ORACLE DEPLOYMENT DECISION GUIDE: COMPARING YOUR DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

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1 ORACLE DEPLOYMENT DECISION GUIDE: COMPARING YOUR DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS Oracle Database Appliance (ODA) Oracle Exadata Commodity x86 Servers Public Cloud IBM POWER DIY Vendita Database Cloud Server (DCS)

2 IBM POWER SYSTEMS USERS and companies preparing for a database server change must consider several critical factors when making expansion and upgrade decisions for their company s Oracle Database deployment. 2 IT TEAMS USING IBM POWER SYSTEMS SERVERS can choose from several platform options when deploying a new Oracle Database. These include: The Oracle Database Appliance (ODA), Oracle Exadata, commodity x86 servers, public cloud, IBM POWER DIY, and Vendita Database Cloud Server (DCS). This report provides an assessment of each database deployment option, including an overview of the initial deployment advantages, disadvantages, and true ownership costs to help IT executives and their stakeholders make a confident decision

3 CONSIDER DATABASE YOUR REQUIREMENTS For companies performing mission-critical, high-volume transactional processes such as those in banking, insurance, retail, and healthcare the selection of a database deployment solution must be carefully made. Below are some questions stakeholders should consider when reviewing their options. WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY S DATA SECURITY BREACH RISKS AND COSTS? Each new high-profile data breach alerts every IT executive to the importance of ensuring security for their critical internal and customer data. Some Oracle Database deployment solutions inherently pose a higher security risk. For example, x86-based servers require a significant amount of additional software to make them more secure. Moreover, stakeholders must carefully consider the potential financial, legal, and reputation impact of a security breach when weighing deployment options. IS DATABASE UPTIME AND RELIABILITY CRITICAL TO YOUR COMPANY S PROCESSES AND SUCCESS? DBAs should not have to worry about uptime and system reliability. While value-priced hardware is intriguing, the trade-off could be costlier to your business. For example, commodity x86-based server hardware is plagued by much higher failure rates. Server outages mean loss of business, damage to your reputation, and impact to job security. HOW IMPORTANT IS DATABASE SCALABILITY? Growth of data, mergers and acquisitions, and use of new and advanced features in an application all require a scalable system. It s important to consider your system s future expansion capacity. Even experienced IT professionals are challenged by the need for scalability and the expense of achieving it on running systems. HOW VALUABLE IS YOUR IT TEAM S FAMILIARITY AND EXPERIENCE WITH IBM POWER? Your IT team s comfort with IBM POWER and established internal procedures for provisioning, setup, configuration, development, and ongoing support represent substantial learning curves, which have already been traversed. Switching to another hardware platform will require training and instruction on new technology. VENDITA.COM 3

4 INITIAL ORACLE DATABASE DEPLOYMENT FACTORS: LABOR, DATA CENTER, ONGOING SUPPORT, AND PLATFORM SWITCHING COSTS The initial out-of-pocket cost for server hardware and storage are of great importance in the deployment decision process. However, other factors not immediately quantifiable can significantly increase the total deployment spend for any new Oracle Database Server, whether setting up for the first time or switching to a new platform. Therefore, it s important to consider the following lesser-known expense factors: IT PROVISIONING SETUP, INSTALLATION, AND CONFIGURATION LABOR EXPENSES: The true cost of labor is three-fold: tied-up resources, time, and money. There is a significant expense for the IT staff to provision, set up, and configure hardware, coordinate network setup, request storage allocation, and install the OS and Oracle Database. The process is time-consuming, expensive, and ties up IT resources to complete the setup and mitigate system downtime. EXISTING SERVER SPRAWL AND DATA CENTER RESOURCE COSTS: As companies stand up new Oracle Databases, usually on their own servers, each new server adds to ongoing space and utility costs. This server sprawl also causes companies to incur additional Oracle licensing expenses due to inefficient utilization. Instead, companies can achieve significant hardware, maintenance, and Oracle licensing savings by consolidating their existing server footprint to fewer, more powerful servers. ONGOING SUPPORT COSTS: Patches and upgrades are another significant, ongoing IT cost. In addition to monopolizing IT resources, there is system downtime that affects the people that keep your business running whenever patches and upgrades occur. NEW PLATFORM SWITCHING COSTS: The learning curve and integration costs of introducing new hardware into your IT environment must be considered and factored into your database solution evaluation

5 ORACLE DATABASE 1APPLIANCE (ODA) ADVANTAGES Initial start-up is cost-effective Fast provisioning Negotiated discounts often available when linked to the company s Oracle Database license program Suited to non-demanding databases and lowerperformance processing No separate hardware and storage procurement DISADVANTAGES Limited x86 performance Lack of scalability Server sprawl IT labor is required to setup and configure bare-metal ODA servers Potentially high licensing fees THE ODA IS A LOW-COST, x86-based SERVER designed to provide fast provisioning of Oracle Database servers when compared to DIY solutions. However, there are several factors that can increase the ODA s cost of ownership, depending on current and future needs. For instance, this solution is plagued by the same limitations of other x86 server options, including: LIMITED PERFORMANCE: Designed as a low-cost commodity-type solution, the ODA is best suited for nondemanding Oracle Databases that do not require highperformance processing. LACK OF SCALABILITY: The ODA s system architecture prevents scalability for individual servers. Instead, IT must buy additional ODA s whenever more capacity is needed, which significantly increases hardware and server support expenses, and leads to server sprawl. ODA SERVER MACHINE SETUP ADDS TIME AND EFFORT WITHIN IT DEPARTMENTS: As an engineered solution for rapid database deployment, the ODA eliminates the need for separate hardware and storage procurement, as well as setup steps of other options, such as those encountered when deploying x86 and other bare-metal servers. However, each bare-metal ODA still requires hours for machine setup, which must be factored into the total cost of ownership when considering this option. INCREASED LICENSING FEES: Due to the lack of scalability, users are often forced to add more ODA servers to meet their requirements, significantly increasing the number of Oracle Database and Oracle Real Applications Clusters (RAC) software licenses. Coupled with other licensing fees and traditional Oracle support fees, the total operating cost can escalate. VENDITA.COM 5

6 2 ORACLE EXADATA ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES High-performance Large internal storage capacities available Highly scalable Long-term solution Expensive initial investment More license fees due to sophistication of the system Complex setup Excessive performance and storage Potentially higher operating cost ORACLE EXADATA IS A -END PERFORMANCE OPTION WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF STORAGE THAT MAKES IT LY SCALEABLE AND ACCOUNTS FOR FUTURE GROWTH. While Oracle Exadata delivers an engineered solution for Oracle Database, the complexity of this solution always requires initial setup and configuration by Oracle or a third-party IT consultant. Additionally, package options often commit customers to buying more processing capacity and storage than needed, forcing them to pay extra for unnecessarily high performance. When combined with the initial hardware, IT professionals should consider the total operating cost with this solution. FORCES DATABASE VERSION MIGRATIONS: The Oracle Exadata is a single-purpose machine that exclusively runs Oracle Database on Linux with no accommodations for other operating systems. In addition, this solution only supports the latest version of Oracle Database, forcing customers with older versions to perform a database migration at the same time they re provisioning and deploying a new server, further complicating and delaying the process. EXISTS AS A BARE-METAL MACHINE WITH NO VIRTUALIZATION: Oracle Exadata is actually two separate platforms; a group of individual, bare-metal servers and a storage appliance. From a hardware standpoint, it s a closed system, meaning customers are not allowed to add their own hardware or interface cards, or use an existing SAN fabric. 6 As such, it does not support any virtualization, eliminating private cloud capability. Additionally, the storage and server are licensed separately, and the price of storage on the system is extremely high, causing customers to drastically overpay for low criticality databases. REQUIRES ORACLE RAC: For extremely large databases that require more CPUs, customers are forced to purchase Oracle Real Applications Clusters (RAC). With a list price of more than $23,000 per CPU license, Oracle RAC pricing significantly adds to your expenses

7 3 COMMODITY x86 SERVERS ADVANTAGES Low initial cost Good user and software support base Wide variety of vendor and configuration options DISADVANTAGES Not scalable Higher failure rate Higher potential for server and data security breaches Higher licensing fees INTEL x86-based SERVERS HAVE BECOME VERY POPULAR FOR RUNNING ORACLE DATABASES, due to their relatively low hardware cost, ease of replacement, large user base, and software ecosystem. Additionally, the x86 platform has a wide variety of available vendor hardware, server configurations, and support options. While there are major advantages to using inexpensive, easily replaceable, commodity x86 servers, these systems are limited by: SCALABILITY: Due to their architecture, x86-based servers cannot be easily scaled up to meet increased database demand. Instead, databases must be migrated to more or larger servers. RELIABILITY: The higher failure rates of commodity x86 hardware make their reliability a concern, especially for critical, high-volume transactional databases. Each server failure jeopardizes business integrity and operations. ER ORACLE DATABASE LICENSING COSTS: Lower per-core performance of x86 processors require more cores to deliver the necessary level of database processing performance compared to alternatives. This, combined with Oracle s per-core licensing fee structure, significantly increases total Oracle Database licensing costs. SECURITY: Efforts have been made to make x86 server OS more secure over the last decade, but the security features are not well understood by sys admins and DBAs, and are often disabled in order to get Oracle Database up and running. This leaves the system at risk. A NOTE ABOUT VMWARE ON x86: the VMware hypervisor allows multiple virtual servers to run on x86-based servers, alleviating scaling challenges. However, VMware requires all processor cores on the server hardware to be licensed for Oracle Database, adding substantial software licensing fees. Many users of VMware are unaware of this Oracle requirement, leaving them susceptible during Oracle audits. VENDITA.COM 7

8 4 PUBLIC CLOUD OPTIONS ADVANTAGES Rapid provisioning Initial low-cost, pay-as-you-go pricing Highly scalable Eliminates most IT hardware and infrastructure costs DISADVANTAGES Significantly higher costs for large database workloads Uncertainty relating to data security and compliance Not built for high performance All compute resources are shared amongst customers Vendor lock-in THERE ARE VARIOUS PUBLIC CLOUD SERVICES THAT OFFER A FLEXIBLE AND LY SCALABLE SOLUTION for database deployment, using low-cost, pay-as-you-go models that eliminate IT infrastructure expenses. Providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. However, there are major drawbacks to public cloud services for Oracle Databases: UNANTICIPATED COSTS: Public cloud services offer low pricing on initial deployment, but many people are surprised at how quickly data transfer and CPU charges can pile up as demands increase. NOT BUILT FOR PERFORMANCE: Public cloud is architected around small compute resources and does not deliver capabilities for applications that require higher performance. Moreover, compute resources exponentially increase for larger partitions in the public cloud. VENDOR LOCK-IN: Over time, as cloud applications use features specific to a cloud provider, vendor lock-in occurs. As these applications gain a larger user-base, ongoing costs escalate. Customers who then wish to transition off of the public cloud face challenges due to this vendor lock-in phenomenon. This typically does not impact database workloads, but is a compelling reason to pursue on-premises private cloud solutions. SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE CONCERNS: Many security and compliance professionals have concerns regarding housing critical systems of record in the public cloud. These concerns arise from the lack of clarity in government regulations and overall loss of control when compared to an on-premises solution

9 5 IBM POWER DIY ADVANTAGES Processing power and scalability ideal for high-volume databases Superior reliability compared to x86 servers Proven, highly secure environment DISADVANTAGES High initial deployment costs Longer deployment timelines High ongoing support costs Complex and confusing procurement process for IBM POWER products Outdated software and patch distribution The IBM POWER platform offers a number of advantages for Oracle Database workloads: SUITABILITY FOR -VOLUME TRANSACTIONAL DATABASES: The CPU architecture of IBM POWER delivers superior performance for workloads that require high-volumes of transactions. GREATER UPTIME AND RELIABILITY: Compared to commodity x86 servers, IBM Power Systems provide superior uptime and reliability, making them the preferred choice for critical databases. IBM Power Systems have fault tolerant high availability features, and will phonehome to IBM Support if a failure is detected. INHERENTLY ER SECURITY: IBM Power Systems have the lowest published number of security vulnerabilities. IBM POWER provides a highly secure computing environment that does not require installation of additional security software or features. DRAWBACKS TO DIY ORACLE DATABASE DEPLOYMENT ON IBM POWER : Despite these advantages, the DIY process to deploy Oracle Database on IBM POWER can be as time consuming and expensive as other platforms. For example, IT teams must still perform all steps required to specify hardware, install and configure the operating system and virtualization, and configure Oracle Database. When the IT labor costs for each new database install are tabulated, these ongoing expenses add up. VENDITA.COM 9

10 6 VENDITA DATABASE CLOUD SERVER (DCS) ON IBM POWER ADVANTAGES Enables rapid installation of Oracle Database software and grid infrastructure Significantly reduces Oracle licensing expenses All OS and database software is pre-installed, configured, and optimized Superior performance Virtually no in-house setup; lowers labor costs Private cloud server with minimal security and compliance challenges Highly scalable To address the expense and drawbacks of each platform for Oracle Database covered so far, and take full advantage of IBM POWER performance, Vendita engineered an appliance-like offering for Oracle Database on IBM POWER. Compared to all other database deployment solutions, the Vendita DCS provides numerous time and cost advantages, including: VENDITA DCS ON IBM POWER IS TURNKEY: All operating system and database software is pre-installed, configured, and optimized for rapid, high-performance Oracle Database deployment. REDUCTION IN ORACLE DATABASE LICENSING FEES: Compared to x86-based servers, Vendita DCS on IBM POWER delivers a 4:1 cost-performance advantage, resulting in a drastic reduction of Oracle Database licensing costs to perform the same database processing workload. DELIVERED FOR IMMEDIATE ORACLE DATABASE USE WITH VIRTUALLY NO CUSTOMER SETUP: Configured to your network requirements before it ships, Vendita DCS arrives provisioned and pre-tested, reducing or eliminating the need for IT teams to perform on-site setup. PROVISION NEW ORACLE DATABASE SERVERS WITHIN DAYS INSTEAD OF SIX WEEKS OR LONGER: Vendita DCS s patented provisioning process delivers an IBM POWER solution for Oracle Database within days of the order, configured to customer-specific workloads, and deployable within hours of delivery. REDUCE ONGOING IT LABOR EXPENSES: Vendita Master Automation Sequencer (MAS), included with Vendita DCS, reduces ongoing IT expenses through scriptbased automation of maintenance tasks, patches, and database management. THE BENEFIT OF PUBLIC CLOUD SERVICES WITHOUT THE SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES OR RUNAWAY COST: Utilizing the highly secure IBM POWER platform, Vendita DCS drastically reduces data security and compliance concerns, and enables easy, private cloud implementation without the security risks and cost concerns that discourage many companies from moving to the public cloud. NO ADDITIONAL LEARNING CURVE FOR EXISTING IBM POWER USERS: For companies already using IBM Power Systems servers, Vendita DCS allows your IT team to continue to work with a familiar platform, eliminating significant added learning curve costs

11 Oracle Database Deployment Options: Know Your Costs and Your Risks ORACLE DATABASE APPLIANCE ORACLE EXADATA COMMODITY x86 SERVERS PUBLIC CLOUD DIY ON IBM POWER VENDITA DCS ON IBM POWER New Platform Adoption Costs High learning curve and training costs required for new hardware and OS adoption. MEDIUM Cloud infrastructure reduces adoption costs. NONE Staying with IBM POWER eliminates new hardware/os training and adoption costs. IT Provisioning, Installation, and Configuration Labor Costs MEDIUM Requires downloading Oracle Installation Files, as well as network setup. Significant extra costs to provision servers, storage, and network hardware. OS and Oracle installation from bare-metal server requires IT labor hours for each implementation. Oracle Exadata installation always requires hiring third party consultants at additional expense. MEDIUM Requires uploading Oracle Install Files and configuring the OS. New server provisioning and implementation costs comparable to other onpremises options. NONE All OS and Oracle Database software preinstalled and configured for immediate deployment. Ongoing Oracle Database Licensing Costs Lower performance increases Oracle Database licensing costs. Requires the licensing of Oracle RAC and storage server. x86 server architecture imposes substantially higher Oracle Database licensing costs compared to IBM POWER. Public cloud is not architected for high performance workloads, like Oracle Database. LOW 4:1 cost-performance advantage with IBM POWER means 75% lower Oracle Database licensing costs compared to x86 servers. Security and Compliance Costs and Risks x86 OS options present security risks, often requiring installation of additional security software. VERY Off-premises data access and lack of control present security and compliance challenges. LOW Long and well-established data security track record; no additional security software required for Oracle Database. Business Opportunity Costs and Risks Due to Deployment Delays Several weeks or months often required for each new database server, with negative cost impact on key business and customer initiatives. MEDIUM Pre-provisioned operating system reduces deployment timelines. Longer DIY deployment timelines comparable to other onpremises platforms. NONE Immediate deployment eliminates business opportunity and cost impact. VENDITA.COM 11

12 Set Up a Free Remote Vendita DCS Trial VENDITA DCS IS AN IDEAL CHOICE FOR IT DEPARTMENTS CURRENTLY RUNNING IBM POWER : Cut the time required to create new Oracle Databases. Reduce IT labor, provisioning, and deployment expenses. Minimize overall Oracle licensing cost. VENDITA S TRY-BEFORE-YOU BUY PROGRAM: To test-drive your workloads and evaluate their performance on Vendita DCS, arrange a no-obligation remote trial that will prove its capabilities to you and your IT team. Contact us at (844) , or DCS-Info@Vendita.com. Test Drive DCS Today: Run your own workload to experience Vendita s DCS advantages. Contact us at (844) or DCS-Info@Vendita.com to set up a remote trial today. About Vendita Vendita is a collection of experts with experience working with technology giants, like Oracle and IBM, and a mission to simplify the process of purchasing, deploying, and managing our clients IT environments. Our customers and Oracle and IBM themselves came to us in need of a way to bring Oracle software and databases together with IBM for a best-of-breed system. The Database Cloud Server is a revolutionary product with seamless software and hardware compatibility, functionality, and license monitoring