FlashGrid Cluster
for Oracle RAC on AWS
Watch the 1-minute intro
FlashGrid Cluster is a virtual clustered appliance that enables Oracle RAC on AWS EC2 instances for mission-critical transaction processing workloads.
Maximum uptime with Multi-AZ clustering
Achieve database uptime of 99.99%, 99.999% or higher with Oracle RAC database nodes spread across availability zones. All-flash storage and multiple levels of mirroring across separate nodes and AZs provide maximum data durability. If an infrastructure outage occurs, the cluster can tolerate the loss of an entire data center with zero RPO. For more information, see our architecture documentation.
Active-Active HA
Oracle RAC provides an active-active database HA architecture that enables zero RPO, near- zero RTO, and zero-downtime patching and maintenance. The active-active HA is critical for eliminating database outages and maximizing application uptime.
Lift-and-shift Oracle RAC to AWS
Changes in database architecture or application code introduce high risks to migration projects. FlashGrid Cluster enables lift-and-shift migrations of Oracle RAC databases with zero architecture or code changes, thus minimizing risks to your project schedules and success.
Higher performance and larger capacity
FlashGrid Cluster is compatible with high-performance instances such as R6in, R7iz, R7i, R7a, U7i, and High Memory. Storage throughput can be as high as 12.5 GBPS per node and scales with the number of nodes. The high storage throughput and aggregation of multiple EBS volumes enables extra-large databases with 500+ TB of data.
Compared to Oracle Database@AWS
FlashGrid Cluster uses native AWS EC2 instances and EBS storage volumes. Keep the simplicity and agility of running your entire application stack on AWS. No need to manage hardware resources. No need to manage a second cloud. Add, resize, and release AWS resources as needed. FlashGrid Cluster with Oracle RAC is a proven solution for mission-critical transaction processing that has been available in all AWS regions since 2017. For more details, see this comparison table.
Compared to Amazon RDS
FlashGrid Cluster enables Active-Active HA with Oracle RAC while allowing maximum flexibility and control similar to a self-managed Oracle Database on EC2. Extra-large databases up to 500+ TB. High storage throughput of up to 12500 MBPS per node. Horizontal performance scaling with multiple nodes. Full control of the OS and database software. Oracle licensing optimization with Dedicated Hosts or bare-metal EC2 instances. For more details, see this comparison table.
Automated deployment in 90 minutes
FlashGrid Cluster is delivered as a CloudFormation or Terraform template. FlashGrid Launcher lets you customize and deploy the template in your AWS account with just a few clicks. This saves time configuring storage, OS, and Grid Infrastructure software, and the deployment process is fully automated and repeatable, preventing human error.
Oracle RAC on AWS Deployment DemonstrationTasks automated with FlashGrid Launcher:
DBA friendly
Stay in control
24/7 Support
In the event that something goes wrong, it is vital to have immediate access to skilled engineers with proven experience in AWS infrastructure, Linux, and Oracle Database. FlashGrid’s 24/7 technical support covers the entire infrastructure stack including:
Simple billing through AWS
FlashGrid uses AMIs listed in AWS Marketplace. The marketplace software fees are charged by the hour and include FlashGrid software license subscription and 24/7 support. For your convenience, AWS handles billing and payment processing.
Pricing information is available on the AWS Marketplace product pages. Please note that the prices include AWS EC2 and FlashGrid software and support only. You need to have your own license for using Oracle Database and its features (BYOL). For production deployments, we recommend having an Oracle Database support subscription.
How many RAC nodes per cluster can be supported in AWS?
The FlashGrid architecture does not impose strict limits on the number of RAC nodes. In most cases we recommend two or three nodes. To reduce network overhead we recommend increasing the size of the nodes (up to 224 cores) before adding more nodes. 2+2 redundancy across two availability zones may be used for extra HA. Clusters with 4+ nodes are possible for extra-large capacities.
What are the Oracle RAC alternatives on AWS?
The main alternative to Oracle RAC on AWS is failover HA for Oracle databases. FlashGrid Cluster enables both Oracle RAC and Failover HA clustering on AWS. However, FlashGrid recommends Oracle RAC (with multi-AZ) for the most critical databases requiring uptimes of 99.99% or 99.999%.