Oracle Autonomous cloud database gains MongoDB API support
The tech giant continues to build out its multimodel database capabilities with the general availability of a new API for widely used MongoDB applications.
With the new API, generally available now, Oracle is giving its users the ability to migrate and run MongoDB-based data applications on the Oracle Autonomous JSON database, as well as on the tech giant's flagship Oracle Autonomous database cloud service.
With the API, users can connect existing MongoDB-based applications and run the data inside of Oracle's platform, without needing to actually run a MongoDB database. Oracle Database API for MongoDB was first introduced as a technology preview in October 2021.
"It is another step to make the Oracle Autonomous Database the universal database that can handle all kinds of database workloads, now including the popular document format, in the form of MongoDB-compatible APIs," said Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research.
Why Oracle is adding MongoDB support
Mueller said Oracle's move in part is an acknowledgment that there are a lot of MongoDB applications in use today.
He added that some enterprises are interested in running their MongoDB workloads on the same database as the rest of their data automation workloads. Mueller also noted that speed is of the essence, and the ability to reuse code assets built for MongoDB in an Oracle-run database is critically important to enable rapid deployment.
"Data gravity is real and synergies are critical for next-generation applications that enterprises need to implement," Mueller said.
It is another step to make the Oracle Autonomous Database the universal database that can handle all kinds of database workloads, now including the popular document format, in the form of MongoDB-compatible APIs.
Holger MuellerAnalyst, Constellation Research
Gerald Venzl, master product manager for Oracle Cloud, database and server technologies, said another reason for the new API is to enable MongoDB applications to connect to data stored in an online transaction processing (OLTP) database.
Venzl noted that the Oracle Database API for MongoDB is a bidirectional capability that also enables OLTP relational database applications to access MongoDB-based data.
"MongoDB applications can connect to the API, and they will see something that looks like a MongoDB database for them," Venzl said. "And if somebody has, for example, a CRM [customer relationship management system] that is sitting in a relational database, that can be exposed by making it look like MongoDB to the application."
Bringing Oracle SQL features to MongoDB-based applications
Among the other features Venzi highlighted are Oracle's user and role management functionality for database administration, access and security. Oracle also provides load-balanced connections for application availability. Also, the MongoDB API enables SQL query capabilities for JSON data.
Venzl also emphasized that the Oracle Autonomous database is a multimodel database. For example, Oracle added support for blockchain tables in March 2021 with its Oracle Database 21c release.
"Right now we're just talking about JSON and MongoDB, but you can do relational, graph, spatial and many more data types all in the same database," Venzl said. "You can run SQL across all models and expose all that data out to a MongoDB application."
