fbpx

Oracle Partitioning and Virtualization – Managing Complexity

John Mattinson, Operations Director, Certero
Originally posted in May 2016, revised in December 2019.

Virtualization offers a great way to cut costs but, due to Oracle partitioning, is fraught with potential licensing time bombs that could incur expense greater than the original savings.

 

This is particularly so in relation to the deployment of Oracle products due to Oracle’s very tight definition of what it recognizes as virtualization. So, how does Oracle partitioning effect your licensing? Oracle have a concept of both “hard” and “soft” partitioning:

 

Soft partitioning

Soft partitioning divides the OS using OS resource managers. Oracle explicitly states that “… soft partitioning…is not permitted as a means to determine or limit the number of software licenses required for any given server or cluster of servers.

What does this mean exactly? Well, if you implemented, say VMWare, on a cluster and you run Oracle on any machine in that cluster, you will need to license every single machine in the cluster – not just the server it is installed on.

As you can imagine, this will be pretty expensive and quickly eradicates the virtualization savings. We have come across many sites who have made just this mistake and usually it is only picked up when Oracle audit, leading to large true-up costs.

 

Hard partitioning

Hard partitioning is where a single server is separated physically into “distinct” smaller systems acting as physical, independent and self-contained servers.

Oracle has specifically identified and approved a number of these technologies that it recognizes for licensing purposes:

  • Physical Domains – also known as PDomains, Dynamic Domains or Dynamic System Domains
  • Solaris Zones – also known as Solaris containers, capped zones/containers only
  • IBM LPAR – plus DLPAR with AIX 5.2
  • IBM Micro-partitions – capped partitions only
  • vPAR
  • nPAR
  • Integrity virtual machine – capped partitions only
  • Secure resource partitions – capped partitions only
  • Fujitsu PPAR

Oracle VM Server can also be used, but the rules for this are precise and complex and should be investigated thoroughly before implementation.

Linux KVM is a recent (October 2019) addition to the policy and requires customers to adhere to a specific process via Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager in order to meet the hard-partitioning requirements.

The morale of the story is to tread very carefully when virtualizing/partitioning in Oracle environments. It is also important to use a specialist Oracle software asset management solution such as Certero for Oracle to simplify and manage hard and soft partitioning with the Oracle Partitioning Policy within your estate.

Keen to discover how Certero can support you with Oracle partitioning and virtualization? Request a call back or chat with an expert below.

Follow us on Linkedin for more SAM
updates

i

Read more like this from
Certero

Want support with managing Oracle partitioning and virtualization?

Certero’s [software-as-a-service] Solution

Certero help organizations transform their outdated operations and technologies in days and weeks not years. All of Certero’s solutions can be delivered as SaaS with no loss of functionality. 

Certero Unified Platform
Learn more about Certero’s truly unique ‘unified’ platform.

Digital Transformation Edition
Transform in days and weeks, not months and years, start your journey now.

Verified Oracle LMS/GLAS Solution
Verified LMS (License Management Services), now GLAS (Global Licensing & Advisory Services) solution.

Cloud Management
Manage Visibility, Cost and Governance of your Cloud Resources 

Enterprise Standard Edition – ITAM / SAM for Wintel
Default solution to manage ITAM/SAM for a Wintel environment. 

Enterprise Premium Edition – ITAM / SAM for Wintel
All you need in one place to manage your ITAM/SAM for a Wintel & Citrix environment. 

Datacenter
Stand-a-lone or holistic solutions for IBM, SAP and Oracle.

Software License Compliance
One Stop Shop, products and services for any solution – all in one

Business Intelligence Solution
See how to turn DATA into INFORMATION then transform into KNOWLEDGE, all in a few clicks. 

IT Asset Visibility
Find out: What do I own? Where is it located? Who is using it?

ITSM & CMDB Integration 
Populating the CMDB with ‘Quality’ asset information is more critical than ever

SaaS Subscription Management
Discover, manage and optimize your SaaS investments.

Everything in One place, True Unification

IT Hardware, Software, SaaS and Cloud Asset Management products that can run ‘stand-a-lone’ or ‘holistically’ and optimally together as a single solution, no dependencies. True unification across all asset and platforms and all delivered as SaaS. All of Certero’s products have the best TTV (Time to Value) by some distance.

Certero for Enterprise ITAM
Networks, printers, routers, Wintel, Mac, Linux, zLinux, Unix, all virtualizations and much more….

Certero for Enterprise SAM
Focused on Wintel software vendors, including automated solutions for Microsoft, Adobe and much more…

Certero App Centre 
Enterprise ‘Application Portal’ for Self-Service application provisioning.

Certero for Mobile
Go beyond standard MDM and deliver full management and security for your mobile workforce.

Certero SRDB (Software Recognition)
Transform raw software inventory data into actionable intelligence about application usage and licensing.

Certero for Oracle 
Optimize your Oracle Database, Middleware and E-Business Suite applications.

Certero for IBM
Discover and manage all IBM software & entitlements across the network. Dual Inventory, ILMT and Certero.

Certero for SAP Applications
Managing and automating the analysis of complex SAP named user and engine licenses across your estate. 

Passworks
An intuitive self-service password reset solution that can reduce service desk calls by 30%. 

PowerStudio
PC Power Management solution. Save money and reduce your carbon footprint. 

Certero Channel Partner Program

Our Partner Program opens up Certero solutions to a global network of partners – enabling customers to work with the trusted solution and service providers that know them best.

Join the Partner Program
Information on tiers and ease of doing business.

Deal Registrations 
Submit your deal-registrations.

Launching the Program
Highest-rated major SAM vendor on Gartner Peer Insights, launch global Partner Program.

Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice

Rated #1 for SAM Customer Satisfaction year after year, after year

Blog
For the latest in ITAM, SAM, Cloud and SaaS Asset Management

White Papers and eBooks 
Download the latest white papers and eBooks for key insights and guides.

News
Read the latest news from Certero and the industry.

Events and Webinars
Keep up to date with Certero’s latest webinars and events.

 

Videos
View our range of product videos, webinars and customer case studies. 

Data Sheets
Download our datasheets which highlight the key benefits and features of our world class products and services. 

Case Studies 
See how organization around the globe change they way they [Do IT].

We think [and do] IT Differently

We don’t believe in claiming to be something we’re not. We will not do mediocre, average, indifferent, or outdated. We are different and will do it differently.

About Us
Get to know us more

Our Story
See how our approach is different

Our Journey
A timeline of events

Our Vision, Mission and Purpose
Mission, Purpose and Values

Careers
Browse our current roles

Locations
Find our nearest location