OCPU vs vCPU
If you are familiar with Oracle could pricing or, considering Oracle Cloud or, even comparing the size/ cost between Oracle Cloud and other cloud providers, I am sure you come across the term OCPU. Oracle uses OCPU (Oracle Compute Unit) and other cloud providers uses vCPU.
The usage of OCPU and not vCPUs has been a cause of confusion from both sizing and pricing perspectives. In simple terms,
1 OCPU on x86 CPU Architecture (AMD and Intel) = 2 vCPUs
1 OCPU on Arm CPU Architecture (Ampere) = 1 vCPU
So, what has changed?
Ever since Oracle Cloud came up with the concept of OCPU, the onus of calculating the difference and converting units back and forth for price comparison etc has been on the customer.
Having such a difference, might have resulted into different figures (cost) for a “similar” product, if looked at in terms of OCPU vs. vCPU. Sometimes a product offering “might” appear to be costing more on OCI as compared to another cloud provider.
Oracle has now updated OCI web pages to show vCPU instead of OCPU where billing is based on the number of OCPU hours used. This, in my opinion, is a great move by Oracle to adapt an industry-wide/ industry-accepted standard and make price comparison simpler for its customers by removing the need of back and forth conversions.
I do not see any other change in terms of pricing or, metering. Everything else appears the same! So now, it is indeed comparing apples to apples.
Refer to the following links and see for yourself:
P.S.: Photo credit goes to my maternal uncle-in-law Arvind Panwar and his family who puts in such a great effort in growing these wonderful organic apples !!
IT-Noesis 