In the fast-moving data-driven business ecosystems of today, it is essential to fall back on technologically advanced, cutting-edge platforms to meet operational requirements. The need of the hour is to work on systems that are safe and secure, guarantee data durability, and offer near-unlimited computing power and storage facilities.
When should you move databases from Oracle to S3?
One of the ways that you can update your IT infrastructure to cater to your data-based needs is to move your databases from Oracle to S3. It is provided that your data structure works on the time-tested Oracle, a Database Management System (DBMS). However, before making such a move, and to know whether this task is worth the effort, consider whether it is at all required. The three benchmarks are as follows.
- Verify whether your server is fast enough to match your growing needs to carry out all analytical processes and intricate queries without a drop or lag in database performance.
- Check whether your existing systems can integrate multiple databases without any problems.
- Confirm if your current operating database structure can seamlessly scale up or down in storage facilities. This is a critical requirement as you do not have to invest in additional IT infrastructure whenever there is a rise in demand for more storage.
For Oracle users, all these aspects together are not available. Being crucial for optimized database management, it therefore makes sense for users to move databases from Oracle to S3.
Before diving into the benefits of such a move, let us briefly check the features of Oracle and S3 as standalone entities.
The Oracle Database Management System In A Nutshell
A proprietary multi-model relational database, the Oracle DBMS is primarily used for Online Transaction Processing (OLTP). Even though it was launched as an on-premises system, Oracle has diversified to columnar storage and with on-cloud deployment features on the lines of Amazon S3.
Oracle has the distinction of being among the earliest database systems to support LINUX.GNU and can be operated on various hardware configurations. Being ACID-compliant ensures a high degree of data integrity and reliability.
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Explained
The optimized features of the Amazon Web Service (AWS) Simple Storage Service (S3) are reasons enough for businesses wanting to migrate databases from Oracle to S3.
S3 is a cloud-based data warehousing solution, ideal for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). Applications may be launched on S3 seamlessly in two simple steps.
- Initiate an S3 cluster through API calls.
- Connect it to an S3 instance through the AWS Management Console.
The USP of S3 is that it ensures a high level of data availability, scalability, performance, and storage. All these features take Amazon S3 functionality to the next level in comparison to the Oracle DBMS.
A benefit of using S3 is its user-friendly management features. It can backup, restore, and archive big data analytics, IoT devices, and enterprise applications. Moreover, it offers unlimited storage for applications with data durability pegged at an outstanding 99.999999999 (11 9’s) level of data durability.
With all these amazing features on one platform, it makes sense to migrate databases from Oracle to S3.
Running Oracle Database On Amazon Web Services
One of the critical reasons for migrating databases to Amazon Simple Storage Service from Oracle is the increased database efficiency of such a move and the lowering of payouts to Oracle. Most businesses choose to move databases entirely from Oracle to S3. However, whether to move databases partly or fully depends on an evaluation of the needs of specific businesses.
To optimize the running of the Oracle database on the Simple Storage Service, one of the following three options may be selected.
- Start with running EC2 compute instances and EBS (Elastic Block Store) storage in on-premises Oracle databases. In the next step, replace the existing servers and storage with AWS infrastructure.
- Shift the entire on-premises Oracle database to Amazon Relational Database Service, a system that is a managed database service for Oracle and other popular platforms. This move goes a long way to reducing many management tasks of Oracle when operating on the AWS infrastructure.
- Move to Amazon Aurora. Even though it is not a precise replacement for Oracle, Aurora has many critical features that are designed and optimized for the cloud infrastructure. Businesses wanting to migrate databases to the cloud may choose this platform to do so. Amazon is also migrating to Aurora.
The method selected by an organization to move databases from Oracle to S3 depends on its database requirements, complexities, and service options.
Migrating On-Premise Oracle Database to S3 Cloud
Primarily, Oracle to S3 is a process that entails moving data from an on-premises environment to a cloud-based ecosystem. There are two methods for the process.
- Importing data, Oracle Data Pump, and Database Link – Here, the Oracle Data Pump, along with the Oracle DBMS_FILE_TRANSFER package, is used for connecting to a source Oracle instance. Either it can be through an Amazon RDS for an Oracle database instance or an Amazon EC2 instance. The Oracle data is exported to a dump file with the DBMS_DATAPUMP package, after which the file is copied to the Amazon RDS Oracle DB instance through a connected database link. Finally, the data is imported to S3 through the DBMS_DATAPUMP package.
- Importing Data, Oracle Data Pump, and Amazon S3 Bucket – The Oracle source data is exported using the Oracle DBMS_DATAPUMP package, and the file is dumped in an Amazon S3 bucket. This dumped file is downloaded to the DATA_PUMP_DIR directory in the RDS Oracle DB instance. Finally, the data in the dump file is imported and copied to the Amazon RDS Oracle DB instance using the DBMS_DATAPUMP package.
Deciding the right method is a critical step for organizations when moving their databases from Oracle to S3.