Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I add more database storage to Exadata Express?

When you purchase a subscription for an Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service, you select the shape you want. The shape you choose determines the amount of database storage provisioned for your Pluggable Database (PDB). This size is fixed for the lifetime of the service. The X20 shape has 20GB storage, while X50 and X50IM both have 50GB storage.

Before you set out to increase your database storage, it is recommended that you take full advantage of the Oracle Database compression options included with Exadata Express (such as Advanced Compression, and Hybrid Columnar Compression). These compression features often will allow you to store many more times of usable data beyond your initial 20GB or 50GB maximum.

If you determine more storage still is needed, you may decide to scale-up to a higher level of Exadata Express (for example, from X20 to X50) or to higher bands of Oracle Database Cloud Service where you get a full-instance Oracle Database running inside of a new virtual machine in Oracle Cloud. In both cases, you must copy your data from the Exadata Express PDB to the newly provisioned destination database. You can utilize the rich capabilities of Oracle SQL Developer or Oracle Application Express to copy data, or you can leverage the SQL, PL/SQL and REST interfaces to implement a custom copy operation.

How do I track the amount of storage used?

You can view the amount of storage used by your Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service by going to the Service Details for your Exadata Express service.

To view the amount of used storage:

Go to the Service Details for your service. See Access Service Details.
The Service Details display.
Under Business Metrics, you’ll find the Storage Used (GB). See Understand Service Details and Metrics.
The Storage Used value tells you the amount of storage in GB that is currently in use.

What is the quickest way to go directly to the service console?

Getting to your Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service from the standard Oracle Cloud portal page involves multiple clicks and browser navigations. However, you can navigate directly to the service console with a single click, by using a bookmark.

To navigate directly to the service console with a single click, see Access the Service Console.

What PDB functionality is not available for this service?

The Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service is a managed Pluggable Database (PDB), in the Cloud, that shares a Container Database (CDB) with other tenants. In order to ensure the security of each tenant’s data, and overall performance of the entire Exadata Express environment, some aspects of the Oracle Database have been restricted.

For a description of the necessary boundaries that have been drawn, see the following:

Is HTTP traffic over the internet to Exadata Express encrypted? How are SSL/TLS certificates managed?

Yes. HTTP traffic over the internet to Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service is encrypted by SSL/TLS. Unencrypted access is not permitted.

Exadata Express uses public SSL/TLS certificates signed by DigiCert certificate authority for all HTTP access. These certificates are trusted by modern web browsers by default and are renewed by Oracle annually. For non-browser clients that connect to APEX apps and REST endpoints deployed in Exadata Express, Oracle recommends adding the DigiCert Global Root CA certificate to the client's trust store (for example, Oracle Wallet, Java TrustStore). When this root certificate is trusted, annual certificate renewals are transparent to the client.

Alternatively, to gain full control of the SSL/TLS certificate presented by your Exadata Express instance, customers can set up a custom domain name and certificate. See Manage Vanity URLs for Exadata Express Hosted Applications for more information.

Can I run APEX applications on Exadata Express from our own domain name URL and SSL certificate?

APEX applications running on Exadata Express are located at the following domain name: oraclecloudapps.com. The applications use Oracle’s SSL certificate.

To configure your own domain URL and SSL certificate, see Manage Vanity URLs for Exadata Express Hosted Applications.

How do I create an IP whitelist for my Exadata Express instance?

You can define a whitelist that restricts HTTPS access to certain IP addresses while configuring a vanity URL for your Exadata Express instance. The optional whitelisting policy can be defined in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Load Balancing Classic (LBaaS) instance used in this configuration.

To know more, see Manage Vanity URLs for Exadata Express Hosted Applications and Configure an IP Whitelist Policy.

How do I stop billing in metered Exadata Express Cloud Service?

Currently, the only way to stop or pause billing in metered Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service is to delete the service instance (PDB) from Service Details. Locking the instance from Service Details, or executing any ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE statements does not stop the meter. Customers are advised to export their data to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage Classic with their valid Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage Classic account using Service Console prior to deleting the service instance.

Related Topics

How do I manage new Exadata Express Cloud Service instance using Universal Credits?

Customers with Oracle Identity Cloud Service (IDCS) cloud account using Universal Credits to pay do not have the ability to create and manage Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service instances while logged in with IDCS.

You can click the Traditional Cloud Account URL that you receive in the Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service welcome e-mail that takes you to the login page for traditional account. For information on how to switch to Traditional account, see Signing In to Your Traditional Cloud Account in Getting Started with Oracle Cloud.

Does the Exadata Express administrator need to perform Oracle Database backups?

Customers must implement their own backup strategy.

For example, Exadata Express customers can click Export to Cloud Storage from the Manage page of the service console to create their own backups. These backups can be restored later using the Import from Cloud Storage feature.

Note:

Oracle Cloud Operations create internal backups of Exadata Express regularly. These backups restore internal systems in the unlikely event of a severe outage impacting multiple customers.

Related Topics

Is it possible to upgrade Oracle Application Express and Oracle REST Data Services in Exadata Express?

No. For latest releases of these software components, consider migrating to Oracle Autonomous Database.

Is it possible to migrate from Exadata Express to Oracle Autonomous Database?

Yes. Oracle APEX apps, data, and RESTful services can be migrated from Exadata Express to Oracle Autonomous Database, including Always Free Oracle Autonomous Database, which remains free for an unlimited time as long as it is used.

See About Migrating to Oracle Autonomous Database in Migrating Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service Apps to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.