDS, since there's no OS level access here ).

[Steven Elder]

Any sign of the advanced security feature being launched for Orale DBs in Amazon RDS anytime soon?