Once an enterprise grows to a certain size, it will derive the need for 100% software compliance and legalization.
For users who use Oracle, of course, the specific approved purchase quantity and offer and other business issues, the customer management needs to directly with the corresponding Oracle sales representatives for business negotiations.
Ideally, once a user is faced with this scenario, he or she needs to arrange for his or her technical lead to sort out in advance exactly what paid options and management packs the company is currently using, and to be clear about Oracle's rules for calculating pricing.
Because Oracle is a Paper license, many small and medium-sized customers may not be aware of this early, so once an important point in the compliance requirements were raised, are a bit overwhelmed, especially for Oracle a series of complex breakdown of the product options details of the definition of a headache.
Some of our clients also choose to invite us to give them specialized training to explain these rules. In order to enable more clients in need to reach a compliant genuine version gracefully without being too passive in future formal business negotiations.
Here's how to get down and dirty first to sort things out on your own, so that you have a good idea of what's going on in your mind.
The good thing is that these product definition information is not secret, the rules are all open and transparent, and even the list price is publicly available:
Oracle Technology Global Price List
The latest version that can be found, released on June 13, 2024, is also directly searchable on the public web. The most common Oracle database part is posted here to give an example:
The details are very clearly described in the official documentation, for example, all the details of the license for the Oracle database can be found in this document based:
Database Licensing Information User Manual
- /en/database/oracle/oracle-database/23/dblic/
In this article, we pick the key parts to talk about what is usually confusing and common misconceptions.
- You mean zoning? There's a fee for zoning?
- What do you mean? Why do you charge for mice?
- Do I still need the advanced compression option for medium link compression?
- 4. What's in Advanced Security?
- -Conditions for free use of Memory?
- Pack is a must?
- Can Pack not use it?
- Egg 1: Are all Oracle products charged on a Core basis?
- Egg 2: Be wary of small, harmless-looking parameters!
You mean zoning? There's a fee for zoning?
Yes, it's the various partitions for tables or indexes that count towards the Partitioning option.
Many users will easily agree that RAC, ADG, such as looking at a large function, as Option is still well understood, and mistakenly think that partitioning is a very basic function within the database, should be attributed to the functions of the DBEE, but in fact, it is also outside the DBEE, as an independent paid Option.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
These are some of the features that make use of Oracle Partitioning:
Table Partitions and Subpartitions
Global and Local Index Partitions and Subpartitions
Transactional Event Queues (TxEventQ)
Zone Maps and Automatic Zone Maps (Available only on EE-ES and ExaDB; requires Exadata or Supercluster)
What do you mean? Why do you charge for mice?
When it comes to RAC basically everyone knows, but when it comes to RAT may not really be considered familiar, he is certainly not a mouse, but the abbreviation of Real Application Testing.
You may intuitively feel that you have not even heard of, that they certainly will not be used, but in fact, if we talk about SPA in the RAT, basically done a little more formal system upgrade and migration project, will use SPA tools to assess the performance of the different environments before and after the migration to do a good idea.
Of course, there is a heavyweight DB Replay feature in RAT, but it is a bit more complicated to use, and it is indeed rarely used in regular projects.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
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 or higher.
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 Release 1), Oracle Database 11g is needed to remotely execute SQL on the target database (that is, Oracle Database 10g Release 2). Oracle Real Application Testing licensing is required for both systems, Oracle Database 10g Release 2 and Oracle Database 11g.
Do I still need the advanced compression option for medium link compression?
Yes, advanced compression is not only for table or index advanced compression, is to do RMAN backups to use advanced compression also counts, even, you configure the ADG link if the compression option is turned on, are also counted in the advanced compression of this Option.
Many customers do not understand this, especially those who have already purchased ADG, and many of them think that a compression option for ADG links is just a parameter control that should be included in ADG. But in fact, this is not the case, specifically in the official document has a clear description - Data Guard Redo Transport Compression.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
Oracle Advanced Compression includes the following features:
Advanced Row Compression
Advanced LOB Compression
Advanced LOB Deduplication
RMAN Backup Compression (RMAN DEFAULT COMPRESS does not require the Oracle Advanced Compression option)
Data Pump Export Data Compression (COMPRESSION=METADATA_ONLY does not require the Oracle Advanced Compression option)
Automatic Data Optimization (Not available with Oracle Database Free)
Data Guard Redo Transport Compression
Advanced Network Compression
Optimization for Flashback Time Travel History Tables (Not available with Oracle Database Free)
Storage Snapshot Optimization (Not available with Oracle Database Free)
Online Move Partition (to any compressed format)
Exadata Flash Cache Compression (This feature can be enabled only on Exadata storage servers, and all database processors that access the Exadata storage servers must be licensed for Oracle Advanced Compression.)
Advanced Index Compression
Row-Level Locking for Hybrid Columnar Compression (Requires Exadata, Supercluster, Oracle Database Appliance, ZFS, or FS1 storage)
Note: The use of Hybrid Columnar Compression without Row-Level Locking does not require a license for Oracle Advanced Compression.
4. What's in Advanced Security?
Transparent encryption like TDE counts as easier to understand in advanced security.
Other features that use the Advanced Security option include encryption for RMAN, DataPump export files, Data Redaction, and other features.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
Oracle Advanced Security includes the following features:
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) for columns and tablespaces (including Oracle SecureFiles)
DataPump Export File encryption
RMAN backup encryption to disk
Encrypted Database File System (DBFS)
Data Redaction of sensitive data returned to applications (Full, Partial, Regular Expression, and Random techniques)
Oracle Advanced Security includes a restricted use license for certain Oracle Enterprise Manager features. Refer to Oracle Advanced Security in "Restricted Use Licenses" for more information.
Note: 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 Oracle Database.
-Conditions for free use of Memory?
This Option, for promotional use, allows for 16GB of free usage under a specific version of 19c, but with certain functionality limitations and the need to pay for it once it's exceeded.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
Allows you to experiment with Oracle Database In-Memory features without purchasing the Oracle Database In-Memory option. The following restrictions apply:
The size of the In-Memory area (INMEMORY_SIZE) cannot exceed 16 GB for a CDB. In an Oracle RAC environment, the size is limited to 16 GB for each instance.
The compression level for all objects and columns is automatically and transparently set to QUERY LOW.
The Automatic In-Memory feature is disabled.
In-Memory Column Store feature tracking is tracked for "In-Memory Base Level" rather than "In-Memory Column Store."
The CellMemory feature is disabled for Oracle Exadata.
CLOUD: Only available in OCI
Pack is a must?
This is actually used by basically every Oracle user and is also turned on by default. For example, the commonly used AWR, ADDM and ASH tools reduce manual troubleshooting time and improve system stability, and are essential for diagnosing database problems.
Many users will mistakenly think that this package is under Database Enterprise Management, and they do not use EM, is it not necessary to buy it? In fact, it has nothing to do with whether you are using EM or not, even if you are using the command line to invoke, this point is also clearly stated in the documentation:
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
Oracle Diagnostics Pack includes the following features:
Performance monitoring and diagnostics (database and host)
Automatic Workload Repository (AWR)
AWR Warehouse
Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM)
Compare Period ADDM
Real Time ADDM
ADDM Spotlight
Active Session History (ASH)
ASH analytics
Performance Hub
Top Activity Lite
Exadata Cell Grid Administration
Exadata Cell Grid Performance
Exadata Cell Group Health Overview page
Exadata Resource Utilization
Blackouts
Notifications
Metric and Alert/Event history
User-Defined Metrics and Metric Extensions
Management Connectors
Dynamic metric baselines and Adaptive metric thresholds
Monitoring templates and Template Collections
Replay Compare Period Report
Supporting functionality to perform per stream bottleneck detection and per component top wait event analysis
In order to use the features listed above, you must purchase licenses for Oracle Diagnostics Pack. A new initialization parameter, CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS, controls access to Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack. This parameter can be set to one of three values:
DIAGNOSTIC+TUNING: Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack functionally is enabled in the database server.
DIAGNOSTIC: Only Oracle Diagnostics Pack functionality is enabled in the server.
NONE: Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack functionally is disabled in the database server.
Any and all methods of accessing Oracle Diagnostics Pack functionality, whether through Enterprise Manager Console, Desktop Widgets, command-line APIs, or direct access to the underlying data, requires an Oracle Diagnostics Pack license.
Can Pack not use it?
This is actually used by basically every Oracle user, and to buy it, the documentation clearly says that you need to buy Diagnostic Pack at the same time in order to do so.
So, basically, both are purchased in pairs.
Many customers say I don't use tools like SQL Tuning Advisor, but it's hard to avoid using tools like SQL Profiles because you will always encounter scenarios where you need to solidify your SQL execution plan. It is recommended to use it to ensure that the later use of worry-free.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
Oracle Tuning Pack includes the following features:
SQL Access Advisor
SQL Tuning Advisor
Oracle Database In-Memory Advisor
Automatic SQL Tuning
SQL Profiles
Real-time SQL and PL/SQL Monitoring
Real-time Database Operations Monitoring
Reorganize objects
A new initialization parameter, CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS, is introduced to control access to Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack in the database server. This parameter can be set to one of three values:
DIAGNOSTIC+TUNING: Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack functionally is enabled in the database server.
DIAGNOSTIC: Only Oracle Diagnostics Pack functionality is enabled in the server.
NONE: Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack functionally is disabled in the database server.
Any and all methods of accessing Oracle Tuning Pack functionality, whether through Enterprise Manager Console, Desktop Widgets, command-line APIs, or direct access to the underlying data, requires an Oracle Tuning Pack license.
Prerequisites:
Oracle Tuning Pack requires Oracle Diagnostics Pack.
That's all the basic common misconceptions about Option and managed packages, let's end with an egg.
Egg 1: Are all Oracle products charged on a Core basis?
Many of you "know" that Oracle products are charged by "Cores" (ignoring the very few NUP purchases), and simply put, they are.
But actually see the list price is written "Processor", this "Processor" in the end to understand what is a variety of misunderstandings, the mainstream misunderstandings are as follows:
Myth 1: Processor is the number of Core
This misconception is actually the closest thing to the truth, but it is not actually the truth.
You figure, if Processor is Core, then why not just call it Core?
Myth 2: Processor is the number after hyperthreading
This one circulated very widely and the author was brainwashed into believing this rumor in earlier years.
Later, after learning the truth, it is speculated that the factual basis of this circulation, probably because of the mainstream operating system, such as Linux, in the physical Core hyper-threading, in the system after the display of each lcpu is the word Processor, so coincidentally corresponds to the Oracle list price of this word.
In addition, there are always a lot of people in the jungle who, for various purposes, publicize how "expensive" the price of Oracle is, and such an explanation can fully justify the fact that it is "expensive".
Myth 3: Processor is the physical number of CPUs.
It's hard to comment on this one, if you go by the number of physical CPUs and add off, there's really nothing else going on with the database.
And billed that way, Oracle will proliferate into one of those traditional smokestack builds where one system gets one set.
So how exactly is the positive solution?
There's actually a Factor concept here for different platforms.
Correct: Processor is based on the number of cores * Factor.
Why called Processor, because it is trying to be more affordable for some platforms, such as Oracle Exadata using the X86 architecture, there can be a 0.5 Factor, that is to say, assuming that your machine has a total of 2 CPUs, each CPU has 24 Cores, then a total of 48 Cores, because of the X86 architecture can be multiplied by 0.5 Factor, that is, only need to buy 24 Processor.
And for the tougher big machines, small machines and such, then Factor is 1, which means that for the same 48 Cores machine, you need to buy 48 Processors.
Egg 2: Be wary of small, harmless-looking parameters!
Some parameters may seem small, but modifying them may also require the use of certain paid options or management packs, such as the most incredible parameter ENABLE_DDL_LOGGING, which defaults to FALSE but has been set to TRUE by too many customers. This is because many third-party best practices recommend setting it to be seen in the alert log in real time. DDL operations to improve observability, but did not expect it? Enabling this small parameter also uses the Oracle Database Lifecycle Management Pack for Oracle Database, which is a paid management pack.
Refer to the content of the official documentation:
The parameter ENABLE_DDL_LOGGING is licensed as part of Oracle Database Lifecycle Management Pack for Oracle Database when set to TRUE. When set to TRUE, the database reports schema changes in real time into the database alert log under the message group schema_ddl. The default setting is FALSE.
Therefore, if you are in the enterprise is very important to compliance, be sure to figure out the current buy what charges options, remember not to easily modify any database configuration, even if it is just a simple parameter, if the database is a third party is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the database, to do a good job in this area of the audit work.
If you are not sure, you can submit the SR to the official for confirmation, as these seemingly minor actions are also highly likely to trigger the use of any paid feature options.