Oracle Advanced Compression (often called ACO) is an extra-cost option for Oracle Database that provides a suite of compression and data optimization features beyond what is available by default. It is an add-on for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition that offers powerful data compression features, but its use requires careful licensing compliance.
IT asset managers and database administrators must understand how this option is licensed and monitored to avoid costly compliance mistakes.
This article explains the licensing models (Named User Plus vs. Processor), important rules and restrictions, the features included under the Advanced Compression license, common compliance pitfalls, and how to detect if these features are being used.
Licensing Models: Named User Plus (NUP) vs. Processor
Oracle offers two primary licensing metrics for database products and options: Advanced Compression: Named User Plus (NUP) and Processor licenses.
Understanding these models is critical for determining how many Advanced Compression licenses your organization needs.
- Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing: This model is based on the number of unique individuals (or devices) authorized to use the software. An NUP license covers one user accessing the Oracle Database and its options. Oracle’s definition counts human users and non-human-operated devices interacting with the database. Importantly, Oracle requires a minimum number of NUP licenses per processor for certain products. The minimum for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition and its options is typically 25 Named User Plus per processor. This means that even if you have only a few users, you must still license at least 25 users per database processor (core) or the actual number of users, whichever is higher. For example, if an Oracle database running Advanced Compression has four processors, at least 100 NUP licenses are required (4 × 25), even if fewer than 100 individuals use the database. NUP licensing is cost-effective when the user count is limited relative to the hardware size.
- Processor Licensing: This model licenses the software based on the processors/cores on the machines where the Oracle database is installed or running, irrespective of user counts. It’s often used when the user population is large or indeterminate (e.g., public-facing systems) because it allows unlimited users. Oracle counts physical processor cores, applying a core factor multiplier (as defined in Oracle’s Core Factor Table) to determine the number of licensable processors. The formula is: Processor Licenses = (Number of cores) × (Core Factor). For instance, if a server has 8 CPU cores and the core factor is 0.5 (common for Intel Xeon chips), 8 × 0.5 = 4 Processor licenses are required. All cores of all processors where the database (and Advanced Compression) is installed must be fully licensed. Processor licenses are typically more expensive (for Advanced Compression, Oracle’s price is around $11,500 per processor at list price). Still, they allow unlimited users, making them suitable for high-user-volume environments.
Choosing a Model: The licensing model for Advanced Compression must match the model of the Oracle Database license it is attached to. In other words, if processors license your Oracle Database, you must license Advanced Compression by processors (in the same quantity); if NUP licenses your database, Advanced Compression must be licensed by NUP (with at least the same user count).
You cannot mix metrics for the database and its options. Organizations with a small, controlled user count often use NUP licensing (ensuring the 25-per-processor minimum is met), whereas those with large or unknown user bases opt for processor licensing for simplicity.
Always calculate both models to see which is compliant and more cost-effective, but remember Oracle will require the higher count if minimums apply.
Rules and Restrictions for Advanced Compression Licensing
Using Oracle Advanced Compression comes with specific rules and conditions that organizations must adhere to:
- Enterprise Edition Requirement: Advanced Compression is only an Oracle Database Enterprise Edition option. It is not included in Standard Edition or other editions. Advanced Compression is an extra-cost feature for Oracle Enterprise Edition databases. You must have Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (EE) licenses to purchase and use Advanced Compression. (Oracle’s Personal Edition includes many EE options by default, but that is rarely used in server environments.) Standard Edition databases are limited to basic compression capabilities and cannot legally use the Advanced Compression option features.
- Licensing Alignment with Database: As noted, the license for the Advanced Compression option must mirror the licensing of the database itself in both metric and quantity. If your database is licensed for four processors, you need four processor licenses of Advanced Compression; if you have 100 Named User Plus for the database, you also need at least 100 Named User Plus licenses for Advanced Compression. You cannot license Advanced Compression on only a subset of the processors or users that the database runs on – it has to cover the entire deployment of that database. All servers (including any standby or failover servers that run the database with Advanced Compression features enabled) must be licensed. Oracle’s policy is clear that you must be licensed for an option to use any of its features – there are no partial or “just try it” usage allowances.
- Non-Transferability: Oracle licenses are generally tied to a specific customer and specific environment and are non-transferable between different deployments without Oracle’s approval. This means you cannot take an Advanced Compression license from one database or server and apply it to another unless your contract allows it (e.g., part of a license pool). Ensure that each separate Oracle database installation using Advanced Compression is properly licensed.
- Database Edition Features vs. Option Features: Some compression features are included in Oracle Database by default, while others specifically require the Advanced Compression option. For example, Basic table compression for bulk loads is included with Enterprise Edition (and even available in Standard Edition for read-only or direct-path loaded data). However, Advanced Row Compression (formerly known as OLTP compression) requires an Advanced Compression license. Similarly, Oracle’s Hybrid Columnar Compression (HCC), used on Exadata and certain storage systems, typically does not require an Advanced Compression license unless you use specific features like row-level locking on HCC data, which do require the option. Oracle’s documentation spells out which features are free vs. licensed. As a rule of thumb, any compression feature marketed as part of “Advanced Compression” or any use of compression beyond the basic provided in EE must be assumed to require the option license.
- Included with Specific Oracle Offerings: Certain options might be included in some Oracle-engineered systems or cloud offerings. For instance, on Oracle Database Cloud Services or Exadata Cloud, Advanced Compression may be included depending on your subscription level (Oracle documentation lists it as included in some “Extreme Performance” configurations). Asset managers should verify their specific contracts – if not explicitly included, assume it’s a separately chargeable option.
By adhering to these rules – using Advanced Compression only on Enterprise Edition databases, aligning license counts with the database, and distinguishing free vs. paid features – you can ensure your usage remains compliant. Always review Oracle’s official Licensing Guide and your contract for any updates or special terms.
Included Components: Features Covered Under Advanced Compression
Oracle Advanced Compression provides a rich set of features to reduce storage usage, optimize data archiving, and improve the performance of storage-related operations.
When you purchase an Advanced Compression license, you are entitled to use all of the following features (across all supported Oracle Database versions), at no extra charge beyond the option license:
- Advanced Row Compression: Also known historically as OLTP Table Compression, this feature compresses table data on the fly by eliminating duplicate values within database blocks. It allows more rows to be stored per data block, significantly reducing disk space for frequently inserted or updated data. Advanced Row Compression is one of the core features of the option and is effective for transactional databases.
- Advanced LOB Compression and Deduplication: These features apply to Large Objects (LOBs) such as text, images, or XML stored in the database (SecureFiles LOBs). LOB Compression reduces the storage footprint of LOB data, and LOB Deduplication avoids storing multiple copies of the same LOB content by keeping just one copy and referencing it if duplicates exist. This is extremely useful for applications that store attachments or repetitive large data in the database.
- Advanced Index Compression: This extends Oracle’s index compression capabilities beyond the basic prefix compression available in the base database. Advanced Index Compression can compress index leaf blocks more effectively, resulting in smaller indexes and less I/O when scanning them. It is particularly useful for large indexes where storage and performance are a concern.
- RMAN Backup Data Compression: Oracle’s Recovery Manager (RMAN) can compress backup sets to save space. With Advanced Compression, you can access RMAN’s HIGH, MEDIUM, and LOW compression levels for backups. (Oracle does include a BASIC compression algorithm for RMAN backups that does not require the Advanced Compression license; however, the more effective compression levels are part of the licensed option.) Compressed backups are smaller on disk and can be transferred more quickly, at the cost of some extra CPU usage during backup/recovery.
- Data Pump Export Compression: Oracle Data Pump (the export/import utility) can compress the data it unloads. With Advanced Compression, you can compress both table data and metadata in export dump files. Using Data Pump with
COMPRESSION=ALLorDATA_ONLYrequires an Advanced Compression license. (If you useCOMPRESSION=METADATA_ONLY, it will compress only the object definitions, which does not require the Advanced Compression license.) This feature is great for shrinking the size of dump files for archive or transport, but be cautious – using full Data Pump compression without a license is a common compliance mistake. - Heat Map: A Heat Map is a tool that tracks how data is being accessed over time. Essentially, it annotates database segments with usage statistics (e.g., how recently and frequently each table or partition was accessed or updated). This feature doesn’t compress data by itself, but it provides the information needed to drive compression and storage tiering policies. It’s included in the Advanced Compression option and is a key part of Oracle’s Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) strategy.
- Automatic Data Optimization (ADO): ADO works in tandem with Heat Map. It allows you to define policies that automatically compress or move data between storage tiers based on the data’s “heat” (usage patterns). For example, you could have a policy to compress a table partition to a higher compression level if it hasn’t been modified in 30 days (cold data), or move old data to cheaper storage. ADO will automatically implement those policies without manual intervention. This feature brings automation to data compression and retention, ensuring you maximize storage savings over the data lifecycle.
- Data Guard Redo Transport Compression: In Oracle Data Guard configurations (for disaster recovery), the primary database ships redo logs to the standby database. With Advanced Compression, Oracle can compress this redo data during transport, reducing network bandwidth usage for the redo stream. This is especially beneficial for geographically distributed standby databases or slower network links. (Both primary and standby databases using this feature must be appropriately licensed.)
- Advanced Network Compression: Beyond Data Guard redo, Oracle Database can compress certain network data streams between database instances. This includes features like compressing Oracle Net or inter-node traffic in an RAC or Streams environment to improve bandwidth usage. Advanced Network Compression is covered under the Advanced Compression option, allowing network-intensive operations to benefit from compression.
- Flashback Data Archive (FDA) Optimization: Oracle’s Flashback Data Archive (also known as Total Recall) is a feature that keeps historical versions of rows for long-term audit or archive purposes. The Advanced Compression license allows those history tables to be compressed and optimized. Historical data can be stored in a compressed format to save space, which is important since flashback archives can grow large over time.
- Storage Snapshot Optimization: This feature optimizes the interaction with storage snapshots by reducing the volume of changed data that must be captured. Advanced Compression can reduce the I/O overhead by tracking changes more efficientlywhen storage-level snapshots or cloning are used. It’s a more behind-the-scenes feature but contributes to better performance in environments that heavily use snapshot technologies.
- Miscellaneous and Exadata-Specific Features: A few additional capabilities fall under Advanced Compression in specific scenarios. For instance, Online Move Partition to compress a partition online, and Exadata Flash Cache Compression (compressing data in Exadata’s flash cache) are included. Exadata Hybrid Columnar Compression (HCC) itself is a separate feature of Exadata storage; using HCC does not require Advanced Compression unless you enable HCC row-level locking (which allows DML on HCC-compressed tables) – that particular aspect requires the Advanced Compression option. In summary, if you’re on Exadata and leveraging HCC, you only need Advanced Compression if you use advanced features like row-level modify support or flash cache compression. All standard Advanced Compression features (listed above) are, of course, available on Exadata as well as HCC.
As Oracle states, “Oracle Advanced Compression includes the following features: …” and then lists all the items above. You can use any or all of these capabilities if you have licensed the option. It’s wise to be familiar with this list so you know what you’re entitled to use—and equally important, what you should avoid using if you have not purchased the Advanced Compression license.
Common Compliance Issues and Violations
Compliance pitfalls: Using Advanced Compression features without proper licensing can lead to audits, penalties, and unplanned costs (lock and warning icons symbolizing restricted features and risks).
Given the complexity of Oracle’s licensing, it’s unfortunately easy to slip out of compliance with Advanced Compression.
Here are some common compliance issues that IT asset managers should watch out for:
- Unauthorized Feature Usage (Accidental Activation): One of the most frequent violations is inadvertently using an Advanced Compression feature without realizing it. For example, running Oracle Data Pump exports with compression enabled (other than
METADATA_ONLY) will invoke the Advanced Compression functionality. If the DBA or developer isn’t aware that this requires a license, the organization can unknowingly start using the option. Such accidental activation is a well-known pitfall. Similarly, enabling table compression (beyond basic compression) or turning on ADO policies without the license would constitute unauthorized usage. Oracle’s policy is clear that using those features requires a license, regardless of intent. - Misunderstanding License Terms: Some organizations fall out of compliance due to not fully understanding what their licenses cover. They might assume, for instance, that because they have Enterprise Edition, they can use any feature, or they might confuse basic compression (free) with Advanced Compression. Terms like “OLTP Compression” or features like Heat Map/ADO might not scream “license required” to the untrained eye. This lack of awareness can lead to unintentional use. Teams need to know which features are part of Advanced Compression and ensure they are only used if licenses are in place. Regular training and clear documentation of what’s allowed can prevent these misunderstandings.
- Exceeding Licensed Capacity: Another compliance issue is using the option on more processors or users than you have licensed. This can happen if your environment grows (e.g., adding a new node to a cluster or more cores in a server), but you don’t purchase additional licenses to cover the expansion. It can also occur if you had NUP licenses assuming a certain user count and the number of users increases beyond that. Oracle’s contracts typically require you to true-up licenses to the environment. Using Advanced Compression on an 8-core server when you only paid for four cores, or allowing 200 named users to access a system licensed for 100, is a clear violation. Ensure that any changes in hardware or user counts are evaluated for licensing impact, and maintain the required 25:1 user-to-processor minimum if on NUP.
- Improper Licensing Alignment: As discussed, the Advanced Compression option must be licensed like the database. A compliance issue arises if, for example, the database is licensed per processor. Still, the option was mistakenly only licensed by Named User Plus (or vice versa), or if a standby database using redo compression wasn’t licensed while the primary was. Every database instance (production, standby, QA, etc.) using the Advanced Compression features must have the option licensed under the same terms. Sometimes, companies license only their production database for the option but then clone or refresh data to a development or test database and continue using compressed data or compression features without purchasing licenses for those environments. Such license mismatches or unlabeled usage in non-prod environments can put you out of compliance. Oracle’s rules do not generally exempt development/test environments—if the feature is used, it should be licensed unless you have a special agreement.
- Lack of Team Awareness and Controls: Compliance can be broken by DBAs and any user or developer with sufficient privileges who enable a feature. If one team member turns on an Advanced Compression feature (e.g., creates a compressed table or uses a compression argument in an API call), the whole company is at risk if that option isn’t licensed. A common issue is that DBA and development teams are unaware of the licensing constraints. Oracle doesn’t enforce the license technologically – the software won’t stop you from using an unlicensed feature – so it’s up to the organization to police itself. Without proper communication and governance, a well-meaning employee might unknowingly cause a license violation. To mitigate this, some companies disable or lock down certain features or use scripts to alert if someone tries to create a compressed table, for instance.
- Inadequate Auditing and Monitoring: Many compliance issues go unnoticed until an Oracle audit because the organization wasn’t actively monitoring feature usage. Oracle’s License Management Services (LMS) or audit teams can retrieve usage information that spans months or years. You might be caught off guard if you haven’t been checking what features are used. Regular internal audits using Oracle’s provided scripts or your queries (discussed in the next section) are crucial. By reviewing feature usage periodically, you can catch unauthorized Advanced Compression use early and take corrective action (such as disabling the feature and notifying Oracle if required or purchasing the license). Being proactive in auditing can save you from a non-compliance surprise.
In summary, the biggest compliance problems with Advanced Compression boil down to using it when you shouldn’t (unlicensed usage) or using more of it than you paid for. Avoiding these pitfalls requires technical vigilance (monitoring feature use) and proper training/communication so everyone knows the boundaries. When in doubt, consult Oracle’s licensing documentation or seek expert advice to clarify what is and isn’t allowed under your licenses.
Detecting Advanced Compression Usage
Knowing whether Advanced Compression features have been used in your databases is vital for compliance auditing and making informed licensing decisions.
Oracle provides tools and techniques to detect the usage of optional features like Advanced Compression:
- Oracle Feature Usage Statistics Views: Oracle Database automatically tracks the usage of many features and options in a system view called
DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS. This view records information such as the feature name, how many times it’s been used, and the last usage date. For Advanced Compression, there are specific feature entries (for example, names containing “Compression” or related tool names). Administrators can query this view to check for any usage of compression features. For example, one could run a query filteringDBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICSfor any entries related to “Compress” whereDETECTED_USAGES > 0to see if Advanced Compression has been utilized. The output will show which compression features were triggered and how many times. This includes table compressions, index compressions, Data Pump compression usage, etc. If all the counts are zero, it suggests that the Advanced Compression option has not been used (or at least not in the ways that Oracle tracks). - Oracle Audit (LMS) Scripts: Oracle’s License Management Services provide official scripts (often called the LMS Collection Tool or Oracle audit scripts) that customers can run to gather feature usage data. These scripts query the views above and other internal metrics to report what licensed options have been used and when. The Advanced Compression option will be flagged in these reports if any of its features were exercised. Notably, Oracle’s scripts are designed to catch current and historical usage. Even if you enabled a compression feature briefly two years ago and then turned it off, the script may still reveal that it was used in the past, because Oracle stores historical usage information (the view retains cumulative counts). According to licensing experts, the Oracle LMS tool will “scan your database and identify how often, for example, Data Pump has been used. It also detects historical usage… If Oracle finds this, you must purchase a license.”. In other words, one-time or accidental use is not excused; if it’s recorded, it’s considered usage requiring a license. This underscores the importance of monitoring – you can’t just quietly test a feature and assume it will go unnoticed later.
- Specific Indicators in Feature Usage Data: Some features have very specific markers. For instance, the use of Data Pump with compression will show up in
DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICSunder entries like “Oracle Data Pump Export” with a feature info text mentioning compression. Similarly, if Data Guard redo transport compression was used, a “Data Guard” entry might have a feature info flag indicating compression was TRUE. An administrator can pinpoint which Advanced Compression feature was used by examining these details. Oracle’s audit scripts handle this logic, but a savvy DBA can manually check for telltale signs in the feature usage views. There are also queries from Oracle support and community blogs about checking option usage across versions since the exact entries can vary by Oracle version. - Enterprise Manager and Other Tools: Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) has a Database Usage Statistics or License Management pack that can report on feature usage. If you have OEM, you might be able to see which options are being used by your databases over time. Third-party Oracle license management tools may similarly leverage Oracle’s data to alert you if an unlicensed feature like Advanced Compression is detected in use. These can be helpful for continuous compliance monitoring.
Best Practices for Detection: It is recommended that organizations periodically run the Oracle feature usage queries or LMS scripts on all Oracle database instances. Doing this quarterly or before any True-up/renewal discussions with Oracle can reveal if Advanced Compression was enabled anywhere. If you find usage and do not have it licensed, you should investigate:
Was it a one-time accidental use (e.g., someone ran a Data Pump job without the right parameter)? Was it enabled intentionally (perhaps a table was created with COMPRESSION enabled)?
Depending on the situation, you might decide to purchase the necessary licenses or remove/disable the feature and seek Oracle’s guidance on remediation. Oracle’s audits typically uncover these usages, so it’s far better to catch and address them yourself first.
In summary, detecting Advanced Compression usage is possible using Oracle’s built-in views and audit tools. The data collected can help an IT asset manager demonstrate compliance or identify areas of non-compliance.
Being proactive in this area is a key part of Oracle license management. Remember that Oracle’s records are quite comprehensive – active and historical use can be detected – so the safest approach is to prevent unlicensed feature use in the first place and closely monitor your databases for any activation of Advanced Compression features.
Conclusion
Oracle Advanced Compression can deliver significant benefits in terms of storage savings and performance tuning for large databases, but those benefits come at an additional licensing cost. For IT asset managers, it’s crucial to understand how this option is sold (NUP vs. Processor), ensure that all the rules (like matching the database license and using it only on Enterprise Edition) are followed, and keep track of which features are enabled in the environment.
We’ve covered the rich set of features that the Advanced Compression license includes – from row and LOB compression to backup, network, and ILM capabilities – and highlighted common pitfalls where organizations often trip up in compliance.
By being aware of these issues and using Oracle’s auditing tools and views to detect usage, you can manage the Advanced Compression option responsibly. Always communicate openly with your technical teams about what is allowed and perform regular self-audits.
With the right knowledge and controls, you can leverage Oracle Advanced Compression’s benefits while staying on the right side of Oracle’s licensing policies. Compliance in the Oracle world is not just about avoiding fees – it’s about optimizing your software usage. Hence, you only pay for what truly adds value to your business, with no surprises when the auditors knock.
