What's New in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

RACcheck Configuration Audit Tool

Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) Configuration Audit Tool (RACcheck) is available to check your Oracle Database installation.

Proxy Realm Information

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.3) you can enter the Proxy Realm information when providing the details for downloading software updates. The proxy realm identifies the security database used for authentication. If you do not have a proxy realm, then you do not have to provide an entry for the Proxy Username, Proxy Password, and Proxy Realm fields. It is case-sensitive.

This proxy realm is for software updates download only.

TDE Hardware Acceleration for Solaris

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) can automatically detect whether the database host system includes specialized cryptographic silicon that accelerates the encryption or decryption processing. When detected, TDE uses the specialized silicon for cryptographic processing accelerating the overall cryptographic performance significantly.

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.3), cryptographic hardware acceleration for TDE works with Solaris 11 running on SPARC T3, SPARC T4, and Intel Xeon with AES-NI.

Enhanced Patch Set Installation

Starting with the release of the 11.2.0.2 patch set for Oracle Database 11g Release 2, Oracle Database patch sets are full installations of the Oracle Database software. Note the following changes with the new patch set packaging:

• Direct upgrades from previous releases (11.x, 10.x) to the most recent patch set are supported.

• Out-of-place patch set upgrades, in which you install the patch set into a new, separate Oracle home, are the best practices recommendation. In-place upgrades are supported but are not recommended.

• New installations consist of installing the most recent patch set, rather than installing a base release and then upgrading to a patch release.

New Software Updates Option

This functionality is available starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2). Use the Software Updates feature to dynamically download and apply software updates as part of the Oracle Database installation. You can also download the updates separately using the -downloadUpdates option and later apply them during the installation by providing the location where the updates are present.

Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System

Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System (Oracle ACFS) is a new multi-platform, scalable file system, and storage management design that extends Oracle ASM technology to support data which cannot be stored in Oracle ASM, in both single instance and cluster configurations. Additionally, Oracle ACFS provides snapshot functionality for a point in time copy of an Oracle ACFS system.

The software required for Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System is installed with the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation.

In-Place Upgrade of Oracle Database Client

This functionality is available starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2). Use the In-Place Upgrade feature of Oracle Database Client to upgrade an existing Oracle Database Client 11g Release 2 (11.2) version with the latest Oracle Database Client version.

New Oracle Grid Infrastructure Installation Option

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 introduces the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation. For single instance databases, Oracle Grid Infrastructure includes Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM), the listener, and Oracle Restart. Oracle Restart is a new feature that provides the ability to monitor, manage, and automatically restart if the Oracle Database environment including the Oracle Database instance, Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance, and listeners fails. In a clustered environment, Oracle Grid Infrastructure includes Oracle Clusterware, Oracle ASM, and the listener.

To use Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a standalone server, you must install the Oracle software from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure media before you install the database.

New Desktop and Server Class Options

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 introduces a new option that enables you to specify the type of system on which the database is installed. If you are installing on a laptop or a desktop, then select the Desktop Class option; otherwise, select the Server Class option to install on a server. These options are available on the System Class screen.

There is no difference in the software that gets installed after you select any one option but the Desktop Class option installs a single instance database without the advanced configuration options.

Daylight Saving Time Upgrade of Timestamp with Timezone Data Type

When time zone version files are updated due to daylight saving time changes, TIMESTAMP WITH TIMEZONE (TSTZ) data could become stale. In previous releases, database administrators ran the SQL script utltzuv2.sql to detect TSTZ data affected by the time zone version changes and then had to perform extensive manual procedures to update the TSTZ data.

With this release, TSTZ data is updated transparently with minimal manual procedures using newly provided DBMS_DST PL/SQL packages. In addition, there is no longer a need for clients to patch their time zone data files.

SYSASM Privilege

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), Oracle ASM administration must be done with the SYSASM privilege. The SYSASM privilege also can be granted using password authentication on the Oracle ASM instance.

You can designate OPERATOR privileges (a subset of the SYSASM privileges, including starting and stopping Oracle ASM) to members of the OSOPER for an Oracle ASM group.

Using the SYSASM privilege for ASM administration creates a clear division of responsibility between ASM administration and database administration. It also provides the optional capability to prevent different databases using the same storage from accidentally overwriting each other's files.

Fixup Scripts and Prerequisite Checks

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) detects when minimum requirements for an installation are not completed, and creates scripts, called fixup scripts, to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task, then click the Fix & Check Again button to generate the fixup script.

For Oracle Clusterware, you also can have Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) generate fixup scripts before the installation.

The fixup script is generated during the installation. You are prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it sets some system parameters to Oracle-recommended values, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks.

Database Smart Flash Cache

Database Smart Flash Cache feature is a transparent extension of the database buffer cache using solid state device (SSD) technology. The SSD acts as a Level 2 cache to the (Level 1) Oracle system global area (SGA).

SSD storage is faster than disk storage, and cheaper than RAM. Database Smart Flash Cache with SSD storage gives you the ability to greatly improve the performance of your Oracle databases by reducing the amount of disk I/O at a lower cost than adding an equivalent amount of RAM.

Database Smart Flash Cache is supported on Oracle Solaris and Oracle Linux only.

New Tool to Configure Custom Installation Options

Oracle Universal Installer no longer provides the custom installation option of individual components. Use the chopt tool, a command-line utility that is located in the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory, to configure the database options.

Deinstallation Tool

Use the new deinstallation tool (deinstall) available as an Oracle Technology Network download (before installation) and in the Oracle home directory (after installation) to remove Oracle Database software.

See Chapter 7, "Removing Oracle Database Software"

Intelligent Data Placement

The Intelligent Data Placement feature enables you to specify disk regions on Oracle ASM disks to ensure that frequently accessed data is placed on the outermost (hot) tracks which provide higher performance.

Oracle Data Pump Export and Oracle Data Pump Import

Data Pump provides a legacy mode in which you can use original export and import parameters when performing Oracle Data Pump export and import operations.

Use Oracle Restart to Automatically Restart Your Database

Oracle Restart is a new feature included in this release to enhance the availability of Oracle databases in a single-instance environment. If you install Oracle Restart, and there is a temporary failure of any part of the Oracle Database software stack, including the database, listener, and Oracle ASM instance, Oracle Restart automatically restarts the failed component. In addition, Oracle Restart starts all these components when the database host computer is restarted. The components are started in the proper order, taking into consideration the dependencies among components.

SRVCTL Support for a Single-Instance Database in a Cluster

SRVCTL was enhanced to support single-instance databases with Oracle Restart on standalone servers and on clusters with Oracle Clusterware. SRVCTL is a command-line interface used to manage Oracle processes (database instance, listener, Oracle ASM instance) when using Oracle Restart. With SRVCTL, you can manage the Oracle Restart configuration, see the status of processes managed by Oracle Restart, and start or stop processes such as the Oracle Database.