Customer-Managed Keys Support for Refreshable Clones

Autonomous Database supports using customer-managed encryption keys with refreshable clones.

See Notes for Customer-Managed Encryption Keys with Refreshable Clones for more information.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Redwood UI

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) has introduced new designs in the Oracle Cloud Console to enhance usability and consistency across services and experiences.

See Get to Know the Console for more information.

Documentation Addition: Best Practices for Application Availability During Maintenance

Autonomous Database patches are applied during a scheduled maintenance window as rolling patches. Using rolling patches, your Autonomous Database instance is made available on new cluster nodes before patching starts on the original nodes where it was running. After the database is available on new cluster nodes, all new connections are directed to the new nodes. This means the database remains online and available during maintenance and new database connection requests will succeed during the maintenance window.

See Best Practices to Maintain Application Availability During Maintenance Windows for more information.

Elastic Pool Support for Child Tenancies

You can combine Organization Management with the benefits of elastic pools. If your organization uses the parent/child tenancy model you can apply elastic pool cost savings by using an elastic pool that spans parent and child tenancies. In this way an elastic pool can operate across tenancies, where the elastic pool leader is in the parent tenancy and the elastic pool member is in a child tenancy.

See "Use Elastic Pools with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Organization Management (Parent and Child Tenancies)" in About Elastic Pools for more information.

Table Hyperlink Network Access Checking with ACLs

You can generate a Table Hyperlink with ACL checking enabled. When you generate a Table Hyperlink and you enable ACL checking, Table Hyperlink data is only accessible to a consumer database after the incoming request's IP address is validated based on the ACLs defined on the producer database.

See Generate, List, Invalidate, and Monitor Table Hyperlinks for more information.

Send Notifications to an OCI Notifications Service Topic

You can send messages from Autonomous Database to an OCI Notifications service topic.

See Send Messages to OCI Notifications Service from Autonomous Database for more information.

Critical and Information Events with Event Category

Critical events and Information events include an event category attribute. Optionally you can subscribe to events and add an event category to receive notifications about events in a category, or to perform other types of automation for events by event type and event category. The event categories are: Incident, Maintenance, Performance, Security, and Other.

See Use Autonomous Database Events for more information.

Data Studio Enhancements:

Select AI Enhancements

Select AI includes the following new features:

• Select AI enables you to add table comments to the metadata of the LLM for a better SQL generation. You can achieve this by specifying comments to true in your AI profile. See "Example: Improve SQL Generation with Table and Column Comments" in Example: Improve SQL Query Generation.

• Select AI integrates annotations in Oracle Database 23ai by adding it to the metadata that is sent to the LLM. You can achieve this by specifying annotations to true in your AI profile. See "Example: Improve SQL Query Generation with Table and Column Annotations" in Example: Improve SQL Query Generation

• Select AI adds foreign key and referential key constraints into the metadata of the LLM to generate accurate JOIN conditions. You can achieve this by specifying constraints to true in your AI profile. See "Example: Improve SQL Query Generation with Foreign Key and Referential Key Constraints" in Example: Improve SQL Query Generation.

Cross-region Standby can be an Elastic Pool Member or an Elastic Pool Leader

A cross-region standby can be added to an elastic pool or can be an elastic pool leader. Elastic pools do not operate across regions; when a cross-region standby is added to an elastic pool, the primary and the standby cannot be in the same elastic pool.

See Use and Manage Elastic Pools on Autonomous Database for more information.

Google Drive Support for Database Links with Oracle-Managed Heterogeneous Connectivity

Use Autonomous Database Oracle-managed heterogeneous connectivity to create database links to Google Drive. When you use database links with Oracle-managed heterogeneous connectivity, Autonomous Database configures and sets up the connection.

See Create Database Links to Non-Oracle Databases with Oracle-Managed Heterogeneous Connectivity for more information.

Built-in Tools Billing and Default Configuration Changes

In the ECPU compute model, the built-in database tools that use a VM, including: OML, Graph Studio, and Data Transforms have default configuration changes and billing changes.

See About Configuring Built-in Tools Compute Resources and Limits and Oracle Autonomous Database Serverless Billing for Database Tools for more information.

Elastic Pool Cost and Usage Information in Cost Reports

Elastic pool cost and usage details are recorded in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure cost reports and in the OCI_COST_DATA view. See About Elastic Pool Billing and Compute Models in Autonomous Database for more information.

Offload Queries from Elastic Pool Member to Member Refreshable Clones: Includes Queries from PL/SQL and from Oracle Scheduler Jobs

When you have heavy read workloads, where a relatively small amount of data is scanned by multiple queries, including from PL/SQL or from Oracle Scheduler Jobs, you can offload queries (reads) from either an elastic pool leader or from an elastic pool member to Refreshable Clones.

See Offload Queries to Member Refreshable Clones for more information.

• Extract data from Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Cloud using BI Publisher

  You can now use the Oracle ERP Cloud connector to create a connection to the Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher server and load data from BI Publisher reports to Autonomous Database. You can use this as an alternate method to extract ERP data when BICC based extract is not sufficient. See Create an Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning Cloud Connection.

• Load Data to Apache Iceberg tables

  Data Transforms includes support for Apache Iceberg as a target to load data from SQL-based data sources. See Create an Apache Iceberg Connection.

• Settings button on the Data Load Detail page

  The options under Advanced Options have moved into a separate window. Click the Settings button to use these options in addition to a few more.

Remove OCPU Compute Model Option for Data Warehouse and Transaction Processing Workloads During Provisioning or Cloning

The OCPU compute model option is removed when you provision or clone a new Autonomous Database instance with Data Warehouse or Transaction Processing workloads.

See Oracle Support Document 2998742.1 for more information.

Support Zstd Compression in DBMS_CLOUD

DBMS_CLOUD supports loading and querying data using external tables as well as exporting and importing of data from Autonomous Database to object storage. DBMS_CLOUD supports Zstd (Zstandard) format for compression or decompression.

See DBMS_CLOUD Package Format Options and DBMS_CLOUD Package Format Options for EXPORT_DATA for more information.

Specify Default Bind Variables in Table Hyperlinks

You can specify default values for one or more bind variables in a SQL statement when the default_bind_values parameter is included with DBMS_DATA_ACCESS.GET_PREAUTHENTICATED_URL.

See Generate a Table Hyperlink with a Select Statement and Use Table Hyperlink to Access Data for more information.

Select AI Enhancements

Select AI includes the following new features:

• Select AI automatically detects relevant tables and sends metadata only for those specific tables, relevant to the query, in Oracle Database 23ai. You can achieve this by specifying object_list_mode as automated. See "Automatically Detect Relevant Table Metadata" in Example: Improve SQL Query Generation.

• Select AI enables you to restrict table access by considering only the tables listed in the AI profile attributes for SQL generation. You can achieve this by specifying enforce_object_list to true. See Example: Restrict Table Access in AI Profile.

• Select AI enables you to specify case sensitivity such that the LLM produces case-insensitive responses from the database and LLM. You can achieve this by specifying case_sensitive_values to false. See Example: Specify Case Sensitivity for Columns.

• Administrators can control data access such that actual schema tables are not sent to the LLM using Select AI. See ENABLE_DATA_ACCESS Procedure, DISABLE_DATA_ACCESS Procedure, and Example: Enable or Disable Data Access.

Use In-database Transformer Model with Select AI RAG

You can use in-database transformers (also known as embedding models) that you imported into your Oracle Database 23ai instance with Select AI RAG to generate vector embeddings for document chunks and user prompts. See Use In-database Transformer Models and Example: Select AI with In-database Transformer Models to explore this feature.

Data Transforms Updates

Data Transforms is updated with new features and changes in the following areas:

• Run Data Studio Data Load using Data Transforms workflows

  You can now define a Data Studio Data Load in a Data Transforms workflow and then execute that data load as part of a Data Flow. You can then schedule the workflow to replay the Data Studio Data Load to capture any updates made to the files and load it into Autonomous Database.

  See Define a Data Studio Data Load in a Work Flow for more information about how you can run a Data Studio Data Load in Data Transforms.

• Vector Embeddings in Data Flows

  Data Transforms now supports the integration of vector embeddings in a data flow using the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Generative AI service. Note that you need to have an Oracle Database 23ai connection to use this feature.

  For more information, see Use Text Embedding Vector in a Data Flow.

• Use Machine Learning (ML) models in Data Flows

  Data Transforms now includes a new data entity type called ML Model. You can use ML Models in a data flow to apply prediction logic on source data and store the output in a target server.

  See Machine Learning (ML) Models for more information.

• Set Custom Variable Value at Runtime

  For data flows and workflows that include variables as part of the flow, when you run the data flow or workflow you can choose to use the default value, the refresh value, or set a custom value at runtime to use for the current run.

  See Use Variables in a Data Flow and Use Variables in a Workflow for more information.

• Show Queued/Waiting Jobs

  The Show Queued/Waiting Jobs option helps improve the overall performance when fetching the list of records to display on the Jobs page.

  See the Search for a Job section in Create and Manage Jobs for more information.

Data Studio Enhancements

The Data Studio is updated with new features and changes:

• The Autonomous Database Federated Database Catalog Enhancements:

  You can connect multiple catalogs to make it easier to find and work with your data, including popular Iceberg Data Catalogs like Unity and Polaris. You can also link to remote Autonomous Database instances using Database Links, allowing you to query tables from those databases directly within your catalog — helping you get more from your data catalog without extra steps.

  One of the major improvements in the Federated Catalog is the ability to easily load a Delta Share directly from the Catalog tool itself — no need to switch to a separate data loading tool.

  See Inline Data Load of Delta Share from the Catalog Tool for more details.

• The Oracle Autonomous Database for Excel Add-in can now be installed from the Microsoft Store.

  See Install the add-in from Microsoft AppSource for more details.

• UX Improvements for AI Table Assistant - The Table AI Assist tool includes the ability to edit recipes, has auto-save of recipes, UX improvements such as showing new column header in italics.

  See The Table AI Assist Tool for more details.

• Live Feed Reporting enhancements: Using the existing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) email registration setup in the Live Feed, you receive email when:

  • New rows are added: You receive email notifications when Live Feed runs and loads your table with new data.
  • Data Validation Issues Occur: You receive email notifications when inconsistencies arise, such as when the tool attempts to load non-numeric values into a numeric field.
  • Live Feed throws an Error: You receive email notifications if errors occur such as when the bucket containing your files is deleted or your credential for that bucket was dropped.

  See Send Email using Live Feed Tool for more details.

Long Pending Transaction Event

The LongPendingTransaction event is generated when a transaction is open for longer than 24 hours.

See Information Events on Autonomous Database for more information.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for a Cross-region Autonomous Data Guard Standby

The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for cross-region Autonomous Data Guard Standby databases is lowered to less than ten (10) minutes.

See Autonomous Data Guard Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) for more information.

Documentation Addition: Automatic Regression Detection

Automatic Regression Detection in Autonomous Database provides proactive handling of regressions and enables automated issue detection, diagnosis, and mitigation. 

See About Scheduled Maintenance and Patching for more information.

Average Active Sessions and Session Utilization Metrics

The AverageActiveSessions metric shows the average number of sessions that are actively executing or waiting for resources. The SessionUtilization metric shows the maximum session utilization.

See Available Metrics: oci_autonomous_database for more information.

Credential Comments in DBMS_CLOUD.CREATE_CREDENTIAL

The DBMS_CLOUD.CREATE_CREDENTIAL procedure supports comments when you use the comments parameter.

See Create Credentials to Access Cloud Services and CREATE_CREDENTIAL Procedure for more information.

Migration from PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQL Server to Oracle SQL

You can migrate SQL statements from PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQL Server, to Oracle SQL and run the statements on Autonomous Database.

See Migrate Applications from Non-Oracle SQL to Oracle SQL for more information.

Documentation Change: Pre-Authenticated Request (PAR) URLs Renamed to Table Hyperlinks

You can generate and manage Table Hyperlinks to access data on Autonomous Database.

See Use Table Hyperlinks for Read Only Data Access on Autonomous Database for more information.

Additional File Types Supported for Select AI RAG Vector Index Creation

Select AI Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) supports multiple file formats, including PDF, DOCX, JSON, XML, and HTML, among others.

For more information, see Select AI with Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and, for the complete list of supported file formats, Build your Vector Store.

Elastic Pool with Any Workload Leader

When you create an elastic pool, the workload type of the leader is not restricted. The workload type of an elastic pool leader can be one of: Transaction Processing, Data Warehouse, JSON, or APEX.

See About Elastic Pools and About Autonomous Database Workload Types for more information.

SQL Parse Error Warning Event: SQLParseErrorWarning

If a SQL parse error occurs several times in a certain time window, for example 200 times or more in an hour, this generates "Too Many Parse Errors" entries in the alert log. The SQLParseErrorWarning event is triggered when there is a new entry in the alert log, indicating that a SQL statement has too many parse errors. For example, when an invalid query runs 200 times in less than an hour, this triggers the SQLParseErrorWarning event.

See Information Events on Autonomous Database for more information.

Create Refreshable Clone with 19c Source and 23ai Refreshable Clone

When you create a refreshable clone from an Oracle Database 19c source, you can select Oracle Database 23ai for the refreshable clone. You can use the refreshable clone to test your database on Oracle Database 23ai. After your testing is complete, you can disconnect the refreshable clone to upgrade to Oracle Database 23ai.

See Upgrade an Autonomous Database Instance to Oracle Database 23ai and Create a Refreshable Clone for an Autonomous Database Instance for more information.

Offload Queries from Elastic Pool Leader to Member Refreshable Clones: Includes Queries from PL/SQL and from Oracle Scheduler Jobs

When you have heavy read workloads, where a relatively small amount of data is scanned by multiple queries, including from PL/SQL or from Oracle Scheduler Jobs, you can offload queries (reads) from an elastic pool leader to Refreshable Clones.

See Offload Queries to Member Refreshable Clones for more information.

Connections Dropped Metrics

The ConnectionsDroppedByClient metric shows the sum of the number of connections dropped by the client. The ConnectionsDroppedByServer metric shows the sum of the number of connections dropped by the server.

See Available Metrics: oci_autonomous_database for more information.

Oracle APEX 24.2

Autonomous Database uses Oracle APEX Release 24.2.

See Create Applications with Oracle APEX in Autonomous Database for more information.

Data Studio Enhancements

The Data Studio is updated with new features and changes:

• The Table AI Assist Tool: The Data Studio suite of tools now features an AI-powered Table Assist Tool to effortlessly enhance your local data tables with the power of AI. You can use natural language prompts to augment and correct your information with this tool.

  See The Table AI Assist Tool for more information.

• Catalog Tool Enhancements: The new multi-catalog capabilities of the Autonomous Database catalog mean you can add catalogs to enable data search, discovery and use across a wide range of external systems, including other Autonomous Databases, on-premises databases, cloud storage systems, shared data, and other data catalogs such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Data Catalog and AWS Glue.

  See The Catalog Tool for more information.

• The Data Marketplace Tool: Using Data Studio Marketplace, Autonomous Database users can easily collaborate by sharing data with other users of the same or another Autonomous Database. Data providers publish data sets in just minutes, no coding required. Data consumers can browse available data sets, and query live data or copy it to their own Autonomous Database Instance.

  See The Data Marketplace Tool for more information.

• Data Load Livefeed Enhancements:

  • With the new Basic mode, creating a Livefeed is as simple as selecting a folder from a drop-down menu.
  • New ability to use Merge semantics in livefeeds. The Livefeed feature automatically updates existing data in your tables with new information, eliminating redundant rows and ensuring data integrity.

  • With newly introduced Show code icon, you can view the underlying SQL code behind your livefeeds and even run the code manually in the SQL worksheet.

  See Feeding Data for more information.

Documentation Addition: Migrate Existing SQL Execution Plans to Autonomous Database

You can use Real-time SQL Plan Management when you migrate from a source Oracle Database to Autonomous Database.

See Migrate Existing SQL Execution Plans to Autonomous Database to Mitigate the Risk of SQL Performance Regressions for more information.

Offload Queries from Elastic Pool Leader to Member Refreshable Clones

When you have heavy read workloads, where a relatively small amount of data is scanned by multiple queries, you can offload queries (reads) from an elastic pool leader to Refreshable Clones.

See Offload Queries to Member Refreshable Clones for more information.

Create External Tables Over PAR URLs

You can create an external table over Pre-Authenticated Request (PAR) URLs.

See Query Data that Uses Table Hyperlink Source for more information.

Update Cloud Links Registrations

With Cloud Links, a data owner registers a table or view for remote access for a selected audience as defined by the data owner, and the data is then accessible to those with access granted at registration time. After you register a data set you can update data set attributes.

See Update Data Set Registration Attributes for more information.

Database User Password Warning Event: DatabaseUserPasswordWarning

The database user password warning event provides a message that the Autonomous Database user password is expiring within the specified grace period (default 30 days) or has already expired.

See Critical Events on Autonomous Database for more information.

Documentation Addition: Create and Use Custom Metrics

You can create custom metrics to collect, publish, and analyze metrics. A custom metric collects specified data from your Autonomous Database instance and publishes the data to the OCI Monitoring service using a REST API provided by the OCI SDK.

See Use Custom Metrics on Autonomous Database for more information.

Disconnect a Peer Database

You can disconnect an Autonomous Data Guard standby or a Backup-Based Disaster Recovery peer. When you disconnect a cross-region peer, the database is permanently disassociated from the Primary database. This converts the database from a peer database to a standalone database.

See Disconnect a Peer Database for more information.

Change Patch Level After Provisioning

When you provision or clone an Autonomous Database instance you can select a patch level to apply to upcoming patches. You can also change the patch level after an Autonomous Database instance is provisioned. There are two patch level options: Regular and Early.

See Set the Patch Level for more information.

Service Name Mapping for Cloud Links Consumers

You can set the service name mapping to use when Cloud Links consumers access data from a data set owner.

See Set Database Service Name Mapping for Cloud Links Consumers for more information.

External Tables with ORC, Parquet, and Avro Provide an Option to Set Size of String Columns

When you access ORC, Parquet, or Avro data stored in object store using external tables, you can either automatically or explicitly set the maximum size of text columns. By default the text column size is set based on the value of MAX_STRING_SIZE.

See Query External Data with ORC, Parquet, or Avro Source Files and Explicitly Set the Text Column Size for more information.

Invoke Google Cloud Platform Cloud Run Functions

You can invoke Google Cloud Platform Cloud Run functions as SQL functions.

See Steps to Invoke Google Cloud Run Functions as SQL Functions for more information.