The cooperation with our multinational manufacturing partner has a nearly 10-year history. Another chapter of the successful cooperation was the introduction of a high-availability database environment.

Our client's standard, single-instance Oracle database environment was developed in December 2018. After a year of experience, the performance of the PRODUCTION database in a single-instance environment was sufficient, but it became necessary to shut down the database during server updates, therefore users had to exit CustomRs software solutions. As we have continually sought to improve our client’s services, we have been working to minimize downtime outage.

When consulting with Oracle Hungary Kft., several options have been raised for building a safer and more available environment. Our client has asked the help of Régens in comparing the alternatives.

From a point of view with safety and cost-effectiveness in priority, the options were carefully considered, and then it was decided to use a so-called RAC (Real Application Cluster) infrastructure for the PRODUCTION database. Our client's current SE2 licenses allowed such an infrastructure to be implemented, no new Oracle licenses were required to be bought.

Thanks to the planned configuration, the high availability of the PRODUCTION database is ensured by the fact that the database service is served by two servers at the same time. If there is a problem with one of the servers, the other server will still be able to provide users with the availability of the database.

Our client asked Régens Ltd. to design the RAC infrastructure, set up a roadmap and migrate the PRODUCTION database.

The aim was to build a safe environment with high-availability that would be easy to expand in the future and operates reliably.

The planning of the environment (servers, storage, network) was achieved thanks to the successful and efficient cooperation of our client and Régens’ IT team. Our client's virtual server environment provided a stable basis for implementing an environment with high-availability. The database is located on a shared storage in the environment created, with two separate servers providing the resource. During a possible shutdown of one of the servers, the other server automatically serves all initial requests, so that no disruption is encountered from the user side.

Advanced RMAN (Recovery Manager) backup technology - which has already been used in the single-instance environment - has been developed in the database. After the development, testing was successfully carried out based on several criteria – functionality (by customs agents), performance, backup recovery. After the tests, all that was needed was to fine-tune the system, we did not experience any functional errors. Based on our experience so far, the built service ensures the expected level of availability and security.

During the construction phase, an even closer cooperation took place between the IT specialists of our client and Régens’ DBA specialists. We have succeeded in building an Oracle environment that fully supports our Client's customs clearance processes. Since its introduction, the chance of a database crash and the amount of downtime during monthly server updates has minimized thanks to the environment with high-availability.