The concept of digital transformation.
Oracle advances AI, OLTP and analytic database performance with the launch of its latest Exadata platform, Oracle Exadata X11M. Purpose-built to optimize Oracle database performance, including Oracle Autonomous Database, X11M is a significant step forward in speed and efficiency compared to previous-generation Exadata systems for cloud data centers, multi- cloud and customers.
While it is possible to run Oracle Database on general purpose servers, achieving the performance, scale and efficiency offered by the Exadata X11M would be an uphill battle.
The design of the X11M is the product of Oracle’s deep expertise in database development, with deep engineering between the database software and the hardware optimized to support it. No one but Oracle can optimize Oracle database performance at the source code level with incremental net capabilities like AI Smart Scan, RDMA-based IO, and In-Memory Column Compression.
Benefits for enterprise database customers
Exadata X11M builds on Oracle’s engineering expertise to address the evolving needs of database customers. It provides a powerful platform that supports high-demand workloads such as artificial intelligence, online transaction processing and analytics.
Key benefits of the new offering over the previous generation Exadata include:
- Performance Improvements: Data-optimized hardware components and intelligent data software enhancements allow for faster transaction processing, accelerated analytics, and AI workloads that could see a speedup of up to 30 times, according to Oracle.
- Scalability: Exadata can be configured to match current operational needs and scale elastically as those needs grow, ensuring customers can optimize their infrastructure investments over time.
- Cost efficiency: Customers can save by consolidating more workloads on fewer systems. New energy-saving features and optimized use of resources contribute to lower operational costs.
Major platform improvements
Oracle Exadata X11M introduces a number of technical enhancements that deliver exceptional performance, scalability and efficiency for Oracle database workloads. These advancements reinforce Exadata’s position as the leading database platform for AI, OLTP and advanced analytics workloads.
The new X11M is based on the latest generation of AMD EPYC processors, supporting up to 96 cores and powered by Exadata System Software, delivering what Oracle promises is up to 25% faster performance per core compared to previous generations. A 33% increase in memory bandwidth is just as critical to its overall performance improvements.
Exadata’s intelligent storage architecture has always been a key differentiator. Oracle has improved its implementation with its storage servers, enabling a 21% reduction in RDMA read latency. Flash throughput is more than doubled to 100 GB/s, and combined flash and memory throughput for analytical scans reaches up to 500 GB/s per storage server.
Improved AI capabilities
Oracle’s X-Series Exadata database engines were originally designed for analytics and OLTP workloads, where the platform continues to set the bar for performance and reliability. However, over the past few years, AI has grown in importance as well. X11M and new AI targeting capabilities in recent Oracle Database releases recognize this extension.
The X11M accelerates AI workloads by offloading complex vector processing to storage servers, reducing data transfers and improving efficiency. AI queries are up to 32x faster using binary vector formats, while optimized vector distance functions reduce CPU usage and improve query performance by up to 4.6x.
AI workloads using floating small-world hierarchical indexes, HNSW, see performance improvements of up to 43%, while flat inverted file indexing on storage servers provides up to 55% faster query execution . These are extraordinary numbers.
OLTP and Analytics Updates
Oracle is not ignoring the needs of its traditional OLTP and analytics customers. Exadata X11M supports up to 1.25x more concurrent transactions, up to 21 percent lower SQL read latency 8K I/O — now only 14 us, reaching up to 1,000,000 write IOPS on storage servers to increase throughput for transactional workloads.
For analytics, the Exadata X11M uses faster processor cores, memory and flash in storage servers to increase overall performance of analytics queries by 25%. Enhanced Exadata system software also enables Oracle’s Smart Scan technology to scan data in both flash and RDMA, enabling SQL analytics throughput of up to 500 GB/s per storage server and many TB/s in even small configurations .
Durability and Efficiency
Sustainability is top of mind for nearly every enterprise, which Oracle addresses in the X11M with new intelligent power-saving features. These features can limit CPU power consumption, adjust CPU usage based on workload requirements, and reduce power consumption during periods of low activity. Unused processor cores can also be turned off to save power, reduce operating costs and increase durability.
Exadata X11M’s extreme levels of performance also allow customers to further consolidate workloads, reducing their hardware footprint and operational overhead, enabling organizations to achieve even higher cost and environmental efficiencies.
Day One Cloud Integration
Oracle’s Exadata deployment strategy has shifted over the past several years to keep up with the evolving demands of its enterprise customers, who increasingly rely on cloud services for business-critical applications.
Oracle first brought Exadata to its own Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Recently, they surprised many industry watchers by making the platform available natively on OCI within the data centers of its competitors, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services.
The new X11M solution is available initially across all of its deployment options: public cloud partners, its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, its Oracle Cloud@Customer as-a-Service offering, and traditional on-prem deployments.
Competitive environment
The database and cloud infrastructure market remains highly competitive, with CSPs such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud each offering robust solutions. AWS offers services like Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS that are designed for scalability and ease of use. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and Synapse Analytics integrate data processing with a focus on analytics and machine learning. Google Cloud’s BigQuery is widely recognized for its high-speed analytics and pay-per-use pricing model.
Oracle Exadata X11M combines data-optimized hardware and data-intelligent software built with the Oracle database to support all types of workloads. Unlike competitors that offer general-purpose solutions, the Exadata X11M is tailored for high-demand Oracle database workloads such as AI, OLTP and analytics processing.
For example, compared to AWS, Oracle’s solution offers deeper database-specific optimization to reduce latency and improve throughput for mission-critical applications. Compared to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, Exadata X11M offers superior integration of AI capabilities and database performance improvements, making it a compelling choice for enterprises focused on complex, high-performance database operations. data.
Analyst’s opinion
Being available on the leading public cloud providers first, allows X11M to meet customers’ requirements where they operate. Enterprises can now leverage the capabilities of Oracle Database and Exadata within their chosen cloud ecosystems, optimizing costs and simplifying IT infrastructure.
The flexibility to run Exadata in multi-cloud configurations enables organizations to balance workload demands, manage data sovereignty requirements, leverage existing cloud service commitments and access data in Oracle databases more easily from their cloud applications of choice. This powerful approach makes Exadata X11M affordable for nearly every enterprise and Oracle database customer.
Oracle Exadata X11M is a significant step forward in database technology, delivering performance and scalability that meet the demands of modern enterprises. It provides customers with flexibility and operational efficiency while supporting the ongoing strategic shift by enterprises to hybrid and multi-cloud architectures. For database customers looking to optimize workloads and future-proof their functions, the Exadata X11M is the perfect solution.
That may sound like hyperbolic praise, but once you look at what’s under the hood of the new X11M, you’ll see that Oracle has earned it. Using Oracle Database on anything other than the Exadata platform means you are not getting the optimal business results for your organization. Your business-critical AI, OLTP, and analytics applications deserve better. After all, Oracle just delivered the fastest database engine ever created – again.
Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst and NAND Research is an industry analytics firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies; the author has provided paid services to each company mentioned in this article in the past and may again in the future. Oracle provided technical fact-checking for this article. Mr McDowell does not hold any equity position in any of the companies mentioned.
