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OCI Base Database Service: Boot Volume Backups Explained – What Every DBA Should Know

When managing Oracle Base Database Service (DBCS) on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), most DBAs focus on database backups, Recovery Manager (RMAN), and recovery strategies. However, one equally important component is often overlooked—the Boot Volume.

A common misconception is that a Boot Volume Backup protects the entire database environment. In reality, it only safeguards the operating system, while your database requires a completely different backup strategy.

This article explains what Boot Volume Backups are, what they protect, when they should be used, and when they are unnecessary.

What is a Boot Volume in OCI Base Database Service?

A Boot Volume is the operating system disk attached to your Base Database Service virtual machine. It is typically presented to the operating system as the sda device.

The boot volume contains:

Oracle Linux operating system
System libraries
Operating system configuration
Installed OS packages
Security agents and monitoring tools
Kernel and boot-related files

It does NOT contain:

Database data files
Redo logs
Control files
Fast Recovery Area (FRA)
Oracle Database Home binaries

Think of it this way:

Boot Volume = Operating System
Database Backup = Database

These are two separate layers, each requiring its own protection strategy.

Why Are Boot Volume Backups Important?

Boot Volume Backups provide a recovery point for the operating system. If the OS becomes unusable, the backup allows Oracle to restore the VM to a previously healthy state.

Typical scenarios include:

Operating system corruption
Failed kernel updates
Failed RPM installations
Accidental deletion of system files
Boot failures
OS instability after configuration changes

Instead of rebuilding the operating system from scratch, the boot volume can be restored to a known-good state, significantly reducing recovery time.

Do Boot Volume Backups Protect My Database?

No.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions.

A Boot Volume Backup protects only the operating system. It does not include any database content.

To protect your database, continue using:

Oracle-managed automatic database backups
Oracle-managed on-demand database backups
Customer-managed manual backups

If your objective is recovering database data, Boot Volume Backups are not the solution.

When Should You Consider a Boot Volume Backup?

Although Oracle automatically manages Boot Volume Backups for Base Database Service, it is useful to understand when having a recent backup is especially valuable.

Recommended before:

Operating system patching
Kernel updates
RPM package installations or updates
Network configuration changes
Firewall modifications
SSH configuration updates
Changes to sysctl.conf
Updates to limits.conf
Installing Vulnerability Scanners
Deploying EDR or Antivirus agents
Troubleshooting unstable operating systems
Major OS-level maintenance activities

Any change that affects the operating system layer increases the value of having a recent Boot Volume Backup.

When Is a Boot Volume Backup NOT Required?

Boot Volume Backups should not be considered a replacement for database backups.

They are unnecessary for activities such as:

Database parameter changes
Schema modifications
Application deployments
Tablespace operations
Data modifications
PL/SQL changes
Oracle Grid Infrastructure patching
Oracle Database Home patching
Database upgrades
DB System or node operating system upgrades (for example, Oracle Linux 7 to Oracle Linux 8)

These operations require proper database backup and recovery mechanisms instead.

Can Boot Volume Backups Help During Malware or Ransomware Incidents?

Yes—provided the compromise is limited to the operating system.

If malware or ransomware affects the OS layer, restoring from a clean Boot Volume Backup provides a faster recovery path compared to rebuilding the operating system.

It is important to remember that this does not recover encrypted or corrupted database files. Database recovery still depends on database backups.

Do Boot Volume Backups Help Meet Compliance Requirements?

Yes.

Many security and governance frameworks recommend maintaining recoverable operating system images to support disaster recovery and operational resilience.

Having recent Boot Volume Backups helps organizations demonstrate that operating system recovery procedures are in place.

How Frequently Are Boot Volume Backups Taken?

For OCI Base Database Service:

Automatic Boot Volume Backups are taken weekly.
Automatic backups are retained for 7 days.

Oracle manages this process automatically.

Can Customers Trigger a Boot Volume Backup?

Currently, No.

There is no customer-facing API or Console option to initiate an on-demand Boot Volume Backup for OCI Base Database Service.

If an immediate Boot Volume Backup is required, customers must raise a Service Request (SR) with Oracle Base Database Support.

What Is the Retention Period?

OCI Base Database Service currently follows these retention rules:

Backup Type	Retention
Automatic Boot Volume Backup	7 Days
On-Demand Boot Volume Backup	Does not expire by default (Oracle typically requests a retention timeline)

A few important limitations:

Multiple ad hoc Boot Volume Backup copies are not supported.
Creating a new Boot Volume Backup for the same node replaces the previous one.
There is currently no option to retain on-demand Boot Volume Backups indefinitely.

Boot Volume Backup vs Database Backup

Boot Volume Backup	Database Backup
Protects operating system	Protects database
Includes kernel and OS configuration	Includes data files
Includes installed agents	Includes redo logs
Includes system packages	Includes control files
Used for OS recovery	Used for database recovery

Both are important—but they solve different recovery problems.

How Do Boot Volume Backups Help During Failed OS Changes?

Suppose an operating system update results in:

Kernel panic
Boot failure
Broken networking
Firewall misconfiguration
Security agent startup failures
Loss of SSH access

Instead of rebuilding the operating system manually, Oracle can restore the Boot Volume Backup, returning the VM to its previous working state.

This significantly reduces downtime during OS-related incidents.

Can Customers Restore a Boot Volume Themselves?

Currently, No.

OCI Base Database Service does not provide self-service Boot Volume restore functionality.

To perform a restore, customers must open a Service Request (SR) with Oracle Base Database Support.

Quick Reference

Final Thoughts

Boot Volume Backups are an essential part of the overall recovery strategy for OCI Base Database Service—but they serve a very specific purpose.

They are designed to protect the operating system, not the database.

Understanding this distinction helps DBAs make informed decisions during maintenance, troubleshooting, and disaster recovery planning.

The key takeaway is simple:

Use Boot Volume Backups to recover the operating system.
Use database backups to recover your database.

Together, these two layers provide comprehensive protection for your OCI Base Database Service environment.

Strengthening Oracle Autonomous AI Database Security with Multi-Factor Authentication

As organizations continue moving mission-critical workloads to the cloud, database security has become more important than ever. Password-based authentication alone is no longer sufficient to protect sensitive enterprise data from evolving cyber threats. To address this challenge, Oracle Autonomous AI Database now supports Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), providing an additional layer of protection for database access and SQL execution.

What is MFA in Autonomous AI Database?

Multi-Factor Authentication enhances database security by requiring users to verify their identity using two separate authentication factors:

Something the user knows — typically a username and password
Something the user has — such as a one-time token, authenticator app, push notification, or secure verification mechanism

With MFA enabled, even if database credentials are compromised, unauthorized access becomes significantly more difficult.

Key MFA Capabilities

Oracle Autonomous AI Database provides flexible MFA options designed for modern enterprise environments:

1. MFA for Database Logins

Administrators can enforce MFA during user authentication to ensure only verified users can establish database sessions.

2. MFA for SQL Access

Organizations can require additional verification before executing sensitive SQL operations, adding another layer of protection for critical workloads.

3. Multiple Verification Methods

Oracle supports different MFA delivery channels, including:

Email-based verification
Authenticator applications
Push notifications
Slack-based token delivery

This flexibility allows enterprises to align MFA with their operational and security standards.

How Oracle Implements MFA

Oracle provides the DBMS_MFA_ADMIN package to simplify MFA administration. Database administrators can:

Register users for MFA
Configure token delivery channels
Enable or disable MFA policies
Manage token attributes and session validation

This package enables centralized MFA governance while maintaining operational simplicity.

Why MFA Matters for Cloud Databases

Cloud databases are constantly exposed to risks such as:

Credential theft
Password reuse attacks
Unauthorized privileged access
Insider threats

By introducing MFA, organizations can significantly reduce the attack surface and strengthen compliance with modern security frameworks and regulatory standards.

For enterprises hosting critical ERP, financial, healthcare, or customer data in Oracle Autonomous AI Database, MFA becomes an essential component of a defense-in-depth security strategy.

Additional Security Benefits in Oracle AI Database

Oracle continues to strengthen its database security portfolio with features such as:

TLS 1.3 support
SQL Firewall
Enhanced auditing
Stronger password policies
Improved encryption capabilities
IAM integration for centralized access control

Oracle AI Database 26ai Now Generally Available for On-Premises Linux x86-64 Platforms

Oracle has announced the general availability (GA) of Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition for Linux x86-64 on-premises environments as part of the January 2026 quarterly Release Update (23.26.1). This milestone expands Oracle’s AI-native database platform beyond cloud and engineered systems into customer data centers, offering enterprises a broader choice for modern data and AI workloads.

Bringing AI-Native Data Management to the Enterprise

Oracle AI Database 26ai represents the next generation of Oracle’s converged database architecture, embedding artificial intelligence deeply into the core of the database engine. With this release now available for on-premises Linux x86-64 systems, organizations that operate critical workloads within their own data centers can leverage AI capabilities without migrating to cloud-managed environments.

This on-premises GA release ensures that enterprises with strict data sovereignty, security, compliance, or performance requirements can modernize their database platforms while taking full advantage of Oracle’s AI innovations.

Key Capabilities in Oracle AI Database 26ai

The 26ai release includes a comprehensive set of AI-enabled features and enhancements designed to transform enterprise data management:

AI Vector Search – Support for similarity search across vectorized data, enabling intelligent retrieval of related documents, images, and other unstructured data.
Globally Distributed Database with RAFT Replication – Built-in mechanisms for data replication across distributed environments.
In-Database SQL Firewall – Enhanced security controls for managing risky queries.
Quantum-Resistant Encryption – Cryptographic protections designed to withstand future computational threats.
True Cache – Performance enhancements that optimize data access patterns.
JSON Relational Duality – Unified handling of JSON and relational data within the same platform.
Apache Iceberg Lakehouse Support – Integration with modern open table formats for analytical workloads.

This extensive feature set allows organizations to combine transactional, analytical, and AI-centric workloads within a single, unified database platform.

What This Means for On-Premises Customers

Traditionally, advanced AI capabilities in Oracle databases were most accessible through cloud-hosted services or engineered systems such as Oracle Exadata. With the on-premises GA of Oracle AI Database 26ai for Linux x86-64, customers can now:

Preserve existing infrastructure investments while adopting state-of-the-art AI-native database technology.
Simplify architectures by reducing dependency on external AI platforms or middleware.
Accelerate application development and deployment with built-in AI functions.

This release underscores Oracle’s commitment to offering flexibility across cloud and on-premises deployment models, ensuring enterprises can align technology choices with business requirements.

Getting Started with Oracle AI Database 26ai On-Premises

Customers can download Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition for Linux x86-64 from Oracle’s software distribution channels and begin planning upgrades or new deployments as part of their 2026 technology roadmap.

For further details on the release, feature highlights, and tutorials, Oracle provides an array of resources, including product documentation, live labs, and introductory videos.

Conclusion

The general availability of Oracle AI Database 26ai for on-premises Linux x86-64 systems marks a significant evolution in enterprise database technology. By seamlessly integrating AI capabilities into the database engine and extending them beyond cloud environments, Oracle empowers organizations to innovate faster, extract deeper insights, and maintain control over critical data–all within their own data centers.

Understanding Oracle Unified Auditing: Quick Checks for DBAs

Oracle Unified Auditing consolidates all audit records into a single, unified framework, simplifying how auditing is configured, managed, and reviewed. As more environments move toward stricter compliance and security standards, DBAs increasingly rely on Unified Auditing to track database activity efficiently.

This short guide highlights how to quickly check whether Unified Auditing is enabled and how to review the audit policies configured in your database.

✅ How to Check if Unified Auditing Is Enabled

Unified Auditing can run in two modes:

Mixed Mode (default)
Pure Unified Auditing Mode

To verify the status, check the database options:

SELECT VALUE FROM V$OPTION WHERE PARAMETER = 'Unified Auditing';

TRUE → Unified Auditing is enabled
FALSE → Unified Auditing is disabled

If the database is running in pure mode, it was enabled during installation or via relinking.

View Enabled Unified Audit Policies

To see which audit policies are currently active:

SELECT DISTINCT policy_name 
FROM audit_unified_enabled_policies;

This lists all enabled policies, including Oracle-supplied and user-defined ones.

View All Available Unified Audit Policies

To list every policy defined in the system:

SELECT DISTINCT policy_name 
FROM audit_unified_policies;

This helps you understand what policies exist, even if they’re not currently enabled.

Check Audit Options Associated with Each Policy

To see which audit options belong to each policy:

SELECT audit_option, policy_name 
FROM audit_unified_policies 
GROUP BY policy_name, audit_option;

This provides insight into what actions are being audited under each policy.

Summary

Oracle Unified Auditing centralizes and simplifies auditing. With just a few queries, DBAs can quickly validate:

Whether Unified Auditing is active
Which policies are enabled
What audit actions are tied to each policy

These checks are essential for maintaining security, ensuring compliance, and understanding the audit footprint of your Oracle environment.

Validating an Oracle TDE Wallet Password Safely with mkstore

When managing Oracle Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), it’s often necessary to verify whether a wallet password is correct—especially before performing operations such as opening the wallet, rotating keys, or restoring backups. The safest way to do this is by using the mkstore utility outside the database environment, without requiring any database open/close actions.

Below is a simple and secure method to validate your TDE wallet password.

Why Use `mkstore` for Validation?

mkstore allows you to test the wallet password independently of the database.
This approach ensures:

No impact on the running database
No wallet state changes
A direct and reliable password validation method

Steps to Validate a TDE Wallet Password

1. Copy Only the `ewallet.p12` File

Copy the wallet file (ewallet.p12) to a temporary directory:

Do not copy cwallet.sso
The .sso file enables auto-login, which bypasses the password prompt.
Excluding it ensures that mkstore must ask for the password.

Example:

cp /path/to/original/ewallet.p12 /tmp/wallet_validation/

2. Run the `mkstore` Command

From the Oracle home bin directory, execute:

mkstore -wrl <wallet_directory> -list

Replace <wallet_directory> with the path to your copied wallet (e.g., /tmp/wallet_validation/).

mkstore will prompt you to enter the wallet password.

3. Interpret the Result

Valid Password:
The command displays wallet contents (aliases/entries).
Invalid Password:
You will see an error indicating that the password is incorrect.

This method confirms the correctness of your TDE wallet password without any risk to the running database or the original wallet.

Why Avoid Copying `cwallet.sso`?

cwallet.sso enables auto-login mode.
If present, the wallet opens automatically and no password check occurs, defeating the purpose of validation.
By copying only ewallet.p12, you ensure that mkstore enforces password authentication.

Example Commands

cp /u01/app/oracle/admin/db_wallet/ewallet.p12 /tmp/wallet_validation/
mkstore -wrl /tmp/wallet_validation/ -list

🟩 Summary

Validating a TDE wallet password using mkstore is:

Safe
Non-intrusive
Independent of database state
Ideal before sensitive operations like wallet open, key changes, or backup restores

This simple check can help prevent downtime and errors related to incorrect wallet passwords.

Running out of tablespace? Let automation handle it!

In mission-critical Oracle environments, tablespace full alerts can cause major disruptions if not addressed in time. Manually managing these situations isn’t scalable.

💡 This Oracle blog post walks through how to automatically respond to tablespace full alerts using Corrective Actions in Oracle Enterprise Manager.

🔧 Highlights:

Real-world use case: Handling tablespace full scenarios automatically
Setup guide for defining and enabling corrective actions
Custom script that auto-extends tablespaces
Helps avoid downtime and manual interventions

📊 Ideal for DBAs looking to operationalize resilience in Oracle environments.

How to View and Monitor Database Jobs in Oracle

Oracle provides powerful job scheduling capabilities through the DBMS_SCHEDULER package. This guide outlines how to list existing jobs, check their execution status, and retrieve job actions.

1. List All Scheduled Database Jobs

Use the following query to retrieve details of all scheduled jobs in the database, including their repeat interval, status, and next scheduled run:

SELECT OWNER,
       JOB_NAME,
       REPEAT_INTERVAL,
       ENABLED,
       STATE,
       LAST_START_DATE,
       LAST_RUN_DURATION,
       NEXT_RUN_DATE
FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS;

2. Check the Status of a Specific Job

To view the execution status of a specific job for a given date, execute the below query. Replace DD-MON-YY with the desired date and &JOB_NAME with the job name.

SELECT LOG_ID,
       JOB_NAME,
       STATUS,
       LOG_DATE
FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_RUN_DETAILS
WHERE TRUNC(LOG_DATE) = 'DD-MON-YY'
  AND JOB_NAME = '&JOB_NAME';

3. View the Job Action of a Specific Job

To determine the actual action or procedure executed by a job, use the following SQL query:

SELECT JOB_ACTION
FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS
WHERE JOB_NAME = 'JOB_NAME';

Replace 'JOB_NAME' with the actual name of your scheduled job.

4. Session Details of a Specific Job

To get the session details a job, use the following SQL query:

SELECT s.sid,
       s.serial#,
       s.username,
       s.status,
       s.osuser,
       s.machine,
       s.program,
       s.module,
       s.action,
       s.event,
       s.wait_class,
       s.seconds_in_wait,
       s.sql_id,
       s.prev_sql_id,
       s.logon_time
FROM dba_scheduler_running_jobs r
JOIN v$session s
  ON s.sid = r.session_id
WHERE r.job_name = 'ORACLE_APEX_BG_PROCESSES';