Should I go for ODA 19.5 or should I wait until 19.6?

Introduction

As you may know, Oracle Database 19c is available for new (X8-2) or older Oracle Database Appliances since several weeks. Current version is 19.5. But when you go to the official ODA documentation , it still first proposes version 18.7 not compatible with 19c databases. Here is why.

19c database is the final 12.2

First of all, 19c is an important release because it’s the terminal release of the 12.2, as 11.2.0.4 was for 11.2. Please refer to my other blog to understand the new Oracle versioning. ODA always supports new releases few months after being available on Linux, and it’s why it’s only available now.

Drawbacks of 19.5

19.5 is available on your ODA, but you will not be able to patch to this version. Reason is quite simple, it’s not a complete patch, you can only download ISO for reimaging and 19c grid and database software and that’s it. The reason for not yet having a patch resides in the difficulty of updating the OS part. 19.5 runs on Linux 7.7, and all previous releases are stuck with Linux 6.10, meaning that the patch should include the OS upgrade, and this jump is not so easy. It’s the first drawback.

Second drawback is that you cannot run another database version. If you still need 18c, 12.2, 12.1 or 11.2, this 19.5 is not for you.

The third drawback is that you will not be able to patch from 19.5 to 19.6 or newer version. Simply because 19.5 is an out of the way release.

Another drawback concerns the documentation not yet complete: many parts are copy/paste from 18.7. For example, described initcl command to restart the dcs agent is not a command that actually exists on Linux 7.

Moreover, my first tests on this version show annoying bugs related to database creation, those under investigation by Oracle.

When 19.6 will be ready?

19.6 is planned for 2020, yes but which month? There is no official date, it could come in march, or during the summer, nobody knows. As a result, you will have to wait for this patch to be released to start your migration to 19c on ODA.

So, what to do?

3 solutions are possible:

• You can deal with your old databases until the patch is released: buy extended support for 11gR2/12cR1. Premier support is still OK for 12.2.0.1 and 18c
• Migrate your old 11gR2 and 12cR1 to 18c to be prepared for 19c and avoid buying extended support, differences between 18c and 19c should be minimal
• Deploy 19.5 for testing purpose on a test ODA and start your migration project to get prepared for 19.6. Once available, patch or redeploy your ODAs and migrate all your databases

Conclusion

Not having 19.6 now is really annoying. Afterall we choose ODA because it’s easier to get updates. But you can still prepare everything for 19c migration, by first migrate to 18c or give a try to 19c with this 19.5 release.