Tag: 12.2

Oracle Database 12cR2 (12.2) On-Prem : It’s finally here!

Oracle 12cR2 (12.2) has been around for a while on the cloud, but for many people it doesn’t really exist until they’ve downloaded it and run it on an “on-prem” server or a VM on their PC.

If you are of that mind, you will be pleased to know the on-prem release has arrived! You can download it from eDelivery or OTN.

I’ve been writing about it for a while (here), but it’s nice to have the on-prem release and the knowledge that someone might actually read the stuff I’m writing now (or in about 5 years when people start to use it). 🙂

There will of course be the usual rash of installation articles coming from me for a while, before I get back to more interesting things…

Happy downloading…

Cheers

Tim…

Update: My first installs here.

Multitenant Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2 (Some More Articles)

The Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) learning process continues. I’m determined to get to the bottom of all this new multitenant stuff. 🙂

Here’s the latest batch of articles.

So the last one is actually for 12.1, but I hadn’t written about it already, so I added it.

I also updated this article to include the “CONTAINERS Hint” feature functionality.

There is a new feature listed in the docs as as “Support for PDBs with Different Character Sets, Time Zone File Versions, and Database Time Zones in a CDB”. I’ve already written about the PDB character set stuff and it is also listed separately as a new feature. The time zone stuff works in 12.1, so it doesn’t appear to be a 12.2 new feature. The different Time Zone File Versions functionality, as far as I can see, relates to OCI client connections to the server and was introduced in 11.2. With all that in mind, I’m really not sure what this listed new feature specifically relates to. If someone can clear that up for me I would be really grateful, as I’m wondering if I’ve just missed the point somewhere. 🙂

I’ve added these to the list of all my multitenant articles here.

Cheers

Tim…

Extended Support Fee Waiver for 11.2.0.4 and 12.2.0.X Dates

I just read this post by Mike Dietrich. Thanks Mike!

There were a couple of very welcome bits of news from that, and the MOS note (Doc ID 742060.1) it points to.

First, the extended support fee for 11.2.0.4 has been waived for another 18 months, taking it to the end of 2018 (start of 2019). This is really big for us as we have some projects which are gradually dying as we move to Oracle Cloud Apps and we don’t want to spend time upgrading them. This is going to save some money! I suspect a lot of people will be really happy about this!

Second, there are some “proposed” dates for the release of Oracle database 12.2.0.1 on-prem. As the doc says, nothing is cast in stone so be warned. This is welcome news for me because there’s is only so many ways you can say, “I don’t know”, when people ask you about it. 🙂

Probably more interesting than the 12.2.0.1 date is the proposed 12.2.0.2 date, which is later this year. In my testing so far, 12.2.0.1 has been a lot more robust than 12.1.0.1 was, but many would still probably wait for 12.2.0.2 before doing something major with it (see below). If that really does get released this year I think it would be great for uptake!

What does this mean if you are thinking, “Do I upgrade to 12.1 now, or wait for 12.2?” Just my opinion, but I would say the following, some of which may seem a little contradictory…

  • I am not one of those people that believes you should never use the first Oracle release. You should test it. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, wait for it to get fixed with patches or a patchset, then use it. Your experience will depend on the feature set you rely on.
  • The difference between releases is now *massive*! In real terms 12.2 is more like 13.1. I don’t think it would be a major exaggeration to say the patchsets are now what we used to know as releases and releases are now what we used to know as new versions. I hope Oracle scrap the whole release 1, release 2 naming approach. It’s confusing as its meaning has been lost, especially as new functionality is being delivered in PSUs and patchsets all the time…
  • I don’t think it is terrible to wait for the first patchset of a release, but as mentioned previously, a patchset contains a lot of new functionality now. It’s not just bug fixes! Each PSU or patchset could introduce something new that breaks your stuff, so you can’t assume a PSU or patchset is safe. You have to test!
  • My plans are to continue with the 12.1 upgrades that are already scheduled. At this point 12.1 is a known quantity and 12.2 is not! If there are projects with timelines that we could consider 12.2 for, I will, but only on the basis we test the sh*t out of it. 🙂

Overall, some great news!

Cheers

Tim…

Multitenant Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2 (The Next Batch)

I’ve continued playing with some of the new multitenant functionality in Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2).

Here’s the latest batch of articles.

This article is not a multitenant article as such, but you can use the functionality in a PDB.

I’ve added these to the list of all my multitenant articles here.

Cheers

Tim…

How to get started with Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) today?

If you follow my website or the blog, you will know I’ve been putting out some articles about Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) recently. They are often followed by a question asking when it will be available for download. The answer is…

I DON’T KNOW!

Even though we don’t currently have a downloadable version of 12cR2, that doesn’t stop you learning it. You can start today! There are two easy ways.

  1. Get a free trial on Oracle Database Cloud Service. Click the “Try It” button and fill out the details using a corporate email address. I don’t think it likes your typical free email addresses (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), but maybe that has changed recently. Since my 1 year free trial ended I’ve used a couple of 30 day free trials. It’s a bit of a pain to lose it after 30 days, but I keep all my stuff scripted, so it’s easy for me to rebuild stuff. You can test a lot of stuff using this if you are creative.
  2. Try out livesql.oracle.com. It’s free and it’s running on 12.2 now. You can only do basic development type stuff, but it means you can start trying SQL and PL/SQL new features today.

It would be really nice if apex.oracle.com, which is still on 12.1.0.2, got upgraded. 🙂

Don’t let the lack of a downloadable version of 12cR2 stop you learning this stuff. There is a load of stuff you can try out just using these two services.

Even if you don’t want to start playing yet, you should probably check out the New Features Manual. It’s always good to know what is coming as it might make you approach existing work slightly differently.

Cheers

Tim…

Multitenant Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2

I’ve started playing with some of the new multitenant functionality in Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2). There’s a lot of really cool stuff in there, which makes the multitenant architecture even more interesting. You can get a free trial of the Oracle Database Cloud Service and check it out if you like. 🙂

Here’s what I’ve been doing over the holidays.

There’s a lot more to cover yet though. I think it could be another 22 articles just on the multitenant stuff. This is just the beginning. 🙂

As always with the new stuff, it’s getting revised constantly as I learn more. I’m also having to go back and edit some stuff from 12.1, just to make reference to the changes in 12.2.

I’m maintaining a list of all my multitenant articles here.

Cheers

Tim…

Oracle Database Cloud Service : Say Hello to Oracle Database 12cR2 (12.2)

cloudAs pointed out by Franck Pachot in a tweet about 5 hours ago, Oracle Database 12cR2 (12.2) has now come to the Oracle Database Cloud Service.

12cR2 has been available since Oracle OpenWorld if you were using the Oracle Exadata Express service, but I wasn’t, so this is the first time this version of the database has become accessible to me.

Obviously I’m going to start writing about 12.2 now, but there will still be some things that are off limits. There won’t be any installation articles produced until the on-premise release is dropped.

dbaas-122

If you have access to the DBaaS service on Oracle Public Cloud, I’m sure you will be busy for a few months. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Update 1: I’ve been trying on the EM2 data centre all weekend and it’s not worked yet. I think they are only part way through setting up the service.

Update 2: It’s working now. 🙂