News
 Does
Your Database Get Some ‘Downtime’?
Roughly nine out of 10 Oracle database sites have
experienced significant amounts of unplanned
“downtime” over the past year, so states a new
survey conducted by the Independent Oracle Users
Group (IOUG). Could yours be next?
Here’s what the survey noted: Continuous, 24x7
availability is no longer just a marketing slogan;
it is now a necessity for eight out of 10
Oracle-based enterprises. With the rise of
Internet-based business and service-oriented
architectures that require that networks of
applications and data be available to enterprise
users when and where they need it, companies can no
longer afford the luxury of taking their databases
offline for any reason.
The survey reveals that the unplanned downtime was
caused by infrastructure, application and database
issues. In some cases, these outages totaled more
than 24 hours over a 12-month period. Along with
unexpected problems, there were also times when
databases needed to be intentionally powered down
for maintenance or upgrade work. One out of four
companies report that their systems were down more
than 24 hours for planned downtime.
The survey was distributed via an e-mail to the IOUG
members in April 2006. Overall, 265 usable responses
were returned, for a margin of error of plus or
minus seven percentage points. A majority of
respondents, 51 percent, are database
administrators, 14 percent come from the development
and architecture community and 12 percent are
managers or executives. Respondents come from a
range of industries, including government and
education (22 percent), software and high-tech (17
percent), finance/insurance (12 percent),
utilities/transportation (9 percent), manufacturing
(9 percent), and services (8 percent).
The survey also explores the strategies Oracle-based
enterprises have been undertaking to achieve higher
availability and business continuity. In many cases,
the survey finds, organizations rely on technologies
that provide up-to-the-minute backup, in combination
with tried-and-true methods.
Key findings from the survey include the following:
• Infrastructure issues are the source of most
unexpected database disruptions, followed by
software and database glitches. Surprisingly, few
enterprises report problems from external events –
such as disasters, accidents, or security breaches.
• In terms of planned downtime, relatively routine
activities such as maintenance and upgrades are the
most likely to require taking databases offline.
Database migrations result in the longest stretches
of downtime.
• Eight out of 10 sites need to have at least some
databases available on a continuous, 24x7 basis.
However, most have not adopted clustering or grid
solutions to ensure availability.
• Enterprises are using both disk-based and tape
backup solutions to help ensure availability and
continuity. However, most do not yet have a
comprehensive business continuity plan.
IOUG is the association of Oracle technology and
database professionals. The IOUG initiated this
survey of its members to develop a more
comprehensive picture of the ways Oracle-based
enterprises manage high availability and disaster
tolerance.
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