1 Basic Policy Concepts
Oracle uses a group of policies to set the parameters and limitations for the life time phases of our products.
o The Lifetime Support Policy (LSP) defines the date ranges and types of support delivered during
each stage of a product’s lifecycle (Premier, Extended, and Sustaining.) The LSP for Oracle Database
is: Lifetime Support Policy – Oracle Technology Products.
o The Error Correction Policy (ECP) works alongside the LSP and defines the types of patches that will
be produced and most importantly establishes an end-date when patches and proactive bundles will
no longer be produced for a given Database version. Databases listed in the LSP beginning with 19c
and later are subject to this ECP.
o The Oracle Software Technical Support Policies (TSP) document covers support guidelines and
global exceptions to the above policies.
The Oracle Database has transitioned from a Major/Minor release cycle to a Long Term and Innovation release
cycle. Considering that the Database LSP covers Major, Long Term, and Innovation releases, this document
will focus on the Error Correction Policy for Long Term and Innovation Releases while the archived Error
Correction Policies 2.0 document will contain policy information on previous release models.
3.1 Release Updates (RU)
1. Quarterly proactive patches(1) (RU/BP) released during the first 3 years of a Database Release’s GA
date(2) will be eligible for new interim fixes for 12 months from that RU/BP’s release date
2. Quarterly proactive patches(1) (RU/BP) released more than 3 years after a Database Release's GA date (2)
will be eligible for new interim fixes for 24 months from that RU/BP’s release date
3. Customers running an older quarterly proactive patch(1) (RU/BP) that falls outside the documented
windows (1,2) above will be eligible to download existing interim fixes only, i.e. new fixes will not be
provided.
4. Monthly Recommended Patches (MRPs) will be supported on the two most recent RUs only (Linux x86-
64)
To further explain, here are some examples:
• Example 1: RUs released in the first 3 years of GA date have a 12 month fix window
o 19.4 RU, released in July 2019, would be eligible for bug fixes through July 2020
o 19.14 RU, released in January 2022, would be eligible for bug fixes through January 2023
• Example 2: RUs released more than 3 years after GA date have a 24 month fix window
o 19.15 RU, released in April 2022, would be eligible for bug fixes through April 2024
o 19.20 RU, released in July 2023, would be eligible for bug fixes through July 2025
(1) Quarterly Proactive Patch (RU and BP) release dates for each platform are found in MOS note 888.1
(2) The Lifetime Support Policy starts the GA timer with the release of a Database on Linux x86-64, onpremises. The GA date for Database Releases can be found in MOS Note 742060.1.
