Originally posted at the Oracle University Learning Community
OCI has one of the most generous if not the most, always-free tiers.
Let me list what you get (always check here for the latest information):
If you are getting your feet wet on OCI, it is a no-brainer, but what if I tell you that you can have even more stuff for free? To access this gold pot at the end of the rainbow, you only need to upgrade your tenancy. You will continue to enjoy the Always-Free and also have access to many more services. I will list some of my favorites (some are part of the Always-Free, but I don’t know why they are not listed as so):
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Cloud Shell
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Code Editor
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Oracle Linux and Oracle Autonomous Linux (You are free to use the images, but Premier support is added)
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Cloud advisor
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Container Engine for Kubernetes
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Container Registry
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Notifications
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DevOps
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Security Zones
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Cloud Guard
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Vulnerability Scanning
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Data Transfer Service
The list keeps going, and you can see the whole list here and here.
Please be aware that some services will use some underlying infrastructure, and that can have a cost. For example, you can create and basic OKE cluster for free, but you have to pay for the worker nodes you decide to use (assuming they are not Always-Free compute instances).
Knowing that those services are free is beneficial not only for your personal use while learning OCI but also shows you as a professional aware of the business implications (costs) and not just a guy who knows how to use the cloud.
Upgrading your tenancy requires you to be mature and understand that you have access to the whole OCI portfolio, and you should be aware of the cost of the services you choose to use.
I could cite the parable of the Sword of Damocles, but I will go with a more recent equivalent quote:
“With great power comes great responsibility” - Parker, Ben
But do not let that cast any fear upon you. In a future post, I will tell you how to leverage OCI tools to remove most of the risk of spending without knowing by creating a safe space for you. Dr. Strange would call it a mirror dimension (just to keep throwing superhero references). 😃