True Cache, free describes the feature and not the cores
Oracle's public position is that True Cache is included in the Enterprise Edition license at no additional cost, and read literally that sentence is true: the feature carries no incremental option fee. It also does not tell you the whole cost, because True Cache is architecturally a read only replica that runs on separately licensable cores, and cores are where Oracle collects.
Prepared by Redress Compliance · August 7, 2026 · Oracle advisory. Based on Oracle's published True Cache documentation and the database licensing engagement file.
Executive summary
The free claim answers the wrong question. Oracle's FAQ states True Cache is included in the Enterprise Edition license at no additional cost, and Oracle's own tutorial describes it as a fully functional, read only replica of the primary, just like Active Data Guard, except mostly diskless.
A replica runs on hardware, hardware has cores, and Oracle licenses cores: free applies to the feature license, not to the compute the cache instance consumes, and the marketing conflates the two.
The edition rule is two sided, and the mechanics are borrowed.
The User's Guide states True Cache licensing follows the edition of both the primary and the cache, the same structural pattern that makes Active Data Guard expensive, and the borrowing goes deeper: the cache populates by redo apply, and DML redirection is enabled by setting ADG_REDIRECT_DML.
An Active Data Guard initialization parameter, in every prior release tied to a separately licensed option.
True Cache does not appear as a named feature in the current licensing manual at all, and silence in the manual is not a gift; it is unresolved risk.
The worked case frames the exposure. A 16 core x86 server at the 0.5 factor is 8 processor licenses: at the Active Data Guard rate, $92,000 plus $20,240 of annual support, and if the cache is treated as a database, 8 Enterprise Edition licenses at $380,000 list on top, before discount.
On Named User Plus, the 25 per processor minimum puts a 200 NUP floor under the same instance whether or not that many users touch the cache. A free feature on eight processor licenses is not free.
The audit reads feature views, not marketing pages. A feature that quietly activates ADG style behavior is precisely what an auditor exploits, and any documentation gap around True Cache and Active Data Guard will be read in Oracle's favor unless written clarification exists before deployment.
The placement compounds it: on a soft partitioned VMware host, Oracle's position counts every core in the cluster, inflating the cache tier far beyond its actual footprint.
The cost elements, stated position against buyer risk
| Cost element | Active Data Guard replica | True Cache, Oracle's stated position | True Cache, the buyer risk view |
|---|---|---|---|
| EE base license on the tier | Required on all cores | Free feature, silent on cores | EE cores likely required |
| The ADG option, $11,500 per processor | Required on primary and standby | Not mentioned in the manual | Exposure wherever ADG mechanics activate |
| DML redirection | An ADG parameter, ADG licensed | Uses ADG_REDIRECT_DML | Activating it invites ADG scope |
| Edition matching | Must match the primary | Must match the primary, per the User's Guide | The confirmed two sided rule |
| Support at 22 percent | On all licensed cores | On EE cores if counted | On EE cores if counted |
The most reliable predictor of a licensing surprise is a feature that reuses another product's mechanics.
True Cache borrows Active Data Guard's redo apply, its DML redirection, and its initialization parameter, and the moment an ADG_ parameter is set, a mechanism historically tied to a separately licensed option is exercising.
The comparison baseline is exact: the ADG option licenses on every processor of both primary and active standby, never the standby alone, and the ten day rule covers only passive failover nodes, not an always active read tier.
The core counting, wherever the cache lands
Whether or not the ADG option applies, the cache instance runs on cores counted like any Oracle database: physical cores times the core factor, 0.5 across the current Intel Xeon portfolio after the January 2026 table update, 1.0 on IBM POWER, rounded up.
The placement decides the multiple: a dedicated 16 core host is 8 processor licenses, while the same cache on a soft partitioned VMware cluster inherits the cluster counting position, every core the instance could reach.
The rates the count multiplies against, EE at $47,500 and ADG at $11,500 per processor, sit on the technology price list, and the replica economics True Cache mirrors are worked in the Active Data Guard licensing analysis, whose read only with apply line is precisely the state True Cache lives in.
The database options and packs analysis
The option catalog with the replica economics in context: the trigger states, the symmetry rules, the free lanes, and the remediation paths that avoid list price findings.
Get the white paper →What to lock down before deployment
- Written clarification from Oracle on the cache tier's EE and ADG posture, referenced to the documentation versions in force, because the manual's silence resolves against you at audit.
- Dedicated, minimal hosts for the cache tier, sized to the workload with low core count parts, because the count is the bill and the cluster position is the trap.
- The ADG_REDIRECT_DML decision made deliberately: DML redirection is a convenience that activates an ADG parameter, and the read only cache without it keeps the cleaner argument.
- The feature usage views checked quarterly, DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS and its kin, because the audit reads them and you should read them first.
- The NUP floor modeled where user counting applies: 25 per processor puts 200 NUP under an 8 processor cache tier regardless of who touches it.
- Percentile standing for your exact deal size and industry, from real closed transactions
- Scenario simulation before the call: test alternative terms and see the financial impact of each
- A negotiation playbook, talking points, and a two page executive brief on day one
The honest read, and where it lands
Independent analysis has flagged exactly this ambiguity: True Cache uses Active Data Guard technology, no explicit ADG option obligation is expressed in the licensing documents, and the feature is absent from the licensing manual entirely. Three readings follow:
The feature and the cores ride the primary's licenses, a position nothing in the manual currently guarantees.
The two sided edition rule prices the tier at $47,500 per processor, the $380,000 question on 16 cores.
The worst case adds the ADG option wherever its mechanics are exercised, $92,000 plus support on the worked example's 8 processors, and the deciding evidence will be feature usage views and parameter settings, not intentions.
The pragmatic posture prices the likely case into the architecture decision, keeps the cache hosts small and dedicated, and treats every free claim about a replica bearing Active Data Guard's fingerprints as a question for the ordering document rather than the FAQ.
Your first five moves
- Price the cache tier at EE rates before deploying, because the two sided edition rule is confirmed and the free claim is silent on cores.
- Get the licensing posture in writing, referenced to document versions, before the first instance starts.
- Keep the cache on dedicated low core hosts, never a soft partitioned cluster, because the placement multiplies the count.
- Decide DML redirection deliberately, since ADG_REDIRECT_DML is an Active Data Guard parameter with an option history.
- Read your own feature usage views quarterly, before the audit does. The Oracle practice runs the assessment with you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Oracle True Cache free?
The feature license is: Oracle states True Cache is included in the Enterprise Edition license at no additional cost.
The cores it runs on are not: True Cache is architecturally a read only replica, the edition rule requires the cache tier to match the primary, and a 16 core cache host is 8 processor licenses, a $380,000 Enterprise Edition question before discount.
Does True Cache require the Active Data Guard option?
Unresolved, which is the risk: True Cache populates by redo apply, its DML redirection uses the ADG_REDIRECT_DML parameter, and it does not appear as a named feature in the current licensing manual.
The mechanics invite the ADG analogy at $11,500 per processor, and documentation gaps resolve in Oracle's favor at audit absent written clarification.
How is a True Cache instance counted for licensing?
Like any Oracle database instance: physical cores times the core factor, 0.5 on current x86 and 1.0 on IBM POWER, rounded up, with Enterprise Edition at $47,500 per processor if the tier counts as a database.
On a soft partitioned VMware host, Oracle's position counts the whole cluster, inflating the tier far beyond its footprint.
What is the True Cache NUP exposure?
The Enterprise Edition minimum of 25 Named User Plus per processor: a separately counted cache instance on 8 processors carries a 200 NUP floor whether or not that many users ever touch the cache.
The floor applies to the counted processors, which is another reason the cache tier belongs on small dedicated hosts.
How would Oracle detect True Cache usage in an audit?
Through feature usage views and parameter settings, DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS and the ADG_ parameters among them, not through marketing pages.
A feature that quietly activates Active Data Guard style behavior is exactly what audit scripts surface, which is why reading your own views quarterly, before Oracle does, is the standing control.
What should be agreed before deploying True Cache?
Written clarification of the cache tier's EE and ADG posture referenced to current document versions, dedicated low core hosts for the tier, a deliberate decision on DML redirection, and the NUP floor modeled where user counting applies.
The free claim belongs in the ordering document as a term, not in the architecture as an assumption.
