When we were working with Exadata V1 or V2, I don't think any of us imagined that one day we would see Oracle Exadata running inside AWS.
"But here we are."
AWS has announced the general availability of ExaDB-XS, bringing Exadata capabilities to AWS with a consumption-based model. Compute and storage can scale independently, starting from 8 ECPUs and 300 GB of storage.
What is different?
One of the biggest changes is the storage model.
Instead of traditional ASM disk-group planning, ExaDB-XS uses an Exascale Storage Vault — a shared pool of intelligent Exadata storage that can serve multiple VM Clusters.
Another interesting feature is thin cloning. Databases can be cloned using redirect-on-write without immediately making a full copy of the data. Additional storage is used as the clone changes.
ExaDB-XS also connects the Oracle database much more closely with AWS services such as S3, CloudWatch, KMS, IAM and Secrets Manager.
And with Oracle Database 26ai, Exadata can also become part of the AI stack, including AI Vector Search and integration with services such as Amazon Bedrock.
But the interesting question is not only the technology.
For years, we looked at AWS and Oracle as competitors. Now Oracle Exadata is running inside AWS.
Both sides clearly have something to gain: Oracle keeps its database and Exadata customers in its ecosystem, while AWS brings these workloads deeper into its cloud platform.
For DBAs, this also changes the question. We used to focus mainly on SQL, RAC, ASM, storage and I/O. Now we also need to understand cloud infrastructure, security, monitoring and how database workloads interact with AWS services.
💡 The Senior DBA Takeaway:
"The DBA role is not disappearing. The environment around the DBA is getting bigger."
And perhaps this is only the beginning. Who knows what other surprising partnerships and architectures we will see in the next few years?
This is exactly the kind of change that I will continue to follow and analyze at DBA Doctor.
Source: AWS Database Blog, Introducing Oracle Exadata on Exascale for Oracle AI Database@AWS, August 12, 2026. Written from a DBA perspective by DBA Doctor.