Oracle releases new Standard Edition 2 for 12.1.0.2

Customers have been waiting for a Standard Edition release for version 12.1.0.2. Then, in July, a support engineer leaked that there will be a whole new type of “Edition”, called “Standard Edition 2” to replace both “Standard Edition” and “Standard Edition One”. The respective MOS Note disappeared shortly after the accidental publication. Now today the release finally became official and can be downloaded via OTN. The “SE2” is priced exactly as the previous “Standard Edition”. SE2 is limited to a single server with 2 CPU sockets, or when used with RAC to two servers with one socket each. In addition, there seems to be a limit of 16 CPU threads (e.g. 8 cores with hyperthreading) when using one host and 8 CPU threads each for both nodes when using RAC.

So beginning with 12.1.0.2, there will be no more “Standard Edition (4 CPU socket limit)” or “Stanard Edition One (2 socket limit)” releases anymore. There is no way to avoid going to “Standard Edition 2 (2 socket limit)” in the future.

This might mean for SE customers, which were using 4 CPU sockets (occupied) on a single host or a 2-node RAC Cluster with 2 CPU sockets (occupied) per host, that they have to remove half the (occupied) sockets from their installation. I am not sure what happens with already bought SE licences and how they can be “migrated” to SE2 licenses. I hope that this will not start a new wave of license-driven Oracle->PostgreSQL/MySQL/MS SQL Migrations.

Now would probably be the right time for 11gR2 Standard Edition users to start upgrade tests for 12c to gather experience. On the other hand, waiting until end of year and bugs found by “early adaptors” might safe you some troubles.

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