The Multi-Tennant capability of Oracle 12c has been available for some time now. This technology is really cool, and to my knowledge, not available in any other SQL database engine.
At a high level, how this works is you create a Container database in Oracle 12c. Once the container is created you can add separate database instances of the same database to the Container. All of the databases may have shared object definitions in the container, or independent object definitions in each individual database. This allows you to modify things at the Container level and it impacts all databases hosted in the Container. It also allows you to have separate databases differing from each other.
Some of the advantages of this Multi-Tennant feature are:
- You can clone an existing database quickly, an often requested task by developers
- You can manage database actions at the Container level impacting all databases, or independently. Database backups are a good example of how this could be beneficial
- You can move a database from one Container to another Container, even if not on the same server
- You no longer need to create a different virtual server host for each instance of a database, you can use a Container instead reducing un-needed loss of resources for virtual machines
There are a lot of other capabilities build into Oracle 12c, but this should provide you with enough information to inspire you to look further into Oracle 12c Multi-Tennant capabilities.
Are you already using Containers in your business? Join this conversation online by sharing your experience or tips. You can always send an email to btaylor@sswug.org if that is your preference.
Cheers,
Ben