---
last_verified: 2026-03-14
service: Autonomous Database Serverless Elastic Pool
category: database
oci_color: "#AA643B"
---

what: Pool of pre-provisioned ADB-S resources that multiple databases share.
  Reduces provisioning time and allows resource sharing across databases.

when_to_use:
  - Many small databases (SaaS per-tenant model)
  - Need fast provisioning (<1 minute vs 2-5 minutes for standard ADB-S)
  - Workloads with staggered peak times across databases
  - Dev/test environments with many short-lived databases

when_NOT_to_use:
  - Single large database (just use ADB-S directly)
  - All databases peak simultaneously (no benefit from pooling)
  - Need strict resource isolation between databases

limits:
  max_ocpu_per_pool: 512
  max_databases_per_pool: 1000
  max_storage_per_pool_tb: 4096

features:
  shared_resources: true
  fast_provisioning: true
  auto_scaling: "Per database within pool limits"
  leader_follower: "Leader database manages pool, followers consume"

pricing:
  model: pool_based
  pool_ocpu_payg: "Per OCPU per hour for the pool"
  notes:
    - "Pool resources are billed whether databases use them or not"
    - "Individual databases draw from the pool allocation"
    - "Cost-effective when average utilization across pool is >50%"

gotchas:
  - id: EP-001
    issue: "Pool resources are committed even when idle"
    impact: "Under-utilized pools cost more than individual ADB-S instances"
    recommendation: "Size pool for aggregate average, not sum of peaks"
  - id: EP-002
    issue: "Noisy neighbor risk within pool"
    impact: "One database can consume disproportionate resources"
    recommendation: "Set per-database OCPU limits to prevent resource hogging"