Book excerpt: Learn all of the available upgrade and migration methods in detail to move to Oracle Database version 12c. You will become familiar with database upgrade best practices to complete the upgrade in an effective manner and understand the Oracle Database 12c patching process. So it’s time to upgrade Oracle Database to version 12c and you need to choose the appropriate method while considering issues such as downtime. This book explains all of the available upgrade and migration methods so you can choose the one that suits your environment. You will be aware of the practical issues and proactive measures to take to upgrade successfully and reduce unexpected issues. With every release of Oracle Database there are new features and fixes to bugs identified in previous versions. As each release becomes obsolete, existing databases need to be upgraded. Oracle Database Upgrade and Migration Methods explains each method along with its strategy, requirements, steps, and known issues that have been seen so far. This book also compares the methods to help you choose the proper method according to your constraints. Also included in this book: Pre-requisite patches and pre-upgrade steps Patching to perform changes at the binary and database level to apply bug fixes What You Will Learn: Understand the need and importance of database upgrading and migration Be aware of the challenges associated with database upgrade decision making Compare all upgrade/migration methods Become familiar with database upgrade best practices and recommendations Understand database upgrade concepts in high availability and multi-tenant environments Know the database downgrade steps in case the upgraded database isn’t compatible with the environment Discover the features and benefits to the organization when it moves from the old database version to the latest database version Understand Oracle 12c patching concepts Who This Book Is For: Core database administrators, solution architects, business consultants, and database architects