Oracle Database Vault Reviews

Oracle Database Vault is employed for approximately 300 different applications in a large banking system, catering to 300 different business needs, resulting in a very long list of diverse business cases. The variety is vast, and there is nothing typical when it comes to middle-sized, large, or big banks.

Oracle Database Vault is a robust, high-quality DBMS capable of providing solutions for database management for many different application systems. It can be very simple or very complex, and it serves as a general solution for different types of applications and uses, including data warehousing and beyond.

Oracle Database Vault has been used in my organization for tens of years, as Oracle is a major DBMS for most of the application systems not on IBM mainframe, with the core business running on IBM mainframe with DB2 for z/OS, while most other applications and systems in the open environment work with Oracle. I think it is more like 40 years.

The implementation of Oracle Database Vault can be simple, but if you want to provide DB services for more complex applications, it gets complex. You can start with a simple deployment, but if you aim for real volumes, response times, and work with many applications, the deployment can be quite complex. It really depends.

The time frame for deployment of Oracle Database Vault depends on various factors, and it can vary significantly for different solutions and complexities, making it impossible to give a specific number. In an environment, implementation could take as little as two weeks, and I do not think it can be more than that—the maximum, I think.

I am not really familiar with IBM DB2 on Cloud or DB2 Big SQL, as I have never worked with it.

I think the technical support for Oracle is very good.

Positive

I am not really at a professional level working with Oracle Database, as Oracle is just a team and sometimes we touch the ground, but I am not working with Oracle. I never dive deep into the professional issues with Oracle.

Oracle Database Vault is a relational database management system, which is implemented mostly on Linux, Windows, Unix, and there is a z/OS option as well, but it is very rarely used. It is similar to DB2, so more or less the histories of both RDBMSs are quite similar, and there are many similarities, but also different things. I am not really at a professional level talking about Oracle.

I mostly work with the on-premises version in the banking sector, where most solutions are used as on-premises, not cloud.

The integration of Oracle Database Vault with third-party tools typically involves providing connectivity and proper setup to connect with different application systems. I find it is very similar to other DBMSs such as MS SQL, MySQL, or Postgres. You set up the usual connectivity and proper parameters for the database, such as buffer pools and memory, and then it works fine. I would not say there is anything different from other databases.

When it comes to using Realms in Oracle Database Vault, there are two options for dealing with security inside the database and also an option to use a separate product for security issues. Organizations can decide according to their needs and priorities what to implement, but tools for security issues regarding sensitive data are built inside the database.

Command rules in Oracle Database Vault help create security features by allowing you to define user security needs, but they operate during the database's runtime. You do not have a person sitting to provide commands. Instead, you create a general set of rules using the commands, and everything operates according to those commands once set up.

In addressing insider threats, Oracle Database Vault effectively prevents insiders from seeing sensitive data. A person working in IT, for example, typically does not have authorization to even look at production data, while sensitive data in development environments is usually hashed or changed to prevent visibility of production-sensitive data.

The metrics I use to measure the success of Oracle Database Vault usually involve SLAs. For instance, 90-95% of SQL queries or transactions should be completed within one second in terms of response time and CPU usage, while a small percentage may take one to three seconds. I measure all parameters for transactions running online to check if I am meeting my SLA standards.

Most of our database access controls use role-based access control, which is managed at O365 and then filtered down to the applications and database levels. We use O365 for authentications at the top level.

We use OCI Identity Federation to integrate with our Active Directory. Both work in tandem to ensure security and accessibility.

The solution is somewhat complex and not very straightforward from the keyword standpoint.

Implementation policies, policy settings, and the aspects surrounding those implementations require attention.

I primarily use Oracle Database Vault for encryption during data transit. The data is encrypted as it travels across the network, and I have previously used it for backup purposes.

I use Oracle Database Vault mainly for encryption at transit. It encrypts data traveling across the network. 

Additionally, I have used it for backup purposes. Currently, I am using NetApp snapshots for database backups, but in the past, I utilized Oracle Database Vault to encrypt backup sets.

Oracle Database Vault is not easy to set up, and if I lose the key, it can lead to significant issues. A more user-friendly setup process would be beneficial.

Oracle Database Vault is not a scalable solution. It is a one-time setup and does not facilitate further scalability.

The support has improved recently. Two years ago, I would not have contacted Oracle support, but now I feel more comfortable doing so. Over the past two years, their support rating has increased to a six or seven out of ten.

Neutral

Oracle Database Vault requires an experienced DBA for setup. It is not straightforward and presents challenges for those with less experience.

I do not handle pricing, so I am not aware of pricing details related to Oracle Database Vault.

I am currently using NetApp snapshots for database backups instead of Oracle Database Vault.

I have over thirty years of experience and recommend having experience when using Oracle Database Vault. If errors occur, a complete database restoration may be required. I would give it a rating of two out of ten. It is not easy to use.

We use the solution to create tables. We also use it for fine-grained auditing and to audit access to some tables and user activity. There are some parameters to audit the databases.

Firewall and Database Vault are configured in the product. We are using it. The performance is really great. I haven’t seen any other database perform as well as Oracle.

The solution is relatively expensive. However, we get what we pay for.

I have been using the solution for five years. I am using the latest version of the solution.

Since we have been using it, we haven’t faced any complaints about performance. If we size the server correctly, it works fine. We won’t even see any overheads.

In our organization, 1200 people are using the solution. My organization is a bank. The tool is extensively used in my organization.

The technical support is fine. We use MetaLink every day since we are big Oracle shops. It is just great.

I have used Informix and SQL Server. We used Informix a long time back. We still have some SQL Server databases. We switched to Oracle for its performance.

The deployment took one month from start to finish.

An Oracle consultant deployed the solution for us. To deploy the solution, first, we had to define what we wanted to look for. Then we had a meeting with the consultants, and they went ahead with the deployment. We need two people to deploy the solution, including one consultant from Oracle and an engineer.

The tool is worth it. It gives a really good return on investment. All the Oracle products have always been a good return on investment for me.

Training and finding the right people is difficult because the product is very expensive. There’s a cost to get into it. Otherwise, once we pay, we just use it.

We haven’t hit a milestone where we have to look into adding more resources and targets. People say that DB2 is good. People must not hesitate to buy Oracle.Oracle has good support. It's a company that stands behind its products. In the enterprise world, it's a really great product. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I use Oracle Database Vault in my company mainly for database security.

I don't know about the best feature of Oracle Database Vault since my company's technical team carried out the product's installation phase for our clients. Based on what I have heard about Oracle Database Vault's features, it is a well-appreciated solution by its users. The solution's security aspects can be considered as one of its valuable features.

The solution is excessively expensive. There is a lot of room for improvement, considering the pricing model of the solution.

I have been using Oracle Database Vault for four to five years. My company has a partnership with Oracle.

It is a stable solution, but if people don't know how to manage it, then it becomes quite complex. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

The scalability of the product is something that depends on the licensing part. In terms of scalability offered by the product, my company has not faced any problems yet, especially when attempting to integrate it with other systems. Everything depends on the licenses users purchase when they plan to expand the product's use in an environment.

The utilization of the scalability provided by the product depends on the needs and budget of the clients who want to use it.

When you open a ticket with the technical support team of Oracle, you need to wait for a long time to get a response from their end. Based on my previous experience with the technical team of Oracle, I have seen that when someone from Oracle's support team fails to resolve an issue and it gets assigned to another support engineer, then we need to again explain the whole issue to them. It is quite hectic to deal with Oracle's support team, and they take a long time to resolve an issue.

I rate the technical support a four out of ten.

Neutral

The product is fairly easy to implement.

I rate the product's implementation phase an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a difficult setup phase, and ten is an easy setup phase.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in three to four days.

A three-member team in my company takes care of the implementation.

I rate the product's pricing a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price.

I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it, but it is important to note that the product does have some drawbacks, especially when it comes to its ability to integrate with solutions other than the ones from Oracle.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

The product is easy to use and provides good performance.

The product's cost could be better. Additionally, its interface, documentation, and marketing strategy needs improvement. They need to make people aware of it with more marketing techniques.

We have been using Oracle Database Vault for two to three years.

It is a stable platform.

The product works well for efficient scalability with fewer inputs.

The technical support team provides excellent R&D in the US and India.

Positive

The product is easy to deploy.

The product is more costly than its competitors.

I rate Oracle Database Vault a nine out of ten. It is focused on memory database features. I recommend it to others in case they want to gain or leverage the performance of the database. It works on both on-premises and the cloud database ecosystem.

I have experience with Oracle products, such as Oracle Cluster, Database Guard, and GoldenGate, and I'm currently working with Oracle Database Vault.

Oracle Database Vault allows us to implement policies for tables and schemas. Oracle Database Vault has been valuable for database security in maritime companies and ports.

Oracle's technical support could be improved. We waste time to solve problems when contacting Oracle MetaLink and when members of the Oracle support team request the same files multiple times.

I have twenty-four years of experience with Oracle, including one year working with Oracle Database Vault.

The support service for Oracle is not perfect. In some cases, contacting Oracle technical support can lead to wasting a lot of time.

Neutral

I have not worked with any platform other than Oracle.

I do not have information about the price or licensing of Oracle Database Vault.

I have heard from others that Microsoft Azure and AWS cloud offerings are more suitable compared to Oracle Cloud.

I would rate Oracle Database Vault nine out of ten. I hope Oracle will enhance Oracle Vault further.