Oracle Licensing on AWS: What CIOs and Procurement Leaders Need to Know

Oracle Licensing on AWS

Oracle Licensing on AWS is a complex but navigable challenge for enterprises.

Running Oracle software on Amazon Web Services requires understanding Oracle’s unique licensing rules in the cloud, careful planning to control costs, and diligence to remain compliant.

This advisory outlines key policies, common pitfalls (such as the incompatibility of soft and hard partitioning with AWS for license reduction), cost implications, and strategies to help CIOs, CFOs, and procurement leaders make informed decisions about Oracle on AWS.

Oracle Licensing on AWS: An Overview

Oracle’s licensing model in the AWS cloud follows many of the same principles as on-premises, but with important cloud-specific twists.

In simple terms, you have two ways to run Oracle on AWS:

• Bring Your Own License (BYOL): Use your existing Oracle licenses on AWS infrastructure.
• License Included: Pay for Oracle licenses as part of an AWS service (e.g., Amazon RDS for Oracle, which includes licensing).

Each approach has its implications. BYOL provides flexibility to leverage investments, but places the onus on you to ensure compliance with Oracle’s policies on AWS.

License-Included (available for certain Oracle editions via AWS services) simplifies procurement and ensures you’re always properly licensed, but may limit configurations or database editions.

Either way, moving Oracle to AWS does not eliminate Oracle license obligations – the same rules apply, just in a new environment. It’s critical to understand these rules to avoid costly surprises.

Read Oracle WebLogic Licensing on AWS – A Guide for Enterprise ITAM Managers.

BYOL vs. License-Included: Two Cloud Models

BYOL (Bring Your Own License): In BYOL mode, an enterprise deploys Oracle software on AWS EC2 instances (or VMware Cloud on AWS, etc.) using licenses purchased from Oracle.

The key benefit is control: you can run any Oracle edition or feature as needed. But you are “on the hook” to ensure you have enough licenses for the AWS resources you use.

All Oracle’s licensing policies – including counting cores and complying with feature licensing – remain your responsibility.

BYOL is the only option if you need Oracle Database Enterprise Edition on AWS or if you want to self-manage Oracle on EC2.

It’s also commonly used when an organization has an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) or Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) that they want to utilize in the cloud.

License Included:

In this model, AWS offers certain Oracle database editions with the license cost bundled into the hourly pricing (for example, Amazon RDS “License Included” for Oracle Standard Edition).

This is essentially a pay-as-you-go licensing: you don’t need to buy Oracle licenses upfront; AWS has done so, and you rent them by the hour. The advantage is simplicity – AWS handles compliance and cost-efficiency for short-term or variable workloads.

For instance, you can use license-included instances for development or workloads that run only during business hours, then shut them down, paying only for the hours used.

Many enterprises use License Included for Standard Edition (SE1/SE2) databases on RDS, since Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) is not offered in this mode on AWS.

The trade-off is that license-included services may not provide all Oracle features or the flexibility of custom architectures. You’re also limited to the configurations AWS supports (e.g., specific instance types and no Oracle EE in this model).

Key Takeaway: Use BYOL for mission-critical systems or when you need Oracle Enterprise features – but budget for the licenses and manage compliance.

Use License Included for simplicity in non-production or smaller deployments – it can reduce costs and eliminate compliance worries for those specific instances.

Counting Cores: How Oracle Licenses vCPUs on AWS

One of the biggest adjustments in Oracle Licensing on AWS is how processor licenses are calculated. Oracle licensing is traditionally based on physical CPU cores (with a “core factor” for different processor types).

In AWS, you don’t directly see physical cores – you deal with virtual CPUs (vCPUs). Oracle treats AWS (and other approved public clouds) with a specific policy:

• For Oracle Processor licenses on AWS EC2, every two vCPUs counts as 1 Oracle processor license, provided the instance has hyper-threading enabled (which is true for most AWS instance types). If hyper-threading is disabled (1 thread per core), then one vCPU counts as one license. In effect, an AWS vCPU is considered a thread of a core, and Oracle requires licensing per pair of vCPUs (per core).
• No Core Factor in Cloud: Unlike on-premises, where an Intel or AMD core has a 0.5 license core factor (meaning one license covers two physical cores), Oracle’s cloud policy does not apply the core factor table in AWS. One Oracle license covers one physical core equivalent to two vCPUs in AWS. This has a major cost implication: you often need twice as many licenses for the same number of cores in AWS compared to on-premise. The table below illustrates this difference:

In this example, an Oracle workload using roughly eight cores requires four licenses on-premises, but eight licenses on AWS.

The elimination of the core factor effectively doubles the license count (and cost) if you simply replicate a workload to AWS. This is a critical consideration for CFOs evaluating the financial impact of cloud migration.

Standard Edition in AWS:

Oracle Standard Edition (licensed per “socket” on-premises) has special rules in AWS. Oracle defines a certain number of vCPUs as one “socket” for licensing purposes.

AWS instances with 4 vCPUs or fewer are counted as a single socket (requiring one Standard Edition license), and each group of up to 4 vCPUs constitutes another socket.

However, Standard Edition 2 (SE2) and older SE licenses also have a limitation: they can only be used on instances up to a certain size. Specifically, SE2 is limited to instances with up to 8 vCPUs (which Oracle equates to the 2-socket maximum that SE2 allows).

If you exceed that (say a 16 vCPU instance), you are out of compliance – Oracle would require upgrading to Enterprise Edition licenses for larger instances. The practical tip is to keep Standard Edition deployments on smaller AWS instances (8 vCPUs or less for SE2) to stay within license terms.

Threads and Tuning:

AWS allows disabling hyper-threading on some instance types or using “CPU pinning” features on VMware Cloud. Disabling hyper-threading will halve the vCPU count of an instance (since you use one thread per core). Oracle then counts one vCPU as 1 license (because there is no multi-threading).

This doesn’t reduce the total licenses needed for the same performance – it’s essentially an alternative way to count – but some customers do it for performance consistency or to align licensing exactly to physical cores.

The main point is, you cannot get around Oracle’s counting by any software tricks; you must count all the vCPUs you allocate to Oracle workloads on AWS and license accordingly.

No “Soft Partitioning” Escape on AWS

In traditional virtualized environments (like VMware), some businesses try to limit Oracle licensing by restricting Oracle to certain CPUs or hosts – known as “hard partitioning.” Oracle has a strict policy that only Oracle-approved hard partitioning technologies count for limiting licenses.

Soft partitioning, where software limits resource usage (such as VMware vSphere affinity rules or cloud instance placement), is not recognized by Oracle as a valid method for reducing licensing requirements.

AWS is considered a soft partitioned environment by Oracle.

This means you cannot simply license a portion of an AWS server or only some cores of an instance.

You must license the Oracle software for the full compute capacity of the instance or the physical host (depending on your deployment):

• If you run Oracle on a normal shared EC2 instance, you must license all vCPUs of that instance. You don’t have to license the whole underlying AWS physical server (AWS handles multi-tenancy). Still, you cannot, for example, run Oracle on an eight vCPU instance and only license four vCPUs – Oracle requires all eight vCPUs to be fully licensed.
• Suppose you choose to use AWS Dedicated Hosts or AWS bare-metal instances (where you get an entire physical server dedicated to you). In that case, Oracle will treat it like a physical on-premises box; you must license all physical cores on that server. In that specific case, Oracle’s normal core factor does apply, as it’s effectively on-premises hardware under your control. Companies sometimes use dedicated hosts to run multiple Oracle VMs on a single host; this can be efficient if you fully utilize a licensed host, but it also means a significant upfront license requirement (licensing every core on the host, even if some are idle).
• You cannot use any third-party tooling on AWS to artificially cap CPU usage and then license less; Oracle will consider that soft partitioning and still insist you license the full instance. For example, capping an EC2 instance’s CPU at 50% in software does not reduce the license requirement.

In summary, AWS offers no Oracle-recognized hard partitioning mechanism (except the uncommon approach of installing Oracle’s hypervisor on a bare-metal AWS host, which is complex and rare).

For most practical purposes, soft and hard partitioning are not viable cost-cutting measures on AWS, as you need to license what you use.

Plan your AWS instance sizes and host choices accordingly, as attempting to circumvent licensing by partitioning can lead to non-compliance.

(Actionable insight: Opt for smaller instances if you want to reduce license counts rather than one huge instance, since you pay per vCPU. Also consider scaling out with multiple small Oracle SE2 databases if that meets your needs, instead of one big Oracle EE database, to leverage lower-cost licenses.)

Cost Drivers and Optimization Strategies

Oracle software is expensive, and running it on AWS can either amplify those costs or help optimize them, depending on your strategy.

Key cost drivers to watch on AWS include:

• License Multipliers in the Cloud: As shown above, lacking the on-premises core factor means you may need more Oracle licenses for the same workload in AWS. At list price (~$47,500 per Oracle Database Enterprise Edition processor license, plus ~22% annual support), doubling the license count is a significant cost. Enterprises should model the license cost impact of any AWS migration: sometimes, the hardware savings of cloud are offset by increased Oracle licensing fees.
• Architectural Choices: Deciding between a few large instances vs. more smaller instances can impact costs. For example, two separate 8-vCPU EC2 instances (each requiring four licenses under BYOL) versus one 16-vCPU instance (requiring eight licenses) might have the same compute power. In pure AWS costs, one larger instance is often cheaper than two smaller ones. However, in Oracle licensing, the two small instances (totalling eight licenses) and one large instance (also eight licenses) are equivalent. There’s no license advantage either way in that simple scenario – but if Standard Edition could be used on the smaller instances, that would be a huge cost win versus Enterprise on a big instance. Always evaluate whether some workloads can utilize Standard Edition on AWS (which offers lower-cost licenses) by keeping their instance sizes within limits.
• Use License-Included for Burst or Non-Production: One optimization strategy is to run certain Oracle workloads on Amazon RDS with license-included pricing, especially for non-production environments or workloads that don’t need Enterprise Edition. As noted, this is available for Oracle SE1/SE2. The benefit is you pay only for what you use. If a dev/test database is only active 40 hours a week, license-included hourly pricing can be far cheaper than purchasing a full Oracle license (which is a 24×7 entitlement). Similarly, if you have seasonal or periodic heavy workloads (e.g., end-of-month reporting), you could use a larger RDS instance with license included for that peak period and shut it down after, avoiding the need to permanently license that peak capacity.
• Leverage AWS Features to Save Costs (but Carefully): AWS instance scheduling, auto-scaling groups, and multi-AZ deployments can all impact Oracle licensing. For example, auto-scaling an Oracle DB server farm up and down is great for cloud agility, but each new instance that auto-starts with Oracle will require a license. If you scale beyond your licensed count, you’re inadvertently in violation. A cost-savvy plan might use auto-scaling with license-included RDS for peak times (since that doesn’t need your license), or ensure your BYOL auto-scaling stays within a pool of available licenses you own. Likewise, when using AWS’s read replicas or multi-AZ failovers, remember that Oracle typically requires licensing for any standby database that is actively running or open. Oracle’s standard policy is that disaster recovery or passive instances must be licensed if they are running for more than a cumulative 10 days per year (unless your contract has more lenient terms). This means an always-on secondary in AWS (for HA or DR) will count toward your licenses in most cases.
• Negotiation and Cloud Incentives: Be aware that Oracle has an interest in where you run your workloads. Oracle may offer more favorable terms or discounts if you run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) versus AWS. For instance, Oracle Cloud may allow more flexible usage of your licenses or offer universal credits that include Oracle software usage. However, moving to OCI could introduce its complexities and is a strategic decision that extends beyond just licensing. Some enterprises negotiate “cloud-friendly” clauses with Oracle – for example, including AWS as an explicitly allowed environment in the contract, or even securing special concessions (such as the ability to count AWS vCPUs differently). These negotiations can mitigate cost increases, but require leverage and careful handling.

Actionable Takeaways:

• Always calculate the Oracle license cost of an AWS architecture before you deploy. A seemingly cheap cloud instance can carry a six- or seven-figure Oracle license obligation.
• Consider splitting workloads between Oracle and cheaper alternatives where possible. For example, if a less critical component can be moved off Oracle to an open-source database, you might reduce license needs. Some companies use Oracle for their core systems on AWS and migrate peripheral databases to PostgreSQL or AWS Aurora to reduce costs.
• For the Oracle workloads you must keep, consider whether Standard Edition could meet the requirements on AWS (staying within vCPU limits) or if specific features absolutely demand Enterprise Edition.
• Use Reserved Instances or Savings Plans on AWS for long-running Oracle VMs to reduce cloud infrastructure cost, since your license cost is largely fixed – squeeze savings from the AWS side where you can.

Common Pitfalls and Compliance Risks

Even experienced IT teams can stumble over Oracle licensing on AWS.

Here are common pitfalls and how to avoid them:

• Miscounting vCPUs/Core Licensing: A frequent mistake is treating an AWS vCPU as equal to an Oracle “core” license without applying Oracle’s 2-for-1 rule (or vice versa). For example, deploying Oracle on an eight vCPU instance and assuming you need eight licenses (whereas Oracle policy would require four licenses if hyper-threading is on) – or the opposite, assuming four licenses cover a 16 vCPU instance when they do not. Solution: Always use Oracle’s official cloud licensing formula. Document the instance types and their vCPU counts, and double-check the math against Oracle’s policy. When in doubt, consult licensing experts or AWS’s specialized licensing assistance to verify you’re neither under-licensing (compliance risk) nor over-licensing (wasting money).
• Forgetting to License All Components: Oracle’s technology stack is broad – if you install Oracle Database on AWS, don’t forget that any optional components or management packs (such as Diagnostics Pack, Tuning Pack, Partitioning, etc.) that are enabled also need to be licensed. In on-premises data centers, DBAs sometimes enable features without going through procurement; in AWS, that can happen just as easily via quick deployments. Solution: Implement governance to track and approve any Oracle installation or feature activation in AWS. AWS tagging can help identify Oracle instances. Regularly run Oracle’s script to report usage of features/options, so you aren’t surprised by an audit revealing unlicensed usage of, say, Advanced Compression or Active Data Guard that someone turned on.
• Assuming Cloud Hides You from Audits: Some leaders believe that if Oracle software is running in AWS, Oracle will not be able to find or audit it. This is false. Oracle’s audit clauses apply regardless of where the software is running – on AWS, Azure, your own data center, or elsewhere. Oracle can request data from you to demonstrate compliance. Cloud deployments can make it easier to create sprawling installations, thereby increasing audit risk. Solution: Treat Oracle in the cloud with the same rigor as on-prem. Keep records of where Oracle is deployed in AWS, the instance types, the license counts you’ve allocated, and proof that you’ve assigned valid licenses to those deployments (license certificates, support IDs, etc.). If using AWS, you might not have physical server evidence, but you can show AWS instance details. Be prepared to show these in an audit. Using automated tools that scan for Oracle installations in your AWS accounts can ensure you don’t overlook something.
• Auto-Scaling and CI/CD pipelines spawning Oracle instances: In the spirit of cloud agility, teams sometimes bake Oracle into an AMI (Amazon Machine Image) or Docker container and spin up new instances on demand. If this happens outside of license control, you can quickly become under-licensed. For example, an auto-scale event doubles the number of Oracle servers from 5 to 10 instances to handle the load – those 5 extra instances each require additional licenses. If you haven’t accounted for that in your Oracle license pool, you’re now out of compliance. Solution: If you use auto-scaling, either utilize license-included mechanisms or ensure a hard limit is tied to your owned licenses. One practice is to use AWS Systems Manager or custom scripts to verify a new instance’s license entitlement count and shut it down or prevent Oracle startup if it would exceed the purchased licenses. This is an area where cloud governance and license management tools are essential.
• Disaster Recovery (DR) and High Availability confusion: Running an Oracle standby database on AWS (using Data Guard, etc.) often requires licensing the standby if it’s running and ready to take over. Oracle’s standard policy gives a limited exception (for a completely idle backup that’s only activated in a failover, you might not need a license until failover, or for a short period of testing). But many enterprises set up multi-AZ or multi-region replicas for resilience – those are usually continuously running and thus need full licenses. Some organizations mistakenly assume that only the primary needs licensing. Solution: Budget for and license your HA/DR instances, unless your contract explicitly waives this requirement. If the cost is too high, consider architectures that minimize the need for additional Oracle nodes (e.g., use storage-level replication rather than active database instances, or keep the standby database mounted but not open and verify with Oracle whether this approach counts under the 10-day rule). Always clarify with Oracle in writing if possible.
• ULA and Cloud Usage: If your company is under an Oracle ULA (Unlimited License Agreement) and you deploy heavily on AWS, be cautious when certifying your ULA. Oracle now allows counting of AWS deployments toward your usage at the end of the ULA only if the ULA contract explicitly includes this provision (newer ULAs often do, but older ones may not). One common pitfall is assuming you can simply spread Oracle licenses everywhere on AWS during the ULA period (since it’s “unlimited”) and then certify a large number of licenses. Yes, ULAs permit use in authorized clouds like AWS, but if not negotiated, Oracle might not count those deployments when certifying (or might challenge their verifiability). Solution: Proactively negotiate any cloud-related terms in your ULA. Track and document all AWS instances you spun up under the ULA. When it’s time to certify, be prepared to present evidence of those AWS deployments as part of your usage. If possible, obtain written confirmation from Oracle that these counts are valid. This avoids a nasty surprise where you thought you had 100 processor licenses worth of usage, but Oracle only counts 50 from on-prem because cloud was excluded.

Real-World Example – Avoiding a $5M Surprise:

A global retail company migrated several Oracle-based applications to AWS, aiming to retire old hardware. They moved fast, replicating their on-premises Oracle environment into a set of AWS EC2 instances.

However, they treated each EC2 VM as if it were a physical server with the same core count, not realizing that on AWS, they effectively doubled the core count from a licensing perspective. After an internal true-up, they discovered a shortfall of 20 Oracle processor licenses – roughly a $5 million liability at list price.

Worse, their AWS deployment included an active Data Guard standby for each database, which they hadn’t licensed separately. This issue came to light during an Oracle license audit, resulting in a large, unplanned expenditure to purchase licenses and provide back-support to become compliant.

Lesson: This could have been prevented with up-front planning.

The company engaged a license advisory firm post-audit, negotiated a new deal with Oracle that included cloud usage rights, and implemented a rigorous approval process for any new Oracle instances on AWS.

They now run a leaner AWS footprint for Oracle, using smaller instances with SE2 where possible, and have converted one application to PostgreSQL to reduce Oracle usage. The outcome turned positive, but only after an expensive lesson.

Recommendations

To successfully manage Oracle licensing on AWS, here are practical expert tips for enterprise leaders:

• 1. Inventory and Assess First: Audit your Oracle footprint in AWS (and overall) before making changes. Know exactly which Oracle products, versions, and features you are running on which AWS instances. This inventory is the foundation for compliance and cost optimization.
• 2. Align Deployment with Licensing: Design your AWS architecture with Oracle’s rules in mind. For each Oracle workload, select the AWS instance type and size that meets performance requirements without exceeding unnecessary vCPUs. Right-size to the smallest instance that suffices, to minimize license count. Avoid using 16+ vCPU instances for Oracle if an eight vCPU instance can do – the license cost difference is huge.
• 3. Leverage Standard Edition and License-Included where Possible: Not every Oracle database needs Enterprise Edition. Evaluate if Standard Edition 2 (with its lower cost and instance limits) can support certain applications, especially new or refactored ones. Similarly, use AWS RDS with a license included for transient or small databases (e.g., dev/test, departmental apps) to reduce costs and simplify compliance.
• 4. Monitor and Govern Continuously: Establish governance policies that prevent uncontrolled Oracle deployments on AWS. This might include requiring approval for any new Oracle installation, utilizing AWS configuration rules or management tools to detect Oracle software, and monitoring AWS usage for any changes (such as CPU cores or new instances). Continuous monitoring helps catch if someone inadvertently spins up an Oracle AMI or adds cores to a server.
• 5. Educate Your Teams: Ensure that your cloud architects, engineers, and DBAs understand Oracle’s cloud licensing nuances. A bit of training can prevent mistakes, such as enabling a costly feature or choosing an instance that breaks licensing rules. Include Oracle licensing in your AWS onboarding checklist for any project that utilizes Oracle technology.
• 6. Negotiate with Oracle Proactively: If you foresee significant Oracle usage on AWS, bring it to the negotiating table. Negotiate contract terms that explicitly allow usage in AWS (though most do; having it in writing adds clarity). If renewing an ELA or ULA, try to include public cloud metrics or even a freeze on core factor changes. Oracle sales might offer cloud promotions – use those to reduce cost, but be cautious of any strings attached (like requirements to use Oracle Cloud).
• 7. Consider Expert Help: Don’t hesitate to involve Oracle licensing experts or firms that specialize in Oracle on AWS. They can identify non-obvious pitfalls (for example, nuances in licensing WebLogic or other Oracle middleware on AWS) and assist in defending your compliance position during audits. The cost of advice is often far less than the cost of a licensing mistake.
• 8. Optimize DR and HA Setup: Revisit your high availability design with licensing in mind. For example, if you have a multi-region DR Oracle deployment, ensure you either license the secondary or adjust it to an inactive mode if your contract allows a grace period. Possibly use cluster technologies or Oracle’s Data Guard “terminal recovery” mode to minimize licensing of standbys. Designing HA/DR with licensing awareness can save a significant amount of money.
• 9. Explore Cloud Alternatives Cautiously: If Oracle license costs on AWS are prohibitive, consider if moving some workloads to Oracle’s cloud (OCI) makes sense for a better deal – or alternately, refactoring away from Oracle to cloud-native databases. Both paths have pros and cons beyond licensing (technical, strategic considerations), but they are options to weigh in a long-term strategy. In any case, avoid lock-in tactics; ensure that any short-term gain in licensing doesn’t corner you into a suboptimal technology decision.
• 10. Validate and Document Everything: Keep records of your calculations for how you determined license needs on AWS. Document your interpretation of Oracle’s policies and any clarifications received from Oracle. In the event of an audit or a contract dispute, having a clear paper trail of your decision-making and compliance efforts can be invaluable in negotiating a resolution.

Checklist: 5 Actions to Take

If you’re responsible for managing Oracle licenses on AWS, here’s a simple step-by-step plan to get on top of it:

1. Review Your Oracle Contract for Cloud Usage: Retrieve your Oracle license agreements and confirm they permit deployment in third-party clouds, such as AWS. (Most do, but check for any clauses around cloud or outsourcing.) If anything is unclear, seek clarification from Oracle or consult with legal counsel. This sets the ground rules for what you can do.
2. Calculate Your License Needs per AWS Instance: For each Oracle workload on AWS, write down the instance type and vCPU count. Apply Oracle’s formula (typically two vCPUs = 1 license for EE). Also note whether it’s an Enterprise or Standard Edition, and if it falls within the SE2 limits. Total up licenses in use and compare to what you own. This step will reveal any deficit or over-allocation.
3. Evaluate Optimizations: Review the results and ask: Can we use smaller instances or fewer cores to achieve the same goal? Are any databases candidates for switching from Enterprise to Standard Edition to reduce costs? Are we running any Oracle test systems 24/7 needlessly? Make a plan to right-size instances and eliminate waste. For example, you might schedule dev/test instances to shut down at night or utilize RDS licenses included for those purposes.
4. Implement Cloud Governance Controls: Establish controls on your AWS accounts to manage Oracle usage effectively. Tag all known Oracle instances for visibility. Possibly use AWS IAM or Service Control Policies to restrict who can launch Oracle AMIs or spin up large instances without approval. Set up a periodic (monthly or quarterly) audit of AWS for any new Oracle installations or changes in instance sizes so you catch surprises quickly.
5. Engage with Oracle (or Advisors) if Needed: If your analysis reveals a significant gap or an upcoming project (e.g., a major Oracle migration to AWS), plan the conversation with Oracle proactively. It’s better to negotiate additional licenses or cloud-friendly terms upfront than to risk a non-compliance incident later. If negotiating, come armed with data — for instance, the cost difference you calculated. If you lack internal licensing expertise, consider engaging a third-party licensing consultant to validate your approach and assist in discussions. This can save money by ensuring you only buy what you need, under the best terms.

Following this checklist will put you in a strong position to run Oracle on AWS confidently and cost-effectively, with far less risk of an audit surprise.

Read more Oracle licensing on AWS FAQs.

FAQ

Q1: Is it legal and supported to run Oracle software on AWS?
A: Yes. Oracle’s standard license agreements allow use of your licenses in third-party clouds like AWS (AWS is an “Authorized Cloud Environment” per Oracle). You must, however, adhere to Oracle’s cloud licensing policies in counting licenses. Oracle will provide support for customers on AWS as long as you have a valid support contract – running on AWS doesn’t void support. (Oracle has even partnered with AWS on some fronts, though they’d prefer you on Oracle Cloud.) Just ensure your contract doesn’t have any unusual restrictions, and you’re compliant with license counts. Many enterprises run Oracle on AWS successfully.

Q2: How do I calculate the number of Oracle licenses required for an AWS EC2 instance?
A: Count the virtual CPUs and apply Oracle’s formula. For Amazon EC2 or RDS, every two vCPUs count as one Oracle processor license (assuming hyper-threading is enabled). For example, a VM with eight vCPUs requires 4 Oracle licenses for Enterprise Edition. If hyper-threading is disabled (1 vCPU = 1 core), then each vCPU is a license. Note that Oracle’s standard core factor (e.g., 0.5 for Intel chips) is not applied in AWS; the cloud policy takes precedence. Additionally, Standard Edition licensing is based on the instance size (sockets/vCPUs), as discussed – e.g., up to 4 vCPUs require 1 SE2 license, 5-8 vCPUs require 2 SE2 licenses, and more than eight vCPUs are not allowed for SE2. Always refer to the latest Oracle Cloud Licensing Policy document for exact rules.

Q3: Can we reduce Oracle licensing costs on AWS by using virtualization or partitioning techniques?
A: Not in the typical ways you might on-premises. Oracle does not recognize AWS’s native virtualization (Xen or Nitro hypervisor) as a means to limit licensing – it’s considered soft partitioning. This means you cannot, for instance, license only half the cores of an AWS server. You must license all the vCPUs of any instance where Oracle is installed. The only way to partition Oracle on AWS in Oracle’s eyes would be using Oracle’s own approved hard-partition tech (like Oracle VM) on a dedicated bare-metal AWS host, which is generally impractical. In short: assume no license reduction via partitioning on AWS. The best way to control license cost is by choosing smaller instances or fewer total instances. Also avoid letting Oracle VMs float around unconstrained; pin them to specific hosts only if you’re licensing by host (in VMware Cloud on AWS scenarios, for example, you’d license the whole cluster if using VMware).

Q4: What are my options if I want to use Oracle Database Enterprise Edition on AWS?
A: If you need Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) features on AWS, you will be using the BYOL model. That means you either use your existing licenses or purchase new ones from Oracle to cover your AWS deployment. On AWS, you can deploy EE on EC2 instances (self-managed) or on Amazon RDS (in the BYOL mode, since RDS doesn’t include EE licenses). Ensure you count licenses according to the cloud rules. Another option is Oracle’s cloud (OCI), where Oracle offers a service called “Database@AWS” (running Oracle database on AWS infrastructure but managed by Oracle), or other Oracle Cloud services, but those are outside AWS proper. In all cases, EE in the cloud will be expensive, so consider if all EE features are truly needed. Sometimes, workloads can be re-architected to use Standard Edition (which has limitations but is far cheaper) or split into multiple SE2 databases. However, if you require features such as partitioning and advanced security, that’s EE territory, and you’ll need to budget for those licenses on AWS. Also note that certain EE options, such as RAC (Real Application Clusters), are not supported on AWS EC2, so check the AWS-specific support matrices as well.

Q5: How does Oracle licensing work for Amazon RDS, and does it differ from EC2?
A: Amazon RDS for Oracle offers two models: “License Included” and “BYOL.” In License Included, which is available only for Oracle Standard Edition (One and Two), the cost of the Oracle license is built into the hourly instance cost – you don’t need to bring any Oracle license. This is ideal for short-term or small-scale uses, as you pay a predictable hourly rate and can scale up or down at any time without being locked into a perpetual license. In BYOL on RDS, you use your own Oracle licenses (as you would on EC2). RDS simply manages the database service for you, but Oracle licensing and rules are your responsibility (and the same two vCPUs per license formula applies to the RDS instance’s size). One difference is that in License Included, you cannot use EE at all. Even with BYOL on RDS, if you want certain EE options, ensure they are supported on RDS. Additionally, RDS may restrict certain features (for example, you can’t access the OS or specific file systems, which may limit some Oracle functionalities). From a pure licensing perspective, however, running Oracle on RDS under BYOL is treated similarly to running it on your own EC2 VM in terms of license counting. Always ensure you have enough licenses for the largest RDS instance size you run if using BYOL, and remember to include any read replicas or replicas in other regions in your license count as well.

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