Data … as usual

All things about data by Laurent Leturgez

Oracle 12.2, new release … new editions or just a cloudy feature ?

1 Comment Posted by Laurent on December 1, 2016

Recently I have created an Oracle 12.2 database in the Oracle Cloud (Extreme Performance). I was able to test some of the new features.

And usually, when I test a new release of Oracle, I have a look into the ins_rdbms.mk file to see if there are some new options to link the Oracle kernel, and in this release I found some interesting stuff.

As I said before, my instance was in the Extreme Performance, it was normal that, when connected, I got this banner:

Connected to:
Oracle Database 12c EE Extreme Perf Release 12.2.0.1.0 - 64bit Production

And when I had a look to the V$INSTANCE view, there’s a column EDITION. This column is already here in 12.1 and is documented.

If you have a closer look to the documentation (12.1), you can see different editions:

CORE EE: CORE Enterprise Edition
CORE SE: CORE Standard Edition
EE: Enterprise Edition
PO: Personal Edition
SE: Standard Edition
XE: Express Edition

Ok for EE, PO, SE and XE … they are well known edition, but what about those “Core” Editions (Standard and Enterprise).

Note: on 1st December, 12.2 documentation mention only Core EE, EE, PO and XE (Might be a doc bug)

I had a look to both (12.1 and 12.2) ins_rdbms.mk files (located in $ORACLE_HOME/lib folder). For On premises installations (11.2 & 12.1), no trace of these new editions, but they are available on Oracle Cloud Platform

Oracle 12.1.0.2

$ grep -i edi /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/ins_rdbms.mk
edition_corestandard:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Core Standard Edition"
edition_coreenterprise:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Core Enterprise Edition"
edition_standard:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Standard Edition"
edition_enterprise:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition"
edition_highperf:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition High Performance"
edition_extremeperf:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition Extreme Performance"

Oracle 12.2.0.1

$ grep -i edi /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/ins_rdbms.mk
edition_corestandard:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Core Standard Edition"
edition_coreenterprise:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Core Enterprise Edition"
edition_standard:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Standard Edition"
edition_enterprise:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition"
edition_highperf:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition High Performance"
edition_extremeperf:
        $(SILENT)$(ECHO) "Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition Extreme Performance"

ohoohhh ;), let’s try to activate those rules and relink the kernel

$ make -f ins_rdbms.mk edition_coreenterprise ioracle
Deploying Oracle Database Core Enterprise Edition
mv -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12.a /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12_backup.a.dbl
cp /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12_cee.a.dbl /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12.a
chmod 755 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin

 - Linking Oracle
rm -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/oracle
/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/orald  -o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/oracle -m64 -z noexecstack -Wl,--disable-new-dtags -L/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/ -L/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/ -L/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/stubs/   
-Wl,-E /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/opimai.o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/ssoraed.o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/ttcsoi.o -Wl,--whole-archive -lperfsrv12 -Wl,--no-whole-archive /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/nautab.o 
/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/naeet.o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/naect.o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/naedhs.o /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/config.o  
-ldmext -lserver12 -lodm12 -lofs -lcell12 -lnnet12 -lskgxp12 -lsnls12 -lnls12  -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lxml12 -lcore12 -lunls12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lnls12 -lclient12  -lvsn12 -lcommon12 
-lgeneric12 -lknlopt `if /usr/bin/ar tv /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/libknlopt.a | grep xsyeolap.o > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then echo "-loraolap12" ; fi` -lskjcx12 -lslax12 -lpls12  -lrt -lplp12 
-ldmext -lserver12 -lclient12  -lvsn12 -lcommon12 -lgeneric12 `if [ -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libavserver12.a ] ; then echo "-lavserver12" ; else echo "-lavstub12"; fi`
 `if [ -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libavclient12.a ] ; then echo "-lavclient12" ; fi` -lknlopt -lslax12 -lpls12  -lrt -lplp12 -ljavavm12 -lserver12  -lwwg  `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/ldflags` 
   -lncrypt12 -lnsgr12 -lnzjs12 -ln12 -lnl12 -lngsmshd12 -lnro12 `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/ldflags`    -lncrypt12 -lnsgr12 -lnzjs12 -ln12 -lnl12 -lngsmshd12 -lnnzst12 -lzt12 -lztkg12 -lmm -lsnls12 -lnls12  -lcore12
 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lxml12 -lcore12 -lunls12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lnls12 -lztkg12 `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/ldflags`    -lncrypt12 -lnsgr12 -lnzjs12 -ln12 -lnl12 -lngsmshd12 -lnro12
 `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/ldflags`    -lncrypt12 -lnsgr12 -lnzjs12 -ln12 -lnl12 -lngsmshd12 -lnnzst12 -lzt12 -lztkg12   -lsnls12 -lnls12  -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lxml12 -lcore12 -lunls12
 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lnls12 `if /usr/bin/ar tv /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/libknlopt.a | grep "kxmnsd.o" > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then echo " " ; else echo "-lordsdo12 -lserver12"; fi` 
-L/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/ctx/lib/ -lctxc12 -lctx12 -lzx12 -lgx12 -lctx12 -lzx12 -lgx12 -lordimt12 -lclsra12 -ldbcfg12 -lhasgen12 -lskgxn2 -lnnzst12 -lzt12 -lxml12 -lgeneric12 -locr12 -locrb12 -locrutl12 -lhasgen12
 -lskgxn2 -lnnzst12 -lzt12 -lxml12 -lgeneric12  -lgeneric12 -lorazip -loraz -llzopro5 -lorabz2 -lipp_z -lipp_bz2 -lippdcemerged -lippsemerged -lippdcmerged  -lippsmerged -lippcore  -lippcpemerged -lippcpmerged  -lsnls12 -lnls12  -lcore12 
-lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lxml12 -lcore12 -lunls12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lnls12 -lsnls12 -lunls12  -lsnls12 -lnls12  -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lcore12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 -lxml12 -lcore12 -lunls12 -lsnls12 -lnls12 
-lcore12 -lnls12 -lasmclnt12 -lcommon12 -lcore12  -laio -lons  -lfthread12   `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/sysliblist` -Wl,-rpath,/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib -lm   
 `cat /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/sysliblist` -ldl -lm   -L/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib `test -x /usr/bin/hugeedit -a -r /usr/lib64/libhugetlbfs.so && 
test -r /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/shugetlbfs.o && echo -Wl,-zcommon-page-size=2097152 -Wl,-zmax-page-size=2097152 -lhugetlbfs`
test ! -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracle || (\
           mv -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracle /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracleO &&\
           chmod 600 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracleO )
mv /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/rdbms/lib/oracle /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracle
chmod 6751 /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/bin/oracle

That seems to work, now let’s start the instance and let’s connect:

$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 12.2.0.1.0 Production on Mon Nov 28 16:41:28 2016

Copyright (c) 1982, 2016, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition - Core 12.2.0.1.0 - 64bit Production

New banner … but are there any new features ?

If we compare EE Core edition and EE Extreme perf, it seems there are some difference in the field of enabled options:

EE Core Edition (12.2)

SQL> select parameter,value from v$option where value!='TRUE' order by 1;

PARAMETER                      VALUE
------------------------------ ------------------------------
ASM Proxy Instance             FALSE *
Active Data Guard              FALSE
Adaptive Execution Plans       FALSE
Advanced Analytics             FALSE
Automatic Storage Management   FALSE *
Cache Fusion Lock Accelerator  FALSE
Change Data Capture            FALSE
DICOM                          FALSE
Data Mining                    FALSE
Exadata Discovery              FALSE
Global Data Services           FALSE
I/O Server                     FALSE * 
Management Database            FALSE *
OLAP                           FALSE
Oracle Data Guard              FALSE
Oracle Database Vault          FALSE *
Oracle Label Security          FALSE *
Partitioning                   FALSE
Real Application Clusters      FALSE *
Real Application Security      FALSE
Real Application Testing       FALSE
Spatial                        FALSE
Unified Auditing               FALSE *

EE Extreme Perf Edition and High Perf Edition (12.2)

SQL> select parameter,value from v$option where value!='TRUE' order by 1;

PARAMETER                      VALUE
------------------------------ ------------------------------
ASM Proxy Instance             FALSE
Automatic Storage Management   FALSE
I/O Server                     FALSE
Management Database            FALSE
Oracle Database Vault          FALSE
Oracle Label Security          FALSE
Real Application Clusters      FALSE
Unified Auditing               FALSE

And if we have a look to “traditional” EE that we can choose from the Cloud Interface … (12.2)

SQL> select parameter,value from v$option where value!='TRUE' order by 1;

PARAMETER                      VALUE
------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
ASM Proxy Instance             FALSE
Automatic Storage Management   FALSE
I/O Server                     FALSE
Management Database            FALSE
Oracle Database Vault          FALSE
Oracle Label Security          FALSE
Real Application Clusters      FALSE
Unified Auditing               FALSE

OK, so Enterprise Core Edition and Enterprise Edition look differents in terms of available options. And like Franck Pachot pointed it out, the Core EE is like a traditional EE but with all paid options disabled and other EE features disabled (DataGuard for example).

On the field of licensing, these Core editions seem to be unavailable. If you buy Oracle License, on-premises or in the cloud, you only have the choice between SE, EE and EE High Perf and EE Extreme perf (in the cloud for HP and XP), no Core Editions.

If we go back to ins_rdbms.mk file, it’s possible to link these editions only in Oracle Cloud Service for 12.1 and 12.2, but Oracle Enterprise Edition 12.2 is impossible to link (because of missing libraries), but if Core Edition is a core based license model, Core Edition and Actual Enterprise Edition are licensed per core not per socket, no difference on this field:

$ make -f ins_rdbms.mk edition_enterprise ioracle
Deploying Oracle Database Enterprise Edition
mv -f /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12.a /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12_backup.a.dbl
cp /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12_ee.a.dbl /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12.a
cp: cannot stat `/u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/lib/libvsn12_ee.a.dbl': No such file or directory
make: *** [edition_enterprise] Error 1

Oracle Standard Edition and Standard Core Edition are both able to be linked.

As a conclusion, the “Core” Edition could be :

A new licensing model for Cloud and On Premises platform and will be released later. As a consequence, a new licensing model will appear for Standard Edition, not per Socket, but per Core like EE (the Socket model would be abandoned ?)
A new licensing model for Cloud platform … only
A bug ?

The future will tell us 😉