This chapter describes Oracle Database editions and the features available with those editions. It contains the following sections:
Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express, also referred to as EM Express, is a web-based tool for managing Oracle Database 12c. Built inside the database server, it offers support for basic administrative tasks such as storage and user management, and provides comprehensive solutions for performance diagnostics and tuning. Oracle Enterprise Manager Express is a Web-based interface for managing an Oracle database 12c. Used to perform basic administrative tasks such as - Managing users - Managing memory - Managing storage - Managing database initialization parameters - Monitor performance - View SQL Tuning Advisor information - Verify status information container database and pluggable databases.
The Oracle Database Product Family
Oracle Database is available in five editions, each suitable for different development and deployment scenarios. Oracle also offers several database options, packs, and other products that enhance the capabilities of Oracle Database for specific purposes. This section describes the Oracle Database editions. The database options and associated products are described in Chapter 2, 'Options and Packs'.
Oracle Database Standard Edition OneOracle Database Standard Edition One delivers unprecedented ease of use, power, and performance for workgroup, department-level, and Web applications. From single-server environments for small business to highly distributed branch environments, Oracle Database Standard Edition One includes all the facilities necessary to build business-critical applications.
Oracle Database Standard EditionOracle Database Standard Edition delivers the unprecedented ease of use, power, and performance of Standard Edition One, with support for larger machines and clustering of services with Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC). Oracle RAC is not included in the Standard Edition of releases prior to Oracle Database 10g, nor is it an available option with those earlier releases.
Oracle Database Enterprise EditionOracle Database Enterprise Edition provides the performance, availability, scalability, and security required for mission-critical applications such as high-volume online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, query-intensive data warehouses, and demanding Internet applications. Oracle Database Enterprise Edition contains all of the components of Oracle Database, and can be further enhanced with the purchase of the options and packs described in Chapter 2, 'Options and Packs'.
Oracle Database Express Edition Oracle Database Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) is an entry-level edition of Oracle Database that is quick to download, simple to install and manage, and is free to develop, deploy, and distribute. Oracle Database XE makes it easy to upgrade to the other editions of Oracle without costly and complex migrations. Oracle Database XE can be installed on any size machine with any number of CPUs, stores up to 11 GB of user data, using up to 1 GB of memory, and using only one CPU on the host machine. Support is provided by an online forum.
Oracle Database Personal EditionOracle Database Personal Edition supports single-user development and deployment environments that require full compatibility with Oracle Database Standard Edition One, Oracle Database Standard Edition, and Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. Personal Edition includes all of the components that are included with Enterprise Edition, as well as all of the options that are available with Enterprise Edition, with the exception of the Oracle Real Application Clusters option, which cannot be used with Personal Edition. Personal Edition is available on Windows and Linux platforms only. The Management Packs are not included in Personal Edition.
Feature Availability by Edition
Table 1-1 lists feature availability for Oracle Database Standard Edition One (SE1), Standard Edition (SE), and Enterprise Edition (EE). The Y value in a column means that the feature is available in the specified release; N means that it is unavailable. This table can help you understand the difference between the editions and determine whether you require Enterprise Edition (or Personal Edition for a single-user environment).
Note that Oracle Database XE is a separate product from the rest of the Oracle Database product family. The features available with Oracle Database XE are documented in Oracle Database Express Edition Licensing Information, which is installed along with the product itself.
Table 1-1 Feature Availability for Oracle Database Editions
| Feature/Option | SE1 | SE | EE | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
High Availability | ||||
Oracle Fail Safe | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
Oracle RAC One Node | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Data Guard—Redo Apply | N | N | Y | |
Oracle Data Guard—SQL Apply | N | N | Y | |
Oracle Data Guard—Snapshot Standby | N | N | Y | |
Oracle Active Data Guard | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Rolling Upgrades—Patch Set, Database, and Operating System | N | N | Y | |
Online index rebuild | N | N | Y | |
Online index-organized table organization | N | N | Y |
|
Online table redefinition | N | N | Y | Using the |
Duplexed backup sets | N | N | Y | |
Block change tracking for fast incremental backup | N | N | Y | |
Unused block compression in backups | N | N | Y | |
Block-level media recovery | N | N | Y | |
Lost Write Protection | N | N | Y | |
Automatic Block Repair | N | N | Y | Requires Oracle Active Data Guard option |
Parallel backup and recovery | N | N | Y | |
Tablespace point-in-time recovery | N | N | Y | |
Trial recovery | N | N | Y | |
Fast-start fault recovery | N | N | Y | |
Flashback Table | N | N | Y | |
Flashback Database | N | N | Y | |
Flashback Transaction | N | N | Y | |
Flashback Transaction Query | N | N | Y | |
Optimization for Flashback Data Archive history tables | N | N | Y | For releases earlier than Oracle Database 11gRelease 2 (11.2.0.4): You must license the Oracle Advanced Compression option to use Flashback Data Archive (formerly known as Total Recall). Beginning with Oracle Database 11gRelease 2 (11.2.0.4): You must license the Oracle Advanced Compression option to use Optimization for Flashback Data Archive history tables. Basic Flashback Data Archive—without history table optimization—is available in all editions. |
Scalability | ||||
Oracle Real Application Clusters | N | Y | Y | Extra cost with EE, included with SE |
Automatic Workload Management | N | Y | Y | Requires Oracle Real Application Clusters |
Quality of Service Management | N | N | Y | Requires Oracle Real Application Clusters |
Oracle NoSQL Database Enterprise Edition | N | N | Y | |
Performance | ||||
Client Side Query Cache | N | N | Y | |
Query Results Cache | N | N | Y | |
PL/SQL Function Result Cache | N | N | Y | |
TimesTen Application-Tier Database Cache | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Database Smart Flash Cache | N | N | Y | Solaris and Oracle Linux only |
Support for Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software | N | N | Y | |
Security | ||||
Oracle Advanced Security | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Database Vault | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Label Security | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Enterprise User Security | N | N | Y | Enterprise User Security is an EE feature for directory-based management of database users. It does require a corresponding Oracle Identity Management Directory Services Plus to be licensed. Usage of Enterprise User Security with Oracle Database strong authentication (PKI, Kerberos) no longer requires Oracle Advanced Security to be licensed. |
Fine-grained auditing | N | N | Y | |
Real Application Security | N | N | Y | |
Virtual Private Database | N | N | Y | |
Development Platform | ||||
SQLJ | Y | Y | Y | Requires Oracle Programmer |
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator support | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
Active Directory integration | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
Native .NET Data Provider—ODP.NET | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
.NET Stored Procedures | Y | Y | Y | Windows only |
Manageability | ||||
Oracle Change Management Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Configuration Management Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Data Masking and Subsetting Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Diagnostics Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Provisioning and Patch Automation Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Tuning Pack | N | N | Y | Extra cost option, also requires the Diagnostics Pack |
Oracle Real Application Testing | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Database Resource Manager | N | N | Y | |
Instance Caging | N | N | Y | |
SQL Plan Management | N | N | Y | |
SQL Tuning Sets | N | N | Y | SQL Tuning Sets can also be accessed by way of database server APIs and command-line interfaces. The following subprograms, part of the |
VLDB, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence | ||||
Oracle Partitioning | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle OLAP | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Oracle Machine Learning (formerly Advanced Analytics) | N | N | Y | OML4R (Oracle R Enterprise) Server is limited to operation on Oracle Linux 6 or higher Oracle Machine Learning no longer requires an extra cost license for EE. See Oracle Database Insider blog post for more information: |
Oracle Advanced Compression | N | N | Y | Extra cost option |
Key Compression | N | N | Y | |
Hybrid Columnar Compression | N | N | Y | Requires Exadata, ZFS, or Pillar Axiom 600 storage |
Exadata Flash Cache Compression | N | N | Y | Requires the Advanced Compression option |
Basic Table Compression | N | N | Y | |
Deferred Segment Creation | N | N | Y | |
Bitmapped index, bitmapped join index, and bitmap plan conversions | N | N | Y | |
Parallel query/DML | N | N | Y | |
Parallel statistics gathering | N | N | Y | |
Parallel index build/scans | N | N | Y | |
Parallel Data Pump Export/Import | N | N | Y | |
In-memory Parallel Execution | N | N | Y | |
Parallel Statement Queuing | N | N | Y | |
Parallel capture and apply via XStream | N | N | Y | |
Transportable tablespaces, including cross-platform | N | N | Y | Import of transportable tablespaces supported into SE, SE1, and EE |
Summary management—Materialized View Query Rewrite | N | N | Y | |
Asynchronous Change Data Capture | N | N | Y | |
Integration | ||||
Basic Replication | Y | Y | Y | SE1/SE: read-only, updateable materialized view |
Advanced Replication | N | N | Y | Multi-master replication |
Oracle Streams | Y | Y | Y | SE1/SE: no capture from redo |
Database Gateways | Y | Y | Y | Database Gateway for ODBC is included in all editions. All other Database Gateway products are available for all editions, but require a separate product license. |
Messaging Gateway | N | N | Y | |
Networking | ||||
Oracle Connection Manager | N | N | Y | Available via a custom install of the Oracle Database client, usually installed on a separate machine See 'Oracle Connection Manager' for more information |
Infiniband Support | N | N | Y | |
Content Management | ||||
Oracle Spatial | N | N | Y | Oracle Spatial no longer requires an extra cost license for EE. See Oracle Database Insider blog post for more information: |
RDF Graph | N | N | Y | RDF Graph no longer requires an extra cost license for EE. See Oracle Database Insider blog post for more information: |
Spatial and Location Data | ||||
Parallel spatial index builds | N | N | Y | |
Multimaster replication of | N | N | Y | Single master/materialized view replication for |
Partitioned spatial indexes | N | N | Y | Requires the Oracle Partitioning option |
Features Specific to Exadata, ZFS, and Pillar Axiom 600 Storage Platforms
Hybrid Columnar Compression is a feature of the Enterprise Edition of Oracle Database 11g that is dependent on the underlying storage system. Only Exadata storage, ZFS storage, and Pillar Axiom 600 storage support Hybrid Columnar Compression. On storage platforms other than those previously mentioned, Hybrid Columnar Compression is not available, and no right to use Hybrid Columnar Compression is granted by a license of the Oracle Database.
Features Specific to the Windows Platform
The following features related to application development are available only on Windows platforms:
COM Automation
Microsoft Transaction Server/COM+ integration
Oracle OLE DB Provider
Oracle Objects for OLE (OO4O)
VLM Support
OLE DB .NET and ODBC .NET support
Native .NET Data Provider - ODP.NET
Oracle Database Extensions for .NET (.NET Stored Procedures)
Special-Use Licensing
Oracle Database Express Edition
Oracle Database Express Edition may be used for free, for the purposes of developing, prototyping and running applications. It can also be used for free to provide demonstrations and training. It may also be distributed for free with any applications. However, any use of the Oracle Database Express Edition is subject to the following limitations:
Express Edition is limited to a single instance on any server.
Express Edition may be installed on a multiple CPU server, but may only be executed on one processor in any server.
Express Edition may be used only to support up to 11 GB of user data (not including Express Edition system data).
Express Edition may use up to 1 GB RAM of available memory.
The Oracle technical support organization will not provide technical support, phone support, or updates for Oracle Database Express Edition.
Oracle Database Standard Edition and Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC)
When used with Oracle Real Application Clusters in a clustered server environment, Oracle Database Standard Edition requires the use of Oracle Clusterware. Third-party clusterware management solutions are not supported.
The license restrictions for Standard Edition must be adhered to. The maximum number of CPUs defined is for the entire cluster; it is not a per node maximum.
Oracle Automatic Storage Management or the ASM Cluster File System (ACFS) is required for creating and managing all Oracle database file types. Raw volumes, partitions, or third-party cluster file systems are not supported for storing Oracle database files with Oracle Standard Edition and Oracle RAC. Refer to Oracle Automatic Storage Management Administrator's Guide for a comprehensive list of all database file types.
ASM Cluster File System (ACFS) or a local OS file system must be used to store all non-database files. No Oracle-maintained copies of any non-database files can exist in any other locations, with the following exceptions:
Customers who want to manually script maintenance of a standby database can create a second copy of their archive logs outside of Oracle ASM on a local file system only, designated by the
LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_nparameter.RMAN backups of files can reside on either a local or network mounted file system.
No other cluster software can be installed on the system, including OCFS, OCFS2, third-party clusterware, third-party cluster volume managers, and third-party cluster file systems.
Oracle 12c Express Edition
Oracle Data Guard Broker
You can install the broker command line interface DGMGRL and run the observer software on computer systems that are separate from the Oracle Data Guard primary and standby systems. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for a system hosting the observer.
Oracle Database Vault
When Oracle Database Vault is configured and enabled, it configures and enables Oracle Label Security. Oracle Label Security is solely restricted for use by the Oracle Database Vault software. If you want to create Oracle Label Security policies, then you must purchase a full-use license for Oracle Label Security.
Oracle Database Vault and Oracle9i Database Release 2 (9.2.0.8)
A separate Oracle Database 11g can be installed and used to administer Oracle Database Vault when installed with Oracle9i Database Release 2 (9.2.0.8), without additional license requirements. All 9.2.0.8 databases managed by Database Control in this manner must be correctly licensed with the Oracle Database Vault option. The installation of Oracle Database 11g deployed in this manner may not be used or deployed for other uses.
Oracle Connection Manager
Oracle Connection Manager can be installed and used on a machine different from the machine where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the machine running Oracle Connection Manager.
Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC
Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC can be installed and used on a machine different from the machine where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the machine running Oracle Gateway for ODBC.
Support of Real Application Testing in Earlier Releases
The full functionality of Oracle Real Application Testing is available only on Oracle Database 11g Release 1 or higher. Partial functionality of Oracle Real Application Testing is available to customers wishing to upgrade from Oracle9i Database Release 2 or Oracle Database 10g.
The functionality available on Oracle9i Database Release 2 is as follows:
Database Replay: Only the Workload Capture feature is supported, and the captured workload may only be replayed only on Oracle Database 11g. This feature can be used only to facilitate upgrades from Oracle 9i Database Release 2 to Oracle Database 11g.
The functionality available on Oracle Database 10g Release 2 is as follows:
Database Replay: Only the Workload Capture feature is supported, and the captured workload may be replayed only on Oracle Database 11g. This feature can be used only to facilitate upgrades from Oracle Database 10g Release 2 to Oracle Database 11g.
SQL Performance Analyzer: Only the Remote SQL Test Execute and SQL Capture into SQL Tuning Set features are supported. These features can be used only to facilitate upgrades from Oracle9i Database Release 2 and Oracle Database 10g Release 1 to Oracle Database 10g Release 2 or higher. When upgrading to Oracle Database 10g Release 2 from earlier releases (Oracle 9i Database or Oracle Database 10g Release1), Oracle Database 11g is needed to remotely execute SQL on the target database (that is, Oracle Database 10g Release 2). Real Application Testing licensing is required for both systems, Oracle Database 10g Release 2 and Oracle Database 11g.
Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service
Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service includes use of two optimizations at no additional cost. These optimizations are normally available only with the purchase of the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option. This Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service special-use licensing includes:
RMAN backup encryption
All RMAN backup compression algorithms
To use additional features of the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option, you must license those options separately. In addition, the Oracle Advanced Security Option must be licensed when performing RMAN encrypted backups directly to disk.
Oracle Secure Backup and Oracle Secure Backup Cloud Module
For backup of Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, Oracle Secure Backup includes restricted use licenses for:
RMAN backup encryption to tape or Amazon S3
RMAN backup compression leveraging LOW, MEDIUM, BASIC or HIGH algorithms
The Oracle Secure Backup special-use licenses apply to RMAN backup encryption, which is a component of the Oracle Advanced Security Option, and RMAN backup compression levels, which are components of the Oracle Advanced Compression Option. To use additional features of the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option, you must license those options separately. In addition, the Oracle Advanced Security Option must be licensed when performing RMAN encrypted backups directly to disk whether or not Oracle Secure Backup is the media manager.
Oracle Secure Backup Express
Oracle Secure Backup Express is bundled with the Oracle Database. Support for Oracle Secure Backup Express is provided exclusively through a free Oracle Discussion Forum monitored by Oracle employees as well as community experts.
Oracle Secure Backup Express can back up an Oracle database as well as Oracle home files and other file system data requiring tape protection.
For more information, refer to Oracle Secure Backup Licensing Information.
Oracle Wallet
An Oracle Wallet is a PKCS#12 container used to store authentication and encryption keys. The Oracle database secure external password store feature stores passwords in an Oracle Wallet for password-based authentication to the Oracle database. The Oracle Wallet may also be used to store credentials for PKI authentication to the Oracle Database, configuration of network encryption (SSL/TLS), and Oracle Advanced Security transparent data encryption (TDE) master encryption keys. Network encryption (native network encryption, network data integrity, and SSL/TLS) and strong authentication services (Kerberos, PKI, and RADIUS) are no longer part of Oracle Advanced Security and are available in all licensed editions of all supported releases of the Oracle database.
Infrastructure Repository Databases
A separate Oracle Database can be installed and used as a Recovery Manager (RMAN) repository without additional license requirements, provided that all the Oracle databases managed in this repository are correctly licensed. This repository database may also be used for the Oracle Enterprise Grid Control repository. It may not be used or deployed for other uses.
A separate Oracle Database can be installed and used as an Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control (OEM Grid Control) repository without additional license requirements, provided that all the targets (databases, applications, and so forth) managed in this repository are correctly licensed. This database may also be used for the RMAN repository. It may not be used or deployed for other uses.
Oracle Database 12c Express Edition Docker
Oracle Advanced Security and Enterprise User Security
If you wish to use Enterprise User Security in Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, you no longer need to license the Oracle Advanced Security Option for Kerberos and PKI based authentication. It does require a corresponding Oracle Identity Management Directory Services Plus to be licensed.
Oracle 12c Express Edition Download
Any Oracle Advanced Security licenses purchased on or before January 31, 2004, have restricted use of the Oracle Internet Directory (OID) component of Oracle Directory Services Plus to support enterprise user security.
Current User Database Links
Current user database links are one type of database link that is supported inside the Oracle Enterprise Edition database. Current user database links provide stronger security because they do not require credentials to be stored inside the database link definition. Current user database links require Enterprise User Security and use SSL to secure the communication channel over which the current user database link communicates with the target database. If you wish to use current user database links, you do not need to license Oracle Advanced Security to enable SSL.
XStream
XStream, which is built on the infrastructure of Oracle Streams, provides application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable client applications to receive real-time data changes from an Oracle database (using XStream Out APIs) and to send real-time data changes to an Oracle database (using XStream In APIs). These data changes can be shared between Oracle databases and other systems, such as filesystems and non-Oracle databases. XStream is licensed via the Oracle GoldenGate product. You must purchase a license for this product before using the XStream APIs. Please contact your Oracle sales representative for additional information.
Oracle Clusterware
Oracle Clusterware provides cluster membership and high availability monitoring and failover. Oracle Clusterware may be used to protect any application (restarting or failing over the application in the event of a failure) on any server, free of charge. Oracle will provide support for Clusterware only if the server is running an Oracle product, which may include Oracle Linux or Oracle Solaris, that is also under Oracle support.
Oracle ASM Cluster File System (Oracle ACFS)
Refer to following table for the license requirements that apply to the Oracle ACFS features:
| Oracle ACFS Features | Oracle Database Files | Non-Oracle Database Files |
|---|---|---|
| All Oracle ACFS features other than those listed below | Free | Free |
| ACFS Snapshot | Requires Oracle Database Enterprise Edition* | Free |
| ACFS Encryption | Not available (use Oracle Transparent Data Encryption, part of the Oracle Advanced Security option*) | Free |
| ACFS Security | Not available (use Oracle Database Vault*) | Free |
| ACFS Replication | Not available (use Oracle Data Guard*) | Free |
| ACFS Auditing | Not available (use Oracle Audit Vault*) | Free |
| ACFS Tagging | Free | Free |
Oracle will provide support services for Oracle ACFS only if the server it operates on also operates an Oracle product, which may include Oracle Linux or Oracle Solaris, which is under an Oracle support contract.
* Requires appropriate full-use licenses to these products or components.
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Restricted-Use Licensing
The following restricted-use licenses are included with Oracle Database 11g in the editions indicated:
A restricted-use license for Oracle Internet Directory (OID) is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition) if users use the Directory Naming feature to configure Oracle Net Services. OID may not be used or deployed for other uses. Please contact your Oracle sales representative for additional information on Oracle Internet Directory (OID).
A restricted-use license for Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE (OC4J) is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition). This embedded version is provided solely to support Oracle Enterprise Manager (Database and Grid Control), Advanced Queuing Servlet, Ultra Search, Application Express, and Warehouse Builder, and may not be used or deployed for other purposes.
A restricted-use license for Oracle HTTP Server is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition) when the HTTP Server is running on the same server as the database. Running Oracle HTTP server on a different server requires that other server be licensed to use the HTTP server, either through an Oracle Database license or an Oracle Application Server license.
A restricted-use license of Oracle Berkeley DB is included for use with the Oracle Grid Infrastructure only.
Restricted-use licenses of Load Testing Accelerator for Oracle Database, Oracle Load Testing, and Oracle Load Testing Controller are included with Oracle Real Application Testing for use for Oracle Database testing and may not be used for application testing.
Oracle Database Vault includes a restricted-use license for the following Oracle Enterprise Manager features:
Application Data Modeling (previously called Data Discovery and Modeling)
Application Data Modeling accelerator for select versions of Oracle E-Business Suite
Application Data Modeling accelerator for select versions of Oracle Fusion Applications
A restricted-use license for Oracle Partitioning is included with the Enterprise Edition, free of charge, for the sole purpose of supporting the following Spatial, and RDF Graph Technologies (RDF/OWL) features: spatial topology and RDF Graph. All other uses of Oracle Partitioning require a license for the Oracle Partitioning option, where available.
Changes in Product Licensing
Oracle Warehouse Builder Enterprise ETL Option
Oracle 19c Express Edition
The following features, previously licensed with the Oracle Warehouse Builder ETL Option, are no longer licensed with the Oracle Database. Instead, they are licensed via the Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition:
Slowing Changing Dimensions (SCD) Type 2 and 3
XML Files as a target
Transportable ETL modules, multiple configurations, and pluggable mappings
Operators for pluggable mapping, pluggable mapping input signature, pluggable mapping output signature
Design Environment Support for RAC
Target load ordering
Seeded spatial and streams transformations
Process Flow Activity templates
Process Flow variables support
Process Flow looping activities such as For Loop and While Loop
Process Flow Route and Notification activities
Metadata lineage and impact analysis
Metadata change propagation
Schedulable Mappings and Process Flows
Metadata Extensibility
Deployment to Discoverer EUL
Deployment to Oracle BI Beans catalog