Authors: Simon Clarke, IaaS/DBA Practice Lead | JJ Millen, DBA Consultant, Namos Solutions
Introduction
If you haven’t seen it already, please take a moment to go back and read Part 1: So, You’re on EBS 12.1, Where to Next? because Part 2 follows on logically. Here in Part 2, we’ll discuss another option which incorporates the upgrade to R12.2, but instead of staying On-Prem, we’ll discuss the benefits of migrating to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and running the upgrade in the cloud.
What is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)?
OCI is essentially a remotely hosted data center which can provide virtual hardware within seconds. This means that if you need a server, a few clicks, and it’s there. If you need a storage volume, it’s there in moments and attached to a Windows or Linux server after running a few automatically generated commands. It comes with an uncluttered, clear and easy to use portal, with straightforward cost analysis and budget reports and provides compelling cost-effective economics.
SaaS, PaaS and IaaS – Liberate yourself from the shackles of administration
First, let’s explain the difference between these acronyms:
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
- Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
- Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
As you can see in the following diagram, the Service you choose determines how much administration is alleviated. With On-Premise you manage everything, with SaaS you offload all the hard work to Oracle. PaaS and IaaS sit in between.
OCI Architecture for E-Business Suite R12.2
When planning to upgrade an eBusiness Suite to Release 12.2 and migrating to OCI, your options are either a PaaS or IaaS offering:
PaaS - the database would be a service and therefore you would not need to maintain or patch the underlying Operating System. This is known as Database as a Service (DBaaS).
IaaS – this is the closest model to On-Premise with the added benefit of infrastructure agility and reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Why Choose OCI?
Unique Cloud Offerings
Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure solution offers several clear advantages over other cloud solutions.
- Oracle provides automation not available from other vendors and will continue to add to our offerings.
- Other vendors do not have database services such as Oracle Database Cloud Service and Oracle Exadata Cloud Service.
- Oracle Support has well-established processes for collaboration across different product teams, designed to promote quicker resolution of issues.
- Oracle tests on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and not on others.
Lower your TCO
Typically, the significant savings come from eliminating:
- Upfront hardware
- Ongoing facilities
- IT administration & support costs
Flexible license options
Bring Your Own License
- BYOL from on-prem to OCI
- Continue to pay your yearly support for EBS
Universal Credits
- Commit to an annual amount that can be applied to IaaS and PaaS services
- Predictability of spend
Strong SLAs & No Re-Architecture
No Re-Architecture
- Application and data move as-is
- Keep customizations integrations
- No retraining required
- Fastest path to cloud
Availability, Performance, & Manageability SLAs
- With high-availability compute, block volume, object storage, and FastConnect services
- The first cloud vendor to guarantee performance
High-Performance Database
- Rapidly provision Exadata resources and databases in a few clicks
- Cloud automation software reduces administration
- Elastic independent scaling of database and storage servers
- Online scaling of database cores to match workload demand
Automation
- Automated Migration
- Automated Downloads, Patches and Upgrades
- Automated Cloning and self-service provisioning
Oracle E-Business Cloud Manager
Environment deployment
- Advanced provisioning with user-selected deployment options
Lifecycle management
- Clone environments in minutes
- Perform backup and restore
Hardware refreshes
If you opt for an IaaS solution, hardware refreshes will be much quicker, simpler and as a result you can run them more frequently allowing you to leverage cutting edge technology on a rolling basis instead of committing to hardware for 3-5 years.
Why Run the R12.2 Upgrade in OCI vs On-Prem
With most upgrades, environment availability is a bottleneck. How many R12.1.3 environments can you spare for an upgrade? The upgrade will require several iterations, each with a number of environments - do you have the compute and storage capacity to spin these environments up On-Prem? If not, migrating to the cloud is simple and Oracle facilitate the move with several well-established tools, moreover OCI performance is typically better, allowing for a faster upgrade.
Migration Process
In this section, we will discuss a Lift and Shift model from OnPrem to OCI. The primary migration tool is the Oracle E-Business Cloud Manager. It is a web-based application that can provision new environments, perform environment lifecycle activities, and restore environments from on-premises.
Here is a high-level technical overview of a lift and shift migration to IaaS:
OCI: Create an OCI VM and deploy the Oracle E-Business Suite Cloud Manager image
On-Prem: Install the Oracle E-Business Suite Cloud Backup Module to a networked server (eg. apps/db tier)
On-Prem: Create and configure a minimal staging area for backups
On-Prem: Configure optional RMAN settings
On-Prem: Run the Oracle E-Business Suite Cloud Backup Module - EBSCloudBackup.pl to create a backup and upload it to OCI
OCI: Once complete you can use Oracle E-Business Suite Cloud Manager to provision an environment from the backup you’ve created.
At Home: Pat yourself on the back for completing your first OCI migration 😉
Summary
OCI offers an elegant solution to the limitations of an On-Premise data center. Namely, lack of scalability, aging hardware and fallible security. Furthermore, not only is an R12.2 upgrade a logical time to migrate to the cloud it will also help facilitate that upgrade. With OCI, you pay for what you consume, instead of paying 24/7 for what you could consume. If you have a high workload on a Thursday, scale up, race through the workload, then scale back down again. Pay for the performance when you need it.
Furthermore, OCI allows you to allocate infrastructure temporarily for non-continuous activities such as:
- Proof-of-concept testing
- Functional and technical testing
- User training
- Customization development
Tune into our final instalment, #3, where we’ll discuss one final option – migrating to Oracle Cloud HCM or Oracle Cloud ERP.
FREE Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1.3 Upgrade Assessment
For a limited time, we are offering E-Business Suite Release 12.1.3 customers a FREE assessment that will arm you with the knowledge and confidence needed to make critical decisions regarding your system upgrade strategy, whether remaining on-premise or migrating to OCI.
You will receive recommendations from our experienced Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure specialists.
So, let’s talk about how we take your business to the next level. Call Jo Haverfield on 206 910-7196 or email info@namossolutions.com.
About Namos Solutions
Namos Solutions are an award-winning Oracle OPN Modernized Partner specializing in the implementation and support of ERP, EPM and HCM business solutions, both in the Cloud and on-premise.
With global experience together with an impeccable track record, our business is built on our passion for delivering successful business transformation. Passion underpins everything we do at Namos – passionate about delivering beyond expectations, earning trust and building long-lasting relationships with our clients.
Many of the world’s most leading organizations trust and rely on us. Our customers can currently be found in USA, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Follow Namos Solutions at LinkedIn and Twitter.
Contact:
Jo Haverfield
Senior Vice President, US
e: jhaverfield@namossolutions.com
c: 206 910-7196
o: 206 552-0511