Oracle GoldenGate supports an active-passive bi-directional configuration, where Oracle GoldenGate replicates data from an active primary database to a full replica database on a live standby system that is ready for failover during planned and unplanned outages.

In this configuration, there is an inactive Oracle GoldenGate Extract group and an inactive data pump on the live standby system. Both of those groups remain stopped until just before user applications are switched to the live standby system in a switchover or failover. When user activity moves to the standby, those groups begin capturing transactions to a local trail, where the data is stored on disk until the primary database can be used again.

In the case of a failure of the primary system, the Oracle GoldenGate Manager and Replicat processes work in conjunction with a database instantiation taken from the standby to restore parity between the two systems after the primary system is recovered. At the appropriate time, users are moved back to the primary system, and Oracle GoldenGate is configured in ready mode again, in preparation for future failovers.