Getting Started with Oracle on Docker

By Sean Scott

Elevator Pitch

Nine databases running at once, on a laptop? Check. Starts in seconds? Check. Deploy new databases in under a minute? Check. Supports 11g thru 19c? Check. Faster and lighter than a VM? Check. Find out what you’re missing and everything you need to get up and running with Oracle on Docker!

Description

Docker is widely embraced in the developer community but isn’t as well known or understood in the database world. Database administrators and developers are beginning to realize how powerful containers are and the speed, flexibility, and portability advantages they offer over virtual guests.

What can be done with Oracle on Docker? Plenty! Create environments for specialized performance testing, confirming and isolating bugs, evaluating environment changes, exploring new features, practicing and perfecting disaster recovery and upgrade procedures, and preparing for certifications. Provision portable test and lab environments, manage software and data separately, and rapidly deploy reference data end users can apply locally with drag-and-drop ease, independent of operating system concerns. Run multiple versions and editions of Oracle on a single system without conflict. Run several databases on an ordinary laptop with resources to spare.

This session is a practical course for those curious about or just starting out with Oracle on Docker. Attendees will learn terminology and understand how containers differ from virtual machines, followed by demonstrations of Docker’s speed and versatility. Explore basic commands and examples for building Oracle on Docker and making container databases visible on a network. Discover how to separate and preserve data, share and distribute database images and data, then how to create new databases in seconds (not an exaggeration). The session closes with advice on customizing container environments and a peek into orchestrated builds for multi-database needs posed by Data Guard and Sharding.

Notes

I’ve been running Oracle databases on Docker for nearly seven years and delivered dozens of presentations, demos, and hands-on-labs to multiple user groups. I also maintain an extensive GitHub repo of Oracle on Docker images that go beyond the vanilla Oracle offerings, including orchestrations for running Data Guard and Sharded databases, RPM installations, upgrades and TFA on Docker.