SAP in the new Oracle Cloud

Based on a transformed architecture, the next-generation cloud is consistently focused on the use of cloud services for mission-critical enterprise deployment.

The new Oracle Cloud generation pushes enterprise cloud services usage for mission-critical deployment. The primary requirements of customers from the enterprise environment for the best possible cloud utilization represent a kind of triad, namely: security, price or cost, and performance.

Against this background, Oracle has relaunched the cloud and, with its new architecture, offers significant benefits for enterprise customers in all three of the above-mentioned areas compared to the previous version.

This concerns both non-SAP customers and SAP customers. As is known, SAP decided in October 2017 to certify the Oracle Cloud and the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

A key point here is the OCI certification for the central SAP NetWeaver component SAP Application Server Abap/Java. The bottom line is that SAP customers are thus able to use their business suite applications with ERP as well as NetWeaver-based BI, CRM or SCM applications in conjunction with Oracle databases or with the Oracle Exadata Data Machine in the cloud infrastructure in the sense of Infrastructure as a Services (IaaS).

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is one element of the broad cloud solution offering, which also includes PaaS (Platform as a Services) or SaaS (Software as a Service).

In the context of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, diverse core infrastructure resources are provided according to IaaS principles on a subscription basis.

For example, flexibly usable compute and storage services so that companies can use very different mission-critical workloads to their advantage in the form of cloud services. Database services with the market-leading database from Oracle or Exadata cloud services can also be used.

Security first

One main focus of the implemented re-architecturing of the Oracle Cloud concerns the topic area of security. The fact is that a number of cloud providers did not initially design their cloud environments for mission-critical enterprise use.

The result to date is that, for example, user code and cloud control code are run on one and the same cloud shared computers (with Intel CPU, shared CPU, memory, storage and shared network ports).

This circumstance means that cloud providers are able to see or access customer data, which can be exploited and lead to possible threats. On the other hand, such a construct gives possibilities to gain access to a cloud control code via user code, which also allows for possible threats.

In the new Oracle Cloud, the concept has been implemented whereby there are separate bare-metal user computers (also VMs) and cloud control computers. There is no user code on the cloud control computers.

This means that one or more separate networks are implemented in the Oracle Cloud, which exclusively process customer code here and cloud control code there. Likewise, there are no connections between the customer zones.

The advantages: Neither is Oracle able to view or access customer code, nor can a customer (or customer-user) appropriate cloud control code and potentially initiate a threat or cyberattack.

Consequently, Oracle has created insurmountable barriers with the new cloud in order to comprehensively protect cloud services and cloud control mechanisms through independent and separate zones. With this, Oracle marks a unique selling point in the cloud provider scene.

In terms of security, it should also be emphasized that all available methodologies or technologies for defending against possible threats are taken into account in the new cloud as part of core-to-edge security.

This also applies to AI and machine learning. They make it possible to automatically search for, detect and eliminate threats in the cloud. Another new feature is the Key Management Service (KMS).

It allows customers to have sophisticated data encryption management; an integrated Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) that suggests secure configurations including monitoring; a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against Web attacks; and effective DDoS protection to counter any threats stemming from faulty or tampered customer applications.

Cost and performance benefits

In addition to security, the price and performance of cloud services used are further important criteria for enterprise customers when deciding on a cloud provider and were also taken into account in the re-architecting of Oracle Cloud development.

According to both its own analyses and studies by external companies (such as AVM Consulting), Oracle offers advantages over Amazon Web Services (AWS), for example.

When the very much revamped Oracle Cloud was unveiled (at Oracle Open World at the end of October 2018), it was revealed that with AWS, per month, Basic Compute Services cost three times more, Block Storage Services cost 30 times more, and Network Services (using 100TB as an example) cost 100 times more than when using the new Oracle Cloud.

The same is true for performance. Compute performance of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is 45 percent higher than AWS, memory processing is 14 percent higher, block storage utilization is over 500 percent higher, and network processing is 100 percent higher.

In addition, further objectives were realized with the new Oracle Cloud. Functions/mechanisms were created, for example, in order to carry out a "lift and shift" into the cloud even more easily and quickly and thus to be able to quickly put cloud advantages into practice.

Where Oracle is concerned, the same functionality or performance can be used in the cloud as in an on-premise environment - and whenever possible, more functionality and higher performance than on-prem is available.

And this according to the guideline that IT investments always remain protected. Also, with the new Oracle Cloud and the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure it contains, there is an expansion of cloud regions with deep edge services capacities around the globe.

Autonomous Database

Closely related to the cloud relaunch is the Oracle Autonomous Database, which includes machine learning functionality. It runs as a high-performance and highly available Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Service in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, maintains itself, scales itself (upwards and downwards), repairs itself if necessary or ensures a correspondingly high level of security.

There are also usable automated key management processes, such as backup and recovery, patching, tuning, or upgrading, so that critical infrastructures can operate in the cloud era without downtime.

Both for analytics (ADW, Autonomous Data Warehouse) and transaction processing (ATP, Autonomous Transaction Processing); and in an Exadata version (Exadata Cloud Infrastructure).

Beta test customers (in the non-SAP environment) report significant cost savings associated with using Oracle Autonomous Database. For example, one German user cites a 20% savings in maintenance costs.

Evaluations are underway to determine when and which Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Services can also be made available to SAP Oracle NetWeaver customers.