Oracle Data Guard Reviews

We primarily use the solution for disaster recovery.

Once you get used to it, you get to know what to do when certain things happen. However, for a person who's just jumping into it, the management of it and how to implement it probably would be something that could be improved upon. The GUI could be better.

The solution is really very stable. One good thing about it, compared to other products, is that you can just run it and forget about it. Unless you come across some interruptions in the network, it works like a charm.

When you are using an Oracle product you get Oracle support. The support that we received has been good. There were no issues on that front.

We previously used an SQL server.

The implementation is complex for anyone who's jumping into it without any experience. It's all command-line driven implementations. For some, that's a turn-off.

Most of the time taken during deployment was for the restoration of the backup. We chose the backup methods because our DR was across the VPN and the speed for which to make the online backup was too small. Instead, we took the backup from the source and just copied over to the target and then stored it there. That particular process took time. Other than that, the deployment docs for Data Guard made everything pretty quick. It took maybe an hour, or an hour and a half.

We use the on-premises deployment model.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten. I'd rate it higher if the GUI was better, but it's a very stable solution.

For disaster recovery, I think this is one of the best native Oracle products that you could use, provided you have the Enterprise edition.

The primary use of this solution is for the high availability. If the database or server crashes, the switches go over to the standby database becoming the primary database. We use Data Guard in order to have a high-availability solution and high-availability configuration in our data center.

Data Guard adds an extra layer of a high-availability platform. The database minimizes the outage of applications in case something goes wrong with the primary database, allowing us to resume activities, losing minimal time.

We chose this solution for the availability of the databases. Since we can't afford Oracle Grid, this is the best solution if you want something similar that's less expensive.

A disadvantage is that the available disk space must be doubled. This is because Data Guard is made of two databases, one primary and one as a standby running permanently. We must pay the Oracle license on the second server. For every standby server you have, you must pay a licensing fee, which is the main disadvantage.

The stability is quite stable and it's reliable. From time to time I have had some issues, where I get an error message saying that both databases stopped synchronizing for a while. It doesn't mean that the problem comes from Data Guard. The problem could come from other areas like the network, a slow network for example.

I don't have an opinion about scalability. I have always followed the same kind of installation.

There is no specific Data Guard support in place. You either pay for the support or for an Enterprise edition giving you support for features that are included in this edition of Oracle. If you don't pay then you don't get support.

I am satisfied with the support.

Data Guard was already in place with this company.

As far as the installation, you should have an understanding of Data Guard. I am experienced with it and didn't require the script for the whole configuration and connection. If you don't have experience with Data Guard, then you must read the installation and configuration instructions.

I implemented this solution.

This is the best solution if you want something similar that's less expensive than Oracle Grid. We pay once per year.

We use a cluster for some customers instead of Data Guard, but it is a different concept. However, it is more or less the same.

They could enhance their GUI or they should have a cloud control tool. They should have Data Guard tools in order to troubleshoot whenever there is a problem. There isn't anything in place for the configuration. Everything has to be done manually within the standard guide in Data Guard-related commands. Having a GUI with Data Guard is something that would be appreciated.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We have a couple of Oracle systems that are attached to different types of applications.
In terms of Data Guard, we use it for factory monitoring.

We like Oracle because the solution is very robust. It's also efficient for queries and is easy to scale.

The database administration needs improvement. With Oracle, we have a lot of features for administrating data, but it might be too many. It needs to be simplified. It should be automated. Looking at Enterprise Manager, there are too many KPIs in place. Directly on-site, we do not need to choose all of them. Administration, generally speaking, needs to be improved.

Oracle should also continue to simplify the upgrade using Data Guard. We have already seen reduced outage timing any time we are doing upgrade, so maybe they are heading in that direction, but it can always be improved.

The stability of the solution is good.

The scalability of the solution is good. We have roughly 1,000 users right now.

Technical support is very good. If at any time we write a ticket, we get the appropriate answer on time. 

The set is straightforward but it is dependent on the audience you have. Internally, we have experienced DBAs, so deploying Oracle is straightforward. If we had to do the same job for an external company it could be complex. 

Previously we were doing the set up ourselves. Now, for more than a decade, we work with a third party, and we delegate the deployment, the support, and the maintenance of the Oracle Database.

The pricing of Oracle is average. It's not inexpensive but it's okay.

Currently, we are using the on-premise version on the solution.

I would rate this solution eight out of ten. I would recommend the solution because it is a good product and it's working fine. But I'm not sure if it's suitable for every consideration or any environment.

Data focus is the main issue. Most of the features of a new database still go to an Oracle administration section.

The monitor can predict if you have any issues or develop actions to find a solution for them.

We use the product for data recovery.

There is always room for improvement. This product needs some improvement in administration. I would love to see something that makes monitoring much easier. 

The product needs some of the GUI tools so there is no need for all the long process.

Oracle Data Guard is stable, but you need to keep monitoring the system all the time. You need to keep monitoring the archives. If some of the archives have been deleted, you need to do it manually. It is a lot of work pressure and a lot of monitoring. 

You need to do the dummy work every day just to ensure that Oracle Data Guard is working at the point when you need it.

Scalability with Oracle Data Guard is not straightforward, i.e. the configuration.

We use two different kinds in that case of data guard. You cannot keep looking at the overhead of the projection servers. Oracle Data Guard should know what you are doing. This is the problem. For migrations, it can be a long time.

For Oracle tech support, you do it yourself. When you open a ticket, it can take time to solve it. Often you can find a bug that went unreported.

The initial setup is straightforward. Just follow the documentation. For our present situation, it was dependent on the project and the database files. 

Sometimes the setup took one day, sometimes only one hour. It was depending on the size of the database. It could be very fast for me.

I did the implementation of Oracle Data Guard by myself.

Oracle Data Guard is a free solution. When you apply for Enterprise Manager, it comes for free with the solution. When you apply an enterprise solution to a database, you have to pay. It depends on the connotation of the project and what you need for the protocol.

Keep monitoring. This is the problem with the product. You have to keep monitoring the system all the time, just to avoid the interruption from the archive mode.

I am going to give Oracle Data Guard a seven out of ten. It still needs improvements. When you are doing the troubleshooting there are no monitoring tools. You have to keep watching the log all the time. Also, for the configuration, if you miss one of the backlogs, you have to re-issue again. Re-issuing is not easy. It's a long process to do it.

Oracle Data Guard ensures data protection and disaster recovery. The better way to configure Data Guard is by having an Oracle production database on one site as the primary database, and an Oracle standby database on another site. This solution provides high availability.

If you have a problem with your primary site and can't access your primary database, you can continue working with the database that you have as standby on the other site, by changing its role to primary.

Another valuable feature is the possibility of backing up the database from the standby database instead of the primary database, to avoid backup process overhead in the primary system.

Active Data Guard is other feature with advanced capabilities that extend basic Data Guard functionality. Some of the functions of Active Data Guard are: 

• Real Time Query - Offloads read-only workloads to an up-to-date standby database
• Automatic Block Repair - Automatically detects a block corruption and repairs it.

I think it would be great to have a graphical interface assistant (like DBCA, ASMCA, NETCA, etc.) for initial configuration, monitoring, configuring Oracle Data Guard Broker and all the Data Guard Broker commands, without needing Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control installed.

There is no issue with primary database stability. Once Data Guard is configured, you don't have to change anything more in your primary database.

Oracle Data Guard is a feature available only in Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, and is available for extra cost.

The Active Data Guard and Fast-Start Failover features are excellent. The Active Data Guard helps in providing read only data for reporting purposes. The Fast-Start Failover is an automatic feature that allows failover from primary database instance/server to the preferred standby instance/server.

I've implemented these features in several projects.

Oracle Data Guard is part of the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. Oracle Corporation has provided features in Data Guard for its new Database version Oracle 12c.

I've used Oracle Data Guard for over eight years.

Yes, If the underlying Network is not stable, then the Data Guard and Standby Databases will disconnect and not be operational.

No.

Oracle Support is rated an eight out of 10.

If the Database SLA is much higher than Oracle RAC, it is a better product than Data Guard.

The initial setup was simple, but there were problems setting up the connectivity between the different servers. Once these problems are resolved, then the Data Guard was operational.

The Oracle Data Guard is part of the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, there is no extra licensing cost for the software. However, there is a hardware cost for the number of Standby Databases for each server and storage.

The only other product is Oracle RAC which is very expensive for small businesses as it involves software for clustering, hardware for networking and larger SAN environments.

It's a simple replication solution for small businesses.

Provides an active data guard.

I would like to see better failover.

We have been using this solution for five years.

There were no scalability issues.

I would give customer service a rating of 7/10.

I would give technical support a rating of 7/10.

We did not evaluate another solution.

We did not implement through a vendor team.

We did not evaluate other options.

This is one of the most stable products to support critical DR sites.

It provides us with online replication.

I would like to see replication/fail-over sites.

We have been using this for over five years.

There were not many deployment issues.

There were not many stability issues.

We sometimes had scalability issues with read only.

I would give customer service a rating of 8/10.

I would give technical support a rating of 7/10.

There were no previous solutions.

It was a self-driven setup. It was not too much trouble.

We implemented in-house.

We are under ULA.

We did not evaluate many other solutions.

It simply works.

We use it for backing up our data, so from the standby instance.

Data Guard has been around for a very long time and a lot of big companies are using it. I don't see that it needs any improvement or anything like that. I think it's pretty solid.

I've been using it for more than 15 years.

We've experienced no issues with performance.

When you open up SR Oracle has a list of things which they ask for. Being an end customer, when we open SR, we give as much as information as we want and again the support person comes into the picture, and without reading what we have put through, they just has the same question over and over. What version, what product, all that kind of things, which is not at all fair.

It’s the backbone. Nobody interacts with it, it's only the DBAs who use it I think. Once you set it up it's pretty much done. You don't deal with it on a daily basis.

Maybe not all products are up to the speed or like any product you take, there is space to improve. I think for our company, the way we use it, we are very happy with it and the end customer is very happy with it.

I have found its switchover functionality to be most useful using which you can perform disaster recovery within no time. Its feature of FAL is also pretty useful that helps to keep both sites (primary and standby) synchronized. Logical standby database is also a pretty handy feature for reporting purposes.

Active Data Guard has helped us a lot in achieving the real time reporting by offloading our heavy reports from Production to Standby database. 

Limited functionality to exclude any schema/table from replication would be helpful.

Currently Data Guard replicates whatever DML operation is performed on primary database is replicated to standby database as it is. To improve it bit further, if Oracle can provide some kind of feature in which user can select any schema or 5-10 collection to tables in some schema that user doesn't want to replicate. Because this kind of feature is available in Oracle Golden Gate which a separate licensed product with a lot of features like that one that I mentioned for limited replication, heterogeneous replication, cross database replication.