Ask HN: How does Oracle db licensing work for developers?

by jfabre on 5/11/2023, 11:07:25 PM with 1 comments
I'm really confused about Oracle licensing.

Is there a way for developers to run an Oracle db on their machine for a service that already runs in production without having to pay for a license?

Been working for a couple months for a big co that mainly uses Oracle as their database and how my team work is that we all share a remote dev database that some dba manages.

I proposed that we all install a copy of that db on our machines so that we can make changes without impacting everyone else. We're already handling schema changes through version control.

I had a meeting with a dba at my company today and he says we would have to buy licenses for every single db we install on our machines.

Is he right? Is Oracle really gouging their customers like that? It seems hard to believe. I read their licenses online and he "seems to be right", but I'm not a lawyer.

Thanks for the help.

  • by bassa on 5/15/2023, 10:58:25 AM

    https://www.oracle.com/database/free/faq/

    +)What are the resource limits for Oracle Database Free Oracle Database Free supports up to:

    2 CPUs for foreground processes 2GB of RAM (SGA and PGA combined) 12GB of user data on disk (irrespective of compression factor)

    +)Will patches be provided for Oracle Database Free?

    No, patches will not be released for Oracle Database Free. To obtain patches you must be on a fully supported edition, such as Oracle Database Enterprise Edition or Oracle Database Standard Edition 2.

    +)Can I use Oracle Database Free in production?

    Oracle Database Free does not restrict the environment in which it can be deployed. However, Oracle Database Free is not supported and does not receive any patches, including security patches. Oracle recommends running production deployments on fully supported Oracle Database editions or cloud services.