Oracle Database Appliance Reviews

We value the following features:

• Performance (we used a bare-metal configuration so I don't know about using it as a virtual environment).
• Easy management (it saves a lot of installation and patching time).

This box allowed me to consolidate the three most critical databases in one single reliable server (it is actually two nodes in our machine).

The following issues need attention:

• I would be happy to see the Oracle Auto Service Request (ASR) pre-installed in it instead of installing it in a separate machine.
• The Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) is quite slow. Sometimes the page takes ages to open.
• The shutdown procedure in this box is different from many other servers that I worked with. For example, when you shut down the server, you see the LEDs of the storage part still on, and there is no button for that part to turn the power off. You can only unplug the power socket!

We have been using the solution for two years.

We didn't encounter any stability issues.

There was a little scalability issue. We noticed that the storage dedicated to the system in one node was less than the other. We therefore needed to expand it. We needed Oracle support to do that for us but it was online and streamlined.

The technical support is very good, but not excellent.

I didn't use a previous solution.

The setup was straightforward but we had issues that needed Oracle support to fix for us.

Frankly I have no clue about pricing. The organization didn't have any issue about paying for the licenses.

There is one thing that you need to be aware of. When you buy this box, you buy licenses for a specific number of CPU cores. When you set up the box, you define how many cores you want to enable. If the number of cores that you enable is different from the number of cores that you have in your license, it will be so hard to fix it (according to the Oracle representative claim but I am not sure about that.)

We evaluated RAC servers from other vendors.

The biggest disadvantage of this server is its availability when you patch the whole machine, i.e. when you patch the entire ODA firmware, not the databases within it. When you do this kind of patching, you must restart the entire server and plan for downtime.

This box has a network subnetting IP address pre-configured in it for internal communication between the nodes.

If your network has the same network subnetting IP address, you must change it in your network. This box (as of x4-2 and I don't know about the new models) doesn't allow you to change its internal subnetting IP address.

The most valuable feature is the ability to use it as a virtualization platform. This is great because you can run the Oracle Database layer as ODA_BASE domain and use Oracle VM templates to build Oracle applications as VMs so you can also have the application layer in the same platform.

It is easy in terms of management of virtual infrastructure. With "oakcli" is the all-in-one CLI to manipulate the virtual environment of the ODA.

It had a lot of bugs, especially with the old patch bundles. There was no support for connecting it to an FC tape drive for backups.

The ODA X3-2 has been up and running since August 2013. This was the first model of the appliance.

We had issues with the virtual infrastructure. Sometimes the shared repositories go into status Unknown, VMs crashing etc. Also the automatic failover of the VMs sometimes failed.

We had no issues with scalability. It allows only two disk enclosures for storage space, and for servers you can upgrade the RAM.

I would rate the technical support at 8/10.

Our previous solutions were building a high availability environment for Oracle Database with blocks, server storage OS, network configuration, etc.

The setup was very easy. It is great to have a fully configured and tested HA environment for Oracle Database in two days. All the built-in automation scripts do it for you.

If you compare the pricing of ODA vs traditional architecture it can be a bit high but you get more value by minimizing the risk, a short implementation time, and all-in-one patching.

There are no solutions like ODA.

Overall it is a great product for consolidating Oracle Databases.

With the newer models there are a lot of optimizations both in hardware and software. For example the cluster interconnect card went from 10GbE in ODA X3-2 to InfiniBand QDR in ODA X5-2. The "oakcli" has added features with the new patch bundles.

Valuable features include an easy installation, good performance, and stability.

The physical installation is easy. They have single mode and high availability, depending on the budget. It has all-in-one features in it.

I would like to see some improvement in the capacity.

We have been supporting this solution for customers for three years. We are an Oracle gold partner company.

It is stable and there have not been any crashes.

Everybody can use it. It is scalable.

We opened a support ticket for the installation.

We have a customer who is using IBM or HPE. They are going to buy an Oracle database appliance for the scalability, installation, performance, and high available options. I think this is the reason they want to switch now. Scalability, high availability, easy installation, and good performance are the reasons to switch.

You can install all of your visual information on the Oracle database appliance. All of your software is on this virtual machine. Another option is to install your database on an older Oracle database appliance, which is recommended and has the best performance.

I don't know anything about license or prices.

Actually, we always focus on the Oracle products because we are Oracle partners. We didn't compare anything else. Based on the budget, Exadata systems are now in the new Oracle database appliances. There are three options: small, medium, and high availability. It depends on the customer's budget.

The physical installation is easy. They have single mode and high available mode options, depending on the budget. So it has all-in-one features in it.

It has an easy installation, good performance, and it is stable.

I picked Database Appliance because it's quick and easy to deploy and configure.

I've been using this solution for three to four months.

Oracle's technical support is very helpful, with very knowledgeable teams.

The initial setup was straightforward and quick - I was able to configure everything within an hour.

The license cost could be cheaper, especially for long-term contracts.

I would rate Database Appliance as eight out of ten.

It has many valuable features, including High Availability and failover. This means you can have an all-ERP solution in one box, so you can use your database with your application server together.

My clients like the failover feature, which is included for free.

It takes too long to implement and Oracle should do something about it. They also need to perform more R&D on new releases before releasing it into the marketplace.

I've performed many deployments of it over the last two years.

There were a lot of issues during delivery, but once it was fully implemented, there were only minor deployment issues.

There were a lot of issues during delivery, but once it was fully implemented, there were only minor stability issues.

There were a lot of issues during delivery but once it was fully implemented, there were only minor scalability issues.

The initial setup was straightforward.

I am part of a vendor team that does the implementations for our clients.

It's so complex that you will need an expert to implement it.

The features that they're providing as skills are the solution's most valuable aspect.

The solution is simple to use and easy to maintain.

The testing aspect of the solution could be improved. Right now, it's done by us, but if they'd improve it with tools that would make things easier.

If we were able to use Oracle Database to create mobile apps, that would be great. I don't know multiple languages, like Java, etc. I need to learn a separate language, right now in order to do this.

We primarily use the solution for data storage.

The solution does crash. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen occasionally.

The solution is scalable. We have a few hundred people using the solution currently.

We've never been in touch with technical support. We don't have the internet password needed to connect. We typically use a third party if we require assistance.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Our primary use case is OLTP.

Cost.                                                                                                                                         .

Oracle RAC.                                                        .

Patching: Oracle Database Appliance patching comes out two to three months after the regular patching cycle.                     .

Configurable installation pre-defined templates are available to meet your requirements.

It has led to improved performance, it saves maintenance costs, increases stability and reliability and is a single vendor solution.

Creating a VM on ODA could be improved.

We have been using the solution for two years.

There were no issues with stability.

There were no issues with scalability.

I would rate the technical support as 8/10.

We were using IBM P series AIX, using ODA ease patching, installation and support.

The setup was straightforward, as install and reinstall is configurable with predefined templates.

I recommend to get a discounted deal from Oracle, especially with the one time setup which was free.

We didn't really evaluate any alternatives.

It is highly recommended in an environment where no Sys Admin, Infrastructure and Network Team exists. DBA can rack and stack with the easily performed installation.