RDS Custom for Oracle workflow

The following diagram shows the typical workflow for RDS Custom for Oracle.

The steps are as follows:

Database installation files

Your responsibility for media is a key difference between Amazon RDS and RDS Custom. Amazon RDS, which is a fully managed service, supplies the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) and database software. The Amazon RDS database software is preinstalled, so you need only choose a database engine and version, and create your database.

For RDS Custom, you supply your own media. When you create a custom engine version, RDS Custom installs the media that you provide. RDS Custom media contains your database installation files and patches. This service model is called Bring Your Own Media (BYOM).

Custom engine versions for RDS Custom for Oracle

An RDS Custom for Oracle custom engine version (CEV) is a binary volume snapshot of a database version and AMI. By default, RDS Custom for Oracle uses the most recent AMI that Amazon EC2 makes available. You can also choose to reuse an existing AMI.

CEV manifest

After you download Oracle database installation files from Oracle, you upload them to an Amazon S3 bucket. When you create your CEV, you specify the file names in a JSON document called a CEV manifest. RDS Custom for Oracle uses the specified files and the AMI to create your CEV.

RDS Custom for Oracle provides JSON manifest templates with our recommended .zip files for each supported Oracle Database release. For example, the following template is for the 19.17.0.0.0 RU.

{
    "mediaImportTemplateVersion": "2020-08-14",
    "databaseInstallationFileNames": [
        "V982063-01.zip"
    ],
    "opatchFileNames": [
        "p6880880_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip"
    ],
    "psuRuPatchFileNames": [
        "p34419443_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p34411846_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip"
    ],
    "otherPatchFileNames": [
        "p28852325_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p29997937_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p31335037_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p32327201_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p33613829_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p34006614_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p34533061_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p34533150_190000_Generic.zip",
        "p28730253_190000_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p29213893_1917000DBRU_Generic.zip",
        "p33125873_1917000DBRU_Linux-x86-64.zip",
        "p34446152_1917000DBRU_Linux-x86-64.zip"
    ]
}

You can also specify installation parameters in the JSON manifest. For example, you can set nondefault values for the Oracle base, Oracle home, and the ID and name of the UNIX/Linux user and group. For more information, see JSON fields in the CEV manifest.

CEV naming format

Name your RDS Custom for Oracle CEV using a customer-specified string. The name format is the following, depending on your Oracle Database release:

You can use 1–50 alphanumeric characters, underscores, dashes, and periods. For example, you might name your CEV 19.my_cev1.

Oracle multitenant architecture in RDS Custom for Oracle

The Oracle multitenant architecture enables an Oracle database to function as a container database (CDB). A CDB includes zero, one, or many customer-created pluggable databases (PDBs). A PDB is a portable collection of schemas and objects that appears to an application as a traditional non-CDB. Starting in Oracle Database 21c, all Oracle databases are CDBs.

When you create an RDS Custom for Oracle CEV, you specify the either the CDB or non-CDB architecture. You can create an RDS Custom for Oracle CDB only when the CEV that you used to create it uses the Oracle multitenant architecture. For more information, see Working with custom engine versions for Amazon RDS Custom for Oracle.

Creating a DB instance for RDS Custom for Oracle

After you create your CEV, it's available for use. You can create multiple CEVs, and you can create multiple RDS Custom for Oracle DB instances from any CEV. You can also change the status of a CEV to make it available or inactive.

You can either create your RDS Custom for Oracle DB instance with the Oracle multitenant architecture (custom-oracle-ee-cdb or custom-oracle-se2-cdb engine type) or with the traditional non-CDB architecture (custom-oracle-ee or custom-oracle-se2 engine type). When you create a container database (CDB), it contains one pluggable database (PDB) and one PDB seed. You can create additional PDBs manually using Oracle SQL.

To create your RDS Custom for Oracle DB instance, use the create-db-instance command. In this command, specify which CEV to use. The procedure is similar to creating an Amazon RDS DB instance. However, some parameters are different. For more information, see Configuring a DB instance for Amazon RDS Custom for Oracle.

Database connection

Like an Amazon RDS DB instance, an RDS Custom DB instance resides in a virtual private cloud (VPC). Your application connects to the Oracle database using an Oracle listener.

If your database is a CDB, you can use the listener L_RDSCDB_001 to connect to the CDB root and to a PDB. If you plug a non-CDB into a CDB, make sure to set USE_SID_AS_SERVICE_LISTENER = ON so that migrated applications keep the same settings.

When you connect to a non-CDB, the master user is the user for the non-CDB. When you connect to a CDB, the master user is the user for the PDB. To connect to the CDB root, log in to the host, start a SQL client, and create an administrative user with SQL commands.

RDS Custom customization

You can access the RDS Custom host to install or customize software. To avoid conflicts between your changes and the RDS Custom automation, you can pause the automation for a specified period. During this period, RDS Custom doesn't perform monitoring or instance recovery. At the end of the period, RDS Custom resumes full automation. For more information, see Pausing and resuming your RDS Custom DB instance.