Time to first query: Minutes (serverless) to hours/days (dedicated infrastructure provisioning)
Key features: Full Oracle Database feature parity (RAC, Data Guard, RMAN, ASM, Multitenant), runs in AWS data centers with low-latency access to other AWS services, managed by Oracle, BYOL or License Included
Limitations: Oracle licensing cost, Exadata-only (no small instances), complex setup, managed by Oracle (not AWS), limited to regions with ODB@AWS availability
Best for: Enterprise Oracle workloads requiring Exadata and/or RAC capabilities, Oracle-to-cloud migrations where RDS for Oracle feature gaps are blockers, consolidation of Oracle estates onto cloud infrastructure
Not for: New applications, teams looking to move off commercial licensing (that’s a refactor to Aurora PostgreSQL)