1. What Is Oracle GoldenGate?
Oracle GoldenGate is a real-time data replication and integration platform used to capture transactional change data and move large volumes of information between heterogeneous databases — Oracle-to-Oracle, Oracle-to-non-Oracle, and into Big Data systems like Hadoop and Kafka. It is widely deployed for zero-downtime migrations, active-active database architectures, disaster recovery, and real-time analytics pipelines.
GoldenGate's licensing, however, is among the most complex in Oracle's technology stack. Key challenges include processor-based metrics that require licensing both source and target servers, virtualisation rules that can mandate licensing entire clusters, different product editions for different database platforms, and cloud-specific rules that differ materially from on-premises calculations.
For CIOs and IT leaders, understanding GoldenGate licensing is essential to avoid six-figure audit surprises, budget accurately for data replication projects, and negotiate effectively with Oracle.
For negotiation-specific guidance, see Oracle GoldenGate Licensing Negotiation Strategies for CIOs and CTOs.
2. On-Premises Licensing (Classic GoldenGate)
| Rule | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Processor-based metric | Count all physical CPU cores on each server where GoldenGate runs, multiplied by Oracle's core factor. For most x86 CPUs (Intel Xeon, AMD EPYC), the core factor is 0.5 — so 2 cores = 1 licence. |
| Licence both ends | GoldenGate requires licences for both the source and target servers. If you replicate from Server A to Server B, both must be licensed. |
| No practical NUP option | GoldenGate is effectively licensed exclusively using Processor licences. Named User Plus (NUP) is not typically available for production use. |
| Virtualisation = full cluster | If GoldenGate runs on a VM in a VMware/Hyper-V cluster, Oracle requires licensing all cores in the physical cluster — not just the VM's allocated vCPUs. |
| Perpetual + support | On-prem licences are perpetual (one-time purchase) but require annual support at ~22% of list price for updates and patches. |
| Ancillary products are separate | GoldenGate for Non-Oracle DB, GoldenGate for Big Data, Veridata, and Studio are separate products, each requiring their own processor licences. |
Scenario: GoldenGate runs in 1 VM (8 vCPUs) on a VMware cluster of 4 hosts, each with 16 cores = 64 total cores.
Licence requirement: 64 cores × 0.5 core factor = 32 processor licences.
Cost: 32 × $17,500 = $560,000 list price + ~$123,200/year support.
Optimised approach: Isolate GoldenGate to a dedicated 2-host cluster with 8 cores each = 16 total cores × 0.5 = 8 processor licences = $140,000 — a 75% reduction.
3. Cloud Licensing: OCI, AWS, and Azure
| Platform | Licensing Model | Key Rule |
|---|---|---|
| OCI (Managed Service) | OCPU-hour subscription (pay-as-you-go) | ~$0.32/OCPU-hour (licence-included). No separate licence purchase needed. Scale to zero when idle. |
| OCI (BYOL) | Bring Your Own Licence | ~$0.16/OCPU-hour (75% lower rate). Use existing on-prem licences on OCI. 1 OCPU = 1 processor licence. |
| AWS / Azure | BYOL only | 2 vCPUs = 1 processor licence. Core factor table does NOT apply — use the flat 2:1 ratio. |
For full details on cloud and hybrid licensing, see GoldenGate Licensing in Cloud and Hybrid Environments: AWS, Azure, and OCI.
Need help with Oracle licensing on AWS or Azure?
Oracle on AWS Guide →4. Pricing Metrics and Core Factor Calculations
The Core Factor Table
| Processor Type | Core Factor | Example: 16-Core Server | Licences Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Xeon / AMD EPYC (x86) | 0.5 | 16 cores × 0.5 | 8 processor licences |
| Oracle SPARC M/T-series | 0.25 – 0.5 | 16 cores × 0.25 | 4 processor licences |
| IBM POWER | 1.0 | 16 cores × 1.0 | 16 processor licences |
| Oracle ARM (Ampere) | 0.25 | 16 cores × 0.25 | 4 processor licences |
Key Pricing Rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| No per-stream licensing | GoldenGate does not charge per replication stream, extract process, or table. Cost is purely based on server CPU capacity. |
| Always round up | Oracle rounds up to the next whole licence. A fractional result (e.g., 7.5) requires 8 licences. |
| Source + target both count | Count processors on the source DB server and processors on the target DB server separately. Both require licences. |
| Support = 22%/year | Annual support is approximately 22% of licence list price. For 10 licences at $17,500 each, that's ~$38,500/year ongoing. |
| Term licence alternative | 1-year term ≈ 20% of perpetual price. 3-year term ≈ 50%. Cheaper for short-term migration projects. |
For a comprehensive view of Oracle's price list, see Oracle Technology Price List — How to Calculate Pricing. For core factor calculations, see Oracle Core Factor Table — Licence Calculator.
5. Pricing Examples: On-Prem vs Cloud
| Deployment Scenario | Metric | Licences Required | Estimated Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-prem: 2 × 8-core Xeon servers (Oracle → Oracle DR) | Processor (core) | 16 cores × 0.5 = 8/server; 2 servers = 16 licences | $280,000 list + ~$62K/yr support |
| Virtualised cluster: 64 cores, 1 VM (8 vCPUs) | Processor (core) | 64 cores × 0.5 = 32 licences (full cluster) | $560,000 list + support |
| AWS EC2: 16 vCPUs (BYOL migration) | Processor (vCPU) | 16 vCPUs ÷ 2 = 8 licences | $140,000 list + support |
| OCI GoldenGate Service: 8 OCPUs (licence-included) | OCPU-hour | N/A (metered) | ~$15,000/month (~$180K/year) |
| OCI GoldenGate: 4 OCPUs (BYOL) | OCPU-hour | 4 existing licences | ~$470/month compute only |
| Dev/Test: GoldenGate Free (Docker) | N/A | Free | $0 |
💡 GoldenGate Free Edition
Oracle offers GoldenGate Free — a full-featured edition for non-production use, deployable in Docker containers at no cost. Use it for development, testing, proof-of-concept, and sandbox environments. When moving to production, switch to a paid model.
Navigate GoldenGate Licensing with Expert Guidance
GoldenGate licensing complexity — virtualisation rules, source-and-target requirements, multi-edition deployments — creates significant audit exposure. Our independent advisers help enterprises calculate accurate licence requirements, avoid over-licensing, and negotiate optimal terms.
6. GoldenGate Editions: Oracle, Non-Oracle, Big Data
Oracle sells different GoldenGate product editions depending on the source and target platforms. Each edition is a separate product with its own licence requirements. Using the wrong edition — or failing to license the correct edition — is a common audit finding.
GoldenGate for Oracle Database
Oracle-to-Oracle replication. Licence source + target DB servers. Includes Active Data Guard and XStream rights.
GoldenGate for Non-Oracle DB
SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Db2, etc. Licence source + target. Often used alongside Oracle edition for cross-platform.
GoldenGate for Big Data
Kafka, Hadoop, HBase, NoSQL. Licence source only — target cluster does not need licensing.
GoldenGate for Mainframe
DB2 z/OS and legacy systems. Extremely high cost per processor. Budget early and consider alternatives.
Cross-Platform Replication Requires Multiple Editions
| Replication Scenario | Licences Required |
|---|---|
| Oracle → Oracle | GoldenGate for Oracle DB on both source + target servers |
| Oracle → SQL Server | GoldenGate for Oracle DB (source) + GoldenGate for Non-Oracle DB (target) |
| MySQL → Oracle | GoldenGate for Non-Oracle DB (source) + GoldenGate for Oracle DB (target) |
| SQL Server → Db2 | GoldenGate for Non-Oracle DB on both source + target |
| Oracle → Kafka / Hadoop | GoldenGate for Oracle DB (source) + GoldenGate for Big Data (source only — no target licensing) |
| Mainframe → Oracle | GoldenGate for Mainframe (source) + GoldenGate for Oracle DB (target) |
For detailed guidance, see Oracle GoldenGate Licensing for Non-Oracle Databases and Big Data.
7. HA/DR and Virtualisation Licensing
High Availability and Disaster Recovery
| Architecture | Licensing Requirement |
|---|---|
| Active-active (bi-directional) | Both sites are production. All nodes must be fully licensed — effectively two separate GoldenGate deployments. |
| Active-passive (one-way standby) | The standby server continuously runs GoldenGate apply processes. Oracle requires full licensing of the standby environment. |
| Cold standby (GoldenGate not running) | Oracle's 10-day failover rule may apply if GoldenGate is completely inactive until failover. However, most GoldenGate DR designs run continuously, making this exception inapplicable. |
| OCI DR replication | Both on-prem source and OCI target need licensing. No free standby rights for GoldenGate in the cloud. |
For comprehensive HA/DR guidance, see GoldenGate Licensing for High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
Virtualisation Rules
| Scenario | Licensing Impact |
|---|---|
| Bare metal (physical server) | Count all physical cores × core factor |
| VMware / Hyper-V cluster | Count all cores across all hosts in the cluster — not just the VM's vCPUs (soft partitioning) |
| Oracle VM (OVM) / Oracle Linux KVM | Hard partitioning recognised — licence only the pinned cores assigned to the GoldenGate VM |
| OCI cloud instance | Oracle recognises sub-capacity — licence only the allocated OCPUs |
| AWS / Azure VM | Licence based on allocated vCPUs (2 vCPUs = 1 licence). No cluster-wide licensing required. |
For Azure-specific licensing rules, see Oracle Licensing on Azure.
8. Common Audit Risks and Compliance Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Not licensing both source + target | Most common non-compliance finding. Oracle requires both ends to be licensed, even if the target is a standby. | Always count and licence every server running GoldenGate processes — extract and apply. |
| Applying on-prem core factors in cloud | Cloud uses a fixed 2 vCPUs = 1 licence rule. Using the core factor table in AWS/Azure causes miscalculation. | Use 2:1 vCPU ratio in AWS/Azure/GCP. Use OCPU mapping in OCI. |
| VMware cluster-wide licensing missed | Licensing only the VM's vCPUs when Oracle demands the entire cluster. Can result in 4×–8× licence shortfall. | Isolate GoldenGate VMs to dedicated small clusters. Document host affinity rules. |
| Wrong GoldenGate edition for non-Oracle targets | Using base GoldenGate licence for SQL Server/MySQL targets without the Non-Oracle edition. | Verify every source/target requires the correct edition. Non-Oracle and Big Data are separate products. |
| Unlicensed DR/standby nodes | Assuming standby systems are free. Oracle audits flag active GoldenGate apply processes on DR servers. | Licence all active GoldenGate instances, including DR. Negotiate DR terms in the original contract. |
| Miscalculating core factor | Using wrong core factor for the processor type. IBM POWER uses 1.0 (not 0.5), doubling licence count. | Verify every server's CPU model against Oracle's official Core Factor Table. |
| Big Data pipeline without Big Data licence | Using base GoldenGate to stream into Kafka/Hadoop. Technically requires GoldenGate for Big Data edition. | If targets are Kafka, Hadoop, or NoSQL, use Big Data edition (which also benefits from source-only licensing). |
For more audit scenarios, see GoldenGate Common Audit Risks and Non-Compliance Scenarios.
Protect Against Oracle Audit Surprises
GoldenGate licensing non-compliance can result in six-figure retroactive charges. Our independent audit defence advisers review your deployments, calculate accurate licence positions, and negotiate favourable outcomes — before Oracle's auditors arrive.
9. Cost Optimisation and Negotiation Strategies
- Isolate GoldenGate to dedicated, small VM clusters. The single most impactful cost reduction. Moving GoldenGate off large VMware clusters and onto a dedicated 2-host cluster with minimal cores can reduce licence requirements by 75% or more. Use Oracle VM (OVM) or Oracle Linux KVM for hard partitioning to licence only the pinned cores.
- Evaluate perpetual vs term vs cloud for every project. For short-term migrations (12–24 months), term licences cost ~20–50% of perpetual. For bursty workloads, OCI pay-as-you-go avoids idle licence costs. For steady 5+ year production loads, perpetual may be cheapest over time. Model each scenario.
- Leverage BYOL on OCI for existing licence holders. If you already own GoldenGate licences, deploy on OCI using BYOL at ~$0.16/OCPU-hour — approximately 75% lower than the licence-included rate. This maximises the value of existing investments during cloud migration.
- Use GoldenGate Free for all non-production environments. GoldenGate Free (Docker-based) is full-featured and completely free. Use it for dev, test, POC, and sandbox. This eliminates the need to licence non-production servers.
- Negotiate volume discounts for large deployments. Oracle list prices are starting points. Discounts of 20–40%+ are achievable for enterprise deals. Bundle GoldenGate with Oracle Database or OCI purchases to leverage aggregate deal value. Time negotiations to Oracle's fiscal year-end (May 31).
- Consider ULA for widespread deployments. If you anticipate deploying GoldenGate across dozens of systems, an Unlimited Licence Agreement provides cost predictability — unlimited deployment for a fixed fee over 3 years. Requires strict usage tracking and certification at exit.
- Audit internal deployments regularly. Conduct quarterly internal audits of GoldenGate installations. Verify that no servers or VMs have slipped outside the licensed count. Check that DR/standby nodes are compliant. Catching issues early avoids surprise audit fines.
- Negotiate DR/standby terms upfront. Some enterprises negotiate contract provisions where dormant DR nodes (GoldenGate not actively running) are excluded from licensing. Get these terms in writing before signing. Oracle's default position is to require full licensing.
Planning Oracle GoldenGate negotiations?
GoldenGate Negotiation Strategies →10. Expert Recommendations
Map Every Data Flow
Inventory every GoldenGate source and target. Identify which edition applies to each endpoint (Oracle, Non-Oracle, Big Data, Mainframe). Document server core counts and VM cluster topologies.
Calculate Accurately
Use Oracle's Core Factor Table for on-prem. Use 2:1 vCPU ratio for AWS/Azure. Use OCPU mapping for OCI. Always licence both source and target. Round up all results.
Optimise Architecture
Isolate GoldenGate to dedicated small clusters. Use hard partitioning where possible. Use GoldenGate Free for non-production. Evaluate cloud vs on-prem cost models for each workload.
Negotiate and Document
Never accept list price. Bundle with other Oracle purchases. Negotiate DR terms. Document all deployments centrally. Conduct regular internal audits. Engage independent expertise for complex environments.
Need Independent Oracle GoldenGate Advisory?
Redress Compliance provides vendor-independent GoldenGate licensing assessments, audit defence, and negotiation support. Fixed-fee engagements. No ties to Oracle.