AutoUpgrade

New AutoUpgrade version 26.5 is available (plus 26.4)

I totally forgot to announce the 26.4 version of AutoUpgrade. And now, the new AutoUpgrade version 26.5 is available (plus 26.4) already. The AutoUpgrade Development team did an amazing job in shortening the release cycle. This way, we can deliver quick fixes faster to you. When you study the list of enhancements and fixes carefully, some of you will say: Great, this is what I was waiting for.

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Download AutoUpgrade

As I described already in AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 1: Download AutoUpgrade, you have several ways to fetch …

Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Flaws and Pitfalls Oracle AI Database 26ai Patch Recommendation 0

This issue is caused by an internal change, and we hit this now with two very large customer upgrades recently. Therefore, I would like to point to a fix, a workaround and the following RU in case you see your Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events.

Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events

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What would you see?

This issue can happen with cloning, PDB refreshable clones or just a copy or restore of your database for the subsequent upgrade to Oracle AI Database 26ai. It is not dependent on AutoUpgrade but since AutoUpgrade is the only …

CDB upgrades – explaining catctl_options

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade catctl.pl Oracle AI Database 26ai Oracle Database 19c Performance Tuning 0

When you upgrade your entire CDB with AutoUpgrade, there is a parameter which allows you some tuning or tweaking. And I often see some misunderstanding here. Therefore, for CDB upgrades – explaining catctl_options is my focus today.

CDB upgrades - explaining catctl_options

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catctl_options – what it is meant for

This AutoUpgrade config file parameter allows you to set specific settings, mostly for tuning, but also to override some defaults. In the documentation you will find the whole list of options. You can set it in your AutoUpgrade config file, e.g.:

upg1.catctl_options=-T

catctl_options in CDB upgrades

Here, …

AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 4: Download Examples

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Oracle AI Database 26ai Oracle Database 19c Patch Recommendation 7

Let me take off into the 4th part of this blog post series: AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 4: Download Examples. I’d like to show you some of the most common examples and use cases we came across. And of course, I will add some additional (and hopefully useful) information on top.

AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 4: Download Examples

The patch parameter

At first, in my previous blog post I used patch1.patch=RECOMMENDED (by the way, upper/lowercase does not matter). But I didn’t explain the whole extent and possibilities of the patch parameter to you.

Here’s a list of the most important parameter …

AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 3: Download Patches

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Oracle AI Database 26ai Oracle Database 19c Patch Recommendation 38

You completed Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog post series already? Then you are ready for AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 3: Download Patches. Let us start simple, and then increase the scope to fetch the patches for various operating system platforms in your local patching folder.

AutoUpgrade Patching - From Zero to Hero - Part 3: Download Patches

Which download?

Strange headline – but you’ll see what I mean. At first, we need to clarify the various download options for patches.

Download patches directly from MOS/ARU by yourself
This usually means that you go to the various MOS notes, such as KB106822 /

AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 2: MOS Credentials

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 11

In this blog post series AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 2: MOS Credentials will be our topic for today. If you are tired of going through MOS notes over and over again to identify the most important fixes and fetch them, you need to automate it. But in order to automate the download, you need to infuse your MOS credentials into the AutoUpgrade keystore. Let’s do this together now.

AutoUpgrade Patching - From Zero to Hero - Part 2: MOS Credentials

Create directories

Before we really start, you should define a few directories at first. In my case, I copied the newest version of AutoUpgrade into /Users/mdietric/TEMP/AU. …

AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 1: Download AutoUpgrade

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 9

I was traveling the past two weeks, and I met a lot of customers who still “enjoy” navigating through MOS and searching for the right patches to download. This blog post series will give you ultimate relief, and it will ease your life as DBAs and sysadmins. You must patch more frequently – and this is the key solution for everyone. Let’s get us started with AutoUpgrade Patching – From Zero to Hero – Part 1: Download AutoUpgrade today.

AutoUpgrade Patching - From Zero to Hero - Part 1

Download the newest version of AutoUpgrade

Our first task is simple. You will find autoupgrade.jar in your ?/rdbms/admin directory since Oracle …

Does AutoUpgrade support the MOVE option?

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Single-/Multitenant 4

Sometimes you have different plans for the day. Or, in my case, the day just needs a few extra hours. Today, I received a very interesting question on the blog at first by a customer I know very well. Then we exchanged mails – and I was caught forgetting what I wrote on the blog a longer while ago. The core question is: Does AutoUpgrade support the MOVE option? But there was much more to discuss and figure out as you can read below.

Does AutoUpgrade support the MOVE option?

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Which options does AutoUpgrade offer?

The case here is …

Don’t use AI to build your AutoUpgrade config file, please!

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Oracle AI Database 26ai Oracle Database 19c Upgrade / Migration 4

Let me do a quick Friday rant. Many of you can easily ignore this. But regardless of whether you are a colleague, a friend, a customer, a partner or just exploring AutoUpgrade because it is the coolest small tiny little tool Oracle has to offer, don’t use AI to build your AutoUpgrade config file, please!

Don't use AI to build your AutoUpgrade config file, please!

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AI models are great … somehow …

No worries, I use AI tools as well, especially when I need to create some complex PL/SQL scripts. There is nothing wrong with it – unless you stay in control. I …

The February 2026 release of AutoUpgrade (26.2) is available

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 15

This is a ground-breaking new release of AutoUpgrade, and the team worked hard to release it last weekend. This means for you that you should renew your AutoUpgrade tools as The February 2026 release of AutoUpgrade (26.2) is available now for download.

The February 2026 release of AutoUpgrade (26.2) is available

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1..2..3..4..5..0 …

In case you wonder about this cryptic headline, no worries. a customer highlighted this well-chosen and easy-to-remember number to me the other day. And I was not aware, but it is true: KB123450 is the MOS note allowing you to download AutoUpgrade from MOS. Awesome … I already programmed this …

The October 2025 Release of AutoUpgrade (25.6) is available

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 9

It’s October – and while the leafs keep falling on the northern hemisphere, the October 2025 Release of AutoUpgrade (25.6) is available. Get it now – and find the list of features and fixes below.

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How to download it?

As usual, that’s very simple. You either download it via the well-known

MOS Note: 2485457.1 – AutoUpgrade Tool

or you fetch it directly from oracle.com with curl, wget or by just clicking on the big button.

What’s new?

Again, a lot. 25.6 release has a significant and important number of enhancements. It includes the …

AutoUpgrade patching – getting started with Connor McDonald

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 22

AIOUG OC Yatra 2025 is over, and I somehow recovered as well. As I wrote here, it was (again) an incredible experience with all those wonderful people (you!!) and those crazy speakers (us!) – and I learned a lot again. Still, I had no clue that Database and Developer evangelist and video wizard Connor McDonald would react to my friendly nagging 🙂

AutoUpgrade patching - getting started with Connor McDonald

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Have you used AutoUpgrade before?

If you say “No, not really“, then this video is for you. See how Connor dives into AutoUpgrade which he had never used before.…

The August 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.4) is available

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 10

This time the AutoUpgrade team did magic and included so many great new features and useful enhancements into the new version of AutoUpgrade. So, please note: The August 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.4) is available for download. You should refresh your current versions, especially when you use it for patching, and especially if you attempt to do in an RAC (Real Application Clusters) environment. But read more below.

The August 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.4) is available

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How to download it?

As usual, that’s very simple. You either download it via the well-known

MOS Note: 2485457.1 – AutoUpgrade Tool

or you fetch …

Recap AIOUG OCYatra 2025 – a trip through India

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich Autonomous Database - ADB AutoUpgrade Workshop 0

I just returned the other day from the most strenuous trips I do once a year: The AIOUG Oracle Community Yatra tour. 6 cities in 9 days. It’s a wild ride with flights and bus transfers in between, monsoon rain, heat and nasty mosquitos – but it is still one of the most exciting trips I do. So, let me recap AIOUG OCYatra 2025 – a trip through India. And explain what’s so special about it.

But at first, a huge THANK YOU to the organizers, especially to Sai and all the volunteers making this a …

AutoUpgrade migration to Oracle 23ai Exascale with Refreshable Clones

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 0

Those of you who have been to our workshops in the past 3 years know that we promote one feature as the ultimate killer feature for moving to Oracle Database 19c and 23ai: Refreshable Clones. These work not only from PDB to PDB, but magically also with a non-CDB. And our teams works with a good number of customers using exactly this technique to Oracle 23ai. Now, we talked about it. And we blogged about it (see below). But there is a brand-new MOS note out there showcasing an AutoUpgrade migration to Oracle 23ai Exascale with Refreshable Clones.

AutoUpgrade migration to Oracle 23ai Exascale with Refreshable Clones

Photo by

People do super-cool stuff … AutoUpgrade Composer

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 2

I am jealous, and so happy. There are so happy about the fact that we have such skilled minds in the industry. One of them is Marcus Vinicius, an Oracle ACE Pro from Brazil who lives in Dallas, TX in the US. And besides being a real wizard he is also a super-nice guy. No idea where all these Brazilian Oracle experts “grow” but I am very proud to have two of the best in the world in our team. But back to Marcus. People do super-cool stuff … AutoUpgrade Composer is something Marcus put out in the wild.

AutoUpgrade

The May 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.3) is available

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 11

Many of you know it and downloaded it already. But just in case you are not aware yet, let me give you a quick summary since the May 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.3) is available for download.

The May 2025 version of AutoUpgrade (25.3) is available

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How to download it?

That’s very simple. You either download it via the well-known

MOS Note: 2485457.1 – AutoUpgrade Tool

or you fetch it directly from oracle.com with curl, wget or by just clicking on the big button.

What’s new?

Well, 25.3 is a one-fix-only release, the real change was in 25.2 released a week …

ORA-12850 when you run AutoUpgrade?

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Flaws and Pitfalls 1

Nicola made a comment the other day informing me that they hit an issue on some of their databases when upgrading. But is there a general issue with ORA-12850 when you run AutoUpgrade? Or is this error just the reflection of another issue? Let’s see, I will explain this and include a workaround as well.

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What is the problem?

Nicola traced it down mostly already. During the upgrade of their CDBs, this error happened in some runs:

with segments as (select /*+ MATERIALIZE PARALLEL(2) */ tablespace_name, inuse from( select ds.tablespace_name, row_number() over (partition by

The 25.1 version of AutoUpgrade is available for download

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 53

It’s time for a new version of AutoUpgrade. The 25.1 version of AutoUpgrade is available for download. And you should refresh your existing versions quickly since we added plenty of new and long awaited features but we of course fixed also known bugs.

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How to download AutoUpgrade 25.1

Not only can you download the newest AutoUpgrade and its previous versions from MOS Note:2485457.1 – Download AutoUpgrade. But for many of you it may be easier to just fetch it with wget or curl directly from:

Download AutoUpgrade directly from oracle.com

You …

Refreshable clone with AutoUpgrade but keep your RAC configuration?

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Single-/Multitenant 0

I had to shorten the headline a bit. It got very bulky saying at first: Use a Refreshable Clone with AutoUpgrade from non-CDB to PDB but keep your RAC configuration alive. Well, you see, that’s bulky. But it describes the case I would like to briefly show you. Helmut Pfau, a colleague of mine here in Germany asked this the other day, and it took us a bit to get the correct answer to him – I confess, simply because I didn’t know the right AutoUpgrade parameter.

Refreshable clone with AutoUpgrade but keep your RAC configuration?

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We love Refreshable Clones

You’ve …

Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 8

Actually this is not an alerting blog post but just a hint. At DOAG conference in Nürnberg several customers came by after our patching talk on Thursday in Tokio and complained that the Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free, and thus hard to use. Let me see if I can help here.

Patch list in MOS Note: 555.1 is not conflict-free

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What does MOS Note: 555.1 provide?

I have a love-and-hate relationship with this MOS Note: 555.1 – Oracle Database 19c Important Recommended One-off Patches. It lists the issues on-top of a given Release Update (RU). This is …

Can I convert a non-CDB into a CDB?

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Single-/Multitenant 0

Those of you who work with the Multitenant or CDB architecture for a longer time may find this blog post title strange. But as I learned the other week at the German Oracle User Group conference (DOAG 2024), others still have this question: Can I convert a non-CDB into a CDB?

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Can you convert?

Short answer: No.

End-of-blog-post.
Well, of course, not.
Let me explain this a bit more.

When you have a non-CDB database today, you can’t convert it into a CDB (Container Database). This path isn’t possible but there is another path. …

AutoUpgrade 24.8 has been released adding MS Windows patching support

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 8

Our developers are amazing. And you may have felt this the past months. In September for OCW2024 we released AutoUpgrade 24.6 with the new patching ability, in October we then released 24.7 improving it significantly and fixing issues based on the first tests, and now in November 2024 AutoUpgrade 24.8 has been released adding MS Windows patching support. Of course, there’s more in AutoUpgrade.

AutoUpgrade 24.8 has been released adding MS Windows patching support

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How to download AutoUpgrade 24.8

Not only can you download the newest AutoUpgrade and its previous versions from MOS Note:2485457.1 – Download AutoUpgrade but as I wrote a …

Download AutoUpgrade directly from oracle.com

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 4

We were promising this for a long while, and thanks to Bill’s persistence and hard work we finally can offer you something which will make your DBA life easier: The ability to Download AutoUpgrade directly from oracle.com.

Download AutoUpgrade directly from oracle.com

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What does this mean?

You know that you can download a new version of AutoUpgrade from My Oracle Support via MOS Note:2485457.1 – Download AutoUpgrade. This was the case since day 1, and even before we released AutoUpgrade together with Oracle Database 19c about 5.5 years ago. We used the note already in the …

AutoUpgrade’s Patching: The feature you waited for

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Patch Recommendation 45

Over the almost past 6 years since we unleashed it, AutoUpgrade changed Oracle Database upgrades significantly. But we’ve been asked so many times about one missing feature. And now it is available. Still in V.1, not feature complete (yet). And we know that you have wishes and desires. Stay with us, it’s going to improve rapidly. So, let us kick off AutoUpgrade’s Patching: The feature you waited for.

AutoUpgrade's Patching: The feature you waited for

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Wait a bit … AutoUpgrade Patching??

Yes, you are right. AutoUpgrade can patch your database from home A to home B for a longer …

AutoUpgrade

Download AutoUpgrade

What would you see?

catctl_options – what it is meant for

catctl_options in CDB upgrades

The patch parameter

Which download?

Create directories

Download the newest version of AutoUpgrade

Which options does AutoUpgrade offer?

AI models are great … somehow …

1..2..3..4..5..0 …

How to download it?

What’s new?

Have you used AutoUpgrade before?

How to download it?

How to download it?

What’s new?

What is the problem?

How to download AutoUpgrade 25.1

We love Refreshable Clones

What does MOS Note: 555.1 provide?

Can you convert?

How to download AutoUpgrade 24.8

What does this mean?

Wait a bit … AutoUpgrade Patching??

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