---
last_verified: 2026-03-14
service: Database Cloud Service (DBCS)
category: database
oci_color: "#AA643B"
---

what: Oracle Database on VM or Bare Metal in OCI. Full DBA control with
  automated provisioning and backup. Available as single-instance or 2-node RAC.

editions:
  - Standard Edition
  - Enterprise Edition
  - Enterprise Edition High Performance
  - Enterprise Edition Extreme Performance

when_to_use:
  - Standard Edition workloads (ADB requires EE)
  - Need full OS and database control without Exadata
  - Moderate workloads that don't need Exadata performance
  - Budget-conscious deployments where Exadata is over-provisioned
  - Development and test environments mirroring production DB config
  - Applications requiring specific Oracle versions or patches

when_NOT_to_use:
  - High-performance OLTP (Exadata or ADB better)
  - Variable workloads benefiting from auto-scaling (use ADB-S)
  - No DBA team available (use ADB-S)
  - Need Exadata features (Smart Scan, HCC, Flash Cache)

limits:
  vm_shapes:
    - "VM.Standard.E5.Flex: 1-64 OCPUs"
    - "VM.Standard3.Flex: 1-32 OCPUs"
    - "VM.Standard.x86: ECPU billing (new shape)"
  bm_shapes:
    - "BM.Standard.E5: 128 OCPUs"
    - "BM.DenseIO.E5: 128 OCPUs with NVMe"
  max_storage_tb: 150  # block storage (Universal Credits)
  supported_versions: ["19c", "21c", "23ai", "26ai"]
  rac_max_nodes: 2

features:
  os_access: true
  rac: "2-node RAC on VM shapes"
  data_guard: true
  cross_region_data_guard: true
  custom_db_home: true
  custom_patches: true
  automated_backup: true
  database_management: true

ha_dr:
  local_ha: "2-node RAC for HA, single-instance with automated restart"
  data_guard:
    same_region: "Synchronous or async, FSFO available"
    cross_region: "Asynchronous, manual or auto failover"

pricing:
  model: per_ocpu_per_hour
  vm_ocpu_payg: 0.1360  # per OCPU per hour (EE)
  vm_ocpu_byol: 0.0680
  bm_per_hour: "Fixed per shape"
  storage: "Block Volume pricing applies"
  notes:
    - "VM shapes billed per enabled OCPU per hour"
    - "BM shapes billed per hour for the full shape"
    - "Storage is separate (Block Volume pricing)"
    - "Backup storage at Object Storage rates"

gotchas:
  - id: DBCS-001
    issue: "2-node RAC is maximum on VM shapes"
    impact: "Cannot scale RAC beyond 2 nodes (use ExaCS for more)"
    recommendation: "If >2 RAC nodes needed, evaluate ExaCS"
  - id: DBCS-002
    issue: "Performance limited by block storage"
    impact: "Cannot match Exadata IOPS/latency"
    recommendation: "Use higher performance block volumes or move to ExaCS for I/O intensive workloads"