Oracle AI Database 26ai: Redefining Operational Continuity

Oracle’s latest release, AI Database 26ai, is built around one clear promise: making enterprise database operations faster, more resilient, and easier to manage at scale. Instead of spotlighting a single headline feature, the release emphasizes a collection of practical improvements that together transform how production systems are maintained and kept online.

Key Highlights

• Fast start reconfiguration — adapts quickly to infrastructure changes.

• Fast pluggable database open — accelerates availability in multitenant setups.

• Rolling maintenance — single‑server and local rolling updates minimize disruption.

• RAC two‑stage rolling update — staged upgrades reduce operational risk.

• Smart connection rebalancing — smooth workload redistribution during topology changes.

• Faster role transitions — critical for disaster recovery and failover.

• Pluggable database recovery isolation — stronger fault containment in multitenant environments.

• Data Guard with PL/SQL — automation‑friendly administration.

• DBMS rolling upgrades — upgrades without user impact.

• Online patching support — shorter maintenance windows.

• RAFT‑based replication — stronger distributed architecture.

• Flashback time travel — enhanced recovery and historical analysis.

Why It Matters

1. Availability during change Rolling upgrades, online patching, and maintenance with minimal downtime ensure systems remain accessible even during operational work.

2. Isolation in multitenant environments Recovery and protection can now be applied at the pluggable database level, reducing the blast radius of failures.

3. Distributed resilience RAFT‑based replication and sharding enable global applications to maintain consistency and availability across geographies.

The Bigger Picture

Oracle AI Database 26ai is not just about adding intelligence—it’s about continuous operation. The release reflects a shift in database philosophy: platforms are expected to stay online while being patched, upgraded, rebalanced, and recovered.

For database administrators, platform engineers, and architects, this means:

• fewer disruptive maintenance events,

• faster recovery paths,

• smoother failover orchestration,

• stronger distributed behavior,

• and uninterrupted application continuity.

Final Thought: Oracle AI Database 26ai positions itself as a platform for operational simplicity and resilience. The future of enterprise databases lies not only in intelligence but in uninterrupted operation.

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Oracle Patching Process and Commands

Keeping Oracle database software up to date is crucial for maintaining system security, stability, and performance of the database. Below, we will see a structured approach to patching Oracle environments using OPatch, Oracle’s patching utility. Let’s break down the process and commands in detail.

Types of Oracle Patches

Patch Type	Description	Typical Use
One-Off Patch	Fixes a single issue	Urgent bug fix
PSU (Patch Set Update)	Security and bug fixes	Regular maintenance
RU (Release Update)	Security, bug, and functional fixes	Broader updates
RUR (Release Update Revision)	Smaller revision of RU	Minor improvements

 

Follow these steps for a smooth and safe patching experience in production environments:

1 .Check Current Version

SELECT * FROM v$version;

Confirms the current Oracle version before applying any patch

 

2. Plan & Take Backup

Use RMAN for database backup and copy the Oracle Home directory.

 

3. Pre-Patch Checks

Verify patch readiness, available space, and potential conflicts.

 

4. Stop Services 

Shutdown Database, Listener, and ASM if required to prevent conflicts.

 

5. Apply Patch

opatch apply

 

6. Run Datapatch

datapatch -verbose

Updates the database dictionary and applies SQL changes.

7. Start Services

Start the services, such as the database, listener, or ASM.

 

8. Verify Patch

opatch lsinventory

SELECT * FROM dba_registry_sqlpatch;

 

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Table Dropped in Oracle Database ? Worry not, we can recover it

There are a couple of options we can use to recover dropped tables in 19c Oracle database version 

Restore table from Recycle Bin (assume not purged)

To recover the table using the recycle bin method, the recycle bin should be enabled 

Check current value 

SHOW PARAMETER recyclebin;

If this is not enabled, enable it using commands below

ALTER SYSTEM SET recyclebin = ON SCOPE=SPFILE;

 

Shutdown immediate

startup

 

drop table techno_user.test_table;

Check if table exists in recyclebin after drop 

col owner for a20

col owner for a15

col object_name for a30

col ORIGINAL_NAME for a10

set line 120

SELECT owner, object_name, original_name, type, droptime

FROM dba_recyclebin WHERE original_name = 'TEST_TABLE' and owner='TECHNO_USER' ;

 

OWNER           OBJECT_NAME                    ORIGINAL_N TYPE                      DROPTIME

--------------- ------------------------------ ---------- ------------------------- -------------------

TECHNO_USER     BIN$JtPeMal0R/Wwtmwyqoos3g==$0 TEST_TABLE TABLE                     2026-01-11:11:06:16

Check if you want to recover only a row or a table

SELECT * FROM techno_user."BIN$JtPeMal0R/Wwtmwyqoos3g==$0";

Restore it to either original value or you can rename it while restoring 

SQL> FLASHBACK TABLE techno_user.test_table TO BEFORE DROP;

Flashback complete.

SQL> FLASHBACK TABLE techno_user.test_table TO BEFORE DROP RENAME TO TEST_TABLE_BKP ;

Flashback complete.

 

 

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