How does Oracle Database Licensing Work?
How is Oracle database licensing structured?
Oracle database licensing hinges on the following:
- The infrastructure, number of processor cores, and number of users.
- The two main license models are processor and named user Plus.
- For the processor model, physical core counts matter, but Oracle’s virtualization rules apply to virtual servers.
- Oracle offers two main database editions: Enterprise and Standard.
- The enterprise edition is core-based with 18 add-ons termed enterprise edition options or management packs.
- The standard edition is socket-based. Different editions have varying user minimums and deployment rules.
Introduction to Oracle Database Licensing
Oracle Database Licensing can be complex, but understanding its structure is key to managing costs and compliance effectively. Oracle offers several licensing options, allowing organizations to align database costs with their infrastructure needs, usage requirements, and business size.
Selecting the correct licensing model can help control expenses, avoid compliance issues, and optimize how Oracle products are deployed within an organization.
Importance of Choosing the Right License Model
Selecting the proper licensing model is crucial for avoiding unexpected costs during Oracle audits and ensuring legal compliance. Licensing isn’t just about meeting a financial obligation—it also determines how and where the database can be deployed and used.
The chosen license affects scalability, infrastructure configuration, and integration, especially when considering factors such as the number of users, hardware capacity, and the potential need for virtualization.
Key Elements: Infrastructure, Processor Cores, and Users
The structure of Oracle licensing hinges on three key elements:
- Infrastructure: Licensing requirements depend heavily on how the database is deployed—whether on physical servers, virtual machines, or a combination.
- Processor Cores: Processor-based licensing calculates costs based on the number of cores utilized by Oracle software. Specific licensing factors are applied based on core types.
- Users: User-based licensing counts every individual who accesses the database. Tracking this accurately is crucial to avoid over- or under-licensing.
Oracle Databases Licensing Models
Oracle provides two main licensing models for its databases: Processor Licensing and Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing. Each has specific advantages, depending on the size of the organization and the nature of its database usage.
Processor vs. Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing
- Processor Licensing: This model is ideal when it’s difficult to count individual users, such as in web-based applications or large-scale enterprise environments. It requires licensing all processor cores in the server or cluster. Processor licenses are calculated by multiplying the number of cores by a specific core factor.
- Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing: This model is based on the number of users who can access the database. It’s more suitable for environments with a small, easily identifiable group of users, such as a test or development team. Each NUP license allows for a minimum number of users per server or processor, which can vary depending on the edition of the Oracle Database in use.
Differences and Applicability
- Processor Licensing is beneficial when the user base is large or dynamic, as it avoids the need to count and track individual users.
- NUP Licensing works well when the user base is relatively stable and small, offering a cost-effective alternative to processor licensing.
How does Oracle Licensing Work?
The metrics used in these licensing models are based on either user count or processor capacity:
- Processor-Based Licensing Metrics: These are calculated based on physical or virtual cores. The core factor (determined by Oracle) affects the number of licenses required, so it is essential to understand the hardware being used.
- User-Based Licensing Metrics: In NUP, all users (including human users and devices interacting with the database) must be counted to ensure compliance. A licensing minimum often applies per server or processor.
Key Elements Affecting License Choice
- Infrastructure: Whether the database is deployed on physical servers, clusters, or virtualized environments directly influences the license type. Virtualization adds complexity, as specific rules define when servers must be licensed fully.
- Processor Cores and Virtualization: The number of cores and whether virtual servers are used determine license requirements. Oracle enforces licensing rules for soft partitioning (e.g., VMware) and hard partitioning technologies.
- Software Editions and Use Cases: Organizations should also consider the edition of Oracle Database (Enterprise or Standard Edition) to determine the appropriate licensing model.
Oracle offers two primary database editions: Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition. Both editions provide different features, functionalities, and licensing requirements to accommodate varied organizational needs.
Enterprise Edition vs. Standard Edition
- Enterprise Edition (EE): This is the more feature-rich version of Oracle Database, designed for large enterprises needing advanced capabilities such as high availability, performance tuning, and enhanced security features. Enterprise Edition is licensed based on processor cores, with multiple add-ons available to further extend its capabilities. For example, add-ons like Real Application Clusters (RAC) and Partitioning offer scalability and performance benefits but require additional licenses.
- Standard Edition (SE): This edition is suitable for smaller companies or those that do not need the full range of features offered by Enterprise Edition. Licensing is based on socket count rather than individual cores, which can make it more affordable for smaller hardware setups. SE has some limitations, such as restricting the number of sockets and excluding some advanced features like RAC from Oracle 19c onwards.
Key Licensing Differences by Edition
- Enterprise Edition: Licenses are core-based, and the edition offers various management packs and add-ons that must be licensed separately.
- Standard Edition: Uses socket-based licensing, meaning it counts the physical CPU sockets rather than individual cores. The rules differ for SE and SE2, with a maximum number of sockets allowed for licensing. For example, Standard Edition 2 (SE2) can only be deployed on servers with a maximum of two processor sockets.
Minimums and Deployment Rules
- User Minimums: For Enterprise Edition, the minimum requirement is 25 Named User Plus licenses per processor. Standard Edition 2’s minimum is often set at 10 Named User Plus licenses per server.
- Deployment Constraints: Enterprise Edition can be deployed on servers of any size, whereas Standard Edition comes with constraints related to server capacity and deployment capabilities, making it suitable for smaller, less complex environments.
What needs to be licensed?
In the context of Oracle software, it’s vital to understand the scope of licensing requirements:
All Environments: Every server where the Oracle processor is installed or running must be licensed. This includes the production environment and test, development, and disaster recovery environments.
Oracle Database Licensing: Processor vs Named User Plus Models
4. Oracle Processor Licensing Model
Overview of Oracle Processor Licensing
Oracle Processor Licensing is a key model for organizations that need flexibility in managing databases with many users or complex infrastructure. Instead of licensing based on individual users, it covers processors, making it ideal for situations where tracking user numbers isn’t feasible. This is often the case for public-facing systems or where a high volume of unpredictable access is expected.
Typical Use Cases: Web-Based Applications and Large User Bases
Processor Licensing is typically used when managing databases accessed by large, fluctuating numbers of users, such as public web applications. For instance, a retail website experiencing heavy seasonal traffic or a university database accessed by thousands of students would benefit from processor-based licensing. This approach avoids the difficulty of constantly tracking user numbers, which can be highly variable.
Advantages and When to Consider Processor Licensing
The biggest advantage of Processor Licensing is the simplicity it brings to environments with a large user base. You don’t have to worry about tracking individual user counts. Instead, you focus on licensing based on server infrastructure. This approach works best when numerous users or when the number of devices accessing the database isn’t easily defined. If your system has more processors but fewer distinct users, Processor Licensing might not be as cost-effective, though it greatly simplifies compliance.
How to Calculate Processor Licenses
Calculating processor licenses involves understanding the infrastructure’s physical core count and applying Oracle’s core factor. Each processor core has an assigned core factor, which adjusts the count to reflect the processing power. For example, Oracle has a core factor table where Intel processors may be weighted differently than IBM Power processors.
Physical Core Counts and Core Factors
To determine the licensing requirement, multiply the total number of physical cores by the core factor assigned by Oracle. For example, if you have a server with eight physical cores and the core factor is 0.5, the number of processor licenses required would be 4 (8 cores × 0.5 core factor).
Example Scenarios for Enterprise and Standard Edition
Standard Edition: The Standard Edition is licensed differently, focusing on socket count rather than core count. This makes it simpler but less scalable, often limited to smaller servers or environments. Cut and deployment scenario.
Enterprise Edition: A company running Oracle Enterprise Edition on a server with 16 Intel cores and a core factor 0.5 would need eight processor licenses. Enterprise Edition allows licensing flexibility with options for add-ons and high scalability.
Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing Model
Overview of Named User Plus Licensing
Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing is ideal for environments with limited, clearly defined users. It licenses a specific number of users or devices, meaning everyone who directly or indirectly accesses the database must be counted. This model is particularly useful in smaller, controlled environments where the user population is well-known and doesn’t fluctuate dramatically.
Definition: Human Users and Non-Human Operated Devices
NUP Licensing includes human users and non-human-operated devices like servers or IoT devices. Any device or person that accesses the Oracle Database—whether directly or through another tool—must be counted under this model.
Applicability for Environments with Limited or Known Users
NUP Licensing works best for test or development environments, internal applications used by a specific number of employees, or any scenario where access is predictable and limited. For example, a development team of 15 members working on a database project would benefit from NUP Licensing.
Minimum User Requirements by Edition
Oracle sets minimum user requirements for NUP Licensing, which differ by edition:
- Enterprise Edition: Requires at least 25 Named User Plus licenses per processor or the total number of users, whichever is greater.
- Standard Edition 2 requires at least ten users per server, ensuring that even small environments meet the licensing threshold.
Counting Users for Compliance
Properly counting users for NUP Licensing is crucial for compliance. Each user or device that interacts with the database must be included. In cases with indirect access through multiplexing—like through an application server—all individual users behind the system must be counted.
Identifying Users, Devices, and Multiplexing Environments
It’s important to accurately identify all users and devices to avoid compliance issues. Multiplexing, which refers to pooling or funneling connections to the database, requires special attention because all end-users accessing the pooled connection need licensing.
Advantages and Challenges of NUP Licensing
- Advantages: Cost-effective in controlled environments with limited users; straightforward to manage if user counts are stable.
- Challenges: Requires constant monitoring to ensure compliance. If user numbers exceed the licensed amount, it can become expensive or result in non-compliance.
Licensing in Virtualized Environments
Partitioning and Virtualization Rules
Oracle differentiates between two types of partitioning in virtualized environments: hard and soft. These distinctions are crucial in understanding how licensing applies to virtual servers or environments.
Hard vs Soft Partitioning Explained
- Hard Partitioning: Involves segmenting physical hardware to create divisions that Oracle recognizes for licensing. This method allows organizations to license only the portion of the hardware used for Oracle, reducing costs. Technologies like Oracle VM Server fall under this category.
- Soft Partitioning: Using technologies that do not physically isolate hardware resources, such as VMware. With soft partitioning, Oracle requires licensing all physical cores, even if Oracle only runs on part of the system.
Oracle Licensing for VMware and Virtual Servers
Oracle treats VMware as a soft partitioning technology, meaning that organizations must license all the physical cores in the cluster where Oracle is deployed. This can significantly increase costs if not planned properly, as even the potential of moving Oracle to other nodes in a cluster requires full licensing.
Compliance Challenges in Virtual Environments
Compliance in virtual environments can be particularly challenging because of Oracle’s strict stance on partitioning. Companies often find themselves unintentionally under-licensed because they apply licensing models that are more suitable for traditional hardware environments, underestimating Oracle’s stringent requirements for virtual machines.
Calculating Licenses in Different Virtualized Settings
- Hard Partitioning Example: If a company uses Oracle VM Server to partition a server with 16 cores into two hard partitions of 8 cores, only eight cores must be licensed if Oracle is deployed on just one partition.
- Soft Partitioning Example: If Oracle is deployed in a VMware environment with four nodes, each with 12 cores, all 48 must be licensed, regardless of how actively Oracle runs.
Proper planning and understanding these requirements are essential to managing costs and avoiding compliance issues in virtualized environments.
Oracle Database Licensing: Options, Scenarios, and Cost Calculations
Oracle Database Options and Management Packs
Overview of Available Options and Packs
Oracle Database offers various options and management packs to enhance its functionality. These add-ons provide specialized capabilities for performance, security, and manageability. The available options cover a range of features, from advanced performance enhancements to data management tools. They include add-ons like Real Application Clusters (RAC), Partitioning, and Advanced Compression, designed to extend the capabilities of the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition.
Enterprise Edition Options and Management Packs
The Oracle Database Enterprise Edition comes with additional options and management packs that are licensed separately. Key Enterprise Edition options include:
- Real Application Clusters (RAC): Allows multiple instances to run on different servers, providing scalability and fault tolerance.
- Partitioning: Enables large tables and indexes to be divided into smaller, more manageable pieces.
- Advanced Compression: Offers improved data storage efficiency by compressing data, which can save on storage costs.
- Database Vault: Adds an extra layer of security by restricting data access.
Management packs provide advanced monitoring, diagnostics, and performance tuning capabilities. Examples include the Diagnostics Pack, Tuning Pack, and Lifecycle Management Pack.
Licensing Oracle Database Enterprise Edition Features
Licensing Enterprise Edition features and options requires understanding how add-ons are licensed. These add-ons are generally licensed based on the number of processors or Named User Plus (NUP) licenses the main database has. For instance, if an organization uses the RAC option, it must be licensed for every Oracle Database Enterprise Edition processor.
Licensing Database Options
Licensing database options involve ensuring that any activated feature is fully licensed for all associated servers. For example, enabling Partitioning on an Oracle Database means it must be licensed across every server core the database uses. Many of these options also have licensing minimums, often based on the number of users or processors.
Rules for Licensing Add-Ons
- Diagnostics and Tuning Packs: These can be licensed for either Enterprise Edition databases or through Oracle Enterprise Manager, and they must match the number of database licenses.
- Real Application Clusters (RAC): Requires licensing for every processor running the RAC-enabled database.
- Partitioning: Each database that uses partitioning must be fully licensed with the same metrics as the database itself.
- Advanced Security: This must be licensed for each user or processor accessing the database.
2024 the following Oracle products will be on the Oracle price list:
- Multitenant
- RAC
- RAC One Node
- Active Data Guard
- Partitioning
- Real Application Testing
- Advanced Compression
- Advanced Security
- Label Security
- Database Vault
- Oracle OLAP
- TimesTen Application
- Database In-Memory
- Diagnostic Pack
- Tuning Pack
- Database Lifecycle Management Pack
- Data Masking and Subsetting Pack
- Cloud Management Pack for Oracle Database.
To license Oracle Database Enterprise Edition options, you need to follow these steps:
- Count the number of physical cores in the server and cluster.
- Multiply the physical processor cores with the Oracle license factor to obtain the “Oracle processor” requirements.
- The option license’s quantity and license metrics must match the database. Suppose you have 8 Enterprise Edition processors and are using partitioning in one of the databases running on that server. In that case, you must license the DB EE with the same quantity and metric as the Partitioning license.
Scenario:
A company has a server with eight physical Intel cores and uses the multitenant option on its Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. It needs to ensure that it is appropriately licensed for this option.
Using the new core factor of 0.5 (intel) and the processor-to-core ratio of 2:1, the company calculates the number of required processor licenses as follows:
- The number of cores (8) multiplied with license factor 0,5 = 4 Oracle processors
In addition, the company must license Oracle Database Enterprise Edition in the same way, with the exact quantities and metrics as the multitenant option.
They must purchase four licenses for the multitenant option and Oracle Database Enterprise Edition.
They ensure that the license and quantity metrics match the database to avoid compliance issues.
Licensing Scenarios for Oracle Database
Licensing Requirements by Use Case
Licensing requirements for Oracle Database vary based on the specific use case. Different licensing models and compliance considerations apply when the database is deployed in production, development, or testing environments.
- Production Environments: Typically require full licensing, either through Processor or Named User Plus (NUP) models, depending on how the database is accessed and the number of users.
- Test and Development Environments: Licensing requirements are often less stringent but require compliance. If user numbers are limited, these environments might benefit from NUP licenses.
Scenario Analysis: Web-Based Applications and Multiplexing
User counts can fluctuate widely in web-based applications, making Processor Licensing a better fit due to the difficulty of tracking individual users. In contrast, multiplexing environments, such as those used in banking, where multiple users or applications access the database indirectly, require careful consideration.
Example: Multiplexing in the Banking Environment
In a banking scenario, the Oracle Database might be accessed indirectly through ATMs or web applications. Each access point (e.g., ATMs and mobile apps) must be included when calculating the number of users for Named User Plus Licensing. If it is impractical to count every individual accessing the database, Processor Licensing becomes the recommended approach.
Oracle Database License Cost Calculation
How to Calculate Oracle License Costs
Oracle Database license costs depend on several factors, including the edition, the licensing model, and the infrastructure. The calculation can be simplified by breaking down costs by the number of processors or users, factoring in licensing metrics like core factors and minimum user requirements.
Simplified Calculation Examples
- Processor Licensing: Multiply the number of cores by the core factor (as specified in Oracle’s Core Factor Table) to determine the required number of processor licenses.
- Named User Plus (NUP) Licensing: Calculate based on the number of individual users or devices, ensuring compliance with minimums (e.g., 25 Named User Plus licenses per processor for Enterprise Edition).
Cost Considerations by Edition and License Type
- Enterprise Edition: Costs are typically higher due to core-based licensing and add-ons such as RAC or Advanced Compression. Each processor license may cost upwards of $47,500, with additional options and management pack charges.
- Standard Edition 2 (SE2): Licensing for SE2 is based on occupied sockets rather than cores, making it more affordable for small to mid-sized deployments. However, SE2 cannot use advanced options like RAC.
Oracle Licensing Costs by Server Type
- Single Processor Servers: Typically require fewer licenses, which can benefit Standard Edition deployments.
- Multi-Processor Servers: Require licenses for each processor core, making Enterprise Edition more costly for larger servers.
Licensing Costs for Standard Edition 2 vs Enterprise Edition
- Standard Edition 2 (SE2): Costs are lower due to simpler licensing rules (socket-based) and fewer available add-ons. It is suitable for smaller environments without the need for high availability or extensive scaling.
- Enterprise Edition: More expensive, especially when add-ons like RAC, Partitioning, or Advanced Security are needed. This edition is ideal for larger, mission-critical environments requiring maximum scalability, availability, and advanced features.
Oracle licensing can be complex, and understanding these different models and scenarios is key to ensuring compliance and optimizing costs.
Six Common Compliance Risks in Oracle Licensing
Oracle licensing can be complex, and missteps are common. Understanding the major compliance risks can help organizations avoid costly mistakes.
Here are six common compliance risks that frequently occur in Oracle Database Licensing:
- Misunderstanding Virtual Environment Policies: Many organizations fail to fully understand Oracle’s virtualization licensing policies. Specifically, Oracle distinguishes between hard and soft partitioning. Virtualization technologies like VMware are considered soft partitioning, which means the entire physical server must be licensed, not just the virtual instances running Oracle. Misinterpreting this policy can lead to substantial compliance gaps and financial repercussions during an audit.
- Not Licensing Disaster Recovery Instances Properly: Oracle requires that disaster recovery (DR) environments be licensed in most scenarios. The only exceptions are during short periods when the DR environment is actively used for recovery testing (limited to 10 days per year). Failing to properly license these environments is a common compliance pitfall and could lead to severe financial penalties.
- Failing to Meet User Minimums: With Named User Plus (NUP) licenses, organizations must adhere to Oracle’s minimum user requirements. For example, Enterprise Edition requires a minimum of 25 NUP licenses per processor. Many organizations overlook this rule, which leads to non-compliance issues during audits.
- Unauthorized Use of Enterprise Edition Options: Oracle Database Enterprise Edition offers additional features known as “options” or “packs.” These include features like Partitioning, Advanced Security, and Real Application Clusters (RAC). These options require separate licenses, but many companies unknowingly enable and use these features without the proper licensing, resulting in non-compliance.
- Deploying Standard Edition on Unsupported Servers: Oracle Database Standard Edition and Standard Edition 2 can only be used on servers with limited CPU sockets. Deploying Standard Edition on a server with more sockets than allowed requires upgrading to Enterprise Edition, which has higher licensing costs. Misunderstanding this limitation leads to significant compliance problems.
- Misinterpreting Licensing Agreements for Cloud Deployments: Oracle allows certain licenses to be deployed on authorized cloud environments such as AWS or Azure. However, organizations must accurately count virtual CPUs and comply with licensing metrics. Misinterpreting the licensing metrics for cloud deployments often results in under-licensing, exposing companies to high financial risk in case of an Oracle audit.
Recent Changes to Oracle Database Licensing
Oracle frequently updates its licensing policies, and staying current is critical for compliance.
Here are some recent changes that impact Oracle Database Licensing:
- Oracle 19c Licensing Updates: Oracle Database 19c introduced several important changes, including new licensing policies that affect deployment strategies and cost considerations. Understanding these updates is crucial for ensuring that existing and future deployments remain compliant.
- Support for Pluggable Databases (PDBs) without License Costs: Starting with Oracle 19c, Oracle allows up to three Pluggable Databases (PDBs) per Container Database (CDB) without requiring additional licensing costs. This change offers more flexibility and cost savings for organizations utilizing Oracle’s multitenant architecture without incurring extra fees. Organizations running older versions should consider upgrading to benefit from these changes.
- Removal of Real Application Clusters (RAC) in Standard Edition 2: One notable change in Oracle 19c is the removal of support for Real Application Clusters (RAC) in Standard Edition 2 (SE2). This means that starting from Oracle 19c, organizations using SE2 can no longer leverage RAC for high availability, which may necessitate rethinking high-availability solutions. This change impacts both licensing costs and how organizations deploy Standard Edition databases.
- Impact of Changes on Licensing Costs and Compliance: These licensing updates directly affect organizations in terms of compliance and cost efficiency. Organizations must reassess their database environments to identify opportunities for savings or areas requiring additional licensing to remain compliant. In particular, removing RAC in SE2 could push companies to consider licensing the Enterprise Edition or looking for alternative high-availability solutions.
Oracle Term license change
The license Term provides the timeline for the customer’s usage
- As of September 1, 2020, Oracle has ended the availability of term licenses for all on-premise software except specific Oracle Technology products for 1-year Term only available; Oracle sales representative for more information. Existing customers paying support on their term licenses will remain supported through the end of their term.
- The Oracle license list price for a term license is based on a specific percentage of the perpetual license price with one year at 20% of the list price: Exadata Storage Server Software, Oracle Active Data Guard, Oracle Advanced Compression, Oracle Advanced Security, Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, Oracle Database In-Memory, Oracle Database Standard Edition 2, Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Diagnostic Pack, Oracle Forms and Reports, Oracle GoldenGate, Oracle Internet
Application Server Enterprise Edition, Oracle Multitenant, Oracle OLAP, Oracle Partitioning, Oracle Real Application Clusters, Oracle Real Application Clusters One Node, Oracle Real Application Testing, Oracle SOA Suite for Oracle Middleware, Oracle Tuning Pack, Oracle Weblogic Server Enterprise edition, Oracle Weblogic Standard Edition, Oracle Weblogic Suite. - Note that the list support price for term licenses is 22% of the list perpetual license fee.
Oracle Authorized Cloud Computing Environments
- Customer can deploy their Oracle Technology programs licenses on two Authorized cloud providers: Amazon EC2 and RDS Microsoft Azure Platform.
- To license Oracle Technology programs in the Authorized Cloud, customers are required to count the maximum available vCPUs of an instance type as follows:
- Count two virtual CPUs (vCPU) to 1 Oracle Processor license if multi-threading of processor cores is enabled, and one virtual CPU (vCPU) to 1 Oracle Processor license if multi-threading of processor cores is not enabled.
Useful links to learn more about Oracle licensing.
- Oracle Database Licensing https://www.oracle.com/assets/databaselicensing-070584.pdf
- Oracle Partitioning (Virtualization) https://www.oracle.com/assets/partitioning-070609.pdf
- Oracle Licensing Disaster Recovery https://www.oracle.com/assets/data-recovery-licensing-070587.pdf
- Oracle Application Licensing https://www.oracle.com/assets/application-licensing-table-070571.pdf
- Oracle Licensing in the Cloud https://www.oracle.com/assets/cloud-licensing-070579.pdf
- Oracle Database Licensing Information:
https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/19/dblic/database-licensing-information-user-manual.pdf - Oracle Middleware Licensing Information: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/doc.121/e24474/toc.htm
FAQs
What are some examples of Oracle database software?
Examples of Oracle database software include Oracle Enterprise Edition, Oracle Database Standard Edition 2, Oracle Standard Edition, and Oracle Standard Edition One.
What needs to be licensed?
Every server where the processor is installed or running needs to be licensed. This includes production, test, development, and, most likely, disaster recovery environments.
How does Oracle license work?
Oracle’s licensing model allows individuals or systems to use specific software without restrictions on the frequency of usage.
This means that a single license can support multiple deployments of the same software across various servers. No further licenses are necessary once a license has been procured for an individual or processor.
What is Oracle Processor Licensing?
Oracle Processor licensing is used when users cannot be counted or verified. This is often the case with web-based applications.
The number of licenses required is calculated by multiplying the number of cores by the core processor-licensing factors specified in the Oracle Processor Table.
What is the Oracle database price?
The price for Oracle software is per processor. However, Oracle’s definition of “processor” may not be identical to that of your hardware vendor. Standard Edition and Standard Edition 2 are counted the same as sockets when Oracle software is licensed.
However, multi-chip modules count each chip as one socket. You must use the right licensing formula for Enterprise edition products to determine the required processors.
What is Named User Plus Licensing?
User Plus Licensing is a licensing model allowing the licensee to pay per user. A user can be defined as any end node that creates or receives data from an Oracle database.
What are the minimums for Named User Plus licenses?
The Database edition determines the license user minimums. Enterprise Edition licenses require a minimum of 25 named users plus per processor licenses, or the number of users using the Oracle Database. Standard Edition 2 allows for a minimum of 10 users per server.
Which devices need to be licensed under Named User Plus Licensing?
All devices connected to the Oracle Database must be licensed if humans do not operate them.
All humans using human-operated devices, such as barcode scanners, must be licensed if they connect to the Oracle Database. Non-human and human-operated devices that relate to the Oracle Database must be licensed.
How can you understand who needs to be counted for Named User Plus licensing?
To understand who needs to be counted for Named User Plus licensing, consider the source of information and where the requests are coming from. Oracle NUP licensing may be a good choice in closed environments with few users, such as test and development.
What are the benefits and cons of Named User Plus licensing?
The benefits of Named User Plus licensing include cost-effectiveness, negotiable licensing minimums, and easy upgrade to Oracle processor licensing. The cons need to keep track of users and compliance problems with multiplexing software.
What are the licensing scenarios for Oracle Processor licensing?
Oracle Processor licensing is used in scenarios where the user population is not countable or very large, such as Oracle Databases for applications accessing the web.
What are the benefits and cons of Oracle Processor licensing?
The benefits of Oracle Processor licensing include not having to count or keep control of users, having many different product versions to choose from, and having easy upgrades.
The cons include being unable to downgrade to a lesser product version and being the most expensive licensing choice in many situations.
What are the licensing fundamentals for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition?
Licensing fundamentals for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition include requiring the same license and quantities for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition Options and licensing all Oracle Enterprise Products by counting cores.
If licensing with Oracle NUP, the user minimum is calculated as 25 users per Oracle processor, meaning even if you have five users, you still need 25 to cover the licensing minimums.
What are Oracle Database Enterprise Edition options?
Oracle Database Enterprise Edition options are products that each contain multiple features and are available to license under Oracle Database Enterprise Edition only. There are 18 different Oracle Enterprise Edition options products, including Multitenant, RAC, Active Data Guard, Partitioning, Real Application Testing, Advanced Compression, Advanced Security, Label Security, Database Vault, OLAP, TimesTen Application, Database In-Memory, Diagnostic Pack, Tuning Pack, Database Lifecycle Management Pack, Data Masking and Subsetting Pack, and Cloud Management Pack for Oracle Database.
What happens if you use or enable Oracle Enterprise Edition options on Standard Edition databases?
If you use or enable Oracle Enterprise Edition options on Standard Edition databases, Oracle will require you to license that database with Enterprise Edition.
How do you license Oracle Database Enterprise Edition options?
To license Oracle Database Enterprise Edition options, you must count the number of physical cores in the server and cluster. Then, multiply the physical processor cores with the Oracle license factor to obtain the “Oracle processor” requirements.
The same license and quantity metrics for the option license must match the database. Suppose you have 8 Enterprise Edition processors and are using partitioning in one of the databases running on that server. In that case, you need to license the entire server with a partitioning license, and vice versa if you have Named User Plus licensing.
What are Oracle Enterprise License Agreements?
Oracle Enterprise License Agreements provide unlimited license grants for a specific set of products.
The ULA is a term-based agreement between 1 and 5 years. You can renew or certify the ULA at the end of the term. The PULA is a perpetual version of the ULA that never expires. Another Oracle ELA is the pool of funds agreement.
How much does Oracle licensing cost?
Oracle Database Enterprise licensing is $47,500 per Oracle Processor license, and Oracle prices are publicly available.
However, it’s important to note that an Oracle processor does not equal an Intel or AMD processor.
An Oracle processor is calculated by licensing the number of physical cores a processor has and multiplying this with the Oracle licensing core factor table.
How can you calculate Oracle license costs for Enterprise Database Products?
To calculate Oracle license costs for Enterprise Database Products, multiply the physical cores by the Oracle licensing factor table. For example, if you have an Intel Xeon processor 9200 with 16 cores and one processor, and Oracle has defined Intel with an Oracle licensing factor of 0.5, you would need to license that server with eight processor licenses x $47,500 = $380,000.
How can you calculate Oracle license costs for Database Standard Edition 2?
To calculate Oracle license costs for Enterprise Database Products, multiply the physical cores by the Oracle licensing factor table.
For example, if you have an Intel Xeon processor 9200 with 16 cores and one processor, and Oracle has defined Intel with an Oracle licensing factor of 0.5, you would need to license that server with eight processor licenses x $47,500 = $380,000.
How many databases can I run on a server that is licensed 1 processor Standard Edition?
You can run as many as you want; licensing is based on the physical processor power, not the number of database instances.
If we want to upgrade from 10 to 19c, do we need to purchase a new license?
No, licensing is perpetual; it does not expire. However, you need to keep paying the annual support, which allows you to upgrade to later versions at no cost.
Is Oracle licensing perpetual?
Yes, when you purchase an Oracle license, it is usually perpetual and never expires.
This means there are no additional licensing fees after the one-time license fee. Additionally, when you purchase a perpetual license, you also purchase one year of technical support, which is renewed annually.
What is the list price for a term license?
The list price for a term license is based on a specific percentage of the perpetual license price, with one year at 20% of the list price.
How does BYOL work for Azure and AWS?
BYOL for Azure and AWS is not very different from licensing software on-premise. The only difference is that Oracle has approved Azure and AWS hypervisors, and you can license per vCPU.
What licensing models are offered by Oracle for Applications?
The Component Model is an a la carte pricing method for an individual product. Available metrics include user-based metrics such as Application User, Employee, and Subscriber and usage-based metrics such as Electronic Order Lines, Expense Reports, and $M Costs Of Goods Sold.
Is Oracle database free?
The only free version of the Oracle database is the Oracle Database XE version; all other editions require a license purchase. Oracle 23c For Developers is also free.
Can I transfer my Oracle license to another party?
Yes, but Oracle’s prior written approval is required. If your company is engaged in M&A – you should review your contracts.
Do Oracle have different licensing policies?
Yes, at least five different Oracle database license policy documents address how to license Oracle in virtual environments, public clouds, disaster recovery, and more.
Does Oracle EBS come with an Oracle Database Included?
Yes, however, very few organizations, if any, can avoid triggering full use of the Oracle EBS database.
How is Oracle Big Data SQL Licensed?
Oracle Big Data SQL is not licensed per processor or named user plus but rather by the disk drive.
What is Oracle SIG?
Oracle SIG is short for Oracle Software Investment Guide. It was an educational document that was published on Oracle.com.
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