Update a DB System

This article describes the procedures to apply DB system updates and Database Home updates using the Console and the API.

Required IAM Policy

To use Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, you must be granted security access in a policy by an administrator. This access is required whether you’re using the Console or the REST API with an SDK, CLI, or other tool. If you get a message that you don’t have permission or are unauthorized, verify with your administrator what type of access you have and which compartment to work in.

For administrators: The policy in Let database admins manage Oracle Cloud database systems lets the specified group do everything with databases and related Database resources.

If you’re new to policies, see Getting Started with Policies and Common Policies. If you want to dig deeper into writing policies for databases, see Details for the Database Service.

Prerequisites

DB systems require access to the Object Storage, including connectivity to the applicable Swift endpoint for Object Storage. We recommend using a service gateway with the VCN to enable this access. For more information, see these topics:

In addition to the prerequisites, ensure that the following conditions are met to avoid update failures:

• The /u01 directory on the database host file system has at least 15 GB of free space to execute update processes.
• The Oracle Clusterware is running on the DB system.
• All DB system nodes are running.

For more information, see:

• Update the DB System Resources Using dbcli
• VCN and Subnets
• Troubleshoot Update Failures
• Object Storage FAQ

Currently Available Updates

The table includes updates that may require a Service Request. For release selection and acknowledgment requirements, see Flexible Software Release Selection.

Version	Architecture Type	DB System Update	Database Update
23.0.0.0 (26ai)	Linux.x86	October 2026, July 2026	October 2026, July 2026, April 2026, January 2026
23.0.0.0 (26ai)	Linux.ARM	Not applicable	July 2026, April 2026, January 2026, October 2025
21.0.0.0	Linux.x86	July 2026, April 2026	July 2026, April 2026, January 2026, October 2025
19.0.0.0	Linux.x86	October 2026, July 2026	October 2026, July 2026, April 2026, January 2026
19.0.0.0	Linux.ARM	Not applicable	July 2026, April 2026, January 2026, October 2025
18.0.0.0	Linux.x86	October 2021 (final update)	October 2021 (final update)
12.2.0.1	Linux.x86	July 2023, April 2023	October 2023, July 2023, April 2023, January 2023
12.1.0.2	Linux.x86	Not applicable	October 2023, July 2023, April 2023, January 2023
11.2.0.4	Linux.x86	Not applicable	October 2023, July 2023, April 2023, January 2023

Note:

• For DB systems running version 18.0.0.0 software, the October 2021 update is the final update that will be available.
• For bare metal DB systems, the October 2022 update is the final update that will be available.

For guidelines on how to update Oracle Database releases 12.2, 12.1, and 11.2 for the January 2024 Release Update, see Patching Guidelines - Oracle Cloud Customers with lower database release version 18c and lower (Doc ID 2997504.1).

For a list of Release Updates and Release Update Revisions for Oracle Database 19c, see Oracle Database 19c Proactive Patch Information (Doc ID 2521164.1).

For more information, see:

• Update the Operating System of a DB System Node
• Upgrade a Database

About Updating a DB System

Updating a DB system can take several minutes. To minimize the impact on users, run the update at a time when the system has the fewest users. To avoid system interruption, consider implementing a high availability strategy such as Oracle Data Guard.

Oracle recommends backing up your database and testing the update on a test system before you apply the update.

Oracle recommends updating the DB system before updating the database within that DB system.

Update the Operating System of a DB System

Tip: Run a precheck to determine whether updates are available for the operating system.

Perform the following steps to update the operating system (OS) of a DB system using the OCI Console:

1. On the DB Systems list page, select the DB system that you want to work with. If you need help finding the list page or the DB system, see List the DB Systems.
2. On the DB system details page, select the Updates (OS) tab to view the list of available OS updates for the DB system.

3. Under the OS update section, from the Actions menu of the status, select the following actions:

   1. Precheck: Check for any prerequisites to ensure that the update can be successfully applied.
   2. Apply OS Update: Apply the selected update. The latest available OS update is always applied. Oracle recommends that you run the precheck for an update before applying it.
4. To check the status or review details of prechecks or OS updates, go to the Update History tab. From the Actions menu for the relevant operation, select View details.

For 2-node RAC DB systems, you can apply OS updates to individual nodes one at a time, or to both nodes simultaneously by selecting them during the precheck and update process.

Caution: For a single-node DB system, you can expect downtime for the DB system while the OS is updated.

In the list, the State displays the status of the operation. While an update is being applied, the State changes to Updating and the status of the DB system changes to Updating. Lifecycle operations on the DB system and its resources might be temporarily unavailable. When the update completes successfully, the State changes to Applied and the status of the DB system changes to Available.

Update the Grid Infrastructure of a DB System

Perform the following steps to update the Grid Infrastructure (GI) of a DB system using the OCI Console:

1. On the DB Systems list page, select the DB system that you want to work with. If you need help finding the list page or the DB system, see List the DB Systems.

2. On the details page, select the Updates (GI) tab to view the list of available Grid Infrastructure updates for the DB system.

   The latest approved Release Update is available by default. You can also select one of the two preceding Release Updates (N-1 or N-2) after acknowledging the message displayed. To use a Release Update older than N-2, you must submit a Service Request.

3. From the Actions menu for the update you are interested in, select one of the following actions:

   • View details: View the details about this update.
   • Precheck: Check for any prerequisites to ensure that the update can be successfully applied.
   • Apply update: Applies the selected update. Oracle recommends that you run the precheck operation for an update before applying it.

In the list, the State displays the status of the operation. While an update is being applied, the State displays as Updating. The status of the DB system also displays as Updating. Lifecycle operations on the DB system and its resources might be temporarily unavailable. If the update completes successfully, the State changes to Applied and the status of the DB system changes to Available.

View the Update History of a DB System

Perform the following steps to view the update history of a DB system using the OCI Console:

1. On the DB Systems list page, select the DB system that you want to work with. If you need help finding the list page or the DB system, see List the DB Systems.
2. On the details page, select the Update History tab to view the history of update and upgrade operations for that DB system.