Autonomous systems are like having a smart assistant in the tech world. They use fancy tech stuff like artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle complex tasks on their own, making everything run smoother and more efficiently. When it comes to databases, these autonomous systems can pretty much take care of themselves, doing stuff like managing, optimizing, and fixing things without needing humans to babysit them. It’s like having a self-driving car, but for your data!
Application to databases:
Think of autonomous databases as the superheroes of the database world. They can handle huge amounts of data without breaking a sweat, automatically adjusting to changes in workload and keeping everything running smoothly. No more manual tweaking or worrying about system crashes—these databases have got it covered.
Oracle shook things up in 2017 when they introduced their first autonomous database, Oracle Autonomous Database. This game-changing innovation made waves in the industry by offering customers a fully automated solution for their data storage and management needs.
Now, here’s the catch: Oracle’s autonomous database is currently only available on Oracle Cloud. So, if you want to experience the magic of autonomous databases, you’ll have to hop on over to Oracle’s cloud platform.
At a glance, Pros and cons:
| Aspect | Autonomous Database | Conventional Database |
|---|---|---|
| Management | Handles stuff like tuning, security, backups, and updates all by itself, thanks to fancy machine learning tricks. | Needs a human database administrator (DBA) to do all the management tasks manually. |
| Scalability | Can grow or shrink based on workload without needing any human intervention. | Requires a DBA to step in and manually adjust things when the workload changes. |
| Cost | Ends up being cheaper in the long run since you don’t need to pay a dedicated DBA to babysit it. | Might seem cheaper upfront, but you’ll end up spending more on the time and resources of a DBA. |
| Security | Comes with built-in security features like always-on encryption and threat protection. | Security depends on how good your DBA is at setting things up. |
| Performance | Runs super fast and smooth, optimized to handle whatever you throw at it with minimal fuss. | Performance can be hit or miss depending on how well it’s set up and managed. |
| Availability | Offers rock-solid availability, with options up to 99.995%. | Availability depends on how well it’s set up and managed. |
| Use | Perfect for heavy-duty workloads that need top-notch performance, scalability, and availability. | Might be okay for lighter workloads or for folks who prefer more control over their database management. |
Always Free Autonomous Databases:
Oracle Cloud offers the option to create a limited number of Always Free Autonomous Databases, which do not consume cloud credits. These databases can be created in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure accounts that are in a trial period, have paying status, or are always free. Always Free databases come with certain configuration differences, restrictions, and additional details, as outlined below:
Resource Restrictions for Always Free Autonomous Database:
- The Always Free option provides databases with included CPU and storage, and you are never billed until the instance is upgraded to a paid Autonomous Database.
- Each database has a maximum of approximately 20 GB Exadata storage (although you may see more than this).
- There is a maximum limit of 30 simultaneous database sessions.
- Each Oracle Cloud Infrastructure tenancy can have a maximum of 2 Always Free Autonomous Database instances. The workload types available for Always Free databases include Data Warehouse, Transaction Processing, JSON Database, and APEX Service. If you create 2 Always Free instances, they can be of the same or different workload types.
- The HTTP interface for Always Free Autonomous Databases is rate-limited to restrict the number of simultaneous service users. Approximately 3-6 simultaneous users can be supported across all of the APEX, Oracle REST Data Services, and Database Actions running on your Always Free Autonomous Databases. Additional simultaneous users beyond that may result in users encountering HTTP errors such as HTTP status code 429.
- This HTTP interface rate limit applies only to Always Free Autonomous Databases.
Sign Up with Oracle Cloud Free Tier:
You can use the following services for an unlimited time under Oracle Cloud Free Tier:
- Two Oracle Autonomous Databases with powerful tools like Oracle APEX and Oracle SQL Developer
- Two Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Compute VMs; Block, Object, and Archive Storage; Load Balancer and data egress; Monitoring and Notifications To start for free, visit Oracle Cloud Free Tier.
To wrap up:
Oracle’s autonomous database is like having a cool, tech-savvy buddy who takes care of everything for you. It’s easy to use, super reliable, and always there when you need it. On the other hand, a conventional database is more like having a DIY project—you have more control, but you’ll need to put in the time and effort to make sure everything runs smoothly. So, whether you’re looking for convenience or control, there’s an option out there for you!