This chapter contains descriptions of all of the features that are new to Oracle Database 11
g Release 2 (11.2.0.4).
1.1 Oracle Data Redaction
This new database security feature is part of Oracle Advanced
Security and prevents data columns (such as credit card numbers, U.S.
Social Security numbers, and other sensitive or regulated data) from
being displayed by applications. It is driven by declarative policies
that can take into account database session factors and information
passed by applications. Sensitive display data can be redacted at
runtime on live production systems with minimal disruption to running
applications and without altering the actual stored data. Different
types of redaction are supported including full, partial, random, and
regular expression redaction. You can conceal entire data values or
redact only part of the value. The functionality is implemented inside
of the database, therefore separate installation is not required.
1.2 Trace File Analyzer and Collector
The Trace File Analyzer (TFA) and Collector, also known as TFA
Collector, is a diagnostic collection utility to simplify diagnostic
data collection on Oracle Clusterware, Oracle Grid Infrastructure and
Oracle RAC systems.
Unlike similar solutions, the TFA Collector optimizes data gathering
by providing a single source of management as well as various focus
levels. Data for a whole cluster can be gathered from one node using one
command and can be stored on a central server for further analysis and
processing. The TFA Collector also allows for trimming data collection
by focusing on certain components or relevant time frames only.
1.3 RACcheck - The Oracle RAC Configuration Audit Tool
RACcheck is designed to audit vital configuration settings for the
Oracle Database, single instance databases, as well as Oracle Real
Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) databases. It also includes checks for
Oracle Clusterware, Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM)
and Oracle Grid Infrastructure.
RACcheck provides best practices recommedations considering the whole
stack, including Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) configurations
and is therefore the ideal tool for regular health checks as well as
pre- and post-upgrade best practices assessments.
1.4 Database Replay Support for Database Consolidation
Database Replay now supports simultaneous execution of multiple
database captures on a single consolidated database. Consolidated
database replay supports scheduling of the individual replays enabling
investigations of various scenarios (for example, what if all my
individual workloads hit their peak utilizations at the same time).
Consolidated replay provides the ability to test database performance
for database consolidation projects, whether consolidating onto an
Oracle database machine or other consolidated infrastructure.
1.5 Dynamic Statistics
In previous releases, Oracle Database only gathered dynamic
statistics (previously called dynamic sampling) when one or more of the
tables in a query did not have optimizer statistics. Starting in Oracle
Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.4), the optimizer can automatically
decide whether dynamic statistics are useful and which dynamic
statistics level to use for all SQL statements. For example, the
optimizer automatically decides whether to gather dynamic statistics
during table scans, index access, joins, and
GROUP BY operations. The enhanced behavior is enabled when either of the following criteria is met:
-
The
OPTIMIZER_DYNAMIC_SAMPLING initialization parameter is set to the new value of 11.
-
The
OPTIMIZER_DYNAMIC_SAMPLING initialization parameter is not explicitly set, and a SQL statement runs in parallel.
1.6 Optimization for Flashback Data Archive History Tables
When using flashback data archive to track changes on tables, you can
now enable optimization of the corresponding history tables using the OPTIMIZE DATA clause when creating or altering a flashback data archive.
Optimization of flashback data archive history tables provides better
storage efficiency and better performance for flashback queries on the
change history without additional intervention needed by the DBA.
1.7 Desupported Features
The following features are desupported in Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2):
-
The
-cleanupOBase flag of the deinstallation tool is desupported. There is no replacement for this flag.
-
The DES, RC4, and MD5 algorithms are desupported.
1.8 New sqlnet.ora Parameter SSL_EXTENDED_KEY_USAGE
Starting with this release, you can use the SQLNET.SSL_EXTENDED_KEY_USAGE
parameter in the sqlnet.ora file to select a Secure Sockets Layer
certificate to be used automatically to authenticate clients. For
example, suppose you have multiple certificates for a smart card but
only one of the certificates has an extended key usage field of client
authentication. In the application, a certificate chooser dialog box
would appear, prompting the user to select the type of authentication.
Because the type of authentication would always be for clients, the SQLNET.SSL_EXTENDED_KEY_USAGE
parameter can enable the application to bypass this dialog box and
automatically choose client authentication. As a result, the user has
fewer steps to perform in a task, thereby making the user's job easier
and more efficient.
1.9 New PrimaryLostWriteAction Property
The new PrimaryLostWriteAction Data Guard broker
configuration property determines what action is taken if a standby
database detects that a lost write has occurred at the primary database.
1.10 ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION for Oracle GoldenGate
The
ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION initialization
parameter controls services provided by the RDBMS for Oracle GoldenGate
(both capture and apply services). Set this to true to enable RDBMS
services used by Oracle GoldenGate.
