The new Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2) is here..

Oracle Database 12c Standard Edition 2 (12.1.0.2) is here

Back in July 2015 Oracle announced in a support note the launch of Oracle Standard Edition 2 or SE2.  Oracle Standard Edition and Standard Edition One (SE1) are to be replaced by Standard Edition 2 with the release of Oracle Database 12.1.0.2 which was planned for Q3 CY2015.

September 2015 see's the release of Oracle 12.1.0.2 and finally some detail about the license implications of SE2.

Oracle has confirmed that SE & SE1 customers will continue to receive full patching support for all versions of 12c R1 (12..1.0.1) post the release of SE2 12.1.0.2 for a year so August 2o16

Upgrade

Oracle also advised in the support note that it expects SE & SE1 customers to upgrade to Standard Edition 2 (SE2) as soon as possible so as to remain fully supported with proactive and security patching.  For further information regarding licencing they recommend contacting your sales rep.

If you want to understand the license implications and potential costs we would recommend you talk to AgileTS first for objective advice. There are a number of license changes with Oracle Standard Edition 2 which from a commercial perspective is a new product (technically the binaries the same for SE2 as SE/SE1 so the upgrade is seamless)

Changes

Whilst Oracle SE & SE1 are currently available Oracle have confirmed they will remove the products from the Oracle Technology Price List at the end of November.  The good news is that SE2 is priced at the same level as Oracle SE @ £11,806 per processor licence  / £222 per Named User Plus however compared with the SE1 at @ £3,674 per processor and £114 per Named User Plus.

The new license rules that apply to SE2 taken from the Product Note in the latest "Oracle price list" are

"Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 may only be licensed on servers that have a maximum capacity of 2 sockets. When used with Oracle Real Application Clusters, Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 may only be licensed on a maximum of 2 one-socket servers. In addition, notwithstanding any provision in Your Oracle license agreement to the contrary, each Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 database may use a maximum of 16 CPU threads at any time. When used with Oracle Real Application Clusters, each Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 database may use a maximum of 8 CPU threads per instance at any time. The minimums when licensing by Named User Plus (NUP) metric are 10 NUP licenses per server. "

License upgrades

Oracle SE & SE1 licence customers can migrate to SE2 without incurring any license charges although there is a 20% support uplift for SE1 clients.  The Oracle Master Agreement (OMA) which has replace the legacy Oracle License & Service Agreement (OLSA) will need to be accepted and this ties in the new license rules.  AgileTS will be able to guide you through the process.

Key Points;

• Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2) will replace SE1 from 12.1.0.2

• SE2 is limited to servers with a maximum of 2 socket servers
  • SE1 is restricted to 2 socket servers
  • SE is restricted to 4 socket servers
• 12.1.0.1 will have 12 months of patching support until End of August 2016
• SE2 can use a maximum of 16 CPU Threads per instance at anytime 
• License minimums for SE2 Named User Plus have increased to 10 Named Users per Server from 5 Named Users per customer
• Oracle RAC Standard Edition 2 is restricted to 2 one-socket servers / maximum of 8 CPU threads per instance at any time.

So it's a mixed bag!!  

No two clients usage will be the same.  We are already hearing about planned audit activity by Oracle for those upgrading the SE2.  To find out what this means for your future Oracle database strategy and license grant.  UK Oracle Gold Partner AgileTS are able to offer a free and confidential assessment of the options available to plan and prepare for the future.