This document provides an overview of Oracle database architecture including: - The basic instance-based architecture with background processes like DBWR, LGWR, and processes like SMON and PMON. - Components of the System Global Area (SGA) like the buffer cache and redo log buffer. - The Program Global Area (PGA) used by server processes. - Real Application Clusters (RAC) which allows clustering of instances across nodes using shared storage. RAC requires Oracle Grid Infrastructure, ASM, and specific hardware and network configurations.