OCI Database Services: Choosing, Provisioning, Protecting and Licensing
This domain tests whether you can pick the right Oracle database service on OCI for a given constraint, then provision, network, protect and license it correctly. Most questions turn on a single distinguishing detail - endpoint type, provisioning order, or licensing model - rather than on memorised console paths.
The four service shapes
- Autonomous Database Serverless (ADB-S) - fully managed, no OS or SYSDBA access; sized in ECPUs or OCPUs with auto scaling and concurrency limits; public or private endpoint.
- Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure - Exadata infrastructure, then an Autonomous VM cluster, then an Autonomous Container Database (ACD), then the ADB. Private endpoints only.
- Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure / Cloud@Customer (ExaDB-D, ExaDB-C@C) - full DBA control, Real Application Clusters across nodes, Data Guard, custom database homes and patch timing.
- Base Database Service - VM DB systems, single node or 2-node RAC, Enterprise or Standard Edition, your choice of DB home versions.
Provisioning order is a graded fact
ExaDB-D: Exadata infrastructure → VM cluster → database home → database. Autonomous Dedicated: Exadata infrastructure → Autonomous VM cluster → ACD → Autonomous Database. An ACD cannot exist without the VM cluster, and a dedicated ADB cannot exist without an ACD.
Worked example
A team needs a four-node RAC cluster, a kernel-level third-party agent, and their own patch windows. ADB-S and ADB-D are eliminated first: neither grants OS access. Base Database Service is eliminated because it stops at a 2-node RAC VM DB system. The answer is Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure, with Data Guard for cross-region protection and BYOL or License Included chosen per the existing Oracle agreement.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming Autonomous Dedicated supports a public endpoint - it does not. Confusing OCPU and ECPU sizing across Serverless shapes. Forgetting that auto scaling raises the base compute ceiling rather than removing it. Treating backups as a substitute for Data Guard. Missing that TDE keys can live in OCI Vault and therefore need an IAM policy for the service.