Oracle Exadata (Exadata) is a computing system optimized for running Oracle Databases.

Exadata is a combined database machine and software platform that includes scale-out x86-64 compute and storage servers, RoCE networking, RDMA-addressable memory acceleration, NVMe flash, and specialized software.

Exadata was introduced in 2008 for on-premises deployment, and since October 2015, via the Oracle Cloud as a subscription service, known as the Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure, and Exadata Database Service on Exascale Infrastructure. Exadata Cloud@Customer is a hybrid cloud (on-premises) deployment of Exadata Database Service.

Starting December, 2023, Exadata Database Service became available for Microsoft Azure, Google and AWS public clouds within the Oracle Database@Azure, Oracle Database@Google Cloud and Oracle Database@AWS multicloud partnerships.

Use cases Exadata is designed to run all Oracle database workloads, such as online transaction processing, data warehousing, analytics, and AI Vector processing, often with multiple consolidated databases running simultaneously.

Historically, specialized database machines were designed for a particular workload, such as Data Warehousing, and poor or unusable for other workloads, such as online transaction processing. Exadata specializes in mixed workloads sharing system resources with resource management features for prioritization, such as favoring workloads servicing interactive users over reporting and batch. Long running requests, characterized by Data Warehouses, reports, batch jobs and Analytics, are reported to run many times faster compared to a conventional, non-Exadata database server.

Release history Exadata Release Primary Software Enhancements Primary Hardware EnhancementsDatabase@AWSExadata Database Service available with AWSX11M - Jan 2025AI Vector search acceleration - up to 55% faster25% faster compute core performance Analytics scan throughput increase - 2.2x faster33% greater server memory bandwidthTransaction processing acceleration - 25% faster11% faster storage core performanceOnline transaction processing read latency acceleration - up to 21% faster (14 microseconds)PCIe 5 performance-optimized flashIntelligent power management - reduce CPU cores, cap power consumption, optimize power utilizationX11M-Z database and storage serversAvailable on-premises, Oracle Cloud, Cloud@Customer and multicloud (Azure, Google Cloud, AWS)X11M-XT storage servers for less frequently accessed data. Supports Exascale.Database@Google CloudExadata Database Service available with Google CloudExadata Exascale July, 2024 Fully elastic pay-per-use architecture. Users specify the cores and storage capacity needed, reducing entry-level infrastructure costs for Exadata Database Service and aligning costs with usageNoneLarge pools of shared compute and storage allow databases to quickly scale over time without concern for server-based size limitations or disruptive migrationsRapid and efficient database snapshots and thin cloningDatabase@AzureExadata Database Service available with Microsoft AzureX10M - June 2023Exadata RDMA Memory (XRMEM) DRAM cache3x increase in compute cores (96-core AMD EPYC)Oracle Linux 8 and UEK 6 kernel updates1.5x higher memory capacityNew In-Memory Columnar compression algorithm2.5x faster DDR5 memoryOptimized Smart Scan for more complex queries2.4x higher flash storage capacity (in all-flash storage)Faster decryption and decompression22% more disk storage capacityX9M - Sept, 2021Secure RDMA fabric isolationPCIe 4.0 dual-port active-active 100 Gb RoCE networkSmart Flash Log write-back33% increase in compute coresStorage Index and Columnar Cache persistence33% increase in memory capacityFaster decryption and decompression Algorithms 28% increase in disk capacitySmart Scan performance optimizations1.8x greater internal fabric bandwidth (PCIe 4.0)1.8x greater flash bandwidth (PCIe 4.0)X8M - Sept, 2019RoCE: RDMA over Converged EthernetPersistent Memory (PMEM) in storagePersistent Memory Data Accelerator100 Gbit/s internal fabric (2.5x increase)Persistent Memory Commit AcceleratorKVM virtual machine supportX8 - April, 2019AIDE: Advanced Intrusion Detection EnvironmentStorage Server Extended (XT)ML-based monitoring and auto-indexing40% increase in disk capacityReal-time updates of optimizer statistics60% increase in storage processor coresX7 - Oct, 2017In-memory database in flash storage2x increase in flash capacityDRAM cache in storage25% increase in disk capacityLarge-scale storage software updates25 Gbit/s data center Ethernet supportExadata Cloud@CustomerExadata Cloud Service on-premisesX6 - April, 2016Exafusion direct-to-wire online transaction processing protocol2x increase in flash capacitySmart Fusion Block Transfer10% increase in compute coresSmart Flash Log2x increase in memory capacityExadata Database ServiceExadata on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)X5 - Dec, 2014In-memory database fault tolerance2x increase in flash & disk capacityDatabase snapshotsElastic configurationsXen virtual machine supportAll-flash storage server optionNVMe flash protocol support50% increase in compute coresIPv6 support50% increase in memory capacityX4 - Nov, 2013Network Resource Management2x increase in flash capacityI/O latency capping2x increase in memory capacityCapacity-on-Demand licensing50% increase in compute coresActive/Active InfiniBand (2x increase)33% increase in disk capacityX3 - Sept, 2013Smart Flash Cache write-backEighth-Rack configurationImproved management of slow disks/flash4x increase in flash capacitySub-second brownout after storage failure33% increase in compute coresSimplified disk replacement75% increase in memory capacityBypass predictive disk failure2x increase in data center bandwidthX2 - Sept, 2010Smart Flash Log8-socket (X2-8) configurationAuto Service RequestStorage Expansion RackSecure Erase of storageHardware-based decryptionPlatinum Services50% increase in compute cores2x increase in memory capacity50% increase in disk capacity8x increase in data center bandwidthv2 - Sept, 2009Storage IndexesFlash storageDatabase-aware Smart Flash CacheQuarter-Rack configurationHybrid Columnar Compression2x increase in memory & disk capacity3x increase in data center bandwidth40 Gbit/s internal fabric (2x increase)v1 - Sept, 2008Oracle Enterprise LinuxScale-out 4-socket compute serversSmart Scan (storage offload)Scale-out 4-socket storage serversIORM (I/O Resource Manager)20 Gbit/s internal fabric (InfiniBand)Join filtering (Bloom filters)1 Terabyte disksIncremental backup filtering1 Gbit/s data center network (Ethernet)Smart file creation

Support policy As the platform has been around since 2008, Oracle has published information related to the end-of-support for older Exadata generations. In Oracle's published document titled Oracle Hardware and Systems Support Policies, they mention "After five years from last ship date, replacement parts may not be available and/or the response times for sending replacement parts may be delayed." To look up the "last ship date" of a particular Oracle Exadata generation, Oracle published a document titled Oracle Exadata - A guide for decision makers.

Each generation of the Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance shares components with similar generations of Exadata.

References

External links

Oracle Website: Oracle Exadata Database Machine Support Revolution: What Is Oracle Exadata