# Database Discussions > Oracle >  Weaknesses/Disadvantages of Oracle?

## Brammer

I'm currently doing a university project on DBMS.  I have to recommend a suitable system out of SQL, Oracle and Access.

What are the generic weaknesses of Oracle compared to the other two?

Any help required as I have never used Oracle before?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  

Cheers

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## skhanal

This is opposite of what you are looking for, but is an interesting article

http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/t...910543,00.html

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## Brammer

Thank-you.  I've posted on there to.  Without having any knowledge/experience of Oracle this is proving to be a tricky Assignmnent!  :Frown:

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## skhanal

Choosing RDBMS is not easy, there are many factors involved such as

1. size of the database
2. number of concurrent users
3. budget for both hardware and RDBMS
4. technical expertise

Access is suitable for small database and is not suited for concurrent use.

sql server and oracle both can work with large database and concurrent users. sql server is cheaper compared to oracle. since sql server only runs on windows platform, you are limited in your os choice. if you are a unix shop then you have to go oracle way.

Also sql server is easier to administer compared to oracle and Microsoft provides many data management tools (such as data transformation services, reporting services, analytical services) for free.

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## rajesh

I am 100% agree with Shakhal. also it is very important to select a database respect to application.
which applications are world famous and they are support to that rdbms or not.

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## madhusudhan

Also you can consider using PostgreSQL for large databases, it is opensource and proven to be relaiable & robust

Cheers
Madhu

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## AlanP

Advantages of Oracle over SQL Server:-
1. More reliable, I've looked after a lot of Oracle databases and most had an uptime measured in hundreds of days unlike most sql server databases I've worked with.
2. Oracle has major advantages in terms of locking and concurrency. In effect Oracle has been designed for the worst case situation of lots of users reading and modifying the same data. SQL Server and Sybase have been designed for the best case situation so in simple benchmarks it usually outperforms Oracle.
3. Lots of scope for tuning in that there are hundreds of tunable parameters. You can also find out a lot about how Oracle works thorough the internal views.

Disadvantages.
1. Takes longer to learn and not as simple. Less qualified professionals available.
2. Out of the box doesnt perform as well as sqlserver.
3. Cost a bit more if you dont include downtime cost.

Alan

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## dalpern

Depending upon the configuration you require, pricing for Oracle on Windows can be very competitive with SQL Server. Oracle has entry level pricing for Oracle on Windows systems that support up to two CPUs. For instance, from the oracle store (oraclestore.oracle.com), the list price of a one year term license for Oracle Standard Edition on a single CPU system is $2224. This includes one year of product support and software updates. (The store defaults to choosing perpetual Oracle licensing, so you need to explicitly choose 'Term Licenses' from the left portion of the screen.)

Some Oracle product links that you may find useful follow...

DB Edition Feature Checklist
http://oracle.com/database/index.htm..._editions.html
PDF with more detailed edition and feature  description
http://otn.oracle.com/products/datab...amily_0104.pdf

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