DataSunrise vs Oracle Audit Vault

Quick verdict

DataSunrise Database and Data Security is a commercial suite from DataSunrise, Inc. covering database activity monitoring and audit, a database firewall, dynamic and static masking, sensitive data discovery, vulnerability assessment and compliance reporting. It runs on Windows, Linux, Docker or Kubernetes, or from the AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces, and supports a wide list of engines, from PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle and Db2 to Snowflake, BigQuery, MongoDB, Cassandra and AWS data services. The AWS Marketplace listing shows version 12.2.10.27870.

Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall has two main parts: the Audit Vault Server, which collects and stores audit data and provides the console and AVCLI, and the Database Firewall, which inspects SQL on the network in monitoring-only or monitoring-and-blocking mode. Audit Vault Agents read database audit tables and operating system audit files; built-in plug-ins cover Oracle Database, SQL Server, Sybase ASE, Db2 for LUW and MySQL, MongoDB is collected through the Quick JSON target type, and an SDK supports custom plug-ins. Release 20 is current, with 20.19 the latest release update on 7 November 2026.

Side by side

Key differences

Many engines versus Oracle-centred auditing

DataSunrise is built for mixed estates. Its supported list runs from PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, Db2 and SAP HANA to Snowflake, BigQuery, Azure Synapse, Redshift, Athena, DynamoDB, MongoDB, Cassandra, Elasticsearch and Amazon S3, so one product can watch databases and cloud warehouses together. Policies, masking rules and reports are then managed in one console.

AVDF is strongest on Oracle Database, where it also manages audit policies, entitlement auditing, stored procedure auditing, security assessment and drift detection (with DBSAT 4.3 for sensitive data discovery in 20.19). Its built-in plug-ins add SQL Server, Sybase ASE, Db2 for LUW and MySQL, with MongoDB through Quick JSON, and release 20.17 added SQL Server 2022 transaction log collection. For other sources you write a plug-in with the SDK. If most of your audit scope is Oracle, the depth of that integration matters more than the length of the engine list.

Where each sits in the data path

DataSunrise documents four modes. Proxy mode enables the complete feature set, including the firewall and dynamic masking, and processes encrypted traffic, but it adds a network layer (DataSunrise recommends its HA mode to offset that) and cannot see local connections. Sniffer mode passively audits mirrored traffic, with no firewall or masking and no analysis of SSL-encrypted traffic. Trailing the native audit logs and agent mode both capture local connections. In practice you trade enforcement for intrusiveness: blocking and masking need proxy mode and blocking direct access to the database.

AVDF separates the two jobs. Audit collection runs from agents (or, since 20.9, a limited agentless mode for up to 20 Oracle table trails, extended in 20.10 to SQL Server .sqlaudit and .xel directory trails) and does not need to sit in the network path. The Database Firewall is deployed separately, and you choose per firewall whether it only monitors or also blocks. That lets you start with audit consolidation and add blocking later for selected targets.

Both rely on the database's own audit trail for at least part of their collection, so native auditing still needs configuring. On Oracle Database with unified auditing, a minimal policy for reads of a sensitive table looks like this:

-- Oracle Database (unified auditing): audit reads of one sensitive table
CREATE AUDIT POLICY hr_employees_reads
  ACTIONS SELECT ON hr.employees;

AUDIT POLICY hr_employees_reads;

Masking and data protection

DataSunrise includes dynamic masking in proxy mode, role-based and location-aware, plus static masking for copies, alongside sensitive data discovery and vulnerability assessment. That makes it a candidate when the same team must both audit access and hide personal data from support staff or analysts without changing applications.

AVDF does not mask data. In the Oracle portfolio, masking for non-production copies is offered by Oracle Data Safe, which also does assessment, auditing and discovery as a managed service for Oracle databases; see Oracle Data Safe vs Microsoft Defender for SQL. An Oracle shop might pair AVDF for on-premises audit and firewall with Data Safe for masking and assessment.

Governance, support and operations

AVDF is designed around audit governance: super administrators and administrators configure the system and see only targets they are granted, while auditors and super auditors create policies, reports and alerts. Data retention and archive policies are managed per target, and high availability uses resilient pairs. Oracle ships quarterly release updates; you install, size, patch and back up the appliance yourself.

DataSunrise gives you more choices of platform (Windows, Linux, containers, three cloud marketplaces) and of deployment mode, which helps fit unusual networks. The pages checked do not describe an administrator and auditor split comparable to AVDF's, so if separation of duties is an audit requirement, ask DataSunrise how it is configured.

Pricing and licensing

DataSunrise. DataSunrise's own site publishes no prices (contact sales or book a demo) and offers a trial download. Its AWS Marketplace listing "DataSunrise Database and Data Security w/ Hourly Billing" charges US$1.40 per protected database instance per hour, plus the EC2 infrastructure it runs on, with no end date and cancellation at any time; the listing mentions a 30-day trial. BYOL and other marketplace listings exist but were not priced for this review.

Oracle AVDF. AVDF is a separately licensed Oracle product. Its list price and licence metric are on oracle.com price lists, which could not be read with automated tools for this review, so no price or metric is given here. The AVDF Licensing Information guide on docs.oracle.com covers third-party component licences only. Ask Oracle or your reseller for a quote.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

Limitations

When to choose each

When neither is right

• Your Oracle databases run in Oracle Cloud and you want a managed service: see Oracle Data Safe.
• You need enterprise-wide monitoring with discovery and risk analytics across thousands of databases: see IBM Guardium vs Imperva.
• Your databases are managed AWS services and you only need an activity stream for a SIEM: see AWS Database Activity Streams.
• You only need native auditing on one or two databases: built-in unified auditing (Oracle) or SQL Server Audit, shipped to your log platform, may be enough.

Final recommendation

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• DataSunrise home page
• DataSunrise deployment modes
• DataSunrise download page (platforms)
• AWS Marketplace: DataSunrise with hourly billing
• Oracle AVDF 20 documentation home
• AVDF Administrator's Guide: Introducing Oracle AVDF
• AVDF 20 Release Notes
• AVDF Licensing Information

Checked November 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.