Exadata system software and patch eligibility. Are your systems being patched?

Many people mistakenly believe that paying Oracle for support guarantees they are receiving it. We've previously discussed the impact on your support when an Oracle Engineered Systems product hits hardware EOSL. This article will focus on what occurs when the system software within your appliance reaches EOSL.

To be clear, Oracle Exadata systems come to the end of their support life in two ways:

1. By exadata platform model age

2. By the version of the system software they are running inside of their appliance.

Some Oracle customers are familiar with EOSL based on the age of the hardware model. Certain Oracle sales representatives use EOSL as a strategy to promote newer products. Others will inform customers about the "aged hardware surcharge" (approximately 15%) that is applied to systems five years after they are shipped (Source: last page, last paragraph) as a means to motivate customers to upgrade and avoid this fee.

Much less known is how Exadata customers get to a point where their systems become ineligible for new patches despite paying Oracle a specific license to download and apply patches to their systems. 

How can this be? Let's walk through it.

Exadata System Software (formerly Exatadata Storage Server software) is created by Oracle, published for consumption, and eventually sunset. Oracle is no different from any other software company in that it cannot support every version of Exadata System Software forever. All good things must come to an end.

For Exadata System Software, the EOSL for each published version of system software, and the implications on support capability has been summarized in the table below.

Oracle has historically offered three levels of support: Premier Support, Extended Support, and Sustaining Support. It is important to note that since Exadata System Software version 18.1 came EOSL in 2023, Oracle no longer offers extended support on any system software version, only sustaining support.

What are the implications on your business when your Oracle Exadata System Software reaches sustaining support?

• No new updates for Exadata operating system, integrated software, and integrated software option updates
• No new security alerts and updates
• No new critical patch updates

Once your Exadata reaches sustaining support, you are no longer entitled to new patches.

Source: https://www.oracle.com/ca-en/support/lifetime-support/hardware.html

How can I tell when my Exadata System Software version reaches EOSL/Sustaining Support?

Oracle publishes this information. Here is the link to the document: https://www.oracle.com/us/assets/lifetime-support-technology-069183.pdf. Scroll to page 33 to see the table below.

What are my options if I discover I am running a version of system software that is ineligible for patches?

In our view, you have two clear choices:

1. Upgrade your system software
2. Move support to Natrinsic instead

As a paying Oracle support customer, you are well within your rights to upgrade your system to a patch-eligible version of system software (version 23.1 and above). You can raise a ticket with Oracle for this task, or you can reach out to Natrinsic for assistance with our Patching Plus service for Oracle Customers.

These upgrades aren't for the faint of heart. Oracle customers frequently cite patching and upgrades as top pain points (Source, slide 4). Make sure you fully understand the implications on your business before upgrading your systems. 

The second option is to forgo the effort and risk associated with an upgrade and instead transfer support for your Exadata estate to Natrinsic. If your system has reached End of Service Life (EOSL) with Oracle, the value of Oracle support is significantly reduced. For EOSL Exadata systems, Oracle support entails:

Oracle support for EOSL Exadata systems means:

• No guaranteed on-site hardware replacement when hardware fails
• No new patches for any of your system software. No critical security patch updates. No new feature releases.

We would be happy to walk you through our Exadata support solution. Natrinsic is trusted by Fortune 500 companies with their Oracle Exadata support, which is provided by top-tier former Oracle L3 support engineers. 

Contact us today to discuss!