Switch to the new Exadata resource model and API in Oracle Cloud

The new Exadata resource model!

The existing DBSystem service supports several types of database systems including bare metal and virtual machine DB systems with varying range of edition, size, price, and performance.
Until now, this was also the only way to spin up an Exadata instance in Oracle cloud however, on December 11, 2020, Oracle announced the new Exadata cloud service resource model.

Unlike the existing DBSystem, the new model splits the DB system into two resources, the cloud VM cluster resource and the cloud Exadata infrastructure resource.

The VM Cluster resource can be used to configure and manage networking, OCPUs, IORM, Oracle Grid Infrastructure, and the Oracle Database.
The hardware configuration and maintenance schedule etc at the infrastructure level can now be easily managed using the cloud Exadata infrastructure resource.

For now, you can use either of the 2 methods i.e. DBSystem and the new resource model for Exadata instance creation and management however, DB system resource is slated to be deprecated in the Exadata Cloud Service in the near future while keeping the bare metal and virtual machine DB systems unaffected.

Support for the Exadata DB system APIs is scheduled to end on May 15, 2021.
So, even if you choose to create an Exadata instance using the DBSystem resource at this time, you will end up converting it to the new resource model pretty soon.
While switching from the old Exadata DB systems to the new resource model is pretty straight-forward and does not include any downtime, Oracle recommends to use the new model for new Exadata instance creation and to switch the old Exadata systems to the new model sooner rather than later.

Considerations before switching

• The switch is permanent and cannot be undone. If there are any automations etc. which relies on the existing DBSystems API, you must review and update them to utilize the new API before switching.
• The X6, X7, X8 and Exadata base systems will retain their fixed shapes after the switch, and you cannot expand them at a later stage.
• The existing DBSystem resource will be replaced by two resources i.e. a cloud Exadata infrastructure resource, and a cloud VM cluster resource.
• There will not be an impact of the existing Exadata databases and client connections.

This post covered a brief overview of the new Exadata resource model, I will follow-up with another post with steps to create a new Exadata instance using the new resource model and how to switch from an existing DBSystem resource. Stay tuned!