Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 15
Oracle and the Cloud
In the first four editions of this topic, this final chapter was something of a catch-all. We
spent the previous 14 chapters outlining and hopefully illuminating the principles and
processes that worked together to produce the Oracle database. This chapter would
cover a number of things that did not fit into the overall structure of the topic, but were
still important enough that most Oracle practitioners would want and need to under‐
stand them.
With this edition, we can finally pull most of these separate parts together as we describe
the Oracle database in the cloud. This chapter will cover some important, and frequently
misunderstood, basics about the different varieties of cloud computing, describe the
various options for using the Oracle database in the cloud, and look at the Oracle Da‐
tabase Cloud and your options for building your own Oracle Database Cloud in more
depth.
Cloud Definitions
No doubt about it, at the time of this writing, the cloud is mentioned everywhere—it's
the hottest IT-related buzzword since the realization of the Internet. But there is a cu‐
rious phenomenon associated with many people's view of the cloud—they somehow
think that there is a unitary class of products and offerings that are all, more or less,
comparable.
Of course, this view does not add much clarity to any consideration of the cloud; after
all, what does the Apple iCloud storage have in common with
Salesforce.com
's CRM
solution? Before we can talk about Oracle and the cloud in any meaningful way, we
should go over a few basic cloud definitions.
