1. Database Upgrade Guide
  2. Changes for Earlier Releases of Oracle Database

A Changes for Earlier Releases of Oracle Database

Review changes in behavior between Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2) or Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

Behavior changes typically require you to make informed decisions to minimize risks that Oracle Database changes can create for in an upgraded Oracle Database. This appendix does not describe all changed behavior and new features in each release of Oracle Database.

See Also:

  • Oracle Database New Features Guide for a complete list of all new features introduced in this release

  • Oracle Database Reference “Changes in this Release” section for a list of new initialization parameters, new static data dictionary views, and new dynamic performance views

  • Oracle Database Installation Guide for your operating system for more information about operating system parameter changes

  • Your operating system-specific Oracle documentation for more information about these initialization parameters.

Topics:

Behavior Changes in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1)

Review for descriptions of Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1) changes.

Review these sections to find out about behavior changes in Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1), and to obtain information about actions that you can take to prevent problems resulting from these changes.

Oracle Database Changes

Review these topics to understand changes introduced in Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1) that affect Oracle Database operations.

Deprecation of Non-CDB Architecture

The non-CDB architecture is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c, and may be desupported and unavailable in a release after Oracle Database 12c Release 2.

Oracle recommends use of the CDB architecture.

Note:

There remain a small number of features that do not work with the CDB architecture (see README, section 2.2.1 "Features Restricted or Not Available for a Multitenant Container Database"). If you need these features, then continue to use the non-CDB architecture until your required feature works with the CDB architecture.

Deprecation of catupgrd.sql Script and Introduction of Parallel Upgrade Utility

In Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1), Oracle recommends that you use the Parallel Upgrade Utility (catctl.plinstead of catupgrd.sql to enable parallel upgrades.

Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1) introduces the new Parallel Upgrade Utility, catctl.pl. This utility replaces the catupgrd.sql script that was used in earlier releases. Although you can still use the catupgrd.sql script, it is deprecated starting with Oracle Database 12c. It will be removed in future releases. Oracle recommends that you perform database upgrades by using the new Parallel Upgrade Utility.

Error Associated with catupgrd.sql Run Without PARALLEL=NO

If you choose to run the catupgrd.sql script instead of running catctl.pl), then you now must provide information for an additional input parameter, PARALLEL.

For example:

SQL> catupgrd.sql PARALLEL=NO

If you run catupgrd.sql without the parameter, then Oracle displays the following error message: 

NOTE
 
The catupgrd.sql script is being deprecated in the 12.1 release of 
Oracle Database. Customers are encouraged to use catctl.pl as
the replacement for catupgrd.sql when upgrading the database dictionary.
 
                cd $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
                $ORACLE_HOME/perl/bin/perl catctl.pl -n 4 catupgrd.sql
 
Refer to the Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for more information.
 
This database upgrade procedure must be called with the following
argument when invoking from the SQL prompt:
 
                @catupgrd.sql PARALLEL=NO
Desupport of Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control is desupported and is no longer available.

Oracle introduces Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express (Oracle EM Express) as a replacement. Oracle EM Express is installed when you upgrade to Oracle Database 12c.

You can carry out a manual configuration of the HTTP port for Oracle EM Express:

  1. Look in the init.ora/spfile (default setting) for the following string: 

    dispatchers=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(SERVICE=sample XDB)

    Check the Oracle EM Express port configuration:

    
SQL> select DBMS_XDB_CONFIG.getHTTPport() from dual;
SQL> select DBMS_XDB_CONFIG.getHTTPSport() from dual;

  2. Set new ports. For example: 

    SQL> exec DBMS_XDB_CONFIG.setHTTPport(5500);
SQL> exec DBMS_XDB_CONFIG.setHTTPSport(8080);

  3. Access the Oracle EM Express home page in the browser. For example, using the settings you have provided, check the following path, where database is your SID, hostname is your fully qualified domain name, and port is the port you assigned: 

    http://database-hostname:port/em

    For example:

    http://localhost:5500/em

  4. Repeat this configuration step for the CDB, and for every PDB, using different port numbers.

See Also:

Changes for Deinstallation and Cleanup of Oracle Base

Review these topics to understand deinstallation and Oracle Base cleanup script changes.

Change for Standalone Deinstallation Tool

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the deinstallation standalone utility is replaced with a deinstall option using Oracle Universal Installer (OUI).

You can also run the deinstallation tool from the base directory of the installation media for Oracle Database, Oracle Database Client, or Oracle Grid Infrastructure.

Run the deinstallation tool by using the runInstaller command on Linux and UNIX, or setup.exe on Windows, with the -deinstall and -home options.

See Also:

Desupport of CLEANUP_ORACLE_BASE Property

In Oracle Database 12c, the CLEANUP_ORACLE_BASE property is removed for response file (silent) deinstalls.

It is no longer supported to use CLEANUP_ORACLE_BASE to remove an Oracle base during silent or response file mode deinstalls.

Deprecation of -cleanupOBase

The -cleanupOBase flag of the deinstallation tool is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1).

See Also:

Oracle Database Installation Guide for your operating system

Identifying Deprecated and Desupported Parameters

Use the query described here to locate deprecated and desupported parameters.

In Oracle Database 12c, some database parameters are deprecated and desupported, or removed.

To obtain a current list of deprecated parameters, run the following query in SQL*Plus:

SQL> SELECT name from v$parameter 
         WHERE isdeprecated = 'TRUE' ORDER BY name;

The query returns a list of the deprecated parameters as of the date and time that you run it. The following example shows the query results that appear: 

active_instance_count
background_dump_dest
buffer_pool_keep
buffer_pool_recycle
commit_write
cursor_space_for_time
fast_start_io_target
global_context_pool_size
instance_groups
lock_name_space
log_archive_start
max_enabled_roles
parallel_automatic_tuning
parallel_io_cap_enabled
parallel_server
parallel_server_instances
plsql_v2_compatibility
remote_os_authent
resource_manager_cpu_allocation
sec_case_sensitive_logon
serial_reuse
sql_trace
standby_archive_dest
user_dump_dest
SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON Initialization Parameter Deprecated

The SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON initialization parameter is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for information about the SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON initialization parameter

FILE_MAPPING Initialization Parameter Deprecated

The FILE_MAPPING initialization parameter is deprecated. It is still supported for backward compatibility.

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for information about the FILE_MAPPING initialization parameter

RDBMS_SERVER_DN Initialization Parameter Deprecated

The initialization parameter RDBMS_SERVER_DN is deprecated in Oracle Database release 12.1.0.2.

Use LDAP_DIRECTORY_ACCESS instead of RDBMS_SERVER_DN.

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for information about this parameter

Deprecated Oracle Database Roles

The following Oracle Database roles are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c:

DELETE_CATALOG_ROLE Deprecated

The DELETE_CATALOG_ROLE database role is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for information about this role and dictionary objects

Deprecated Views

Views listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

The following views are deprecated:

See Also:

Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for information about specifying Scheduler job credentials

Deprecation of Oracle Streams

Oracle Streams is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c and may be desupported and unavailable in a later Oracle Database release.

Use Oracle GoldenGate to replace all replication features of Oracle Streams.

Note:

Oracle Database Advanced Queuing is independent of Oracle Streams, and continues to be enhanced.

See Also:

Oracle GoldenGate documentation for information

Deprecation of Advanced Replication

Oracle Database Advanced Replication is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

Read-only materialized views are still supported with basic replication.

Use Oracle GoldenGate to replace all features of Advanced Replication. This guidance includes multimaster replication, updateable materialized views, hierarchical materialized views, and deployment templates.

See Also:

Oracle GoldenGate documentation

Deprecation of Single-Character SRVCTL CLI Options

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, single-character options are deprecated and may be desupported in a later release.

The Server Control Utility (SRVCTL) command line interface (CLI) supports long GNU-style options in addition to short CLI options used in earlier releases.

See Also:

Oracle Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment Guide for information about SRVCTL

Desupported Features on Microsoft Windows Platforms

Review these topics to learn which features are deprecated or desupported with Oracle Database 12c for Microsoft Windows.

Desupport of Oracle COM Automation on Windows

Oracle Database 12c does not contain Oracle COM Automation.

This feature was deprecated in Oracle Database 11g, which is the last database release that contains the database component Oracle COM Automation. Oracle recommends that you migrate your Oracle COM applications to current technology, such as the .NET Framework.

See Also:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1175293.1

Desupport of Oracle Objects for OLE

Oracle Database 12c does not contain Oracle Objects for OLE.

Oracle Objects for OLE is deprecated in Oracle Database 11g. You can migrate your code to the OLE DB data access standard and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), or you can migrate your applications to .NET (or Java or another application architecture) and use another driver.

See Also:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1175303.1

Desupport of Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor

Oracle Database 12c does not contain Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor.

Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor was deprecated in Oracle Database 11g. The counters are not installed by default in earlier releases, and the counters only work on Windows. For monitoring, Oracle recommends that you use Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control.

See Also:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1175297.1

Programming Interface Deprecations for Oracle Data Provider for .NET

Oracle Data Provider for .NET application programming interfaces for Transaction Guard listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c (12.1.0.2), and may be desupported in a future release.

  • OracleLogicalTransactionStatus class

  • OracleConnection.LogicalTransactionId property

  • OracleConnection.GetLogicalTransactionStatus method

Desupport of Oracle Cluster File System (OCFS) on Windows

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, Oracle Cluster File System (OCFS) is desupported on Windows. Support and distribution of OCFS on Linux (OCFS and OCFS2) remains unaffected by this desupport notice.

Databases currently using OCFS on Windows to host either the Oracle cluster files (Oracle Cluster Registry and voting files) or database files or both need to have these files migrated off OCFS before upgrading to Oracle Database 12c.

See Also:

Desupport for Raw Storage Devices

Starting with Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1), block file storage on raw devices is not supported.

You must migrate any data files stored on raw devices to Oracle ASM, to a cluster file system, or to a Network File System (NFS).

This desupport guideline also applies to OCR and voting disk files for Oracle Clusterware. You cannot store OCR or voting disk files on raw devices. Before you start the upgrade, you must move Oracle Clusterware files from raw devices to a supported storage option.

About Upgrading Oracle Database Release 10.2 or 11.1 and OCFS and RAW Devices

If you are upgrading an Oracle Database release 10.2.0.5 or release 11.1.0.7 environment that stores Oracle Clusterware files on OCFS on Windows or RAW devices, then you cannot directly upgrade to Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

You must first perform an interim upgrade to Oracle Database release 11.2, and then migrate Oracle Clusterware files to Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM). Then you can upgrade from release 11.2 to Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

See Also:

Desupport of cluvfy comp cfs for OCFS

The cluvfy comp cfs component verification command option is removed from Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

The Cluster Verification Utility (cluvfy) option comp cfs is removed in Oracle Database 12.1, because Oracle Cluster File System (OCFS) is no longer supported.

See Also:

Oracle Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide for more information about cluster administration

Deprecation of Stored List of Administrative Users for Cluster Administration

Cluster administration is managed differently starting with Oracle Database 12c.

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the method of cluster administration using a stored list of administrative users is being replaced with more comprehensive management of administrative user roles by configuring the access control list of the policy set.

See Also:

Oracle Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide for more information about cluster administration

Deprecation of -checkpasswd for QOSCTL Quality of Service (QoS) Command

The syntax qosctl -checkpasswd username password is deprecated.

See Also:

Oracle Database Quality of Service Management User's Guide for information about QOSCTL syntax and commands

Change to VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR2, and RAW Datatypes

You can increase the MAX_STRING_SIZE value for these datatypes to 32767 bytes in Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1) and later releases.

Starting with Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1), you can increase the maximum size of the VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR2, and RAW datatypes to 32767 bytes. This size increase is possible if you set the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter to 12.0 or higher, and you set the MAX_STRING_SIZE initialization parameter to EXTENDED. This size increase is available for non-CDB Oracle Database instances, and for PDBs in multitenant architecture.

If you want to make this change, then you must run the utl32k.sql script in UPGRADE mode. After you run the script, you can set MAX_STRING_SIZE to EXTENDED.

Caution:

When you increase the COMPATIBLE initialization to 12.0 or higher, you cannot reverse this change.

See Also:

Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information about MAX_STRING_SIZE

Oracle JDBC and SQLJ Deprecated and Desupported Features

This is a list of features for JDBC, UCP, SQLJ, JPublisher, and Java in the Database (Oracle JVM) that are deprecated or desupported with Oracle Database 12c. The JDBC Javadoc also contains a page for all the deprecated APIs.

Deprecation of SQLJ Inside the Server

SQLJ usage inside the database server is deprecated in this release.

The capability of translating and running SQLJ applications inside the database will not be available in later releases. SQLJ can only be used as a client tool to translate the applications that can connect to Oracle Database and run as a client. SQLJ cannot be used inside stored procedures, functions, or triggers.

Deprecated Oracle Update Batching

Oracle Update Batching APIs are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

The following APIs are deprecated and marked deprecated in the JDBC Javadoc:

  • OraclePreparedStatement.setExecuteBatch()

  • OraclePreparedStatement.getExecuteBatch()

  • OracleCallableStatement.setExecuteBatch()

Use Standard Update Batching instead.

See Also:

Oracle Database JDBC Developer's Guide for information on Oracle Update Batching

Deprecated EndToEndMetrics-related APIs

EndToEndMetrics -related APIs are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c. Use Universal Connection Pool instead.

The following APIs are deprecated and marked deprecated in the JDBC Javadoc:

  • getEndToEndMetrics

  • getEndToEndECIDSequenceNumber

  • setEndToEndMetrics

  • setApplicationContext

  • clearAllApplicationContext

See Also:

Oracle Database JDBC Developer's Guide and the JDBC Javadoc for information about Universal Connection Pool

Deprecated Stored Outlines

Stored outlines are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

Use plan baselines instead.

See Also:

Oracle Database SQL Tuning Guide for information about migrating stored outlines to plan baselines

Deprecated Concrete Classes in oracle.sql Package

The concrete classes in the oracle.sql package are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

These classes are replaced with new interfaces in the oracle.jdbc package.

See Also:

Oracle Database JDBC Developer's Guide for information about the new interfaces for oracle.jdbc

Deprecated defineColumnType Method

The JDBC method defineColumnType is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c Release 1.

Deprecated CONNECTION_PROPERTY_STREAM_CHUNK_SIZE Property

The JDBC property CONNECTION_PROPERTY_STREAM_CHUNK_SIZE is deprecated in this release.

Desupported Implicit Connection Caching

Implicit Connection Caching is desupported in Oracle Database 12c.

Use Universal Connection Pool instead.

See Also:

Oracle Universal Connection Pool for JDBC Developer's Guide for information

Deprecated Features for Oracle Call Interface

Oracle Call Interface (OCI) features listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c, and may be desupported in a future release

  • OCI deployment parameters in sqlnet.ora are deprecated. These include the following parameters:

    • OCI client result cache parameters: OCI_RESULT_CACHE_MAX_SIZE, OCI_RESULT_CACHE_MAX_RSET_SIZE, and OCI_RESULT_CACHE_MAX_RSET_ROWS

Changed Default for RESOURCE_LIMIT Parameter

RESOURCE_LIMIT is set to TRUE by default.

The Oracle Database RESOURCE_LIMIT parameter determines if resource limits are enforced in database profiles. In this release, the RESOURCE_LIMIT parameter is set to TRUE by default. If Oracle resource limits are disabled, then any defined profile limits are ignored. This behavior does not apply to password resources.

Check the resource_limit parameter setting by entering the following SQL*Plus command:

SQL> select value from v$parameter where name = 'resource_limit';

Oracle Database Security Changes

Oracle Database 12c includes changes to security features in Oracle Database Vault and Oracle Data Guard and other areas.

Oracle Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Changes

Review this list of changes to business intelligence and data warehousing applications and features for Oracle Database 12c.

Desupport of Change Data Capture

Oracle Change Data Capture is not included in Oracle Database 12c and is replaced with Oracle GoldenGate.

See Also:

Oracle GoldenGate documentation for information

Desupported Features in Oracle Data Mining

These Oracle Data Mining features are desupported in Oracle Database 12c.

  • The Oracle Data Mining Java API is no longer available. The programmatic interfaces to Oracle Data Mining 12c consist of two PL/SQL packages, DBMS_DATA_MINING and DBMS_DATA_MINING_TRANSFORM, and a family of SQL language functions for scoring data.

    See Also:

    Oracle Data Mining User's Guide for information about the Data Mining PL/SQL packages

  • The Adaptive Bayes Network (ABN) algorithm is no longer available. The Decision Tree algorithm replaces ABN in Oracle Data Mining 12c.

    See Also:

    Oracle Data Mining Concepts for information about the Decision Tree algorithm

Desupport of ABN Models for Oracle Data Mining Upgrades

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, Oracle is desupporting the Data Mining Java API and the Adaptive Bayes Network (ABN) algorithm.

Because Oracle is desupporting these features, you cannot upgrade models created by the Oracle Data Mining Java API from Oracle Database release 11g to Oracle Database 12c. All other models and metadata are upgraded automatically during the upgrade from Oracle Database 11g to Oracle Database 12c. ABN models can be upgraded, but you cannot use them in an Oracle Database 12c database. You must drop ABN models either before the upgrade or afterward. You can replace ABN models by building new classification models in the Oracle Database 12c database.

See Also:

Oracle Data Mining User's Guide for information about the Data Mining API and data mining models

Desupport of OLAP Catalog (AMD)

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) standard is desupported for the OLAP catalog (AMD).

CWM standard support was deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2). If your existing database has CWM metadata in the OLAP catalog, and you upgrade to Oracle Database 12c, then the upgraded database has the AMD component. If the database you upgrade does not have the AMD component, then the upgraded Oracle Database 12c database also does not have the AMD component, because new installations for Oracle Database 12c do not include AMD. If your database has the AMD component, and you want to remove it, then run the catnoamd.sql script that is located in the pathORACLE_HOME/olap/admin/catnoamd.sql. You may run this script either before or after you complete your upgrade.

Note:

If the OLAP catalog exists in the database you are upgrading, you may see AMD OLAP Catalog OPTION OFF and invalid CWM OLAP objects. You can safely ignore the invalid OLAP objects as they are not needed.

See Also:

  • Oracle OLAP Java API Developer’s Guide for information about OLAP Java API metadata

  • Oracle OLAP User’s Guide for more information on the OLAP option of Oracle Database and online analytic processing

Changes to Security Auditing Features

The full set of auditing features are available automatically in Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1) and later releases.

The auditing functionality is redesigned in Oracle Database 12c. When you create a new database with Oracle Database 12c, the full set of auditing enhancement features are automatically available. If you upgrade from an earlier release, then you are given the option of using some of the new audit features and the audit functionality from the release from which you upgraded. Oracle strongly recommends that you migrate to the full set of the latest audit features.

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for information about new auditing features and changes for security

Deprecated Functions and Parameters in Oracle Label Security

Nine Oracle Label Security features are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c release 1.

The Oracle Label Security features listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c release 1. They can be desupported in a future release. Oracle recommends that you use the alternative features listed here.

  • LEAST_UBOUND. Use OLS_GREATEST_LBOUND instead.

  • LUBD. Use OLS_GLBD instead.

  • DOMINATES. Use OLS_DOMINATES instead.

  • DOM. Use OLS_STRICTLY_DOMINATES instead.

  • STRICTLY_DOMINATES. Use OLS_STRICTLY_DOMINATES instead.

  • S_DOM. Use OLS_STRICTLY_DOMINATES instead.

  • DOMINATED_BY. Use OLS_DOMINATED_BY instead.

  • DOM_BY. Use OLS_DOMINATED_BY instead.

  • STRICTLY_DOMINATED_BY. Use OLS_STRICTLY_DOMINATED_BY instead.

  • S_DOM_BY. Use OLS_STRICTLY_DOMINATED_BY instead.

See Also:

Deprecated DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN PL/SQL package Procedures

DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN PL/SQL package procedures listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

  • CREATE_ACL

  • ADD_PRIVILEGE

  • DELETE_PRIVILEGE

  • ASSIGN_ACL

  • UNASSIGN_ACL

  • DROP_ACL

  • ASSIGN_WALLET_ACL

  • UNASSIGN_WALLET_ACL

  • CHECK_PRIVILEGE

  • CHECK_PRIVILEGE_ACLID

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for information about managing fine-grained access in PL/SQL Packages and Types

Deprecation of IGNORECASE and SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON

The IGNORECASE argument of ORAPWD and the SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON system parameter are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

By default, passwords in Oracle Database 12c are case-sensitive.

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about configuring authentication and password protection

Deprecation of SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION Parameter

The SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION parameter is deprecated in Oracle Database 12c.

SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION is replaced with two new Oracle Net Services parameters:

  • SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER

  • SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_CLIENT

Related Topics

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_CLIENT

Oracle Database Security Guide for information about this deprecation

Upgrading a System that Did Not Have SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION Parameter Setting

Review the parameter setting for SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER to determine its implications for security and client connections to the upgraded database.

If you are upgrading a system that did not have a SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION parameter setting (that is, it was using the default SQLNet setting 8), then the new default value for the login verifier is set to 11, which sets the 11g password verifier (11G) in Oracle Database 12c. This value permits Oracle Database 10g and 11g clients to connect to the database, as well as Oracle Database 12c clients.

If you do not provide a parameter setting for SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER (or the deprecated SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION) in the upgraded Oracle Database 12c server, then the new Oracle Database 12c default is 11. This setting enables connections from clients using releases earlier than Oracle Database release 11.2.0.3 that have not applied critical patch update CPU Oct 2012, or later patches, and that must use the 10g verifier (10G) to connect.

The higher the setting, the more restrictive the use of verifiers. A setting of 8 permits the most verifiers (that is, the 10G, 11G, and 12C verifiers are all permitted with this setting); a setting of 12a only permits the 12C verifier. For greater security, consider setting SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER to 12a. A setting of 12 permits both the 11G and 12C verifier to be used for authentication.

See Also:

Oracle Database Readme for the topic "Protection Against Password-Guessing Attacks"

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about SQLNET.ALLOWED_LOGON_VERSION_SERVER

Oracle Database Security Guide for additional information about verifier settings and client access

Deprecation of Windows NTS Authentication Using the NTLM Protocol

Because of security vulnerabilities, NTLM is deprecated as of Oracle Database 12c.

Windows users can no longer authenticate using the NTS adaptor on Windows clients and servers that require the NT Lan Manager (NTLM) protocol. Windows users can still use Kerberos. NTLM is still used for local user authentication, and in cases in which the database service runs as a local user.

A new client side sqlnet.ora boolean parameter NO_NTLM (defaulting to false) allows you to control when NTLM is used in NTS authentication. When you set NO_NTLM to true, this parameter value prevents NTLM from being used in Windows NTS authentication.

See Also:

Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows for information on changes that affect the Windows platform in this release

Deprecation of Public Key Infrastructure for Transparent Data Encryption

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is deprecated for Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) in Oracle Database 12c.

To configure TDE, use the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement. Other implementations of PKI are not affected.

See Also:

Oracle Database Advanced Security Administrator's Guide for information about configuring TDE

Desupported Cipher Suites for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

Review this list of desupported cipher suites if you use Oracle Advanced Security.

Oracle Advanced Security has desupported the following cipher suites in Oracle Database 12c:

  • SSL_DH_anon_WITH_DES_CBC_SHA

  • SSL_RSA_EXPORT_WITH_DES40_CBC_SHA

  • SSL_RSA_EXPORT_WITH_RC4_40_MD5

  • SSL_RSA_WITH_DES_CBC_SHA

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for information about supported SSL cipher suites

Desupport of Database Rules Manager (RUL) and Expression Filter (EXF)

Starting with Oracle Database 12c release 1, the Expression Filter (EXF) and Database Rules Manager (RUL) features are desupported.

If you are using Rules Manager, then Oracle recommends that you migrate to Oracle Business Rules, which is a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware. The Continuous Query Notification feature of Oracle Database replaces Expression Filter.

This script is executed by the upgrade process. To remove these components before upgrading, run the catnoexf.sql script before the upgrade. The catnoexf.sql script is located under ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/.

See Also:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1244535.1

Oracle Data Guard Broker Deprecated or Desupported Features

Review these deprecations if you use Oracle Data Guard Broker.

As part of Oracle Data Guard Broker's support for Separation of Duty features, the following broker properties are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c :

  • LsbyASkipCfgPr

  • LsbyASkipErrorCfgPr

  • LsbyASkipTxnCfgPr

  • LsbyDSkipCfgPr

  • LsbyDSkipErrorCfgPr

  • LsbyDSkipTxnCfgPr

  • LsbySkipTable

  • LsbySkipTxnTable

There are no replacements.

Oracle Data Pump Export Utility Deprecated or Desupported Features

The XML_CLOBS option of the Oracle Data Pump Export DATA_OPTIONS parameter is deprecated.

See Also:

Oracle Database Utilities for information about the Export DATA_OPTIONS parameter

Oracle Database Vault Deprecated or Desupported Features

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the Oracle Database Vault features and rule sets listed here are deprecated or desupported.

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the Database Vault Configuration Assistant (DVCA) and Database Vault Administrator (DVA) are being deprecated. Use Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control for Oracle Database Vault configuration and administration.

Deprecated Default Rule Sets for Oracle Database Vault

Rule sets listed here are deprecated with Oracle Database 12c Release 1.

The following rule sets are deprecated in this release:

  • Allow Oracle Data Pump Operation rule set

  • Allow Scheduler Job rule set

See Also:

Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide for information about default rule sets

Deprecated Default Realms for Oracle Database Vault

The Oracle Data Dictionary realm and Oracle Enterprise Manager realm are deprecated in this release.

The objects formerly protected by the Oracle Data Dictionary realm have been migrated to new realms.

See Also:

Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide for information about new realms and default realms

Deprecated API for Oracle Database Vault

The DVSYS.DBMS_MACADM.SYNC_RULES procedure is deprecated, because its functionality is built into the rule creation functionality.

See Also:

Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide for information on rule creation

Oracle Database Semantic Technologies Deprecated or Desupported Features

Features listed here are deprecated for Oracle Database Semantic Technologies in Oracle Database 12c (12.1):

VPD Support in Oracle Database Semantic Technologies

Transition existing Semantic Technologies applications that depend on Virtual Private Database (VPD) to use Oracle Label Security (OLS) instead.

See Also:

Oracle Database Semantic Technologies Developer's Guide for information about fine-grained access control for RDF data

Version-Enabled Models Support In Oracle Database Semantic Technologies

The specific alternative to using Workspace Manager with semantic data depends on the purpose of the application.

See Also:

Oracle Database Semantic Technologies Developer's Guide for information about Workspace Manager support for RDF data

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1468273.1 for more information about use cases and recommended alternatives

Oracle Globalization Support Deprecated or Desupported Features

Oracle Database 12c provides changes to how Oracle supports globalization.

Desupport of CSSCAN and CSALTER for Oracle Globalization

Oracle Database 12c includes Oracle Database Migration Assistant for Unicode (DMU), and Oracle is desupporting the legacy database tools CSSCAN and CSALTER.

DMU provides a complete end-to-end Unicode migration solution for database administrators. Starting with Oracle Database 12c, DMU is included with Oracle Database. The CSSCAN and CSALTER tools are no longer included or supported.

Oracle Multimedia Deprecated or Desupported Features

In Oracle Database 12c, ORDImage support for Oracle Multimedia DICOM is deprecated.

See Also:

Oracle Multimedia Reference for information about ORDImage

Oracle Net Services Deprecated or Desupported Features

Oracle Net Services has deprecated or no longer supports the features, parameters, and commands listed here.

Desupport of Oracle Net Connection Pooling

In Oracle Database 12c, Oracle Net connection pooling is no longer supported.

Oracle Net connection pooling was deprecated in Oracle Database 11g. This deprecation included the DISPATCHERS attributes TICKS, SESSIONS, and CONNECTIONS.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring dispatchers

Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about Oracle Connection Manager Parameters (cman.ora)

Desupport of Oracle Names

Oracle Names was desupported as a naming method in Oracle Database 11g. You must migrate to directory naming.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for additional information about migrating to directory naming

Desupport of Oracle Net Listener Password

In Oracle Database 12c, the Oracle Net Listener password feature is no longer supported.

This change does not cause a loss of security, because Oracle Database enforces authentication through local operating system authentication.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for more information about Oracle Net Listener security

Desupport of SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF_MIT Parameter for Oracle Net Services

The SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF_MIT networking parameter is no longer needed and is not supported in sqlnet.ora.

By default, the value of SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF_MIT is set to FALSE. This parameter setting has no affect on the Kerberos configuration. In previous releases, when SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF_MIT is set to TRUE, the parameter set parsing in a format as specified by MIT Kerberos 5. However, this parameter setting is no longer required. Starting with Oracle Database 12c, only MIT Kerberos 5 configuration is supported.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about Kerberos parameters for the sqlnet.ora file

Desupport of Oracle Names Control Utility for Oracle Net Services

The Oracle Names Control Utility is desupported. Starting with Oracle Database 10g, it is not available.

Desupport of the Oracle Names Control Utility includes desupporting all the related control utility commands. Oracle Database clients cannot use a Names Server to resolve connect strings. Migrate your applications to Oracle Internet Directory with LDAP directory naming.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about configuring the directory naming method

Deprecated NT LAN Manager (NTLM) Protocol for Oracle Net Services

The NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol for domain authentication is deprecated in the Oracle Windows adapter.

Only Kerberos authentication is used for the NTS adapter.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information on Kerberos parameters for the sqlnet.ora file

Oracle Text Deprecated and Desupported Features

Three text indexes are desupported for Oracle Text starting with Oracle Database 12c.

Desupport of CTXXPATH in Oracle Text and Oracle XML DB

The CTXSYS.CTXXPATH index is desupported, starting with Oracle Database 12c release 1 (12.1).

The desupport of CTXSYS.CTXXPATH does not affect CTXCAT. Use XMLIndex indexes instead.

See Also:

Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for more information about XMLIndex

Desupport of ALTER INDEX OPTIMIZE for Text Indexes

The ALTER INDEX OPTIMIZE [token index_token | fast | full [maxtime (time | unlimited)] operation is not supported for Oracle Database 12c.

To optimize your index, use CTX_DDL.OPTIMIZE_INDEX.

See Also:

Oracle Text Reference for information about OPTIMIZE_INDEX

Desupport of SYNC [MEMORY memsize] for Text Indexes

The SYNC [MEMORY memsize] operation is not supported for Oracle Database 12c

. To synchronize your index, use CTX_DDL.SYNC_INDEX.

See Also:

Oracle Text Reference for information about SYNC_INDEX

Oracle XML Database Changes

Oracle XML Database is now installed with Oracle Database. It also has changed features in Oracle Database 12c.

Oracle XML DB is Mandatory and Cannot Be Uninstalled

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, Oracle XML DB is a mandatory component of Oracle Database.

You cannot uninstall Oracle XML DB, and there is no option to exclude it when you create an Oracle Database. Oracle XML DB is automatically installed or upgraded when you upgrade an existing Oracle Database to Oracle Database 12c.

See Also:

Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide

Deprecated Features for Oracle XML Database

These features are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c Release 1, and may be desupported in a future release.

  • CLOB storage of XMLType, also known as unstructured storage, is deprecated. Use binary XML storage of XMLType instead.

    To preserve whitespace in an XML file, store two copies of your original XML document. Use one file as an XMLType instance for database use and XML processing, and use the other file as a CLOB instance to provide document fidelity.

  • Creating an XMLIndex index over an XML fragment stored as a CLOB instance embedded in object-relational XMLType data is deprecated. If you must index the data in such a fragment, then store the document using binary XML storage, instead of object-relational storage.

  • The following PL/SQL subprograms in package DBMS_XMLSCHEMA are deprecated:

    • generateSchema

    • generateSchemas

    There are no replacements for these constructs, and there is no workaround for this change.

  • PL/SQL package DBMS_XDB_CONFIG is new. All Oracle XML((nbsp))DB configuration functions, procedures, and constants are moved from package DBMS_XDB to DBMS_XDB_CONFIG. These functions, procedures and constants are now deprecated for package DBMS_XDB. Use them in package DBMS_XDB_CONFIG instead.

    The following is a list of subprograms deprecated in package DBMS_XDB:

    • ADDHTTPEXPIREMAPPING

    • ADDMIMEMAPPING

    • ADDSCHEMALOCMAPPING

    • ADDSERVLET

    • ADDSERVLETMAPPING

    • ADDSERVLETSECROLE

    • ADDXMLEXTENSION

    • CFG_GET

    • CFG_REFRESH

    • CFG_UPDATE

    • DELETEHTTPEXPIREMAPPING

    • DELETEMIMEMAPPING

    • DELETESCHEMALOCMAPPING

    • DELETESERVLET

    • DELETESERVLETMAPPING

    • DELETESERVLETSECROLE

    • DELETEXMLEXTENSION

    • GETFTPPORT

    • GETHTTPPORT

    • GETLISTENERENDPOINT

    • SETFTPPORT

    • SETHTTPPORT

    • SETLISTENERENDPOINT

    • SETLISTENERLOCALACCESS

    The following is a list of constants that are deprecated in package DBMS_XDB:

    • XDB_ENDPOINT_HTTP

    • XDB_ENDPOINT_HTTP2

    • XDB_PROTOCOL_TCP

    • XDB_PROTOCOL_TCPS

    See Also:

    Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference, Chapter "DBMS_XDB_CONFIG"

  • All Oracle SQL functions for updating XML data are deprecated. Use XQuery Update instead for these functions . The following is a list of deprecated XML updating functions:

    • updateXML

    • insertChildXML

    • insertChildXMLbefore

    • insertChildXMLafter

    • insertXMLbefore

    • insertXMLafter

    • appendChildXML

    • deleteXML

    See Also:

    Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for the appendix that describes Oracle SQL functions for updating XML data that are deprecated and recommendations for replacements

  • Oracle SQL function sys_xmlgen is deprecated. Use the SQL/XML generation functions instead.

    See Also:

    Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for information about SQL functions that you can use to construct XML data

  • The following Oracle XQuery functions are deprecated. Use the corresponding standard XQuery functions instead, that is, the functions with the same names but with namespace prefix fn.

    • ora:matches – use fn:matches instead

    • ora:replace – use fn:replace instead

  • The following Oracle constructs that provide support for XML translations are deprecated.

    • PL/SQL package DBMS_XMLTRANSLATIONS

    • Oracle XPath function ora:translate

    • XML Schema annotations xdb:maxOccurs, xdb:srclang, and xdb:translate

    There are no replacements for these constructs, and there is no workaround for this change.

    See Also:

    Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for more information

  • The following XML Schema annotations are deprecated:

    • xdb:defaultTableSchema

    • xdb:maintainOrder

    • xdb:mapUnboundedStringToLob

    • xdb:maxOccurs

    • xdb:SQLCollSchema

    • xdb:SQLSchema

    • xdb:srclang

    • xdb:storeVarrayAsTable

    • xdb:translate

    There are no replacements for these constructs, and there is no workaround for this change.

  • The value xml_clobs for export parameter data_options is deprecated starting with Oracle Database 12c.

    See Also:

    Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for information about exporting and importing XMLType Tables

See Also:

Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide for a complete list of changes in this release, and more information about changes

Behavior Changes in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Review for descriptions of Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) changes.

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) introduces new features and changes that affect compatibility and interoperability, and may affect upgrades.

Deprecation of Oracle Net Listener SNMP Support in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Oracle has deprecated SNMP support in Oracle Net Listener in Oracle Database release 11.2.0.3.

Oracle recommends that you do not use SNMP in new implementations.

See Also:

https://support.oracle.com/CSP/main/article?cmd=show&type=NOT&id=1341834.1, "Planned end of support for SNMP in Oracle Net Listener"

Changes to PL/SQL Procedures in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

In Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), PL/SQL procedures listed here are moved from package DBMS_XDB to package DBMS_XDB_ADMIN.

The procedures moved to DBMS_XDB_ADMIN include:

  • moveXDB_tablespace

  • rebuildHierarchicalIndex

See Also:

Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference

JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES Parameter and Scheduling Jobs in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSOR settings now affect DBMS_SCHEDULER.

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), setting JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES to 0 causes both DBMS_SCHEDULER and DBMS_JOB jobs to not run. Previously, setting JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES to 0 caused DBMS_JOB jobs to not run, but DBMS_SCHEDULER jobs were unaffected and would still run. The default value is 1000.

Oracle Database overrides the job queue setting to disable scheduler jobs during upgrade mode. Therefore, you can ignore this setting when upgrading Oracle Database. When the database is opened under UPGRADE mode, Oracle internally enforces that no jobs can be run (under DBMS_JOB or DBMS_SCHEDULER). It does not matter what JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES is set to in UPGRADE mode.

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for more information on this parameter

Deprecated XML DB Constructs in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

XML DB constructs listed here are deprecated in release 11.2.0.3:

  • PL/SQL procedure DBMS_XDB_ADMIN.createRepositoryXMLIndex

  • PL/SQL procedure DBMS_XDB_ADMIN.XMLIndexAddPath

  • PL/SQL procedure DBMS_XDB_ADMIN.XMLIndexRemovePath

  • PL/SQL procedure DBMS_XDB_ADMIN.dropRepositoryXMLIndex

  • XML schema annotation (attribute) csx:encodingType

  • XMLIndex index on CLOB portions of hybrid XMLType storage (this is CLOB data that is embedded within object-relational storage)

See Also:

Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide

CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR Deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

The CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR parameter is deprecated in Oracle Database release 11.2.0.3. Use adaptive cursor sharing instead.

See Also:

Oracle Database SQL Tuning Guide for information about adaptive cursor sharing

Planned Desupport of Change Data Capture in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Oracle Change Data Capture is being replaced with Oracle GoldenGate.

For new applications, Oracle strongly recommends that you use Oracle GoldenGate.

For Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), Change Data Capture continues to function as in earlier releases. If you are currently using Change Data Capture, then you can continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, Change Data Capture is not being further enhanced.

Deprecation of Data Mining Java API in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Starting with release 11.2.0.3 of Oracle Database, the Data Mining Java API is deprecated.

Oracle Data Mining now supports a new release of Oracle Data Miner. The earlier release, Oracle Data Miner Classic, is still available for download on Oracle Technology Network (OTN), but it is no longer under active development.

Identifying Initialization Parameters Deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Use the query described here to locate deprecated parameters.

A deprecated parameter behaves the same way as a regular parameter, except that a warning message is displayed at instance startup if a deprecated parameter is specified in the parameter file. In addition, all deprecated parameters are logged to the alert log at instance startup.

To obtain a list of all initialization parameters that are specified as deprecated for the current database, issue the following SQL statement:

SQL> SELECT name FROM v$parameter
         WHERE isdeprecated = 'TRUE';

Initialization Parameters Deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Review this topic to find parameters deprecated in Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2).

The following initialization parameters are deprecated:

  • ACTIVE_INSTANCE_COUNT

  • PARALLEL_IO_CAP_ENABLED

To obtain a list of all deprecated initialization parameters, issue the following SQL statement:

SQL> SELECT name FROM v$parameter
         WHERE isdeprecated = 'TRUE';

A deprecated parameter behaves the same way as a regular parameter, except that a warning message is displayed at instance startup if a deprecated parameter is specified in the parameter file. In addition, all deprecated parameters are logged to the alert log at instance startup:

Initialization Parameters Desupported in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Review this topic to find parameters desupported in Oracle Database 11g release 2(11.2).

The following initialization parameters are desupported:

  • DRS_START
  • GC_FILES_TO_LOCKS
  • MAX_COMMIT_PROPAGATION_DELAY
  • PLSQL_NATIVE_LIBRARY_DIR
  • PLSQL_NATIVE_LIBRARY_SUBDIR_COUNT
  • SQL_VERSION

Note:

An attempt to start a database using one or more desupported initialization parameters succeeds, but a warning is returned and recorded in the alert log.

Static Data Dictionary Views Deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

The static data dictionary views listed here are deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2).

The following static dictionary views are deprecated:

  • ALL_STREAMS_STMTS (replaced by DBA_STREAMS_STMTS)

  • DBA_COMPARISON_SCAN_SUMMARY (replaced by DBA_COMPARISON_SCAN)

  • USER_COMPARISON_SCAN_SUMMARY (replaced by USER_COMPARISON_SCAN)

Dynamic Performance Views Deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

The V$FLASH_RECOVERY_AREA_USAGE dynamic performance view is deprecated in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2).

The dynamic performance view V$FLASH_RECOVERY_AREA_USAGE is replaced by V$RECOVERY_AREA_USAGE

Deprecated Features in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Deprecated features listed here are supported in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) for backward compatibility. Oracle recommends that you migrate from deprecated features to recommended alternatives.

Dictionary-managed Tablespaces

Oracle recommends that you create locally managed tablespaces. Locally managed tablespaces are much more efficiently managed than dictionary-managed tablespaces.

MAX_JOB_SLAVE_PROCESSES

MAX_JOB_SLAVE_PROCESSES is deprecated. Use JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES instead.

Changes to LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n Parameters in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Supported destinations are raised from 10 to 31.

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), the number of supported destinations in the LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n and the LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_STATE_n parameters have been increased from 10 to 31. Destinations LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_11 through LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_31 do not support the SYNC, ARCH, LOCATION, MANDATORY, ALTERNATE, or DEPENDENCY attributes, and cannot be specified as the target of the ALTERNATE or DEPENDENCY attributes.

LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_11 through LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_31 can only be used when the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter is set to 11.2.0 or higher.