Enable Oracle Data Guard on a DB System

General Information

When you enable Oracle Data Guard, a separate Data Guard association is created for the primary and the standby databases.
When you enable Oracle Data Guard, a new DB system must be created for the standby database.
Ampere A1 shape-based DB systems do not support Data Guard associations with Intel or AMD shape-based DB systems.

Procedure

Perform the following steps to enable Data Guard on a DB system by creating a DB system and a database using the OCI Console:

On the DB Systems list page, select the DB system that contains the database that you want to work with. If you need help finding the list page or the DB system, see List the DB Systems.
On the Databases tab, select the database that you want to work with.
On the database details page, select the Data Guard Associations tab.
Select Enable Data Guard.
On the Enable Data Guard page, create a new peer DB system for the standby by entering the following information.

Peer DB system

DB system name: Enter a user-friendly name to help you easily identify the resource. Display name can be changed at any time.
Region: Select the region of the new peer DB system. For more information on regions and availability domains, see About Regions and Availability Domains.
Availability domain: Select the availability domain of the new peer DB system.

Shape

Shape: The shape determines the type of DB system created and the resources allocated to the system. For a complete list of shapes, see Available Shapes and How It Determines the Resources Allocated.
By default, the AMD VM.Standard.E4.Flex shape with 4 OCPUs is selected. For Data Guard associations, by default, the same shape as the primary is selected for standby.
To specify a shape other than the default, select Change shape.

In the Change shape panel, provide the following details to select from available shapes:

Shape series

Select an AMD, Intel, or Ampere processor in the processor group.

AMD: Shapes that use current-generation AMD processors. The AMD shapes are flexible.
Intel: Standard and optimized shapes that use current-generation Intel processors. Both fixed and flexible Intel shapes are available.
Ampere: Shapes that use Arm-based Ampere processors. The Ampere shapes are flexible.

Note:

If you select Ampere A1, AMD E4, AMD E5, or Intel X9 flexible shapes, the memory, network bandwidth, and maximum theoretical IOPS scale proportionally.

Configure OCPU

Select the shape you want to use for this instance.

To change the number of OCPUs, perform the following steps:

From the actions menu of the desired shape, select Update OCPU count.
Select the desired number of OCPUs per node from the list.
Select Update.

You can change the number of OCPUs for Ampere A1, AMD E4, AMD E5, and Intel X9 flexible shapes.

For the Ampere A1 shape, a minimum of 1 OCPU and a maximum of 57 OCPUs can be selected.
For AMD E4 and E5 shapes, a minimum of 1 OCPU and a maximum of 64 OCPUs can be selected.
For the Intel X9 shape, a minimum of 1 OCPU and a maximum of 32 OCPUs can be selected.

The following resources scale proportionately to the number of OCPUs you selected.

Memory (GB): The amount of memory you want to allocate to this instance.
For Ampere A1, AMD E4, AMD E5, and Intel X9 shapes, the memory will scale proportionally based on the number of OCPUs selected.
- For the Ampere A1 shape, for each OCPU, 8 GB of memory is allocated. A minimum of 8 GB and a maximum of 456 GB of memory is allocated.
- For AMD E4 and E5 shapes, for each OCPU, 16 GB of memory is allocated. A minimum of 16 GB and a maximum of 1024 GB of memory is allocated.
- For the Intel X9 shape, for each OCPU, 16 GB of memory is allocated. A minimum of 16 GB and a maximum of 512 GB of memory is allocated.
Network bandwidth (Gbps): The amount of network bandwidth you want to allocate to this instance.
For Ampere A1, AMD E4, AMD E5, and Intel X9 shapes, the bandwidth will scale proportionally based on the number of OCPUs selected. For each OCPU, 1 Gbps of network bandwidth is allocated.
- For the Ampere A1 shape, a minimum of 1 Gbps and a maximum of 40 Gbps of network bandwidth is allocated.
- For AMD E4 and E5 shapes, a minimum of 1 Gbps and a maximum of 40 Gbps of network bandwidth is allocated.
- For the Intel X9 shape, a minimum of 1 Gbps and a maximum of 32 Gbps of network bandwidth is allocated.
Theoretical max IOPS: The amount of input and output per second (IOPS) you want to allocate to this instance. Theoretical max IOPS is also dependent on the storage you select.
For Ampere A1, AMD E4, AMD E5, and Intel X9 shapes, the theoretical max IOPS will scale proportionally based on the number of OCPUs selected. For each OCPU, 16K theoretical max IOPS is allocated.
- For the Ampere A1 shape, a minimum of 16K and a maximum of 640K theoretical max IOPS is allocated.
- For AMD E4 and E5 shapes, a minimum of 16K and a maximum of 640K theoretical max IOPS is allocated.
- For the Intel X9 shape, a minimum of 16K to a maximum of 512K theoretical max IOPS is allocated.

DB system configuration

Total node count: (Read-only) The number of nodes that is allocated to the standby instance. The node count will be the same as the primary node count.
License type: The type of license you want to use for the DB system. Your choice affects metering for billing.
- License included means the cost of this OCI Database service resource will include both the Oracle Database software licenses and the service.
- Bring Your Own License (BYOL) means you will use your organization's Oracle Database software licenses for this OCI Database service resource. For more information, see Bring Your Own License.

Network information

Select Compartment to select a VCN in a different compartment.
Virtual cloud network: From the list, select a VCN in which to create the DB system. Select Change compartment to select a VCN in a different compartment.
Select Compartment to select a subnet in a different compartment.
Client subnet: The subnet to which the DB system attaches. For both single-node and multi-node RAC DB systems, do not use a subnet that overlaps with 192.168.16.16/28, which is used by the Oracle Clusterware private interconnect on the database instance. Specifying an overlapping subnet causes the private interconnect to malfunction.

Choose a dual stack subnet if you want to configure the DB system with both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
Network security groups: Optionally, you can specify one or more network security groups (NSGs) for your DB system. NSGs function as virtual firewalls, enabling you to apply a set of ingress and egress security rules to your DB system. A maximum of five NSGs can be specified.

For more information, see Access and Security and Security Rules for the DB System.

Note:
If you select a subnet with a security list, the security rules for the DB system will be a union of the rules in the security list and the NSGs.
To use network security groups:
- Switch on the Use network security groups to control traffic toggle. Note that you must have a virtual cloud network selected to be able to assign NSGs to your DB system.
- Specify the NSG to use with the DB system. You may need to use more than one NSG. If you're not sure, contact your network administrator.
- To use additional NSGs, select + Another network security group.
Hostname prefix: Enter a hostname prefix for the DB system. The host name must begin with an alphabetic character and can contain only alphanumeric characters and hyphens (-). The maximum number of characters allowed is 16.

Caution:
The host name must be unique within the subnet. If it is not unique, the DB system will fail to provision.
Host domain name: The domain name for the DB system. If the selected subnet uses the Oracle-provided Internet and VCN Resolver for DNS name resolution, then this field displays the domain name for the subnet, and it can't be changed. Otherwise, you can provide your choice of a domain name. Hyphens (-) are not permitted.
Host and domain URL: Combines the host and domain names to display the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the database. The maximum length is 64 characters.
Private IP type: Optionally, for non-RAC DB systems, you can define the IP address of the new DB system. This is useful in development contexts where you create and delete a DB system over and over, and you need each new iteration of the DB system to use the same IP address. If you specify an IP address that is currently in use within the subnet, the provisioning operation will fail with an error message regarding the invalid IP address.

If a dual stack subnet is selected, then both IPv4 and IPv6 address options are displayed.
- IPv4 address: You can either automatically assign an IPv4 address or enter it manually.
  - Select the Automatically assign IPv4 addresses from subnet option to assign an address automatically.
  - Select the Manually assign IPv4 addresses option to manually enter a private IP address. The IP address should be within the subnet CIDR range.
- IPv6 address: You can either automatically assign an IPv6 address or enter it manually.
  - Select the Automatically assign IPv6 addresses from subnet option to assign an address automatically.
  - Select the Manually assign IPv6 addresses option to manually enter an IP address. The IP address should be within the subnet CIDR range.

Data Guard association details

Data Guard type: Select Active Data Guard or Data Guard. Active Data Guard provides additional features including: Real-Time Query and DML Offload, Automatic Block Repair, Standby Block Change Tracking, Far Sync, Global Data Services, and Application Continuity.
- The Active Data Guard requires an Oracle Active Data Guard license.
- For more information, see Introduction to Oracle Data Guard.
Protection mode: The protection mode can be Maximum Performance or Maximum Availability.
- For more information, see Oracle Data Guard Protection Modes.
Transport type: The redo transport type used for this Oracle Data Guard association.
- For more information, see Managing Redo Transport Services for Data Protection Modes.

Note:

You can also edit the association details after provisioning if you need to. For more information, see Edit the Oracle Data Guard Association.

Diagnostics collection

The diagnostics collection and notifications feature enables Oracle Cloud Operations and you to identify, investigate, track, and resolve guest VM issues quickly and effectively. Subscribe to events to get notified about resource state changes. You can enable or disable this feature at anytime.

By default the options are selected for enabling. However, you can select to uncheck the diagnostic collection check boxes if you do not require the diagnostic feature.

Enable diagnostic events: Enables and allows Oracle to collect and send fault notifications about critical, warning, and information events for you.
Enable health monitoring: This diagnostics collection for Oracle Cloud operations viewing is not available for the Base Database Service.
Enable incident logs and trace collection: Enables and allows Oracle to receive event notifications and collect incident logs and traces for fault diagnosis and issue resolution.

Note:

You are opting in with the understanding that the list of events and log files can change in the future. You can opt out of this feature at any time.

Advanced options

Expand Advanced options to provide the advanced options for this resource.

Management

Expand Management to provide the following details:

Fault domain: The fault domain(s) in which the DB system resides. You can select which fault domain to use for your DB system. For multi-node RAC DB systems, you can specify which two fault domains to use. Oracle recommends that you place each node of a multi-node RAC DB system in a different fault domain. For more information about fault domains, see About Regions and Availability Domains.
Time zone: The default time zone for the DB system is UTC, but you can specify a different time zone. The time zone options are those supported in both the Java.util.TimeZone class and the Oracle Linux operating system. For more information, see DB System Time Zone. The following options are available:
- UTC: configures your DB system to use coordinated universal time.
- Browser-detected: The console displays the time zone detected by your browser for this option.
- Select another time zone: To manually specify a time zone, first make a choice using the Region or country selector to select a geographic region, then use the Time zone selector to select your required time zone.
Tip:
If you want to set a time zone other than UTC or the browser-detected time zone, and if you do not see the time zone you want, try selecting "Miscellaneous" in the Region or country list.

Security

Expand Security to provide security details. Optionally, you can specify one or more security attributes to configure Zero Trust Packet Routing (ZPR) for the DB system.

Select the Namespace in which the required security attribute is available.
Select the Key and Value of the required security attribute.
Select Add security attribute.

Note:

Administrators must set up security attribute namespaces and security attributes in a tenancy before users can apply security attributes to the DB systems.
A security attribute is effective only with appropriate policies. If a security attribute without any policies is added, all access will be denied by default, even if allowed in the Security List or NSGs.
If you use the security attribute, the security rules for the DB system will be a union of the rules in the security attributes along with any rules in the security list and the NSGs.
You may need to use more than one security attribute. If you're not sure, contact your network administrator.
A maximum of 3 security attributes can be specified for a DB system.

For more information about:

Add, edit, or remove a security attribute after a DB system is created, see Manage Security Attributes for the DB System.
Defining appropriate ZPR policies, see Zero Trust Packet Routing.
Creating a security attribute, see Creating a Security Attribute.

Standby database

Database image: Optional. By default, the latest database software image as the source database is used. You can specify what Oracle Database version is used for the database. You can mix database versions on the DB system, but not editions.
- Select Change database image to choose a custom database software image that you or someone in your organization has created in your tenancy.
- Use the Compartment filter to select the custom database software images from a specific compartment.
- Select a database image from the table of available images for the Oracle Database version you selected.
- Select the Select button.
Password: Enter a password for the administrator. The password must meet the following criteria:
- A strong password for SYS, SYSTEM, TDE wallet, and PDB administrator.
- The password must be 9 to 30 characters and contain at least two uppercase, two lowercase, two numeric, and two special characters.
- The special characters must be _, #, or -.
- The password must not contain the user name (SYS, SYSTEM, and so on) or the word "oracle" either in forward or reversed order and regardless of casing.

Enable

Select Enable.

When you create the association, the details for a database and its peer display their respective roles as Primary or Standby.

If setting up the Data Guard association fails for any reason, we recommend contacting Oracle Support to resolve the issue. The billing for the DB system starts as soon as it is created and is in Available status.