Oracle has released the latest version of its database. Oracle Database 18c has made it easier for database administrators to do operational tasks and performance tuning works by automating these, as well as other tasks.

 

Oracle changed the way they release their versions with Oracle Database 18c

Unlike most others that were single release versions, Oracle Database 18c will be released in a number of sub-releases.

Oracle Database 18c was first announced in the last quarter of 2017. The good news is that Oracle has been continuously supporting all earlier versions of Oracle Database. For example, Oracle 11c was launched in 2007, and the technology giant is still supporting that version with releases and updates expected to continue until 2021. The same can be said for Oracle 12c, which will continue to be supported until 2025. In fact, if you take a look at Oracle 12, the company has continued to release updates and developments for this version and they would want to release version 12.2.0.2. Oracle has shelved that plan, but would be releasing 12.2.0.2 as “Oracle Database 19c” to be launched next year.

Oracle Database 18c is the third major version release since Oracle Database 11c was launched around nine years ago.

These changes in the way versions are released allow Oracle to get new features out without delays.

 

Advantage of using Oracle Database 18c

The new version has several new features and services such as:

• Real Application Clusters
• Advanced compression
• Multi-tenancy
• In-memory
• Artificial intelligence based indexing

With Oracle Database 18c, you can now expect the following:

1. Being able to create tables that have no constraints whatsoever.
2. You no longer need to have a partition that will be used for performance tuning when you create a table.
3. New instances are provisioned in as short as 10 seconds!
4. Foreign and primary keys are defined with RELY DISABLE NOVALIDATE.
5. Say goodbye to physical structures such as indexes.
6. Parallel Statement Queuing is now enabled.   You can even use the cloud interface in order to monitor this.
7. Query result cache is always on. This way, the second time you enter a query, the response will be lightning fast.
8. The Artificial Intelligence Engine is now responsible for creating indexes, as well as for partitioning table strategies.

You can also expect 18c release updates and revisions.

 

But overall, what are the benefits of using Oracle Database 18c?

As the first autonomous database in the world, Oracle Database offers you the following benefits:

1. Self-driving. Oracle gives you to an Autonomous Database Cloud platform powered by Oracle Database 18c. The database gets automatic patches and upgrades without anybody having to do anything. You can also expect automatic performance tuning and security updates. These all happen without taking the database offline, which means that your database is guaranteed to be reliable and always available.
2. You’re free to focus on other tasks. Oracle Database 18c automates some tasks that were previously done by humans. When you no longer have to tune its performance, upgrade or apply patches, you can use that time for other, more pressing, matters.
3. It simplifies your database. What’s easier to manage than a database that is self-driving, self-repairing, and self-securing?
4. Patching and upgrades are painless. Gone are the days when you would have to disconnect your database every time you apply patches and updates. With Oracle Database 18c, patches and updates are rolled out automatically.
5. Performance tuning is also done automatically.
6. Lowers the operational costs of your database. With a lot of tasks now automated, you not only save on labor hours, but also the costs associated with fixing human errors. These would help reduce operational costs.
7. Highly reliable and secure database. Oracle has been using multi-layer security technologies for its products, such as transparent data encryption, unified audit, encryption key management, dynamic data masking, and others. Plus, when updates and patches are rolled out automatically, there is no room for error. Your IT would not be able to forget a security patch because it is no longer their responsibility. You do not even have to take the database offline for these updates. The automatic performance tuning also helps ensure that issues are ironed out before they become a problem.
8. Most efficient consumption of resources. The best thing about a self-driving database is that it can determine how to use the resources available to it, making way for a more efficient use of resources.

And while no system is perfect, it would seem that the only downside to using Oracle Database 18c is that quite a number of database administrators might find themselves out of jobs soon. With the degree of automation you see with Oracle Database 18c, DBAs doing these jobs might soon find themselves unemployed:

• DBAs who check backups, storage, and performance tuning
• DBAs doing manual patching and updating
• DBAs who are tasked to create duplicate environments.

 

* * *

Oracle Database 18c remains to be the most popular in the world. It uses the key performance, data, and architectural innovations that we have seen in Oracle Database 12c.

With Oracle Database 18c, you get multitenant architecture, native sharding, and two-format in-memory column store. This helps you develop your database not only for on premises deployment but also for the cloud. It also allows you to meet your business needs and lower costs.

You can now enjoy a very reliable, highly performing, and secure platform in order to modernize your analytical and transaction workloads for all your deployments.

But the best news is that if you are currently using Oracle and ISV applications that were developed in house, you would be able to run them on Oracle Cloud without having to change applications. This means that you can take your legacy systems and use them with Oracle Database 18c and its Autonomous Cloud Database platform.

Oracle Database 18c, in short, offers you the best of both worlds: giving you the things that you love from Oracle 12c and allowing you to start on your journey in cloud computing.

Screenshot photo courtesy of Oracle Database 18c.