Many organizations are making the switch from on-prem to cloud databases. These cloud native warehouses can provide more reliable and timely access, cost-efficiency, and automated backup and recovery. If you are using any on-premises version of Oracle Database, you might want to consider whether moving to the Oracle Database Cloud is right for your company. There are numerous migration methods, and the process can be very simple when you work with an expert. Try reviewing these key factors prior to selecting a migration method and save yourself some additional time.
Know Your On-Premises Operating System/Platform and Version – Ensure you have a full understanding of the platform your company is currently working on along with the version. Are you using Windows, Mac OS, or Linux? There are some operating requirements that will be applicable depending on the migration method you are interested in adopting.
Know Your On-Premises Database Version & Cloud Database Version – Are you currently using Oracle Database 11g, 12c CDB, or 12c Non-CDB? Depending on your response and the cloud version you are transferring to, Oracle has multiple migration options for you to choose from. For example, a move from on-premises Oracle Database 11g to Oracle Database 12c in the cloud can be done using the data pump full transportable method, which is a simple database export and import, while transitioning from an on-premises Oracle Database 11g to Oracle Database 11g in the cloud cannot. This doesn’t present any major problems though, because there are numerous alternatives, like the data pump conventional export/import method. It’s still essentially an export/import, but it has different compatibility requirements.
Little Endian vs. Big Endian – The terms little endian and big endian describe the order in which sequences of bytes are organized in computer memory. Big endian is an order in which the most important value in the sequence is stored first. This matters because certain migration methods have strict requirements on supporting conflicting formats. RMAN Cross-Platform Transportable PDB can only be used if the on-premises platform is little endian. It uses SQL*Plus to execute commands that create an XML file you can use to transfer your database to the cloud. Knowing how your platform formats bytes can prevent you from getting attached to one method too soon. A quick review of each migration method’s basic requirements can help you rule out those that are incompatible with your system.
Understand Your Database Character Set – Your database character set represents the characters your computer system recognizes. There are several, UTF-8, Unicode, UTF-16, etc. If you are unsure about yours, you can ask your database administrator or run an SQL query. To utilize the remote cloning option, you must confirm that your on-premises database and the Database Cloud Service database have compatible character sets and national character sets.
What’s Your Acceptable Downtime? – You probably know better than anybody how important it is for your company’s computer systems to be up and running at all times. However, although minimal, a move to Oracle cloud will require some time. Check with your team leaders before making a selection. There are likely certain times of the day that are better for their departments. With their insight, you can better assess how much time will be available for the transition and ultimately determine which migration methods best meet your company’s needs.
Read more about the migrating to the Oracle Database Cloud.