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Clarifying false assertions by Oracle sales about Oracle licensing on Azure constrained VMs
Recently, I received the following question from a customer... How much of a challenge would it be to defend against Oracle's claim that, for a constrained Standard_E96-24ds_v5 VM, we owe them licensing for 96 vCPUs instead of 24 vCPUs? I've been receiving questions of this sort more frequently these days, so I wanted to share advice on dealing with it. Oracle's own documentation on public cloud licensing (HERE) states... For the purposes of licensing Oracle programs in an Authorized Cloud Environment, customers are required to count the maximum available vCPUs of an instance type as follows: Microsoft Azure – count two vCPUs as equivalent to one Oracle Processor license if multi-threading of processor cores is enabled, and one vCPU as equivalent to one Oracle Processor license if multi-threading of processor cores is not enabled Please note that the highlighted word available which means able to be used or obtained; at someone's disposal according to the Oxford dictionary. Azure constrained VMs are explained HERE, including the following description... Azure offers certain VM sizes where you can constrain the VM vCPU count to reduce the cost of software licensing, while maintaining the same memory, storage, and I/O bandwidth. The vCPU count can be constrained to one half or one quarter of the original VM size. These new VM sizes have a suffix that specifies the number of active vCPUs to make them easier for you to identify. So, constrained VMs in Azure offer only the memory, storage limits, and I/O bandwidth associated with a VM of a larger number of vCPUs in the name, but the number of vCPUs is the lower number in the name. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned Standard_E96-24ds_v5 VM instance type, the "96" represents the memory, I/O, and network resources normally associated with a 96 vCPU virtual machine, but it does not indicate that 96 vCPUs are available. Only 24 vCPUs are available with this instance type, and that is the count to be used when licensing Oracle. Referring to the guidance from Oracle licensing provided above, these 24 vCPUs, each hyperthreaded by 2, represent 12 CPU cores, so the number of Oracle processor licenses for this VM is 12. As an interesting side note, according to the same Oracle documentation on licensing in public clouds (HERE)... When counting Oracle Processor license requirements in Authorized Cloud Environments, the Oracle Processor Core Factor Table is not applicable. Thus, the popular Oracle Processor Core Factor Table discount is available only on-prem and in Oracle cloud, but not in Azure. This is the basis of another myth by Oracle sales teams suggesting that Oracle database is half as expensive in Oracle cloud than in Azure. It has nothing to do with technology or performance or cost of resources, merely a discount that Oracle has reserved only for themselves. Of course, for basic technical questions such as counting CPUs, there must be an empirical way to prove one way or the other. Oracle is welcome to recommend any Linux or Oracle utility they prefer to count the number of vCPUs presented by a VM, but one good suggestion is the Linux lscpu command. Whatever count is returned by such a utility should determine licensing count, of course. In summary, please beware of Oracle sales personnel attempting to freelance with their own perspectives on licensing. Oracle sales personnel are not the most reliable source of such information, due to the obvious conflict of interest. Oracle's License Management Services (LMS) team provides authoritative decisions on licensing. When anyone spreads misinformation about Oracle licensing, then please click the Contact Oracle LMS button on the LMS home page to get the word from the folks who can provide the real answer.Data Skills Transitions are like Sunsets and Sunrises
I was inspired by BuckWoodyMSFT's post on Monday but it was not until I was walking the dog (Hudson) this morning that I got the hook I was looking for. My Mom always said, when it came to sunrises and sunsets "Orange sky in morning sailors take warning; Orange sky at night sailors delight". We can argue over the color of this sunrise (it is winter in Seattle so any sun is good), but when it comes to Data Skills transitions as Data professionals (Data Architects, DBAs, Data Engineers, Data Scientists) we need to heed the warnings. Cloud Data, AI and BI offerings like Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Power BI have changed the game. I started my data warehousing and decision support career back in 1993 and have seen many a product sunset: Metaphor Computer Systems, Sagent (great ETL tool the is somewhere in Pitney Bowes data integration), and Brio Technology I moved to Seattle 23 years ago and used SQL Server 6.5, Sagent, and Brio to enable data analysts at University of Washington Physicians. I quickly migrated my data mart to SQL Server 7 in 1998. SQL Server had a major impact on the BI/DW industry (OLAP services changed the market) and on my career. It was important for my career when I joined Business Objects as an OLAP champion back in 2000 and at WaMu where a team I managed deployed SQL Server and Bobj like crazy. I joined Microsoft in 2005 just before SQL Server 2005 launched. In 2005 I also attended my first TechReady (Microsoft Tech internal event) at the Washington State Convention Center. It was an awesome readiness event all the way to TechReady 24 (that is 12 years because these happen twice a year). We are at the sunrise of Winter Ready in Seattle this Monday Feb 3rd. I can't wait to learn about and skillup because I can see the new data skills needed on the horizon. So why this history lesson? If you are seasoned like me and nearing the sunset of your career, I implore you to batten down the hatches and get ready for the storm by upskilling. Businesses need your energy and experience. Many of you are well on your way. Don't let all the newbies get all the opportunities for the new projects that are out there, the the new generation of Data Pros need us. For people early in your data careers IMO you have an awesome future. I think SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters and the things it "Spawned" like Azure Arc and Azure Synapse Analytics will provide you with decades of learning, challenges, and employment. I have had a love/hate relationship with certifications but would recommend Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate, IMO, it will make us all better and the more people that take it the better the certification will be. But get your hours in using the Azure Portal and Power BI Portal. Lets be Ready and Certified. May there be many sunrises and sunsets in your work and personal lives. Thanks for joining the Data Architecture Community! Darwin Schweitzer | Education Cloud Solution Architect | US Education | darsch@microsoft.com | Twitter @DataSnowman | GitHub DataSnowman Data and AI resources at https://github.com/Azure/carprice
Data Warehousing using Apache Spark on Azure HDinsight
Hi Team Hope all are safe! This is my first project in Azure and we are looking at developing a DW using Apache Spark on Azure HDinsight. In simple terms we are currently trying to pick files from Share Point and then do transformations using pyspark and then load the data into a Azure Sql db. Can someone help me on the below queries: 1) Can we connect Apache Spark or Pyspark on Azure HDinsight to Share Point to pick files? 2) Can we implement the usual SCD1 or SCD2 logic using pyspark? Thanks in advance!Solution Architecture KPIs and Metrics That Matter: Measuring Success Beyond Technology
In today’s fast-changing digital environment, organizations invest heavily in technology solutions to improve operations, deliver better customer experiences, and support business growth. However, building a solution is only one part of the journey. The real challenge is understanding whether the solution is actually delivering value. https://dellenny.com/solution-architecture-kpis-and-metrics-that-matter-measuring-success-beyond-technology/Layered vs. Clean Architecture: A Deep Dive
Architecting software systems is as much about managing complexity as it is about writing code. Over the years, many architectural styles have emerged to help teams build systems that are scalable, maintainable, and adaptable to change. Among the most widely discussed are Layered Architecture and Clean Architecture. https://dellenny.com/layered-vs-clean-architecture-a-deep-dive/What Is Solution Architecture and How Does It Differ from Software Architecture?
In the world of technology and digital transformation, clear communication often gets lost in a sea of terms that sound similar but mean very different things. Solution architecture and software architecture are two such concepts. They both play essential roles in building modern systems, yet they work at different levels, serve different goals, and require different mindsets. If you’ve ever wondered how these two disciplines compare—or if you’ve heard them used interchangeably and want clarity—this guide breaks down what each involves, how they overlap, and why both are crucial for successful IT initiatives. https://dellenny.com/what-is-solution-architecture-and-how-does-it-differ-from-software-architecture/Common Pitfalls in Software Architecture Design
Software architecture is the backbone of any successful application, the blueprint that dictates its scalability, maintainability, performance, and security. However, like constructing a building, designing robust software architecture can get down with some blockers or mistakes. Ignoring these common pitfalls can lead to increase in costs, missed deadlines which may lead to project failure. In this deep dive, we’ll explore some of the most common traps that software architects and development teams fall into, offering insights on how to recognize and avoid them. https://dellenny.com/common-pitfalls-in-software-architecture-design/Architecture as Code: What It Means and How to Apply It
In today’s fast-moving software world, we’ve already embraced ideas like Infrastructure as Code — where servers, networks, and environments are created through scripts instead of manual setup. But now, a new approach is gaining traction: Architecture as Code (AaC). It’s a concept that takes software architecture — the blueprint of how your system’s components interact — and turns it into something living, version-controlled, and machine-readable. In short, it treats architecture like software itself. Let’s explore what Architecture as Code actually means, why it matters, and how you can put it into practice in a realistic, human-friendly way. https://dellenny.com/architecture-as-code-what-it-means-and-how-to-apply-it/
