Updating the Database Compatibility Level

To use some new features in a release, you must update the COMPATIBLE parameter to the release update that contains the new feature.

Starting with Oracle AI Database 26ai, some Oracle Database features require that you update the COMPATIBLE setting to the Release Update (RU) in which the feature is made available.

Note:

By default, new installations of Oracle AI Database available with RU 23.26 and later release updates have the compatibility setting of the database set to 23.9.0

1. Connect to the united mode CDB root or isolated mode PDB as a user who has been granted administrative privileges.
2. Check the current setting of the COMPATIBLE parameter.
   For example:

   SQL> SELECT name, value FROM v$parameter
            WHERE name = 'compatible';

   To change the COMPATIBLE parameter to the release level that you require to enable a new feature, you can use an ALTER SYSTEM SET COMPATIBLE command, or you can update the initialization parameter. The steps that follow explain how to update the initialization parameter setting by updating a PFILE, using that PFILE to create an SPFILE, and restarting the database.
3. From the command line, locate the initialization parameter file for the database instance.
   • UNIX systems: the PFILE is in the ORACLE_HOME/dbs directory. Look for the init/ORACLE_SID.ora (for example, initmydb.ora).
   • Windows systems: The PFILE is in the ORACLE_HOME\database directory, and is traditionally named initORACLE_SID.ora (for example, initmydb.ora).
4. Edit the initialization parameter file to use the new COMPATIBLE setting.
   For example:

   COMPATIBLE=23.6.0

5. Create an SPFILE from the PFILE.

   For example:

   SQL> CREATE SPFILE FROM PFILE = '$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initmydb.ora';

6. Connect as a user who has the SYSDBA administrative privilege, and then restart the database.

   SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
   STARTUP
   

7. If tablespace encryption is in use, then open the keystore at the database mount. The keystore must be open before you can access data in an encrypted tablespace.
   For example:

   STARTUP MOUNT;
   ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SET KEYSTORE OPEN IDENTIFIED BY keystore_password|EXTERNAL STORE;
   ALTER DATABASE OPEN;