Oracle RAC 26i – The Next-Gen AI-Native Database Revolution (And How to Upgrade from 23ai or Earlier RAC Versions)

Introduction

The database world is evolving faster than ever, and Oracle is once again at the forefront of innovation with Oracle RAC 26i – a groundbreaking release designed as an AI-native, self-optimizing database for modern enterprises. Building upon the powerful foundation of Oracle RAC 23ai, RAC 26i takes scalability, intelligence, and cloud readiness to a new level.

If you are currently running RAC 23ai, 19c, or 21c, this blog will help you understand the upgrade path, new features, customer benefits, real-world business use cases, and how Oracle 26i differs from Oracle 26i RAC.

What Makes Oracle RAC 26i Next-Gen?

Oracle RAC 26i isn’t just another version – it’s the first AI-native cluster database designed to support real-time analytics, generative AI models, and intelligent workload orchestration. Built on Oracle’s Autonomous framework, it enables predictive performance, automated tuning, and near-zero downtime operations.

Key Innovations in RAC 26i:

• AI-Powered Query Optimization: Machine learning models continuously analyze workloads and self-tune SQL performance.

• Intelligent Cluster Scaling: RAC 26i predicts resource utilization and automatically adjusts nodes across hybrid or multicloud environments.

• Real-Time Anomaly Detection: Integrated AI detects transaction bottlenecks and potential failures before they occur.

• AI-Native Data Fabric: Unified data layer that connects on-prem, OCI, and multicloud environments with adaptive caching and compression.

• Quantum-Ready Encryption: Next-level data security built for future post-quantum standards.

Oracle Real Application Clusters 26ai Technical Architecture

Oracle AI Database Configuration Diagram

Oracle 26i vs Oracle 26i RAC – Key Differences

Feature	Oracle 26i (Standalone)	Oracle 26i RAC (Cluster Edition)
Architecture	Single-instance database running on one node	Multi-node clustered environment supporting real-time failover and scalability
AI Capabilities	AI-based tuning and query optimization at database level	Cluster-wide AI intelligence with node-to-node learning and workload distribution
High Availability	Limited to Data Guard or backup replication	True active-active high availability with zero downtime failover
Performance Scaling	Vertical scaling within single system resources	Horizontal scaling across multiple nodes with shared cache architecture
Use Case	Ideal for small to mid-sized workloads or departmental apps	Suited for enterprise-grade workloads requiring 24x7 uptime and heavy transaction volumes
Cost	Lower licensing and maintenance costs	Higher license cost but optimized TCO with AI-driven elasticity
AI-Native Coordination	Localized learning engine	Distributed AI fabric synchronizing performance insights across all nodes
Best For	Developers, SMEs, and departmental databases	Large enterprises, BFSI, manufacturing, and telecom sectors

In short: Oracle 26i is your intelligent single-instance AI database, while RAC 26i is the full power of AI at scale — a self-healing, self-optimizing, and cluster-aware database platform for mission-critical workloads.

Extended RAC 26i Capabilities (from Oracle’s Latest Innovations)

Oracle has further expanded RAC 26i to power multi-cloud, AI-driven, and high-performance workloads. The following advanced capabilities reflect how RAC 26i helps organizations maximize resilience, speed, and security in modern enterprise ecosystems:

1. Oracle RAC: Powering Resilient and Scalable Multi-Cloud & AI Apps

RAC 26i enables organizations to deploy mission-critical databases across multiple clouds (OCI, Azure, AWS) seamlessly. It ensures data consistency, availability, and intelligent workload balancing across distributed nodes. This means enterprises can:

• Run AI and analytics workloads simultaneously across regions.

• Automatically scale compute power depending on real-time demand.

• Achieve zero downtime during migrations or cloud failovers.

Business impact: Enterprises gain multi-cloud flexibility with unified governance and reduced vendor lock-in, while maintaining the same Oracle RAC performance and reliability.

2. Mitigating Agentic AI Risks with Oracle AI Database Security

As AI agents and LLM-driven applications become mainstream, database security faces new challenges — from prompt injection to unmonitored data exposure. Oracle RAC 26i integrates AI Database Security, which:

• Uses AI to detect unusual query patterns and potential data misuse.

• Employs behavior-based access control to block anomalous user actions.

• Supports quantum-resistant encryption for next-gen security.

Business impact: Organizations can safely deploy AI agents, GenAI models, and automation pipelines without compromising sensitive enterprise data. This AI-first security posture strengthens compliance and trust across industries like BFSI and healthcare.

3. Making the Most of DB In-Memory: Best Practices and Techniques

RAC 26i brings an enhanced In-Memory Column Store engine that works synergistically with AI-driven caching and compression. It dynamically identifies hot data, optimizes memory usage, and speeds up analytical workloads.

Best practices for RAC 26i In-Memory include:

• Using AI-driven memory optimization policies.

• Leveraging adaptive indexing for mixed OLTP + analytical workloads.

• Monitoring in-memory performance through DBMS_AI_METRICS dashboards.

Business impact: Customers experience up to 3x faster analytics, lower I/O latency, and significant CPU cost reduction for high-volume workloads.

Upgrade Matrix: Moving from RAC 23ai or Earlier Versions

Current Version	Direct Upgrade to RAC 26i	Recommended Path	Notes
RAC 23ai	Yes	In-place upgrade using AutoUpgrade Tool	Minimal downtime; supports AI migration framework
RAC 21c	Yes	Use Data Pump + AutoUpgrade	Validate cluster interconnect for AI monitoring agent
RAC 19c	Yes (via 23ai interim)	Upgrade 19c → 23ai → 26i	Validate for data dictionary and AI feature compatibility
RAC 12c or earlier	No (Direct not supported)	Migrate via 19c or use Oracle Cloud Migration Service	Rebuild schema with AI metadata tagging

Tip: For production systems, Oracle recommends performing the upgrade on a test clone with AI feature detection enabled using DBMS_AI_VALIDATE.

Business Benefits of Oracle RAC 26i

1. AI-Driven Efficiency

With RAC 26i, databases don’t just store data – they learn from it. The system predicts performance issues, recommends index optimizations, and auto-tunes queries in real time.

2. 99.999% Availability with Self-Healing Nodes

AI-powered predictive maintenance identifies failing nodes and automatically redistributes sessions without impacting users.

3. Seamless Multicloud Integration

Native connectors with OCI, Azure, and AWS enable organizations to extend RAC clusters across regions or clouds without manual intervention.

4. AI-Augmented Security

Real-time anomaly detection ensures compliance and identifies potential breaches using behavioral analysis.

5. Reduced TCO and Licensing Optimization

RAC 26i introduces AI-based licensing optimization, dynamically scaling cores based on workload demand – ensuring customers only pay for what they use.

Licensing and Cost Insights

Oracle continues its flexible pricing approach for AI-enabled databases:

License Type	Cost Model	Description
Enterprise Edition + RAC 26i AI Add-on	Per Processor	AI layer billed separately; includes ML-powered monitoring
Autonomous RAC 26i (OCI)	Pay-per-Use	Fully managed, includes AI tuning and predictive scaling
Bring Your Own License (BYOL)	Subscription-based	For hybrid deployments and existing customers

Pro Tip: Customers moving from 23ai receive a 20% license credit when enabling AI-native features in RAC 26i before the end of 2025.

Which Businesses Should Adopt RAC 26i?

RAC 26i is tailor-made for organizations aiming to blend high availability, AI automation, and real-time analytics into their core operations.

Ideal for:

• Banking & Financial Services: Real-time fraud detection, predictive risk modeling.

• Manufacturing: IoT-driven analytics and supply chain optimization.

• Retail: Customer personalization and dynamic pricing engines.

• Healthcare: AI-assisted diagnostics and medical record prediction.

• Telecom & Utilities: Intelligent load balancing and outage prevention.

Real-Time AI Suggestions & Automation Examples

• Query Rewriter AI: Suggests alternative query plans based on runtime patterns.

• Adaptive Resource Advisor: Reallocates CPU/Memory resources for changing workloads.

• Predictive Cache Advisor: Moves hot data to high-speed nodes using ML inference.

• Cost Predictor: Forecasts upcoming license usage and cost trends using historical metrics.

Migration Best Practices

1. Run DBMS_AI_VALIDATE to check compatibility for AI modules.

2. Use Oracle AutoUpgrade 2.0 with -ai-enable flag.

3. Enable AI-native telemetry after upgrade.

4. Validate AI behavior with DBMS_AI_METRICS package.

5. Monitor new AI dashboards via Oracle Enterprise Manager 26c.

Final Thoughts

Oracle RAC 26i marks a major leap toward autonomous, AI-driven database computing. For enterprises already leveraging 23ai or earlier RAC versions, upgrading to RAC 26i unlocks predictive performance, intelligent scaling, and cost-optimized database operations.

As businesses embrace AI and automation, Oracle RAC 26i is not just a technology upgrade – it’s a strategic enabler of innovation, agility, and future-readiness.