In today’s business ecosystem, optimizing data management efficiency lies at the heart of running an organization. This is because it is necessary to be data-driven to get ahead of the competition and make quick business decisions based on real-time data analytics. This data environment is applicable to all sizes and structures of companies, from the very large to startups.
In this post, we will elaborate on why it is necessary to move databases from Oracle to S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service)
As a business owner, how will you know that a change in your data analytics infrastructure is due for an overhaul? A few checks will provide all the clarifications that you need.
Let us go over the questions.
Do you invest heavily in additional hardware and software every time there is a spike in business and you need additional computing power or storage space? Are your present systems outdated and too slow to execute intricate analytical queries? Do you frequently and quickly have to integrate data from several databases seamlessly?
If your answer to one or more is a YES, you need to move your database from the traditional to a more modern cloud-based solution like Oracle to S3.
Before going on to the why and how of this type of database migration, an understanding of the two individually will highlight why organizations worldwide are choosing this process to maximize their data-driven operations.
Oracle database
The Oracle Database Management System (DBMS) is a proprietary multi-model relational database primarily used for Online Transaction Processing (OLTP). Though it started as an on-premises system, Oracle has branched out to columnar storage and has introduced on-cloud deployment features in its latest version on the lines of Amazon S3.
Oracle was among the first database systems to support LINUX. GNU. It can be run on various hardware and software configurations with most applications seamlessly merging into the database. It also ensures high data integrity and reliability as it is ACID-compliant.
Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Services)
Amazon S3 is optimized for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and is a data warehousing solution based in the cloud. Launching any application on this platform is a simple two-step process, first, start an S3 cluster through the AWS Console or API calls, and second, connect to the S3 instance.
A critical reason why businesses want to move databases from Oracle to S3 is the high scalability, security, data performance, and availability that it brings to the table. It also has several user-friendly attributes. These include features to restore, backup, and archive enterprise applications, IoT devices, and big data analytics. What stands out for S3 among other cloud-based solutions is the 99.999999999 data durability that it offers.
Running Oracle Database on Amazon Web Services
When you run the Oracle database on S3, its efficiency increases manifold. It also results in cost savings as lower payouts need to be made to Oracle. However, it is wise to move Oracle to S3 entirely but before choosing a specific approach evaluate your options thoroughly and what will bring more value to your business.
Some of the ways that Oracle can be maximized on S3 are given below:
Move the on-premises Oracle database to the Amazon Relational Database Service. It is a managed database platform for Oracle and other frequently-used database systems. Many critical management tasks that had to be performed on Oracle are done away after running it on S3.
Another approach is to run EBS (Elastic Block Store) and EC2 compute instances in Oracle on-premises systems. Later, the existing servers and storage must be replaced with the AWS setup.
Finally, businesses wanting to migrate their Oracle database to the cloud can also opt to move to Amazon Aurora. Though Aurora is not a point-to-point substitute for Oracle, it has several features that are perfect for the cloud ecosystem.
Migrating on-premises Oracle to cloud-based S3
Organizations looking to migrate databases from Oracle to S3 can opt for one of the two methods.
# Import Data, Oracle Data Pump, and Amazon S3 bucket – Export Oracle source data with the Oracle DBMS_DATAPUMP package and dump the file in an Amazon S3 bucket. Download this file to the DATA_PUMP_DIR directory on the RDS Oracle DB instance. Finally, import and copy the data from the dump file to the Amazon RDS Oracle DB instance with the DBMS_DATAPUMP package.
# Import Data, Oracle Data Pump, and a Database Link – Use the Oracle Data Pump and the Oracle DBMS_FILE_TRANSFER package to link to a source Oracle instance. It can either be an Amazon EC2 instance or an Amazon RDS for Oracle database instance. Use a DBMS_DATAPUMP package to export the Oracle data to a dump file. Copy this file to the Amazon RDS Oracle DB instance using a connected database link. Finally, import the data with the DBMS_DATAPUMP package.
Features of tools used for Oracle to S3 database migration
To make the database migration from Oracle to S3 a seamless affair, some specific tools must be used. The other way to complete the migration is by writing a script or a combination of scripts which in practice can be a tedious and time-consuming activity. Further, the incremental data is difficult to code with scripts and can lead to data loss or inconsistencies.
To get around these hurdles, use an optimized tool that can easily complete the migration in three simple steps.
# Configure and connect to the Oracle database
# Choose the database tables to be moved via data load with a specific Replication mode and a custom SQL query.
# Configure the Amazon S3 Data Warehouse for data load The best tools are fully automated to prevent data loss during Oracle to S3 database migration
