Oracle launches Exadata X8 with automated indexing, performance improvements

Oracle launched Exadata Database Machine X8 with an update that uses machine learning to tune the Oracle Autonomous Database and automate indexing.
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Exadata is part of Oracle's plan to popularize its Autonomous Database and convince enterprises to use the converged infrastructure to consolidate. Exadata is popular in industries such as finance, retail and telecommunications.
Steve Zivanic, vice president of Oracle's converged infrastructure and cloud business group, said the latest version of Exadata is designed to automate tasks such as patching, indexing and administrative tasks.
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According to Zivanic, Exadata's primary competition is x86 converged infrastructure systems running on Linux, Red Hat and VMware as well as IBM Power and Netezza.
"Companies realize that they can consolidate down to Exadata, which is purpose built for the Oracle database," he said.
The biggest addition to Exadata X8 is Automatic Indexing, which learns and tunes the database based on usage patterns. The feature improves performance and eliminates manual tuning. Other additions include:
- Automated performance monitoring, which combines artificial intelligence, Oracle's experience and best practices to find root causes for issues.
- The latest Intel Xeon processors and PCIe NVME flash technology.
- A 60% performance bump compared to Exadata X7.
- Extended storage server pricing for storing older, archive and regulatory data.
- Hybrid columnar compression and a common security model with encryption across tiers.
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