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.

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.

The biggest value that customers are seeing, is that it's easy to install, quick to deploy, and easy to consolidate platforms; as opposed to building an environment from scratch. When you get the ODA, all you must do is plug it in and run several commands to get it up and running. This allows for the time to deploy to be really fast. With the addition of the X6-2S, 2M and 2HA, there is a ODA platform that will suit SMB, mid-size and now large scale customer workloads.

Particularly interesting, is that now ODA 2S/M supports Standard Edition (SE2) database configurations, which is great for SMB and mid-size consolidation plays.

Moreover, the ODA X2-HA adds a new whole area for us and our customers, as it adds an all flash storage array option and virtualization capabilities; further improving consolidation densities.

The platform is primarily used for departmental mid-size companies, although I do know large companies that use it, because it’s a great platform for consolidating. It is unable to expand by much, because of the way the ODA configures when you have two nodes and X number of storage. Oracle has done a good job of letting it expand storage, but the number of nodes is still limited to two. This continues to be an issue for customers.

I have worked with ODA for the last five to six years.

It’s a very stable product. As with any other technology, in initial phases, it needed to be tested; but it has become a very solid platform with a large customer base.

The initial idea, was that ODA would be a scalable solution; allowing customers tostart with a small number of CPU’s and grow as the demand increased. As aprimarily consolidation platform, you can consolidate more, by moving move up the CPU’s as needed; pricing goes along with that too.

It’s a very solid platform. Oracle has been good at managing the support.

ODA was initially designed for setup to be easy. Once brought in-house, you plug it in, set up your network connection, run one or two commands, and then set up is complete. Even if it's in a virtualized environment, it's still easy to set up. The quick setup is the beauty and the added value that ODA brings, as opposed to other conversion or engineering systems, which take a little bit more time.

Upgrades are the same; due to its automation, many of the commands, designed by the Oracle development team, allow for easy upgrades for the entire end-to-end stack.

It's a very low-cost, simplistic solution, especially from the infrastructure side. If you have minimal staff and a mid-size environment, this is a perfect platform.

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.

Oracle Database Appliance could improve by having better integration.

I have been using Oracle Database Appliance for approximately 25 years. 

Oracle Database Appliance is a stable solution. We have clients that have been running it for 10 years.

Database Appliance is highly scalable.

I have contacted the support from Oracle Database Appliance. Their services are no longer up to my expectation.

I rate the support from Oracle Database Appliance a three out of five.

We have seen a return on investment with Oracle Database Appliance. This is why we still support them today.

The price of the solution should be less expensive. However, they will increase the price more.

I would advise others to look for a company that has their own experience, that is local. This will allow them to have a local understanding of what requirements are needed. Sometimes the international companies may not be aware of the local requirements. One of the reasons that we are very still supporting Oracle Database Appliance is because we feel that Oracle has a lot of customers and a lot of implementers that are local. That's one of the key points that we're still with Oracle.

I rate Oracle Database Appliance ten out of ten.

Oracle Database Appliance is the best.

We use the solution for our Java applications. 

The product's pricing is too high. We plan to migrate to another database in three to four years. 

I have been working with the product for 20 years. 

My technicians resolve issues themselves. We do not contact the support team. 

We used IBM before and migrated to Oracle Database Application due to the costs. 

Oracle Database Application's support and maintenance are included in the contract.

I rate the product a five out of ten.