You can add Oracle Database homes (referred to as Database Homes in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure) to an existing VM cluster by using the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console, the API, or the CLI.

A Database Home is a directory location on the Exadata database virtual machines that contains Oracle Database software binary files.

You can also add and remove Database homes, and perform other management tasks on a Database home by using the dbaascli utility.

To create an Oracle Database home in an existing VM cluster with the Console, be prepared to provide values for the fields required.

1. Open the navigation menu. Under Oracle Database, click Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer.
   VM Clusters is selected by default.
2. Choose your Compartment.
   A list of VM Clusters is displayed for the chosen Compartment.
3. In the list of VM clusters, click the VM cluster on which you want to create the Database Home.
4. Under Resources, click Database Homes.
5. Click Create Database Home.
6. In the Create Database Home dialog, enter the following:
   • Database Home display name: The display name for the Database Home.
   • Unified Auditing: Select this check box to enable Unified Auditing framework.
     Note
     
     You cannot disable Unified Auditing after provisioning the Database Home.
     • For Oracle Database versions lower than 12.1: You cannot use the Unified Auditing framework and should instead use the Traditional Audit, the legacy Oracle Database audit framework.
     • For Oracle Database versions 12.1 or higher: You can enable Unified Auditing from the OCI Console. For Oracle Database versions 12.1 or higher but lower than version 23ai, the Unified Auditing check box is not selected by default. However, it is selected by default for Oracle Database version 23ai.

       Unified Auditing field in the General Information section on the Database Home Details page displays if Unified Auditing is Enabled or Disabled.

   • Database image: Determines what Oracle Database version is used for the database. You can mix database versions on the Exadata VM Cluster, but not editions. By default, the latest Oracle-published database software image is selected.

     Click Change Database Image to use an older Oracle-published image or a custom Database Software Image that you have created in advance, then choose one of the options below on the Select a Database Software Image window.

     Oracle Provided Database Software Images: These images contain generally available versions of Oracle Database software.

     Custom Database Software Images: These images are created by your organization and contain customized configurations of software updates and patches.

     Use the Select a compartment and Select a Database version selectors to limit the list of custom Database Software Images to a specific compartment or Oracle Database software major release version.

     Use the Region filter to access the software images created in a different region.

     After choosing a software image, click Select to return to the Create Database Home dialog.

     Note
     
     For the Oracle Database major version releases available in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, images are provided for the current version plus the three most recent older versions (N through N - 3). For example, if an instance is using Oracle Database 19c, and the latest version of 19c offered is 19.8.0.0.0, images available for provisioning are for versions 19.8.0.0.0, 19.7.0.0, 19.6.0.0 and 19.5.0.0.
     A Database Software Image will not be available for Database Home creation if:

     • The database version of Database Software Image is out of support. For example, Database Software Images created using 11.2.0.4 will not be available for Database Home provisioning after 31-Dec-2022.
     • The Exadata model should support the PSU/RU version of the Database Software Image. For example, for the 19c release, the X8M-2 model supports RU version 19.4 and greater.
     • Only Database Software Images created specifically in the context of Exadata Cloud@Customer service can be used while provisioning and patching Database Homes within the Exadata Cloud@Customer service.
     • The Database Software Image is not in Available state, that is, Deleted or is being Updated.

   • Show Advanced Options

     You have the option to configure advanced options.

     • Tags: (Optional) You can choose to apply tags. If you have permissions to create a resource, then you also have permissions to apply free-form tags to that resource. To apply a defined tag, you must have permissions to use the tag namespace. For more information about tagging, see "Resource Tags". If you are not sure if you should apply tags, then skip this option (you can apply tags later) or ask your administrator.

   Note that after Home install, patch to the latest if the latest patch is available.

7. Click Create.
   When the Database Home creation is complete, the status changes from Provisioning to Available.

To create an Oracle Database home, review the list of API calls.

For information about using the API and signing requests, see REST APIs and Security Credentials. For information about SDKs, see Software Development Kits and Command Line Interface.

To create Database Homes in Oracle Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer, use the API operation CreateDbHome.

For the complete list of APIs, see Database Service API.