What's New in Oracle Database 11g

The following is a list of new features or enhancements provided with Oracle Database 11g:

New Components Available for Installation

The following are the new components available while installing Oracle Database 11g:

See Also:

The following sections and guides for more information:

Changes in the Install Options

The following are install option changes for Oracle Database 11g:

See Also:

The following sections and guides for more information:

Database Configuration Assistant

The following additions and enhancements are made to Database Configuration Assistant:

Added Support to Configure New Database Options

The following options in Oracle Database 11g can be configured using Database Configuration Assistant:

Automatic Memory Management

This is a new initialization parameter in Oracle Database 11g to automate the memory allocation. By default, Database Configuration Assistant now uses MEMORY_TARGET instead of specifying individual values for SGA_TARGET and PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET. The Memory management page of Database Configuration Assistant has a new option to select automatic memory management.

See Also:

The "Using Automatic Memory Management" section of Oracle Database Administrator's Guide

Oracle Base and Diagnostic Destination Configuration

The directory that you specify when you are prompted for ORACLE_BASE by Oracle Universal Installer is stored in the Oracle home inventory. Database Configuration Assistant uses this value to derive the default database locations and the DIAGNOSTIC_DEST parameter. The diagnostic destination location contains all Automatic Diagnostic Repository directories (diagnostic files such as Alert logs and so on). Starting with Oracle Database Release 11g, the initialization parameter settings for background dump, user dump, and core dump destinations are replaced by the Diagnostic Destination.

See Also:

Appendix B, "Optimal Flexible Architecture" for more information on Oracle base and diagnostic destination configuration

Oracle Data Mining

In Oracle Database 11g, Data Mining metadata is created with the SYS metadata. It is created by the catproc.sql and other scripts that are run as the SYS user. You no longer configure the Data Mining option through the Database Features screen of Oracle Database Configuration Assistant.

See Also:

Oracle Data Mining Concepts for more information about Oracle Data Mining

Secure Database Configuration

Oracle Database 11g has new defaults for audit and password profiles. Database Configuration Assistant has a new screen to enable the new security settings during the database creation and existing database configuration.

If you install Oracle Database Vault when installing Oracle Database 11g, the database security settings are enabled by default.

See Also:

The "Database Security Options" section for more information

Switching a Database from Database Control to Grid Control Configuration

In previous releases, Database Configuration Assistant contains the functionality to configure a database either with Database Control, or with Grid Control. You can configure a database either while creating it or later. However, reconfiguring a database from Database Control to Grid Control requires significant manual effort. With Oracle Database 11g, Database Configuration Assistant provides the Enterprise Manager Configuration plug-in, which automates the process to switch configuration of a database from Database Control to Grid Control.

See Also:

Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide for Microsoft Windows for more information about configuring Grid Control

Database Upgrade Assistant

The following additions and enhancements are made to Database Configuration Assistant:

Command Line Option to Auto Extend System Files

The command line option AUTOEXTEND facilitates auto extending of the data files as a part of the upgrade. This option automatically extends the data files during the upgrade and turns the autoextend back to its original settings after the upgrade. This option is useful if there is enough space on the disk, and if you do not need to add new data files or manually increase the size of the files.

See Also:

The "Altering a Bigfile Tablespace" section in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about the AUTOEXTEND clause

Express Edition Upgrade

For single-instance databases, Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant configuration utility enables you to upgrade from Oracle Database Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) to Oracle Database 11g. The XE database files reside under the path ORACLE_BASE\oradata\XE. These files must be copied to a new location as the user may remove the XE Home after upgrade.

Integration with Oracle Database 11g Pre-upgrade Tool

Database Upgrade Assistant uses the new pre-upgrade script for Oracle Database 11g. This script is used to estimate disk space, initialization parameters, statistics gathering, and providing feedback on possible problem areas.

Moving Data Files into ASM, SAN, and Other File Systems

You can move data files to ASM, OFS, or other storage devices, such as Storage Area Networks (SAN) and Network Area Storage (NAS), as part of the upgrade. If you move the database files during the upgrade, you can benefit from the typical downtime for this tablespace by rebalancing disks and moving files to a better storage device, such as SAN, NAS, or ASM.

See Also:

The "Preparing Disk Groups for an Automatic Storage Management Installation" for more information about preparing disk groups for Automatic Storage Management

Oracle Base and Diagnostic Destination Configuration

The directory that you specify when you are prompted for ORACLE_BASE by Oracle Universal Installer is stored in the Oracle home inventory. Database Upgrade Assistant uses this value to derive the default database locations and the DIAGNOSTIC_DEST parameter. The diagnostic destination location contains all ADR directories (diagnostic files, such as the alert logs, trace files, and so on). This diagnostic destination directory is required while upgrading an earlier Oracle Database release to Oracle Database 11g release of the database. If the Oracle base directory already exists, Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant automatically retrieves this information and populates its path. Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 1, the initialization parameter settings for background dump (BACKGROUND_DUMP_DEST), user dump (USER_DUMP_DEST), and core dump (CORE_DUMP_DEST) destinations are replaced by the Diagnostic Destination (DIAGNOSTIC_DEST).

See Also:

Appendix B, "Optimal Flexible Architecture" for more information about Oracle base and diagnostic destination configuration

Active Directory Security Enhancements

In Oracle Database 11g Release 1, you have the option to secure the Net Services data in the Active Directory. This data is generally considered to be public, but sites with greater security needs may need to protect it. You can make the Net Services data read-protected, and allow only specified users to access the data. To enable meaningful access control, the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) naming adapter for 11g can be configured to the require clients to authenticate to the directory during name lookup.

If you are considering implementing the authenticated Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) name lookup in the site, then you should be aware that clients of the earlier releases cannot access Net Services, because these clients are only capable of using anonymous binds for directory name lookup.

The following are the enhancements made to secure the directory:

Read-Access Control on Net Services

Directory administrators may want to eliminate anonymous access to the Active Directory, and (or) define specific groups of people who are allowed to read Net Service data during name lookup.

At present, there are no pre-defined groups or procedures in Oracle configuration tools for defining read-access restrictions on this data. Therefore, administrators need to use standard object management tools from their directory system to manually create any necessary groups and access control lists (ACLs).

Because the access definitions for objects are complex and may involve security properties, which are inherited from parent nodes in the Directory Information Tree (DIT), Oracle recommends that administrators refer to the relevant tools and documentation for the directory system they are using, and formulate or integrate access management for Net Service objects into a directory-wide policy and security implementation.The dsacls.exe command line tool displays and changes permissions, access control entries, in the access control list (ACL) of objects in Active Directory. The dsacls command-line tool is included in Support Tools on the Oracle Database 11g product media.

Additionally, you can use ADSI EDIT. This GUI tool is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that acts as a low-level editor for Active Directory. Network administrators can use Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) for common administrative tasks, such as adding, deleting, and moving objects with a directory service. Attributes for each object viewed can be changed or deleted. ADSI EDIT can be installed from Support Tools on product media.

Authenticated Bind for LDAP Naming

Oracle Database clients 10g or earlier cannot access Net Services and you need to install Oracle Database client 11g or later for the authentic binds. Windows clients, which use Active Directory, can be configured for authenticated binds during LDAP name lookup by adding the following parameters to their sqlnet.ora:

names.ldap_authenticate_bind= 1

The client's identity is derived from the Windows operating system and used during the directory bind to authenticate.

See Also:

Oracle Database Enterprise User Security Administrator's Guide for more information about Active Directory security

Automatic Storage Management Fast Mirror Resync

Automatic Storage Management fast mirror resync quickly resynchronizes Automatic Storage Management disks within a disk group after transient disk path failures, as long as the disk drive media is not corrupted. Any failures that render a failure group temporarily unavailable are considered transient failures. Disk path malfunctions, such as cable disconnections, host bus adapter or controller failures, or disk power supply interruptions, can cause transient failures. The duration of a fast mirror resync depends on the duration of the outage. The duration of a resynchronization is typically much shorter than the amount of time required to completely rebuild an entire Automatic Storage Management disk group.

See Also:

The "Automatic Storage Management Fast Mirror Resync" section in Oracle Database Storage Administrator's Guide for more information about ASM fast mirror resync

Oracle Data Provider for .NET

The following enhancements have been made to Oracle Data Provider for .NET after Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2):

See Also:

Oracle Data Provider for .NET Developer's Guide for more information about Oracle Data Provider for .NET

Oracle Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Writer

Volume Shadow Copy Service is an infrastructure on Windows 2003 platforms that enables the users to create snapshots called shadow copies. The infrastructure consists of the following components that participate in the creation of snapshots using COM interfaces:

The interoperability of Oracle Database as a writer with Volume Shadow Copy Service infrastructure enables frequent snapshots of the database files and their restoration with a choice of backup applications and storage systems.

When you install Oracle database 11g Release 1, Oracle Volume Shadow Copy Service Writer is installed automatically. You can also install the writer to use with the earlier releases of Oracle Database from the Oracle Database 11g Release 1 installation media.

See Also:

The following for more information about Oracle Volume Shadow Copy Service:

SYSASM Privilege for Automatic Storage Management Administration

Oracle Database 11g introduces an optional system privilege, SYSASM, to secure privileges to perform Automatic Storage Management administration tasks. Oracle recommends that you use SYSASM instead of SYSDBA for Automatic Storage Management administration, to separate Automatic Storage Management administration from database administration. In a future release, Oracle may restrict access to Automatic Storage Management only to operating system users that are members of the OSASM operating system group, and require the use of SYSASM to administer Automatic Storage Management.

See Also:

The "Authentication for Accessing ASM Instances" section in Oracle Database Storage Administrator's Guide for more information about SYSASM privilege for Automatic Storage Management

Automatic Maintenance Tasks Management

This feature provides out-of-the-box management of scheduling and resource allocation, such as CPU time, among the various database maintenance tasks, such as Automatic Optimizer Statistics Collection and Automatic Segment Advisor. Maintenance tasks are regulated to the extent that end-user activity gets the necessary resources to finish its work.

See Also:

Chapter 24, "Managing Automated Database Maintenance Tasks" of Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about Automatic Maintenance task management

Automatic Diagnostic Repository

The Automatic Diagnostic Repository is a feature added to Oracle Database 11g. It is a new system managed repository for storing and organizing trace files and other error diagnostic data. The Automatic Diagnostic Repository provides a comprehensive view of the critical errors encountered by the database. This feature also enables you to maintain the relevant data needed for problem diagnostics and their eventual resolution. The Automatic Diagnostic Repository reduces the time to resolve errors and code defects. The repository is stored as a directory structure under the ADR base directory that contains the diag directory. The default location of the ADR base directory is set by DIAGNOSTIC_DEST. If the ORACLE_BASE variable is set, then the default value of DIAGNOSTIC_DEST is equal to the value of the ORACLE_BASE variable. If the value of the ORACLE_BASE variable is not set, then the default value of DIAGNOSTIC_DEST is set to ORACLE_HOME\log. However, this location can be changed by using the DIAGNOSTIC_DEST parameter of the init.ora.

See Also:

The "Automatic Diagnostic Repository (ADR)" section in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about the Automatic Diagnostic Repository

Enhanced Optimal Flexible Architecture

The following enhancements are made to the Optimal Flexible Architecture in Oracle Database 11g:

Oracle Base and Oracle Home

In Oracle Database 11g, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to specify the Oracle base. You can share this Oracle base across all of the Oracle homes you create on the system. Oracle recommends that you share an Oracle base for all of the Oracle homes created by the same user.

Oracle Universal Installer has a list box where you can edit or select the Oracle base. The installer derives the default Oracle home from the Oracle base location you provide in the list box. However, you can change the default Oracle home by editing the location.

Oracle recommends that you create the flash recovery area and data file location under Oracle base in Oracle Database 11g to make it Optimal Flexible Architecture compliant.

See Also:

Oracle Clusterware Installation Guide for Microsoft Windows for more information about Oracle Clusterware home

Flash Recovery Area and Data File Location

In Oracle Database 10g, the default locations for the flash recovery area and data files are one level above the Oracle home directory. However, in Oracle database 11g, Oracle base is the starting point to set the default locations for flash recovery and data files. However, Oracle recommends that you keep the flash recovery area and data file location on separate disks. To mount the disks you can use the following mount points for flash recovery area and data file location respectively:

ORACLE_BASE\flash_recovery_area
ORACLE_BASE\oradata

Note:

To mount a disk under ORACLE_BASE\flash_recovery_area and ORACLE_BASE\oradata, you need to format the partition using NTFS. FAT32 file partitions do not allow arbitrary mount points like this. To assign a flash recovery area and data file locations on FAT32 file partitions, you can use one of the following:

  • Use ORACLE_BASE\flash_recovery_area and ORACLE_BASE\oradata directories for flash recovery and data file location. However, in this case, both the locations are in the same disk.

  • Use separate disks for flash recovery area and data files. In this case, these disks should be mounted elsewhere, either as separate drive letters or under a directory of an NTFS partition that does not contain ORACLE_BASE.

Oracle recommends you use separate disks for oradata, flash recovery, and the Oracle home.

If you install Oracle RAC, you must share flash recovery area and data file location among all the nodes.

See Also:

Appendix B, "Optimal Flexible Architecture" for more information about Optimal Flexible Architecture

Oracle Direct Network File System Client

This feature is implemented as a Direct Network File System (NFS) client as a part of Oracle Kernel in Oracle Disk Manager library. NAS-based storage systems use NFS to access data. In Oracle Database 10g, NAS storage devices are accessed using the operating system provided kernel NFS driver, which require specific configuration settings to ensure its efficient and correct usage with Oracle. The following are the major problems that arise in correctly specifying configuration parameters:

The following are the main advantages of implementing Oracle Direct NFS client functionality in Oracle kernel:

See Also:

Oracle Clusterware Installation Guide for Microsoft Windows for more information about Network File System

Windows Vista Support

This release is supported on Windows Vista.

See Also:

The following sections for more information about Windows Vista requirements and components supported on it:

Deprecated Components in Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1)

The following is a list of components that were part of Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2), and are not available for installation with Oracle Database 11g: