New Features of Oracle 12c Database Release 1 Patch Set 1

“NO RELEASE 1!!!”

I admit it, I’m one of those “no Release 1” bigots when it comes to new versions of Oracle’s RDBMS.

I know dogma is not meant to have its place in technology, but I have gone through far too much suffering in previous x.1 implementations to believe that it really is different this time, promise when Oracle try and persuade people to upgrade to their latest Release 1.

Oracle have been claiming that “this NEW version is rock-solid, man, none of the old teething problems” since 9.1, so it’s difficult for those DBAs who don’t enjoy pain to make the leap instead of waiting until the second patch set of the second release before starting on their upgrade planning.

HOWEVER, the latest patch set for Oracle 12cR1 was released this week and, BOY, does it have a lot of really cool features.

Oracle Database In-Memory

Oracle today announced their in-memory database option: Oracle Database In-Memory (ODIM).

Not to be overly dramatic (but…) – if this is for real, this could be a very big deal indeed for Oracle. I was somewhat unconvinced by some of the pre-release hype, but it looks like it might have been justified.

The performance improvement potentially dwarves the difference that Exadata made when it arrived on the scene. Of course, this was a super-slick presentation from Larry Ellison and the proof is always in the pudding. However, there are some SERIOUS players in the industry who are confirming that this IS as good as it sounds, if not better.