What is an Oracle Database

Oracle Autonomous Database is a cloud-based relational database service offered by Oracle Corporation. It is designed as a highly automated, secure database solution that optimizes performance and reliability while minimizing manual database management tasks like backing up, tuning and upgrading.

It is called "Autonomous" because of its automation features, which allow seamless integration with other Oracle Cloud services and tools.

Oracle Autonomous Database is configured for high availability, with redundant systems and automatic failover mechanisms ensuring the database remains accessible in the event of hardware and software failures. Because the product requires minimal manual intervention, users can devote more time to developing applications and analyzing data.

Oracle Database stores data using a hierarchical structure to support complex business applications.

Logical data storage in Oracle refers to how data is logically organized and structured within the database itself, independent of the physical storage details.

The fundamental, logical building block for storing data in Oracle is the table, which contains rows and columns.

A table, the basic storage unit in Oracle Database, works similarly to a spreadsheet, with rows (“records” or “tuples”) and columns. A row represents a single entry of data in a table. A column specifies a specific attribute or property of the data. For instance, in a table named Employee, each row might represent a single employee's data and the columns might include "EmployeeID", "FirstName", etc.

At a physical level in Oracle Database, data is stored in data files, which are organized into tablespaces. A tablespace is a logical storage container that groups related, physical data files. Within each tablespace, data is further organized into segments, which are sets of extents that contain the actual data blocks for a specific database object, such as a table or index. Each table or index has its own segment within a tablespace.

Physical storage in the file system is managed as operating system blocks, but within Oracle, the database works with data blocks as the fundamental units of storage. Data blocks contain actual data, and they are organized into tablespaces.

You can connect to an Oracle Database using a client tool or programming language that supports Oracle Database connectivity

1. Using Oracle SQL Developer (GUI), download and install Oracle SQL Developer from the Oracle website.
2. Launch Oracle SQL Developer.
3. Go to View > Connections to open the Connections panel. Right-click on Connections, and select New Connection. Enter details like username, password, hostname, port and service name.
4. Click the Test button to ensure that the connection is successful.
5. Once testing is done, click Connect to establish a connection. Once connected, you can use the SQL Worksheet to execute the SQL statements.
6. Using SQL*Plus (Command Line), download and install Oracle Instant Client from the Oracle Website.
7. Set environment variables such as PATH to include the Instant Client directory.
8. Open the command prompt or terminal on your operating system. Use the following command to connect to the Oracle database, using your database credentials and connection details instead of the placeholders:

sqlplus <username>/<password>@<hostname>:<port>/<service_name>/

Once connected, you can execute SQL statements directly from the SQL*Plus prompt.

Here are two of several ways to check the version of an Oracle database:

1. Open SQL*Plus or SQLcl and connect to your Oracle database using your credentials. Then, execute the following SQL query: SELECT * FROM v$version;
2. Open Oracle SQL Developer and connect to your Oracle database. Open a SQL Worksheet and run the same query as for SQL*Plus and SQLcl.

To check whether an Oracle database is running, use methods like command-line tools, graphical interfaces and SQL queries. Here are a few ways to check the status of an Oracle database:

1. Open SQL*Plus or SQLcl and connect to the Oracle database using your credentials. Run the following query to retrieve the current status of the database instance:

SELECT STATUS FROM v$instance;

2. Open Oracle SQL Developer, and connect to your Oracle database. Right-click on the connected database in the Connections panel, then select Test. If the connection is successful, the database is running.
3. From a Windows command line, open a terminal on the server where the Oracle database is installed. Run the following command to check the Oracle Database service status:

lsnrctl status

The command returns information about the listener status, including the status of registered databases.

Updating an Oracle database version requires upgrading the existing Oracle Database software to a newer release. The process involves careful planning and execution of Oracle's recommended procedures. Before you undertake any update, make sure you have a full backup of your database.

To update an Oracle database version, follow these generic steps:

1. Install the new Oracle software. Download and install the new Oracle Database software to the server. Follow the installation instructions provided in the documentation.
2. Execute Oracle’s database pre-upgrade information tool. Run the tool on the existing database to get information and fix any problems.
3. Perform the upgrade. You can upgrade Oracle Database using Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA) or command-line tools. DBUA is a graphical user interface tool offered by Oracle to simplify the process of upgrading an Oracle database to a higher version. To launch DBUA, run the command dbua in the command-line interface. It is designed to guide you through the steps of the upgrade and to automate many of the tasks involved.
4. Test the upgraded database and update any client applications. Ensure that the database operates as expected. Update client applications and drivers to be compatible with the new version of Oracle Database.

Follow these steps to install Oracle Database on Windows 11:

1. First, ensure that your Windows 11 system meets the hardware and software requirements for the version of Oracle Database you intend to install.
2. If necessary, create an Oracle account. Log in to it at Oracle.com.
3. Download the Oracle Database software installer. Locate the installer file and run it as administrator.
4. After extracting the installation files, click Next. Select Create and Configure a Database and click Next.
5. Specify the Oracle home directory where you need to install the Oracle Database. Click Next.
6. Select the database edition you want to install, then configure the global database name and password. Click Next.
7. Configure the Oracle Listener settings and click Next.
8. Click Finish to start the installation process. The installer will create and configure Oracle Database.
9. Once the installation is complete, click Close to exit the installer.
10. After installation, you may use SQLcI or SQL*Plus to create a database instance and adjust other settings.

To restore an Oracle database, you must specify a restore point in time for recovery from backup. That process varies depending upon the type of backup –full, incremental or differential – and the tools you use – RMAN, Data Pump, Oracle Enterprise Manager or manual.

Restoring a production database has implications for your environment. If not restored correctly, the database could lose data. Review the Oracle documentation to adapt the steps to your specific configuration, requirements, environment and version of Oracle Database.

To restore an Oracle database using Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN), follow these steps:

1. Ensure a recent, valid backup is in place before starting the restore process.
2. Connect to RMAN by opening the command prompt on the server where Oracle Database is installed. Execute the following command:

 

rman target /

3. Determine the backup and shut down the database. Run LIST BACKUP; to list the available backups, then identify the specific backup set to restore. If the database is running, shut it down by running SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
4. Start the database from RMAN by running STARTUP NOMOUNT;. That starts an Oracle database instance without mounting a specific database.
5. Restore the backed-up file identified in step 3 by running RESTORE CONTROLFILE FROM <backup_location>;
6. To mount the database with the newly restored file, run ALTER DATABASE MOUNT;
7. To restore and recover the database, run RESTORE DATABASE; and RECOVER DATABASE; using the specific backup set and System Change Number (SCN) if needed.

Once the process is complete, run SELECT STATUS FROM V$DATABASE;
to check the database status and confirm whether the database is open and accessible.