Database High Availability (RAC, Always On)
Also written as Oracle RAC, Real Application Clusters, Oracle Data Guard, Data Guard, Always On Availability Groups, AlwaysOn, Log Shipping, Database Mirroring, Patroni, Database Failover
Ways to keep a database running when a server or a whole site fails: clusters where several servers share one database (Oracle RAC), standby copies kept in sync and ready to take over (Oracle Data Guard, SQL Server Always On, PostgreSQL with Patroni), and the switch-over itself, called failover.
Think of it like
A hospital's backup generator and a second operating theatre on standby, tested often enough that the switch-over takes seconds, not hours.
Junior or senior?
A core senior DBA skill, common in banking and telecom JDs.
Senior sounds like
Has run a real failover, planned or unplanned, and can say how much data and downtime the business could afford to lose.
Ask them
“Tell me about a database failover you ran or lived through. How long did it take, and was any data lost?”
Sounds like real experience
Gives the setup, what triggered the failover, how long it took, whether any data was lost, and what they changed afterwards.
Probe further if
Has set up a standby but never tested a failover, or describes high availability only as the cloud provider's job.
Reading Database High Availability (RAC, Always On) on a resume
- High signal
- Database High Availability (RAC, Always On) genuinely separates candidates, so it is worth leading a screening call with it. Its presence is a reason to talk; the question above tells you whether the experience is real.
Sourcing for Database High Availability (RAC, Always On)
Every way it's written
("Database High Availability" OR "Oracle RAC" OR "Real Application Clusters" OR "Oracle Data Guard")Paste into LinkedIn Recruiter, Naukri or your ATS. Combine with a job title and location.
Wider net, with accepted substitutes
("Database High Availability" OR "Oracle RAC" OR "Real Application Clusters" OR "Oracle Data Guard" OR "Data Guard" OR "Always On Availability Groups")Includes skills a hiring manager would usually accept instead. Use it when the exact search runs dry.