Long-Term Release Updates are paused

Since several customers asked me about it, I realized that I have never blogged about LTRUs - and as of now, Long-Term Release Updates are paused. Let me explain what the concept meant, where you can find information about it and what it would mean in your environment. Long-Term Release Update The idea is smart for those customers who can't move forward on Release Updates (RU) as quickly as we recommend it.

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Join us in Bengaluru and Hyderabad for SANGAM 2026

Many of you may have seen the social media posts already. But just in case you were in doubt, please get your ticket asap and join us in Bengaluru and Hyderabad for SANGAM 2026 this weekend. AIOUG (All India Oracle User Group - or more modern, AI Oracle User Group) is organizing the biggest and best Oracle conference in the APAC region with world-class speakers.

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Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events

This issue is caused by an internal change, and we hit this now with two very large customer upgrades recently. Therefore, I would like to point to a fix, a workaround and the following RU in case you see your Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events. What would you see? This issue can happen with cloning, PDB refreshable clones or just a copy or restore of your database for the subsequent upgrade to Oracle AI Database 26ai.

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CDB upgrades – explaining catctl_options

When you upgrade your entire CDB with AutoUpgrade, there is a parameter which allows you some tuning or tweaking. And I often see some misunderstanding here. Therefore, for CDB upgrades - explaining catctl_options is my focus today. catctl_options - what it is meant for This AutoUpgrade config file parameter allows you to set specific settings, mostly for tuning, but also to override some defaults.

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AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 4: Download Examples

Let me take off into the 4th part of this blog post series: AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 4: Download Examples. I'd like to show you some of the most common examples and use cases we came across. And of course, I will add some additional (and hopefully useful) information on top. The patch parameter…

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AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 3: Download Patches

You completed Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog post series already? Then you are ready for AutoUpgrade Patching - From Zero to Hero - Part 3: Download Patches. Let us start simple, and then increase the scope to fetch the patches for various operating system platforms in your local patching folder. Which download? Strange headline - but you'll see what I mean.

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AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 2: MOS Credentials

In this blog post series AutoUpgrade Patching - From Zero to Hero - Part 2: MOS Credentials will be our topic for today. If you are tired of going through MOS notes over and over again to identify the most important fixes and fetch them, you need to automate it. But in order to automate the download, you need to infuse your MOS credentials into the AutoUpgrade keystore.

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How to deal with statistics when you migrate?

Have you done migration projects in the past, or do you have some upcoming projects, and you wonder how you should treat all sorts of statistics in your database? What is the better option? Keep and migrate the existing ones? Regather them right away? A partial-move approach? How to deal with statistics when you migrate? Then this is for you. …

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CPU, CSPU, MRP, RU – some clarifications

I just returned from a 2 week vacation in Asia this weekend. And I was following from a distance. On May 28, the first CSPUs got released, some MOS notes got published. There are a lot of patching options now. CPU, CSPU, MRP, RU - some clarifications may be needed. The Prelude On May 4, 2026, I published this blog post…

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DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE – what it shows, and what oradiff lists

I blogged multiple times about DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE, the package to work with the Fix Control Persistence (FCP) framework in the database. And we also gave recommendations over the years that you need to test carefully when you are going to enable the fixes while patching. But it is a good practice do enable them when you do upgrade testing, and also when you start creating new databases in a new environment.

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Grid Infrastructure: Bye Tomcat – welcome Micronaut

Anil Nair wrote it in his MAA Blog Post on April 28: "Oracle is simplifying the software stack by replacing Apache Tomcat application server with Micronaut framework.". And since some of you asked already, let me give you a bit more information about this change in 19.30 and 19.31 with Grid Infrastructure: Bye Tomcat - welcome Micronaut.

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Does OJVM patching fail again with ORA-1403 in 19.31?

Some of you had been trapped by ORA-1403 during patching to Oracle Database 19.30. I blogged about this in February this year, and I had to update the blog post a few times until we collected all the issues. The root cause got fixed and included in Release Update 19.31. But over the past days I received a good number of messages about the issue being there in 19.31 again.

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RU 19.31 has been put on hold and will be available soon again

Since several people mailed me yesterday and this morning about Release Update 19.31 been not available for download from My Oracle Support, here is a the explanation about why RU 19.31 has been put on hold and will be available soon again. What has happened? We released a MOS Note with detailed information: (KB888427) Oracle Database 19.31 Patch Hold Due to ORA-00600 Errors on Exadata 25.2…

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Patch your databases against AI-enabled cybersecurity threats

I guess you all read the announcements and predictions over the past weeks. New AI models and improvements to existing models may allow to find security issues in existing software much quicker. While this sounds alarming on one side (yes, it does), it also enables software vendors to secure their software. But in order to benefit from it, you must patch your databases against AI-enabled cybersecurity threats…

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April 2026 Release Updates (RUs) 19.31 and 23.26.2 are delayed

Yesterday, I delivered a full-day workshop for ora2know in Düsseldorf. And we discussed the most recent RUs as well, especially since "Database Patching" consumed a significant part of the day content-wise. I learned that the RUs have now a target date of April 28 for Linux, and May 12 for other ports. Which means that the April 2026 Release Updates (RUs) 19.31 and 23.26.2 are delayed…

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Upcoming in-person workshops in Düsseldorf, London, Vienna, Utrecht and Brussels

I am ready to take off for some vacation soon. But I'd like to share with you a list of the upcoming workshops we are offering. All those events are in-person events - except the Virtual Classroom Seminar I will list below. Therefore, you need to show up at the day of the event. Zero marketing, no duplication of content…

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OCW 19.28 contains a tiny behavior change with DB_UNIQUE_NAME

A colleague brought this to my attention the other week. And since the blog serves also as my partial memory, I wanted to put this out quickly. It is not a big deal, and most of you will never see this or be affected by it. Still, some may need to be aware that OCW 19.28 contains a tiny behavior change with DB_UNIQUE_NAME…

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Does AutoUpgrade support the MOVE option?

Sometimes you have different plans for the day. Or, in my case, the day just needs a few extra hours. Today, I received a very interesting question on the blog at first by a customer I know very well. Then we exchanged mails - and I was caught by forgetting what I wrote on the blog a longer while ago. Well, there are far over 1000 comments already, and I confess that I can't keep everything present in my brain.

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Sign up for the next Virtual Classroom Seminar: Patch Smarter, Not Harder

Some of you may have realized: We moved the Virtual Classroom Seminar #27 from its original date in February to March 12 this week. Usually we don't do this - but we ended up with so much content. If you haven't already, it is time for you to sign up for the next Virtual Classroom Seminar: Patch Smarter, Not Harder…

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Don’t use AI to build your AutoUpgrade config file, please!

Let me do a quick Friday rant. Many of you can easily ignore this. But regardless of whether you are a colleague, a friend, a customer, a partner or just exploring AutoUpgrade because it is the coolest small tiny little tool Oracle has to offer, don't use AI to build your AutoUpgrade config file, please! AI models are great ...

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OJVM patching fails with ORA-1403 in 19.30 if JAVAVM is not installed

Thanks to all the people (Jeff, Daniele, Lothar and others) who alerted me about this topic. Some of you had even created their own fix already. So, this is about an issue which happens only if you have no JAVAVM installed in your database or PDB but you still apply the OJVM Bundle on to of the Oracle Database 19.30 Release Update.

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The February 2026 release of AutoUpgrade (26.2) is available

This is a ground-breaking new release of AutoUpgrade, and the team worked hard to release it last weekend. This means for you that you should renew your AutoUpgrade tools as The February 2026 release of AutoUpgrade (26.2) is available now for download. 1..2..3..4..5..0 ... In case you wonder about this cryptic headline, no worries. Stefan Panek from TK smiled at me yesterday and said: "You've picked one of the best possible MOS note numbers in the new portal!".

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What has happened to the 19.29 and 19.30 RUs?

Many of you mailed us asking why AutoUpgrade does not download 19.29 or 19.30 RUs anymore. Others just noticed that the RUs got pulled without further communication visible. And a few people informed me about an issue with the 19.30 RU when you don't have OJVM configured but install the OJVM bundle. So, what has happened to the 19.29 and 19.30 RUs??

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How do you check whether a list of bug fixes is included in an RU?

Today, a customer sent me a workaround for the misbehavior they were seeing with the Conflict Checker Tool in the Support portal. They use oradiff to check whether a given fix they have a one-off right now is included in a future Release Update (RU). This works nicely, but I have a recommendation for an even easier check (thanks Rodrigo!).

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Transportable Tablespaces with M5 scripts support now 26ai

We have a lot of information in our seminars and blogs about Transportable Tablespace migrations. And since we have the M5 scripts for RMAN incrementally rolled forward backups and new RMAN functionality which avoids the spare storage, life has gotten so much easier. Now, some good news from the authors of the M5 scripts: Transportable Tablespaces with M5 scripts support now 26ai…

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It’s there – Oracle AI Database 26ai is available for download

This was a long wait - and finally, it's there - Oracle AI Database 26ai is available for download on-prem. And as you may remember our announcement from Oracle AI World, Oracle AI Database 26ai replaced Oracle Database 23ai. What is available? You can download now the Linux version of Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition, 23.26.1.0.0, from the usual sources as a Gold Image include the RU or as a separate RU.

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Upgrade Workshops in Copenhagen, Munich and Berlin

Your chance to sign up NOW! We are going to run Full Day Oracle AI Database 26ai Upgrade Workshops in Copenhagen, Munich and Berlin. And this is NOT a repeat - it is the 2nd edition of the workshop you may have attended last year in spring with brand-new content, new features. As usual, zero marketing - just tech…

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Your chance: Full-day Upgrade to 26ai Workshop in Sydney on Jan 20, 2025

Happy New Year to all of you at first. And just at very short notice a quick announcement for next week in case you are in the Sydney area in Australia. This is Your chance: Full-day Upgrade to 26ai Workshop in Sydney on Jan 20, 2025 has still a few open seats, and you could join, I'd be happy to see and meet you there.

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