1. Database Upgrade Guide
  2. Upgrades of PDBs and Non-CDBs Using Replay Upgrade, AutoUpgrade or FPP Gold Image

5 Upgrades of PDBs and Non-CDBs Using Replay Upgrade, AutoUpgrade or FPP Gold Image

You can upgrade by using the Replay Upgrade process, by converting a non-CDB to a PDB and upgrading the CDB with AutoUpgrade, or by using the Fleet Patching and Provisioning (FPP) upgrade process.

Starting with Oracle Database 21c, non-CDB architecture is desupported. You must upgrade a non-CDB Oracle Database to a PDB on a CDB. You have three upgrade options available for non-CDB databases:

  • Plug in the non-CDB Oracle Database to an Oracle Database 23ai container database (CDB), and open the PDB in read-write, non-restricted mode. When the PDB is opened, the database is upgraded, and the data dictionary is converted from a non-CDB to a PDB. This is the Replay Upgrade method
  • Plug in the non-CDB Oracle Database to a same-release Oracle Database CDB, and convert the data dictionary from a non-CDB to a PDB. Then, proceed with an upgrade of the CDB and all PDBs to Oracle Database 23ai. This is the AutoUpgrade method.
  • Convert the non-CDB to a PDB, install the new Oracle Database release, create a Gold Image and then use a fleet image deployment to upgrade the database.

For most upgrades, Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA) is desupported except on Windows as of Oracle Database 23.4. Oracle recommends using AutoUpgrade to upgrade your database.

To improve the reliability and support for Oracle Database upgrades, Oracle is desupporting Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA), and manual upgrades using the Parallel Upgrade Utility (catctl.pl) , and the database upgrade scripts dbupgrade and dbupgrade.cmd. Use AutoUpgrade for Oracle Database upgrades. Replacing obsolete upgrade methods enables Oracle to focus on improving and extending the features and manageability of the AutoUpgrade utility.

Caution:

If you retain the old Oracle Database software, then never start the upgraded database with the old Oracle Database software. Only start the database with the executables in the new Oracle Database installation.