🛡️ MySQL HeatWave Introduces Network Security Groups for Enhanced Endpoint Security

Oracle has just released a key security enhancement for MySQL HeatWave—support for Network Security Groups (NSGs). Released May 20, 2025, this update empowers administrators to define fine‑grained security policies for HeatWave endpoints, boosting network control and isolation within your cloud deployment.

What are Network Security Groups?

Think of NSGs as virtual firewalls: they allow you to group compute resources by protection level and apply security rules across HeatWave endpoints. Traditionally used with OCI Compute or the database service, NSGs now extend to HeatWave’s analytics clusters, offering tighter, role‑based access control for your in‑memory analytics platforms.

What’s New in This Release?

• Support for NSG assignment on HeatWave DB systems

• Ability to attach or update NSGs via Console, SDK, CLI, and API

• Centralized configuration of ingress and egress rules across your HeatWave endpoints 

How to Use HeatWave NSGs

1. Create or identify the desired NSG in OCI Networking.

2. Assign it to your HeatWave DB system endpoint via the Console or CLI:

   oci mysql db-system update --db-system-id <heatwave_id> --nsg-ids "<nsg_ocid1>,<nsg_ocid2>"
   

3. Define rules in each NSG to permit traffic from trusted IPs or other OCI resources.

4. Repeat as needed for all HeatWave endpoints (ingest, query, management).

Why It Matters

Benefit	Description
Network Segmentation	Segment analytics workloads by team, environment, or security tier.
Stronger Access Control	Enforce least-privilege access for data ingress, queries, and administrative functions.
Regulatory Compliance	Simplify audit and compliance by isolating Traffic zones.
Unified Security Model	Use same NSG strategy across Compute, DB, and Analytics layers.

Real-World Use Cases

Data Governance – Assign a restricted NSG for sensitive workloads, isolating health or financial data from broader networks.
Multi‑tier Isolation – Utilize separate NSGs for ingest pipelines, query endpoints, and admin access to reinforce environment boundaries.
Hybrid Deployments – Connect seamlessly with on‑premises systems or other cloud services by securing HeatWave endpoints behind NSGs.

Final Thoughts

With NSG support, MySQL HeatWave closes a significant security gap—offering native, policy‑based network protection around your analytics clusters. Whether you're meeting compliance standards or preparing for hybrid deployments, this update brings enterprise-grade practices to HeatWave.

Next Steps for You:

• ✅ Create NSGs tailored to your team's access needs

• ✅ Apply NSGs via Console or CLI to HeatWave endpoints

• ✅ Refine ingress/egress rules and monitor traffic

• ✅ Document NSG settings as part of your security posture

Oracle continues enhancing HeatWave’s enterprise readiness - from performance to security and beyond. Stay tuned for more innovations! And enjoy the peace of mind that comes with better-secured analytics workloads.