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instance standby environment. But before doing this comparison, let’s review the Oracle Licensing structure.Oracle Database Licensing makes use of two metrics: Named User PlusWhen looking at Named User Plus (NUP), the key is you can identify and count the users that will be making use of thedatabase. One of the key factors to take into account is that these include both human and non-human devices. All ofthese counted users should be licensed. For example, if you have 20 users that can use the database either via their ownPC or just a shared device, all 20 need to be licensed. If you have non-human operated devices, they will require a licenseas well. However, it should be noted that a licensed user (NUP) could access multiple instances with this license as longas the “minimums” are met for each server. ProcessorIf you cannot identify and count your users, such as Internet facing environments, then you need to look at the ProcessorLicense metric. All processors in the server where Oracle is running should be licensed. The Processor License can logicallybe split into two sections: Processor License Standard Edition 2With Standard Edition 2, the licensing is socket based. Standard Edition 2 does not take into account the processor cores,but only the physical CPU sockets. With Standard Edition 2, you are limited to a maximum of 2 CPU sockets in total. Note:if multi-chip modules are used, each chip counts as a socket. Processor License Enterprise EditionWith Enterprise Edition the processor license is a little bit more complex. The first thing you need to be aware of is thatit is taking CPU Cores into account. Oracle is using a “Processor Core Factor Table”, see Appendix A, in which they assigna value to each specific CPU. This value should then be multiplied by the total number of cores on the CPU socket toidentify the required Processor License. For example, an Intel E5-2609 Xeon CPU with 4 Cores has a factor of 0.5 used.This means that you will require 4 x 0.5 2 Oracle Processor Licenses. MinimumsIt is important to take note of the minimums. When purchasing licensing you need to take into account the minimumnumber of licenses you will need to acquire. These minimums are especially important when buying Named User Pluslicensing. Standard Edition 2The minimum for Standard Edition 2 is 10 Named User Plus (NUP) licenses per server. Enterprise EditionFor Enterprise Edition, the minimum is 25 Named User Plus licenses per installed Processor where installed processor isequal to the value of processors being calculated taking into account the core factor. For example, if you have a 4 CoreProcessor with a 0.5 factor, you require 2 (4*0.5) Oracle Processor licenses. Taking the minimum of 25 Named User Plusinto account, you will require 50 (2*25) Named User Plus licenses.The next section will provide you with a license example to illustrate the lower cost of Standard Edition 2.Example A: Oracle Licensing Using Single Instance DatabaseEnvironmentIn the first example, we will be taking a single server with 2 CPU sockets using the Intel Xeon CPU with 4 cores. Forlicensing purposes, memory and storage are not taken into account. It is also assumed the environment will be web facingand processor licensing will be required as there is no way to specify or identify the exact users.Note that for the Intel Xeon E5-4603 Quad Core CPU the processor factor is 0.5 when using Enterprise Edition licensing.Pricing below is in US and only includes the first year of support costs.6

Standard Edition 2Enterprise Edition2 Socket License - (2 Sockets)4 Processor License - ((2x4)x0.5) 4 17,500 x 2 35,000 47,500 x 4 190,000First Year Support: 3,850 x 2 7,700First Year Support: 10,450 x 4 41,800Total Cost: 42,700Total Cost: 231,800Note: Pricing used was extracted from https://shop.oracle.com as at April 2020. Note that pricing does not include anydiscounts.Example A SummaryAs you can see there is a substantial difference in upfront costs as well as ongoing support between the different editions.It is important to state that the pricing above does not include any special discounts and that pricing is purely taken asit is stated on the Oracle website.Example B: Oracle Licensing Using Oracle RACIn this test case, we will be looking at two scenarios. The 1st is using Oracle Enterprise Edition for the RAC cluster.7

The 2nd option is implementing Standard Edition 2 for the RAC cluster - as mentioned before, Oracle RAC is only availablewith Oracle SE2 up to 18c.If you were still looking to achieve higher availability on the primary side with Oracle 19c and above, you can make useof an Active / Passive cluster. This can be done if you have an Oracle Linux support agreement in place by installing acluster with Oracle Linux and Clusterware, then configuring shared storage and installing Oracle 19c SE2 database onthe shared storage. Adding the database as a cluster resource, you can then fail-over between the cluster nodes. Keepin mind though if you only license one of the cluster nodes for the database, you will not be able to switch to the secondnode more than 10 days in a year. For more detail on these requirements, please discuss it with your Oracle AccountManager. In summary, if you are using 19c with Clusterware your cost comparison will be similar to Example A above asno Oracle RAC will be used and Clusterware is free with an Oracle Linux support agreement in place.Back to the Oracle RAC example. The environment consists of a primary site running an Oracle RAC cluster with twonodes. Each node contains 1 x Intel Xeon E5-4603 processor with 4 cores each. Note that pricing is in US and onlyincludes the first year of support.Standard Edition 2Enterprise Edition2 Socket License - (2 Sockets)4 Processor License - ((2x4)x0.5) 4 17,500 x 2 35,000Oracle Database Licensing: 47,500 x 4 190,000First Year Support: 3,850 x 2 7,700First Year Support: 10,450 x 4 41,800Oracle Real Application Cluster Licensing: NoneTotal Cost: 42,700Total Cost: 231,800Oracle Real Application Cluster Licensing: 23,000 x 4 92,000Oracle RAC First Year Support: 5,060 x 4 20,240Total Cost: 344,0408

Example B SummarySimilar to Example A, in this example we can clearly see a big difference in the cost of using Standard Edition 2 vs. EnterpriseEdition. Key to this cost difference is the fact that with Standard Edition 2 up to 18c, Oracle RAC is free of charge.Oracle Standard Edition 2 and High AvailabilityWhen thinking about high availability, there are a few options that come to mind. Some of the most common ones arelisted below. But how do they fit in with Standard Edition 2? Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC)Oracle RAC is available for use with Standard Edition 2 and it is 100% free since the release of 10g up to 18c, withthe only limitation being that the cluster may only have a maximum of 2 sockets in total with only 16 active threads.Note: As mentioned earlier, from Oracle 19c Oracle RAC is no longer included in the SE2 code set. However, ifyou are looking to achieve higher availability - you can look at the option to use the Oracle 19c SE2 Database withOracle Linux and Oracle Clusterware (which is free if you have an Oracle Linux support agreement). Using these inan Active/Passive configuration you can still end up with a great solution to meet your HA needs.This document will however still cover Oracle RAC, due to it still being available in 18c and Oracle RAC in StandardEdition and Standard Edition 2 is still in use by many.With Oracle RAC in a Standard Edition 2 environment, there are some strict requirements as well as valuable features: Oracle Advanced Security SSL/TLS is included. Maximum of 1 CPU socket per node Automatic Storage Management (ASM) must be used for all Oracle database file types. 3rd Party clusterware is not supported, you have to use Oracle Clusterware. No other clusterware software can be installed on the same system running the Oracle RAC configuration, this listincludes OCFS, OCFS2 and any 3rd party cluster file systems. Maximum of 16 CPU threads running at any one time. Standby DatabasesAnother critical component in achieving high availability is standby databases, and YES this option can be implementedon Standard Edition 2, even when using Oracle Standard Edition 2 with Oracle RAC or if you have configured an Active/Passive cluster with Oracle Database, Oracle Linux and Oracle Clusterware. Creating and maintaining a standby databaseis done using 3rd party products or even custom scripts - if you have the time and knowledge to write them. Backup and Recovery (Recovery Manager – RMAN)Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) can perform backup and recovery tasks in all the database editions, even in OracleExpress; but there are limitations when working with Standard Edition 2. Two of the key limitations are that parallel backupoptions and block-level recovery are not available. However, the core functionality of RMAN is fully available in all editionsand makes this one of the most important components of implementing a highly available solution. Flashback Technology (Flashback Database, Table, Transaction and Query)If we look at the flashback options, unfortunately most of the flashback options such as Flashback Database, Table andTransaction are only available in Enterprise Edition. But one of them, Flashback Query is available in Standard Edition 2, andeven though it is not as powerful as the other Flashback options, it is still worth knowing it is there (it might come in quitehandy one day). See “Appendix B: Flashback Query” for a quick summary of Flashback Query. When Oracle released 12c itwas also noted that Flashback Data Archive (FDA) is also now part of Standard Edition 2. There are restrictions where optimization requires EE and for the Advanced Compression option. For more detail on this, please see the Oracle 12c onlinedocumentation.Before we get into an example, it is good to have an understanding of what Oracle Standard Edition 2’s capability with regards to Disaster Recovery is.9

Oracle Standard Edition 2 and Disaster RecoveryThree disasters that always get mentioned when talking about Disaster Recovery (DR) are: Natural Disasters Infrastructure (Hardware) Failure Human ErrorTo counteract these disasters, we implement processes, policies and procedures to provide comfort to the organizationso that if a disaster struck, infrastructure, applications and databases could continue to function with limited downtimeor could be recovered within agreed time frames.In most cases, this includes having a second datacenter in a different geographical location. Data is replicated using oneof many methods between your primary datacenter to your “backup” secondary site - your DR site. All of this; the setupand configuration of the new infrastructure, as well as establishing the processes, policies and procedures are critical toensure business continuity. This can be seen as the core reason behind Disaster Recovery processes.What can Standard Edition 2 provide? Does it even cater for Disaster Recovery? The quick and easy answer to this questionis YES. Standard Edition 2 does have Disaster Recovery solutions but one key option stands out; standby databases. Mostdon’t realize that even though Data Guard is only available to Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition 2 can still provideyou with standby database functionality. The main issue with this is that you have to build some of the components notavailable to achieve this.Example processes that will need to be implemented manually include (but are not limited to): The creation of the standby database (clone of the primary database) The creation of the standby control file The automatic shipping of redo information from the primary database to the standby database The starting of recovery sessions to apply this redo to the standby database. Management of the archive logs after they were applied Performing role-switch operations where the primary and standby can switch roles Activating (failing over to) the standby database in case of disasterBelow is an image that provides you with a high level overview of a standby database.In summary, the 3 key steps required for implementing and maintaining a standby database are: Archive Log ExtractionArchive logs are key to database recovery and are also used to move redo information from your primary database toyour standby database. The first step is to extract the archive logs from the primary environment as they could possiblybe located in an ASM disk group.10

The Redo TransportThe second step is the transferring of the archive log between the primary and the standby server. Using Oracle Net forthis is not available. Archive logs can be transferred using other network copy operations. Redo (Archive) ApplyThe last step in the process is applying the archive logs to the standby database. This process brings the standbydatabase up to date with the primary. The key in this process is not to lose any archive logs as you would end up with anunrecoverable gap between the primary and the standby database.Even if you are running an Oracle Standard Edition 2 environment with Oracle RAC, or using an Active / Passive cluster onthe primary side, having a standby database is possible. The principles stay the same. The archive logs from the Oracle RACdatabase are shipped to the standby server, which will then apply the archive logs (redo) from both threads to the standbydatabase. Below is a high-level demonstration of this:The next section is an overview of how you can achieve disaster recovery in a cloud environment using a standby database,to provide you with a solution that not only ensures disaster recovery, but also higher availability.What About DR in the Cloud?This is an area that is talked about more and more. “Cloud” is not just a buzzword anymore but it is a reality. More andmore companies are investigating and adopting the use of cloud computing for disaster recovery. With the focus on Oracledatabases, there are a variety of options available when looking at DR in the cloud with three key options that stand out, thatis hybrid cloud, cloud to cloud, and inter cloud.1. Hybrid Cloud SolutionThis is probably the most popular way to go, where companies are using their own internal systems hosted in their owndata centers as the production systems, and then they have an exact copy (DR environment) sitting in the cloud – usingone of the many providers out there. This allows them the flexibility and the cost savings of not needing a second dedicateddatacenter. Yes, there will be costs involved for the cloud-based solution, but in most cases they will be substantially lessthan establishing and maintaining your own datacenter.This method allows a company to quickly and easily establish a DR site for their internal environment. If disaster strikes andthe local copy of the environment is not available, the end users are directed to the copy in the cloud.This option is fully supported with Oracle Standard Edition 2. When using Standard Edition 2, Dbvisit Standby can easilybe configured and used to help you establish and maintain this type of configuration. It is also possible for the primarysystem to be located in the cloud and for the DR site to be located on-premises.11

2. Full Cloud-based SolutionWhen using a full cloud-based solution, the idea is that both the primary and the DR site are located in the cloud. Inthis case, there would have been a “migration to the cloud” process if the environment were located on-premises, or itmight be that the production environment was initially established in a cloud based environment. The DR site, or standbydatabase for the primary database, is also created in the cloud. As most cloud providers now have datacenters in differentgeographical regions with high-speed networking to interconnect them – this can easily be established.These options might not be as popular (at the current time) as the hybrid solution, but for some this is a good optionand can result in substantial cost savings and of course, ease of management. Using Standard Edition 2 in these types ofconfigurations is possible and, as with the hybrid solution, can easily be implemented and maintained using Dbvisit Standby.3.Inter CloudThere is also now a third option for customers, that is Inter Cloud. Rather than put their primary in Company A’s Cloudand their DR site also in Company A’s Cloud, they have opted to put their DR database into a different company’s Cloudinfrastructure. You might do this so that you are not completely locked into one cloud vendor, or to provide someredundancy in case of cloud outages. You might also be looking to test different cloud vendors to see what their capabilitiesare or you may find a different strategic reason for doing so.Oracle RAC and High Avai

1The table provides a summary of database features; a full detail listing can be found in the Oracle online documentation. From 19c Oracle RAC is not available with Oracle SE2 - however if you have an Oracle Linux support contract in place you can use Oracle Clusterware for free and create an Active / Passive cluster on which you can run 19c at one node with the option to