Oracle Database Licensing & Support
It's generally better, from a licensing perspective, to have fewer, faster cores, and scale by adding servers, rather than buying servers with more cores.
Buying multiple Oracle licenses in a single transaction generally yields a higher level of discount but does limit the ability to reduci annual cost by reducing cores and cancelling the Oracle support contract for those cores.
If you know your application has a limited life, consider term licenses to reduce initial cost and more readily realise cost savings on support later. But note that this is not cost effective if you need to buy a new term license each time the current license expires. Note: As of September 2020, only 1 year term license are available (and these can only be purchased with Oracle approval).
You need a license wherever the Oracle software is considered to be installed or running. (i.e. a stopped database instance still requires a license).
"The presence of Oracle software in a SAN volume does not qualify as being installed/running unless there is a server attached to the SAN volume that can execute Oracle’s software." (1)
Support Levels
Premier Support
Extended Support
Extended Support generally requires an extra payment (although sometimes the first year or more is offered for free).
Sustaining Support
Sustaining Support gives access to all critical security patches created during the Premier Support period.
It does NOT cover access to any critical security patches created during the Extended Support period; even after the Extended Support period has ended.
Database Support Dates
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Cost Calculator
NOTE: The CostCalculator spreadsheet below is read-only. Feel free to duplicate it to your own drive in order to make your own calculations.Deprecation
Deprecated features are still supported but are likely to be removed in a future version. It is important to make plans to move away from deprecated features within an appropriate timeframe.
OEM Cloud Control
Enterprise Manager includes a restricted-use license of the Oracle Database for use only with the Oracle Management Repository as well as with the following complementary repositories used by Enterprise Manager: AWR Warehouse, Ops Center, Real User Experience Insight, Load Testing, and Test Manager.
Additional database options or additional servers for disaster recovery require separate licensing. Customers receive one single-instance database with the Cloud Control, or RMAN, repository. To protect the repository with Data Guard, customers need to purchase a license for the standby site. To protect the repository with Oracle Real Application Clusters, customers must license the second node for the database, and both nodes require an Oracle Real Application Clusters license.
Use of Oracle WebLogic Server with Oracle Enterprise Manager is restricted to servlet functionality. A restricted-use license for WebLogic clustering is included, to support deployment of cluster of Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher servers, only when used with Oracle Enterprise Manager.
Use of Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder is licensed, as long as the assemblies are deployed through Enterprise Manager.
Oracle Enterprise Manager includes restricted use of Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher and Business Intelligence Mobile for use with Enterprise Manager functions and interfaces only. This restricted BI Publisher license will allow reporting only against the Enterprise Manager repository and against data dictionary (including AWR and AWR Warehousing data) of target databases. In order to report against other data sources, it is necessary to have BI Publisher license.
Restricted-use license of Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Cloning (Part #7102338) is included with Enterprise Manager Snap Clone, a feature of Oracle Cloud Management Pack for Oracle Database.
Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN)
Term Licenses
The list support price for term licenses is 22% of the list perpetual license fee, as listed in the price list.
Collateral
Bibliography
742060.1 Release Schedule of Current Database Releases 161818.12870402
209768.1 Database, FMW, Enterprise Manager, TimesTen In-Memory Database, and OCS Software Error Correction Support Policy
https://www.oracle.com/corporate/pricing/ https://www.softchoice.com/blogs/advisor/enterprise-software/4-common-oracle-licensing-errors-to-avoid-and-how-to-fix-them https://www.oracle.com/corporate/contracts/contract-documents/master-agreement.html#schedule-p (Oracle Master Agreement)https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/license.112/e47877.pdf (Oracle Database Licensing Information 11gR2)
http://robertfreemanonoracle.blogspot.com/2013/09/deprecation-desupport-superseded.html https://docs.oracle.com/database/121/UPGRD/deprecated.htm (12.1 Deprecated and Desupported Features)
http://houseofbrick.com/considerations-for-a-first-time-oracle-install
(1) https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/ready-solutions/industry-market/h18539-dell-emc-oracle-database-licensing-rg.pdf (retrieved 13-Jun-2023)
Extended Supporthttps://blogs.oracle.com/ebstech/database-112-extended-support-fee-waived-through-december-2018
OEMhttps://docs.oracle.com/cd/E63000_01/OEMLI/introduction.htmhttps://docs.oracle.com/cd/E63000_01/OEMLI/introduction.htm#OEMLI112https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E63000_01/OEMLI/introduction.htm#OEMLI113
Oracle Company Structurehttps://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/oracle
Perpetual Unlimited License Agreement (PULA)https://redresscompliance.com/mastering-oracle-pula-negotiation-a-complete-guide/