Oracle AI Database 26ai DBA

6 Saturdays (9am to 11am) | Intermediate to Advanced | Course Notes

Course Content

Week 1 — Architecture, Installation & Upgrade

• Overview of Oracle AI Database 26ai architecture: instance, memory structures (SGA, PGA), and background processes
• Understanding the Multitenant architecture: Container Database (CDB) and Pluggable Databases (PDBs)
• Installing Oracle AI Database 26ai on Linux and Windows platforms
• Using the Database Creation Assistant (DBCA) and Oracle Universal Installer (OUI)
• Creating a database manually using SQL commands and the CREATE DATABASE statement
• Upgrading from Oracle 19c/23ai to 26ai — applying the October 2025 Release Update[reference:0]
• Post-upgrade tasks and validating the database environment
• Navigating the new command-line installer for simplified deployments[reference:1]

Week 2 — Multitenant Administration & PDB Management

• Deep dive into CDB and PDB architecture: root, seed, and application containers
• Creating, cloning, plugging, and unplugging PDBs
• Managing PDB resource allocation and priority settings — prioritising important PDBs over less critical ones[reference:2]
• PDB-level administration: users, privileges, and tablespaces
• Backup and recovery of individual PDBs using RMAN
• Using Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control for container management
• Monitoring PDB performance and resource usage
• Best practices for Multitenant deployment in production environments

Week 3 — Security Management: Auditing, Encryption & Access Control

• Understanding the new Unified Auditing framework — the primary method for database auditing in 26ai[reference:3]
• Configuring audit policies for AI workloads, vector operations, and traditional data access
• Improvements to encryption, auditing, and real-time threat detection[reference:4]
• Managing users, roles, and privileges in a Multitenant environment
• Implementing Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and backup encryption
• Schema-level privileges for simplified access management[reference:5]
• Deprecated features: Enterprise User Security (EUS) — understanding the migration path[reference:6]
• Desupported features: EM Express (use OCI Database Management or SQL Developer instead)[reference:7]

Week 4 — Performance Tuning, Diagnostics & AI-Driven Optimization

• Oracle AI Database 26ai performance architecture: AI-driven diagnostics, self-healing, and self-optimization capabilities[reference:8]
• Using Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) and Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM)
• Cluster Health Monitor improvements — autonomous detection and corrective actions for critical component failures[reference:9]
• SQL Diagnostic Report: generating deep-level HTML diagnostic reports including plan history, optimizer statistics, and index details[reference:10]
• Managing AI Vector Search workloads alongside high-volume OLTP transactions in the same engine[reference:11]
• Performance tuning for vector indexes (HNSW) with concurrent DML operations[reference:12]
• Telemetry Streaming for ultra-fast metrics ingestion and observability using REST, SQL, and PromQL[reference:13]
• Using the new priority transactions feature to handle lock contention and prevent hanging updates[reference:14]

Week 5 — Backup, Recovery & High Availability

• RMAN (Recovery Manager) fundamentals: full, incremental, and cumulative backups
• Desupported feature: Data Recovery Advisor (DRA) — understanding the implications and adapting RMAN workflows[reference:15]
• Configuring backup strategies for CDB and PDB environments
• Using Oracle Data Pump (expdp/impdp) — the original EXP utility is desupported[reference:16]
• Point-in-time recovery and tablespace recovery
• Setting up Oracle Data Guard for disaster recovery and high availability
• Configuring Data Guard Broker and managing physical standby databases[reference:17]
• Implementing Flashback technologies for database and table recovery

Week 6 — Patching, Automation, Fleet Management & Capstone Project

• Understanding the patching strategy for 26ai: gold images and individual software patches from My Oracle Support[reference:18]
• Using Oracle Update Advisor for software maintenance recommendations and patch status[reference:19]
• Integrating Oracle Fleet Patching and Provisioning (FPP) for automated gold image creation and deployment[reference:20]
• Automating routine DBA tasks with Oracle Scheduler and DBMS_SCHEDULER
• Managing Oracle AI Database in cloud and hybrid environments
• Using the operating system certificate store for database authentication instead of client wallets[reference:21]
• Best practices for database maintenance, monitoring alerts, and capacity planning
• Capstone Project: Deploy, secure, and maintain a production-ready Oracle AI Database 26ai environment with Multitenant, Data Guard, and automated patching

Project: Build and manage a complete Oracle AI Database 26ai environment from installation to production, implementing security, performance tuning, backup strategies, and automated patching.

Starting Date: 4th July 2026
Course Fee: £2990