For many organizations considering a move to the cloud, Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) presents unique challenges. With its high availability and performance features, RAC is a critical component for many businesses. However, when it comes to running Oracle RAC on AWS, navigating licensing, support policies, and technical requirements can complicate the migration process.

At Cintra, we specialize in helping organizations optimize their Oracle workloads for the cloud while mitigating risks and ensuring compliance. Here's a comprehensive look at the challenges of running Oracle RAC on AWS—and how to overcome them.

Key Challenges of Running Oracle RAC on AWS

Organizations face three primary hurdles when deploying Oracle RAC on AWS:

1. Licensing

Oracle RAC is not covered under Oracle’s Cloud Licensing Policy, meaning traditional core-based licensing applies. This often leads to higher costs and more complex compliance requirements.

2. Support

Oracle’s official policy explicitly states that Oracle RAC is not supported on third-party clouds, including AWS. This lack of support adds significant risk to deploying RAC in such environments.

3. Technical Limitations

Oracle RAC relies on shared storage and multicast networking—both of which present significant challenges in cloud environments due to inherent restrictions.

Solutions to Technical Challenges

While the technical hurdles of running Oracle RAC on AWS may seem daunting, there are effective solutions to address them:

1. Shared Storage

AWS offers native tools to manage shared storage for Oracle RAC. Using Elastic Block Store (EBS) with Multi-Attach, you can configure storage that supports multiple EC2 instances. Alternatively, Elastic File System (EFS) can provide NFS-based storage, though EBS Multi-Attach is often the preferred choice due to performance and reliability.

2. Multicast Networking

AWS does not natively support multicast networking, a requirement for Oracle RAC's private interconnect. This challenge can be addressed with FlashGrid, a third-party solution designed to enable Oracle RAC networking in cloud environments. FlashGrid is reliable and recognized as a best practice for Oracle RAC on AWS.

3. VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC)

For a more seamless experience, deploying Oracle RAC on VMware Cloud on AWS provides an environment nearly identical to an on-premises VMware setup. This approach eliminates the need for FlashGrid and simplifies network and storage configurations.

Addressing Licensing Challenges

Licensing Oracle RAC in AWS requires an environment that allows you to count the underlying server cores accurately. This can be achieved through:

1. Dedicated Hosts

AWS Dedicated Hosts reserve entire physical servers for your use, enabling precise core counts for Oracle licensing. This approach allows the use of AWS-native services, such as EBS Multi-Attach for storage and FlashGrid for networking.

2. VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC)

As a managed VMware service on AWS, VMC supports traditional core-based licensing, making it a viable solution for Oracle RAC. However, the licensing requirements for VMC include a minimum of four dedicated hosts, which may not suit smaller deployments.

While both options open up RAC licensing possibilities, their high minimum core counts and associated costs must be carefully evaluated.

Navigating Oracle Support Limitations

Oracle does not support Oracle RAC on third-party clouds, including AWS. This limitation is explicitly stated in Oracle’s support documentation, leaving organizations with the following options:

• Accept the Risk: While support requests cannot be opened with Oracle, patches and documentation remain accessible. Some organizations choose to proceed without official support.

• Third-Party Support: Partnering with specialized third-party support providers can help mitigate risks associated with Oracle’s lack of support for RAC on AWS.

Alternative Strategies for High Availability

If Oracle RAC proves impractical for your cloud strategy, Cintra can help explore alternatives, such as migrating to single-instance databases or adopting AWS-native solutions for high availability and disaster recovery. Our expertise ensures that your workloads remain resilient, performant, and cost-efficient.

Summary

While Oracle RAC on AWS presents unique challenges, it is possible to overcome licensing, support, and technical hurdles with the right approach. Cintra has extensive experience in:

• Deploying Oracle RAC in AWS environments

• Migrating from Oracle RAC to alternative architectures

• Optimizing Oracle workloads for compliance and cost efficiency

Whether you’re exploring Oracle RAC on AWS or transitioning to new solutions, Cintra is here to help. Contact us today to discover how we can turn your challenges into opportunities for cloud success.