Oracle Database Releases That Support Direct Upgrade

Review the supported options for direct upgrades to Oracle AI Database.

You can perform a direct upgrade to the new release from the following releases:

• 21c
• 19c

The path that you must take to upgrade to the latest Oracle Database release depends on the release number of your current database.

If your current Oracle Database is a release earlier than Oracle Database 19c, then you cannot directly upgrade to the latest release. In this case, upgrade to an intermediate release before upgrading to Oracle AI Database.

If you cannot carry out a direct upgrade, then first upgrade to the most recent release that supports direct upgrades from your current release.

Note:

For any multi-step upgrade, if two upgrades are required to reach the current release, then run the AutoUpgrade preupgrade checks twice: First, complete an upgrade to an intermediate release that supports direct upgrade to the target release. Second, run the AutoUpgrade preupgrade checks for the target upgrade release, then upgrade to the latest release.

For example, if your source database is running Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2), then follow these steps to upgrade to Oracle AI Database:

1. Upgrade Release 12.2 to Release 21c, using the instructions in Oracle Database Upgrade Guide 21c, including running an AutoUpgrade precheck for 21c.

2. Upgrade Oracle Database 21c directly to Oracle AI Database using this guide, including running the preupgrade script for Oracle AI Database.

The following table shows the required upgrade path for each release of Oracle Database. Use the upgrade path and the specified documentation to perform an intermediate upgrade of your database before fully upgrading to Oracle AI Database.

Table 1-1 Examples of Upgrade Paths for Oracle AI Database

Current Release	Upgrade Options
21c, 19c (all releases)	Direct upgrade is supported. Perform the upgrade using the current Oracle Database Upgrade Guide, which is this guide.
18c 12.2 12.1.0.2 12.1.0.1 11.2.0.1, 11.2.0.2, 11.2.0.3, 11.2.0.4 11.1.0.6, 11.1.0.7 10.2 or earlier releases	Direct upgrade to Oracle AI Database is not supported. Solution: Upgrade to an intermediate Oracle Database release that can be directly upgraded to the current release. Upgrade Oracle Database releases that are not supported for direct upgrade in this release to an intermediate Oracle Database release that is supported for direct upgrade. When upgrading to an intermediate Oracle Database release, follow the instructions in the intermediate release documentation, including running the preupgrade scripts for that intermediate release. After you complete an upgrade to the intermediate release Oracle Database, you can upgrade the intermediate release database to the current Oracle Database release. This restriction does not apply if you use Oracle Data Pump export/import to migrate data to the new release. For example: Releases 12.2.0.1, 12.2.0.2. 12.2.0.3, 12.2.0.4, 18c: Upgrade to Oracle Database 21c, and then upgrade to Oracle AI Database. Releases 12.1.0.1, 12.1.0.2, 11.2.0.3, 11.2.0.4: Upgrade to Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2), upgrade to Oracle Database 21c, and then upgrade to Oracle AI Database. Note: Always update to the most recent intermediate release to which you can upgrade directly. Your case can be different from that of the examples provided here.