1. Create blade: pick Transaction Processing:
Why OLTP: the app writes small, concurrent rows (customer profiles, orders, sessions). Transaction Processing tunes for high concurrency and short statements; Data Warehouse favors large scans. Pick it first because it cannot be switched in place later.
2. Database configuration in depth, with auto scaling on
| Setting | Value | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Database version | 19c | Long-term-support release; broadest driver and tool compatibility. |
| ECPU (base) | 2 | Start small; you pay for base ECPUs continuously, so size for the quiet period. |
| Compute auto scaling | On | Lets the database burst to roughly 3x base on demand and fall back; you are billed for actual use above base. Covers peaks without a resize event. |
| Storage | 1 TB + auto scaling | Auto scaling prevents a full-disk stall on growth. Set a budget alert since storage can only grow elastically. |
| Backup retention | 60 days | Automatic backups are managed by Oracle and billed separately from database storage. Older backups are deleted past the window. |
| Admin credentials | ADMIN | Use a long unique password stored in Key Vault; create named app users and avoid daily ADMIN use. |
| License | License included | Switch to BYOL only if your Oracle agreement allows it. |
| Networking | Private endpoint on a delegated subnet, NSG attached | No public access; mTLS optional (see Screen 4). |
Equivalent CLI
3. Deployment in progress:
Takeaway: the Azure resource appears fast, but the database lifecycle completes in OCI. Wait for the OCI state to read Available before connecting.
4. OCI console: nanubalu is Available:
Takeaway: every choice from Screen 2 is confirmable here. Buttons across the top (Database actions, Database connection, Performance hub, Manage resource allocation) are the daily-ops entry points. Verify from SQL:
SELECT name, open_mode, database_role FROM v$database;
SELECT * FROM v$version;
SELECT * FROM v$services; -- HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW / TP / TPURGENT
SELECT value FROM v$parameter WHERE name = 'cpu_count';
5. MongoDB Compass: saved queries on the source
Takeaway: Oracle will hold the transactional and relational side of the same application.
6. Querying movieCollection:
Takeaway: nested arrays (cast, crew, awards) are why a document model suits the catalog while customer demographics stay relational.
7. Data Factory: factory resources:
8. Source dataset on the bronze layer:
Takeaway: "bronze" signals a raw landing zone; keep it immutable and let the pipeline shape data on the way into Oracle.
9. Pipeline run: Copy data:
Takeaway: add a trigger (schedule or storage event) once the manual run succeeds, and alert on failure in Azure Monitor.
10. Verify in SQL:
begin
dbms_cloud_repo.install_file(
repo => get_repo,
file_path => 'tables/demographics.sql',
branch_name => 'main',
stop_on_error => false);
end;
/
select * from demographics;Query result: fetched 200 rows in 0.238 seconds
| CUST_ID | LAST_NAME | FIRST_NAME | AGE | COMMUTE | CREDIT | EDUCATION | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1238607 | 41 | 23 | 426 | LessThanHS | |||
| 1239220 | 52 | 40 | 19 | High School | |||
| 1242077 | 44 | 17 | 492 | Bachelors |
Takeaway: install the DDL from a Git repo with DBMS_CLOUD_REPO, then prove the load. Add these checks and a masking rule so personal data never reaches lower environments:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM demographics; -- expect 200
SELECT education, ROUND(AVG(credit_balance),0) avg_credit, COUNT(*) n
FROM demographics GROUP BY education ORDER BY n DESC;
-- Mask email for a read-only analyst role
BEGIN
DBMS_REDACT.ADD_POLICY(
object_schema => 'ADMIN', object_name => 'DEMOGRAPHICS',
column_name => 'EMAIL', policy_name => 'MASK_EMAIL',
function_type => DBMS_REDACT.PARTIAL,
function_parameters => 'VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV,VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV,*,1,20',
expression => 'SYS_CONTEXT(''USERENV'',''SESSION_USER'') != ''ADMIN''');
END;
/
Auto scaling: how to prove it works:
-- Current vs base CPU allocation
SELECT name, value FROM v$parameter WHERE name IN ('cpu_count','resource_manager_plan');
-- Peak usage in the last hour from Active Session History
SELECT TRUNC(sample_time,'MI') minute, COUNT(*)/60 avg_active_sessions
FROM v$active_session_history
WHERE sample_time > SYSTIMESTAMP - INTERVAL '1' HOUR
GROUP BY TRUNC(sample_time,'MI') ORDER BY 1;
Watch the Performance hub and the OCI metrics CpuUtilization and StorageUtilization during a load test; alert at 80 percent so you notice sustained scale-up before the bill does.
Architecture at a glance
Control plane is split by design: Azure owns the resource, networking, RBAC, tags and invoice; OCI owns database lifecycle (scale, backup, clone, Data Guard, Performance Hub). Write that into your RACI before go-live.
Sizing and auto-scaling mechanics
| Topic | What to know |
|---|---|
| ECPU model | ECPU is the current billing unit for Autonomous (replacing OCPU). It is a hardware-agnostic compute unit, so do not carry OCPU counts over one-to-one; benchmark. |
| Compute auto scaling | Allows up to 3x the base ECPU. Base is billed continuously; usage above base is billed for the time it is actually used. Size base near your steady p50 and let burst absorb p95 to p99. |
| Storage auto scaling | Lets storage grow automatically (up to a multiple of the reserved size) so a load never fails on a full tablespace. It protects availability, not your budget, so add a cost alert. |
| Memory and IO | Memory and IOPS scale with ECPU. Scaling compute online needs no downtime. |
| Tuning rule | If the database sits at 2x to 3x for hours every day, raise the base. Burst is for spikes, and sustained use at burst is cheaper as a larger base. |
| Idle cost control | Use the auto start/stop schedule on non-production copies (it is Disabled on this instance, which suits prod). |
Connection services: pick the right consumer group
| Service | Use it for | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| TPURGENT | Time-critical OLTP | Highest priority; parallelism only by hint. |
| TP | Default app traffic | No automatic parallelism; high concurrency. Use this for the application. |
| HIGH | Reports, ETL, admin | Largest share of resources, parallel queries, fewer concurrent statements. |
| MEDIUM | Mixed jobs | Balanced share with limited parallelism. |
| LOW | Background work | Lowest priority, highest concurrency, serial execution. |
-- Which service is this session using?
SELECT SYS_CONTEXT('USERENV','SERVICE_NAME') svc,
SYS_CONTEXT('USERENV','SESSION_USER') usr FROM dual;
-- Who is connected, by service, right now?
SELECT service_name, COUNT(*) sessions
FROM v$session WHERE type = 'USER' GROUP BY service_name;
Connectivity and transport security:# python-oracledb, thin mode, TLS, no wallet (mTLS not required)
import oracledb
dsn = ("(description=(retry_count=3)(retry_delay=2)"
"(address=(protocol=tcps)(port=1521)(host=nanubalu-db.nwf.internal))"
"(connect_data=(service_name=<your_service>_tp.adb.oraclecloud.com))"
"(security=(ssl_server_dn_match=yes)))")
pool = oracledb.create_pool(user="APP_USER", password=PW, dsn=dsn,
min=2, max=20, increment=2)| Item | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Access type | Private endpoint on a delegated subnet; no public IP. Resolve the endpoint through an Azure Private DNS zone and give apps a CNAME, never a hardcoded host. |
| Ports | 1522 for mutual TLS (wallet required), 1521 for one-way TLS when mTLS is "Not required" (as on this instance). Allow only the app and integration subnets in the NSG. |
| mTLS | Leave it off only if the network is private and an NSG/ACL restricts sources. If clients are untrusted or cross-network, require mTLS and rotate the wallet on a schedule. |
| Network ACL | Add an access control list in addition to the NSG: two independent allow-lists beat one. |
Resilience: backups are not disaster recovery
| Capability | State on nanubalu | Expert note |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic backups | On, 60 days | Enables point-in-time restore inside the window. Billed separately from storage. |
| Long-term backups | Not scheduled | Use for compliance retention beyond 60 days (up to years). |
| Local standby (Autonomous Data Guard) | Backup-based only | Enable for a faster, near-zero-data-loss failover within the region. |
| Cross-region | Not enabled | Enable a cross-region standby for regional outages; plan DNS failover with a short TTL. |
| Restore test | Not yet done | Clone from a backup quarterly and run your validation queries. An untested backup is a hope. |
Write the targets down: for example RPO 15 minutes and RTO 1 hour, then choose backup-only, local standby or cross-region standby to meet them, not the other way round.
Performance and tuning like an OCI admin
- Auto indexing and automatic statistics are on by default in Autonomous; review them, do not fight them.
- Performance Hub and Real-Time SQL Monitoring for live diagnosis; Operations Insights for capacity trends.
- Resilient clients: use connection pools with retry in the connect descriptor and configure Application Continuity or Transparent Application Continuity so maintenance and scaling events are invisible to users.
-- Auto indexing: mode and what it did in the last day
SELECT parameter_name, parameter_value
FROM dba_auto_index_config WHERE parameter_name IN ('AUTO_INDEX_MODE','AUTO_INDEX_SCHEMA');
SELECT DBMS_AUTO_INDEX.REPORT_ACTIVITY(SYSTIMESTAMP-1, SYSTIMESTAMP, 'TEXT') FROM dual;
-- Top SQL by elapsed time per execution
SELECT sql_id, executions, ROUND(elapsed_time/1e6,1) total_s,
ROUND(elapsed_time/NULLIF(executions,0)/1e3,1) ms_per_exec,
SUBSTR(sql_text,1,80) txt
FROM v$sql WHERE executions > 0
ORDER BY elapsed_time DESC FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY;Infrastructure as code
Provision from code so the portal clicks in Screens 1 and 2 are repeatable. Illustrative Terraform (check current azurerm resource and argument names before use):
resource "azurerm_oracle_autonomous_database" "nanubalu" {
name = "nanubalu"
resource_group_name = "MovieStream"
location = "eastus"
subnet_id = azurerm_subnet.oradata.id
virtual_network_id = azurerm_virtual_network.data.id
display_name = "nanubalu"
db_workload = "OLTP" # Transaction Processing
db_version = "19c"
compute_model = "ECPU"
compute_count = 2
auto_scaling_enabled = true # compute burst
auto_scaling_for_storage_enabled = true
data_storage_size_in_tbs = 1
backup_retention_period_in_days = 60
license_model = "LicenseIncluded"
mtls_connection_required = false
admin_password = var.adb_admin_password # from Key Vault
tags = { workload = "moviestream", env = "prod", owner = "data-platform" }
}Hardening the Data Factory pipeline
- Run the copy through a self-hosted integration runtime in the same VNet so traffic stays on the private endpoint.
- Make loads idempotent: land in a staging table, then
MERGE. Re-running a failed pipeline must not duplicate rows. - Tune the copy activity: batch size, parallel copies and the sink service (MEDIUM/HIGH) to match the ECPU you have.
- Alternative: let the database pull from object storage with
DBMS_CLOUD.COPY_DATA, which is often faster for large files.
-- Idempotent upsert from staging
MERGE INTO demographics d
USING demographics_stg s ON (d.cust_id = s.cust_id)
WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE SET d.age = s.age, d.credit_balance = s.credit_balance,
d.education = s.education
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT (cust_id,last_name,first_name,email,age,commute_distance,credit_balance,education)
VALUES (s.cust_id,s.last_name,s.first_name,s.email,s.age,s.commute_distance,s.credit_balance,s.education);
-- Post-load reconciliation
SELECT (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM demographics_stg) staged,
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM demographics) loaded FROM dual;FinOps for the architect
- Cost drivers: base ECPU hours, burst ECPU time, storage, backup storage and (if used) cross-region standby.
- Tag every resource (
workload,env,owner,costcenter) so Azure Cost Management can show Oracle beside AKS and Data Factory. - Review the base ECPU monthly using peak-to-base ratios; right-size before buying more.
- Confirm with both vendors how Marketplace spend counts toward your Azure commitment.
Troubleshooting cheat sheet
| Symptom | Usual cause | First check |
|---|---|---|
| ORA-12541 / ORA-12170 timeout | NSG, ACL, DNS or wrong port | Resolve the host from the client subnet; test port 1521 or 1522. |
| ORA-28759 / wallet errors | mTLS required but no wallet, or expired wallet | Match port to the mTLS setting; re-download the wallet. |
| ORA-01017 | Wrong or expired password, or the wrong user | Check dba_users.account_status; unlock and reset. |
| Copy slow or throttled | Sink on a low-priority service, or base ECPU too small | Switch to MEDIUM/HIGH; watch Performance Hub for CPU and IO waits. |
| Unexpected bill | Sustained burst, backup growth or storage auto-scale | Cost analysis by tag; compare base to peak ECPU. |
