Oracle Cloud What's New for Oracle Database Cloud Service E68400-29 April 2018 What's New in Database Cloud Service This document describes what's new in Oracle Database Cloud Service on all platforms where it's available: On Oracle Cloud On Oracle Cloud at Customer For each platform, information is organized by the date a specific feature or capability became available. Additionally, the document provides historic what s new information for the past 12 months. How you gain access to a new feature depends on which part of Database Cloud Service the feature is added to, as described in Gaining Access to New s. On Oracle Cloud The following sections describe what's new in Oracle Database Cloud Service on Oracle Cloud in Oracle data centers. April 2018 Jan 2018 BP or RU integrated into base image for Oracle RAC The January 2018 BP (Bundle Patch) or RU (Release Update), depending on Oracle Database version, is now integrated into the base image for new Database Cloud Service database deployments that host Oracle RAC and Data Guard configurations with Oracle RAC primary and standby. When you create such a database deployment, it will already include the BP or RU functionality. 1
February 2018 Oracle Database 18c now available for database deployments Spectre and Meltdown security vulnerabilities Oct 2017 BP, RU and PSU patches available to apply to existing deployments When you create a Database Cloud Service database deployment, you can now specify Oracle Database 18c as the database release. For information about this release of Oracle Database, see What s New in Oracle Database 18c. Note: Oracle Database 18c is not available for Hybrid DR deployments or the "Oracle Database Cloud Service - Virtual Image" service level. Oracle has released patches related to the Spectre (CVE-2017-5753, CVE-2017-5715) and Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) security vulnerabilities. Oracle strongly recommends that you apply these patches to existing Oracle Database Cloud Service database deployments created using release 18.1.2 or earlier. See Steps required to patch Spectre and Meltdown security vulnerabilities on existing instances in Known Issues for Oracle Database Cloud Service. Database deployments created using release 18.1.4 or later already contain the patches. The October 2017 Bundle Patch (BP), Release Update (RU) and Patch Set Update (PSU) are now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments. Which of these three patches you apply depends on the database type and Oracle Database version on your deployment. For information about applying database patches, see Applying a Patch in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. December 2017 Steps needed to stabilize Linux OS on existing and newly created deployments Cloud tooling update available for deployments hosting Oracle RAC Configuration settings of certain Linux OS features on existing and newly created database deployments can cause noticeably slower I/O, system instability and, in certain extreme cases, system hang. Oracle strongly recommends that you correct these settings by following the instructions Steps needed to stabilize Linux OS on existing and newly created deployments in Known Issues for Oracle Database Cloud Service. The 17.3.5.2 update to cloud tooling is available to apply to existing Database Cloud Service database deployments that host Oracle RAC. To apply this update, use the tag 17352 when following the instructions Updating the Cloud Tooling by Using the raccli Utility in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. 2
Aug 2017 RU patch available for Release 12.2 Oracle RAC Aug 2017 BP patches available for Release 11.2 and 12.1 Oracle RAC The August 2017 Release Update (RU) is now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments running Oracle Database Release 12.2, and hosting an Oracle RAC database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration of Oracle RAC. To apply this update using the raccli utility, use the tag 26645224 when following the instructions Applying a Patch by Using the raccli Utility in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. The August 2017 Bundle Patch (BP) is now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments running Oracle Database Release 11.2 or 12.1, and hosting an Oracle RAC database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration of Oracle RAC. To apply this update using the raccli utility, use the tag 26610246 for Oracle Database Release 11.2 or the tag 26381494 for Oracle Database Release 12.1 when following the instructions Applying a Patch by Using the raccli Utility in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. October 2017 Aug 2017 RU patch available for Release 12.2 single-instance Jul 2017 PSU and BP patches available for Release 11.2 and 12.1 single-instance The August 2017 Release Update (RU) is now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments running Oracle Database Release 12.2 and hosting a single-instance database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration of singleinstance, provided that you use a command-line utility to apply the patch. See these topics in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service: For database deployments hosting a single-instance database, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchm Subcommand. For database deployments hosting an Oracle Data Guard configuration of single-instance, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchmdg Utility. The July 2017 Patch Set Update (PSU) and Bundle Patch (BP) are now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments running Oracle Database Release 11.2 or 12.1 and hosting a single-instance database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration of single-instance, provided that you use a command-line utility to apply the patch. See these topics in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service: For database deployments hosting a single-instance database, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchm Subcommand. For database deployments hosting an Oracle Data Guard configuration of single-instance, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchmdg Utility. 3
September 2017 Universal Credits subscription model Create database deployments on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure QuickStart templates available to create deployments easily Leverage existing licenses when creating database deployments Cloud tooling update available for deployments hosting Oracle RAC Linux OS security patching Database Cloud Service now supports the Universal Credits subscription model. In the Universal Credits subscription model, you commit to pay a certain amount up front monthly or annually for a bundle of services. Under this model, you can use any combination of the services such as Oracle Database Cloud Service and Oracle Java Cloud Service in your bundle whenever you need them. For information, see Selecting a Payment Plan in Getting Started with Oracle Cloud. Database Cloud Service now supports database deployments on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in addition to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Classic. If your account has access to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure regions, you can select one of these regions when creating certain types of database deployments. For more information, see About Database Deployments in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. For new customers with a Universal Credits subscription Database Cloud Service provides three QuickStart templates that create database deployments of commonly used configurations. You simply pick a template and give the deployment a name. Database Cloud Service then uses an Oracle Cloud Stack Manager template to provide all the other configuration information. For details, see Creating a QuickStart Database Deployment in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. For new customers with a Universal Credits subscription Database Cloud Service provides a Bring your own license feature you can use when creating database deployments. If you have existing perpetual licenses to Oracle Database, you can use one when creating a database deployment to establish the right to use Oracle Database. Then, your Cloud account will be charged a lesser amount for the new deployment because the right to use Oracle Database is covered by your perpetual license agreement. The 17.3.5 update to cloud tooling is available to apply to existing Database Cloud Service database deployments that host Oracle RAC. To apply this update, use the tag 1735 when following the instructions Updating the Cloud Tooling by Using the raccli Utility in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. You can apply Linux OS security patches to compute nodes hosting Database Cloud Service database deployments. See Applying Linux OS Security Patches in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. 4
August 2017 Sparse PDB clones in DBaaS Monitor High Performance Block Storage support Instructions for upgrading older deployments to Oracle Application Express 5.1 July 2017 (Base image 17.3.3) When you use DBaaS Monitor to clone a pluggable database (PDB), you can now choose to create a sparse clone instead of a full clone. For more information, see "Cloning a Pluggable Database" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. If you have a metered subscription and your identity domain is enabled for regions, you can now allocate database block storage on solid state devices. For more information, see the element Use High Performance Storage in "Create Service: Service Page" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. In June 2017, new database deployments of single-instance began including Oracle Application Express (APEX) 5.1. Additionally, the installation location of APEX was changed so that you could install other versions of APEX and have different pluggable (PDBs) use different versions of APEX. Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service now includes instructions for upgrading older database deployments to use APEX 5.1 and the new installation location. See "Using Oracle Application Express in Database Cloud Service". Cloud tooling update available for deployments hosting Oracle RAC Hybrid Disaster Recovery (DR) The 17.3.1 update to cloud tooling is available to apply to existing Database Cloud Service database deployments that host Oracle RAC. To apply this update, use the tag 1731 when following the instructions "Updating the Cloud Tooling by Using the raccli Utility" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. You can create a Hybrid DR deployment that includes a primary database on your on-premises system and a standby database in the cloud. Previously you could create a DR configuration with a standby database in the cloud by performing a number of manual steps. Now you can easily create the Hybrid DR deployment through the Database Cloud Service console. For information, see "Creating a Hybrid DR Deployment" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. 5
Mandatory sync-up patch available for Release 12.2 Oracle RAC IP Networks Several enhancements and bug fixes have been made to Oracle Database Release 12.2 since its release on Oracle Cloud in November 2016. However, these improvements have not yet been gathered into a PSU. Database Cloud Service is making available a sync-up patch that includes these many improvements and prepares your database deployment for patching when the first PSU becomes available for Release 12.2. You must apply this patch to 12.2 database deployments that use Database Cloud Service release 17.2.1 or earlier, and host one of the following database types: Database Clustering with RAC Database Clustering with RAC and Data Guard Standby See "Preparing 12.2 Database Deployments Hosting Oracle RAC Databases for Patching" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. If you have selected a region and you have defined one or more IP networks created in that region using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Compute Classic, you can select the IP network where you want the database deployment placed. You can choose No Preference to use the default shared network provided by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Compute Classic. Note: Currently, the following limitations apply to IP networks: Only database deployments hosting a single-instance database support IP networks. Database deployments that use Oracle Data Guard do not support IP networks. Database deployments that use Oracle RAC do not support IP networks. Hybrid DR deployments do not support IP networks. For more information about IP networks, see these topics in Using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Compute Classic: About IP Networks Creating an IP Network 6
June 2017 Mandatory sync-up patch available for Release 12.2 Apr 2017 PSU and BP patches available for Release 11.2 and 12.1 Oracle Application Express 5.1 now included Several enhancements and bug fixes have been made to Oracle Database Release 12.2 since its release on Oracle Cloud in November 2016. However, these improvements have not yet been gathered into a PSU. Database Cloud Service is making available a sync-up patch (ID 24824889-EE) that includes these many improvements and prepares your database deployment for patching when the first PSU becomes available for Release 12.2. You must apply this patch to bring Database Cloud Service database deployments running Release 12.2 up-to-date and to permit PSUs to be applied later. This patch is only available through command-line tools. To apply it, see the topic in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service for your database type: Single Instance: Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchm Subcommand. Single Instance with Data Guard Standby: Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchmdg Utility. The April 2017 Patch Set Update (PSU) and Bundle Patch (BP) are now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments running Oracle Database Release 11.2 and 12.1. For information about applying a patch, see "Patching Database Cloud Service" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. If you want to use the raccli utility to apply this patch to a database deployment hosting an Oracle RAC database, use the tag 25476126 for Oracle Database Release 11.2 or the tag 25897548 for Oracle Database Release 12.1 when following the instructions "Applying a Patch by Using the raccli Utility" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. (Base image 17.2.5) Oracle Application Express 5.1 (instead of version 5.0) is now included by default in new Database Cloud Service deployments whose database type is Single Instance or Single Instance with Data Guard Standby. May 2017 IP Reservation support If your identity domain is enabled for regions, you can now create IP Reservations to use when creating Database Cloud Service database deployments. Thus, you can know the public IP address a deployment will have before you create it and so prepare other network resources to access it before you create it. See "Creating and Managing IP Reservations" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. 7
April 2017 Oracle Linux 6.8 integrated into base images Jan 2017 PSU integrated into base image for singleinstance Updated version of Oracle REST Data Services (Base image 17.2.1.0.0) When you create a new Database Cloud Service database deployment, Oracle Linux 6.8 is installed as the operating system. (Base image 17.2.1.0.0) The January 2017 Patch Set Update (PSU) is now integrated into the base image for new Database Cloud Service database deployments that host single-instance and Data Guard configurations with single-instance primary and standby. When you create such a database deployment, it will already include the PSU functionality. (Base image 17.2.1.0.0) Newly created database deployments now include Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) version 3.0.9. Note: This item does not apply to database deployments that host Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) ; such deployments do not include Oracle REST Data Services. March 2017 Delete backups to cloud storage when deleting a database deployment New DBaaS Monitor features (Base image 17.1.5.0.0) When you use the Oracle Database Cloud Service console to delete a database deployment created using base image 17.1.5 or later, you have the option to delete all backups to cloud storage for that deployment as well. Simply select the Delete Backups option when deleting the deployment. (Base image 17.1.5.0.0) DBaaS Monitor includes two new features: View information about database user accounts and password expiry for the accounts. See Viewing User Account and Expiring Password Information. On deployments hosting an Oracle Database 12c database, change the password for the TDE keystore. See Changing the TDE Keystore Password. 8
Jan 2017 PSU available for patching single-instance and Data Guard configurations February 2017 The January 2017 Patch Set Update (PSU) is now available to patch existing Database Cloud Service database deployments that host a single-instance database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration, provided that you use a command-line utility to apply the patch. See these topics in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service: For database deployments hosting a single-instance database, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchm Subcommand. For database deployments hosting an Oracle Data Guard configuration, see Applying a Patch by Using the dbpatchmdg Utility. Note: when applying this patch to a database deployment created before early March 2017 (base image 17.1.5), you need to download and run an additional script after applying the patch. For details, see Additional step needed after applying Jan 2017 PSU to older deployments in Known Issues for Oracle Database Cloud Service. Create database deployments that use Oracle RAC and Oracle Data Guard together Improvements in the deployment creation wizard January 2017 Previously, you could create a database deployment hosting a 2- node Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) clustered database or you could create a database deployment hosting an Oracle Data Guard configuration of two single-node, single-instance as the primary and standby. Now, you can create a database deployment that takes advantage of both technologies: an Oracle Data Guard configuration where the primary and standby are each 2-node Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) clustered. The wizard you use to create database deployments now groups similar fields together in a more intuitive fashion and it minimizes clutter by adding an Advanced Settings section. See "Creating a Database Deployment", "Create Service: Service Page", and "Create Service: Service Details Page" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. Oct 2016 PSU integrated into base image for singleinstance and Data Guard configurations (Base image 17.1.1.0.0) The October 2016 Patch Set Update (PSU) is now integrated into the base image for new Database Cloud Service database deployments hosting a single-instance database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration. When you create a database deployment, it will already include the PSU functionality. 9
Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) now supports database deployments hosting an Oracle RAC database User-specified port number for Oracle Net Listener Check health of a deployment s compute nodes from the console You can now create database deployments that use Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) to host an Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) database. Previously, you could only create 12.2 database deployments that hosted a single-instance database or a Data Guard configuration. When you create a new Database Cloud Service database deployment, you can now specify a custom port number for Oracle Net Listener. The port number must be between 1521 and 5499 (inclusive). In the Oracle Database Cloud Service console, the Overview page for a database deployment now includes a Health Check button you can use to check the status of the deployment s compute nodes. December 2016 Cloud tooling update available for singleinstance and Data Guard configurations Fewer steps in the wizard to create database deployments The 16.4.3.1 update to cloud tooling is available to apply to existing Database Cloud Service database deployments that host a single-instance database or an Oracle Data Guard configuration. See "Updating the Cloud Tooling by Using the dbpatchm Subcommand" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. The wizard you use to create database deployments has been simplified from five steps to three steps. See "Creating a Database Deployment", "Create Service: Service Page", and "Create Service: Service Details Page" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. On Oracle Cloud at Customer This section describes what's new in Oracle Database Cloud Service on Oracle Cloud at Customer in your data center. Oracle Cloud at Customer delivers Oracle Cloud services in your data center so that you can take advantage of Oracle Cloud while meeting data-residency requirements. Oracle upgrades your Oracle Cloud at Customer environment at regular intervals. With the advent of the Oracle Cloud at Customer 17.2.3 software release, Database Cloud Service on Oracle Cloud at Customer now offers almost the exact same features as Database Cloud Service on Oracle Cloud in Oracle data centers. The service is so similar on the two platforms that the Public Cloud Machine Using Oracle Database Cloud Service guide has been retired. Now, the Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service guide describes the features and use of Database Cloud Service on both platforms. In the rare cases where a feature is not available on Oracle Cloud at Customer, topics describing the feature are marked as follows: 10
This topic does not apply to Oracle Cloud at Customer. Similarly, in the rare cases where a feature is only available on Oracle Cloud at Customer, topics describing the feature are marked as follows: This topic applies only to Oracle Cloud at Customer. Gaining Access to New s How you gain access to a new feature depends on which part of Database Cloud Service the feature is added to: added to the Oracle Database Cloud Service console When a new feature is added to the web-based Oracle Database Cloud Service console, you gain immediate access to the feature. The feature is available to existing database deployments and those created after the availability date. You don't need to perform or request an upgrade to be able to use the new feature. added to the cloud tooling available locally on database deployments When a new feature is added to the cloud tooling available locally on database deployments, you do need to update the cloud tooling on existing deployments to take advantage of the new feature. For information about updating this tooling, see "Updating the Cloud Tooling on Database Cloud Service" in Administering Oracle Database Cloud Service. added to base image used to create database deployments Some features are available only in database deployments you create after the feature becomes available. For those features the base image that first contained the feature is noted in the item listing in this document. To find out the base image version for a database deployment, follow these instructions: 1. Click the icon in the top corner of the Oracle Database Cloud Service console. 2. Click Compute Cloud Service in the list of consoles. 3. In the list of Compute Cloud instances, locate and click the instance whose name starts with the Database Cloud Service database deployment s name. 4. Look at the value of the Image field for a sequence of five numbers separated by periods; for example, 17.2.3.0.0. This is the base image version that was used to create the database deployment. Documentation Accessibility For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup? ctx=acc&id=docacc. 11
Access to Oracle Support Oracle customers that have purchased support have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/ lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired. Oracle Cloud What's New for Oracle Database Cloud Service, E68400-29 Copyright 2015, 2018, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is prohibited. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you find any errors, please report them to us in writing. If this is software or related documentation that is delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on behalf of the U.S. Government, then the following notice is applicable: U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS: Oracle programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, delivered to U.S. Government end users are "commercial computer software" pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As such, use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation of the programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, shall be subject to license terms and license restrictions applicable to the programs. No other rights are granted to the U.S. Government. This software or hardware is developed for general use in a variety of information management applications. It is not developed or intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications, including applications that may create a risk of personal injury. If you use this software or hardware in dangerous applications, then you shall be responsible to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure its safe use. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by use of this software or hardware in dangerous applications. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. AMD, Opteron, the AMD logo, and the AMD Opteron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. This software or hardware and documentation may provide access to or information about content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services unless otherwise set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of thirdparty content, products, or services, except as set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle. 12