General
Adaptive Result Cache Object Exclusion
With adaptive result cache object exclusion, the database decides to blocklist certain objects if using the result cache is not beneficial for these objects, based on statistical evidence such as the number of invalidations, the cost savings of using result caching, and others. You have full control over the objects considered for exclusion to ensure you can continue using result cache for all your objects of interest.
Adaptive exclusion of objects that don't benefit or even have a detriment impact on result caching reduces the overall development and management workload for you. It can improve the database performance out of the box.
Automatic Caching of External Tables in Object Storage
Automatic external table caching transparently caches frequently accessed external tables residing in object storage, either completely or partially.
Automatic external table caching boosts performance for external data by transparently caching frequently accessed content, requiring no application changes. It delivers faster, more efficient queries while the database handles caching and lifecycle management automatically.
Cloud Developer Packages
The Cloud Developer packages provide built-in tools to connect, process, and integrate with cloud services seamlessly. These packages, namely DBMS_CLOUD, DBMS_CLOUD_PIPELINE, DBMS_CLOUD_REPO, DBMS_CLOUD_NOTIFICATION, and DBMS_CLOUD_AI collectively provide the following advantages:
- Enable easy data access to cloud storage
- Automate workflows through pipelines
- Trigger event notifications
- Integrate AI capabilities for use directly from the database
Since Oracle AI Database 26ai, Release Update 23.7, DBMS_CLOUD_AI supports the Select AI feature, which provides a SQL and PL/SQL interface to leverage Large Language Models (LLMs) for natural language to SQL generation (NL2SQL). The complete Select AI functionality is available on Oracle Autonomous AI Database, including NL2SQL and retrieval augmented generation (RAG), among other AI-based features.
The Cloud Developer packages enable businesses to work with data stored in the cloud, process real-time data, and use advanced tools like AI, benefiting from cloud capabilities. This approach helps simplify operations and supports specifically a mix of on-premises and cloud systems.
Diagnose and Repair SQL Exceptions Automatically at Compile-Time
Automatic error mitigation automatically detects and repairs many severe compile-time SQL exceptions that would otherwise cause SQL statements to fail. If a severe internal error occurs during SQL compilation, the exception is trapped, and the foreground processes will re-parse the statement to try and work around the problem. If re-parse is successful, a SQL patch is used to persist the workaround for future hard parses, and the session parsing the SQL statement will proceed without interruption and without receiving an exception.
This feature improves the robustness of your applications and its service levels.
Disable Statistics Gathering During Autonomous Database Import Operations
The DATA_OPTIONS=DISABLE_STATS_GATHERING parameter option disables statistics gathering during an import job.
Statistics gathering can have a performance impact on a large import operation. This parameter disables statistics gathering during an import job. The parameter is also supported for on-premises and user-managed cloud services import operations. Statistics gathering is not automatic in non-autonomous database environments, but this parameter can be useful. It controls whether Oracle Autonomous Database gathers environment statistics automatically for DML operations, such as data loading during an Oracle Data Pump Import job.
Oracle Database Cloud Backup Module for Azure Blob Storage
The Oracle Database Cloud Backup Module for Azure Blob Storage enables Oracle AI Database to send backups to and recover from Microsoft Azure Blob Storage. This backup module is compatible with Oracle AI Databases deployed on-premises or on Azure cloud. Support for writing backups to Azure Blob Storage for Oracle-managed database services is not available. Database administrators can use RMAN commands, RMAN scripts, and Oracle Enterprise Manager to perform backup and recovery operations with Azure Blob Storage.
You can run Oracle AI Databases in many different locations, and the backup module for Azure Blob Storage provides on-premises and Azure virtual machine users with more flexibility for backup storage locations.
Read-Only Tablespace on Object Storage
Read-only tablespaces can be moved to and from Oracle Object Storage transparently, storing portions of a database on lower-cost storage in the Cloud.
Allowing to move tablespaces to Oracle Object Storage enables a data lifecycle management strategy, storing the data on the most cost-effective storage tier based on its business value or access frequency.
Unified Memory
Unified Memory is a flexible and simple memory configuration for Oracle AI Databases that uses a single parameter to control database memory allocations, reducing or eliminating the need for system restart to change memory configurations. Unified Memory is especially useful in multiple workload high density database consolidation environments.
Unified Memory simplifies memory management to run multiple workloads in a highly consolidated environment with minimum disruption. It is easier to set the single parameter MEMORY_SIZE for configuring the database instance memory instead of using separate parameters like SGA_TARGET and PGA_AGGREGATE_LIMIT.