The method that you must use to patch databases on Exadata Database Service with the least amount of downtime is to create a Data Guard standby and execute standby first patching. This method involves creating a physical standby database on a different Exadata system with the same configuration as the primary database, and then applying the patch to the standby database first. After verifying that the patch is applied successfully and the standby database is in sync with the primary database, you can perform a switchover to make the standby database the new primary database. This way, you can minimize the downtime of the primary database and ensure a smooth patching process1. You can use the Oracle Data Guard Broker or the dbaascli utility to create and manage the Data Guard configuration2.

The other options are not the best methods to patch databases on Exadata Database Service with the least amount of downtime because:

• A. Conduct in place patching of the database Home: This method involves applying the patch directly to the database home of the primary database. This method requires you to shut down the database and restart it after the patching, which can cause a significant downtime and potential data loss1.
• B. Leverage Patchmgr to execute patching the database Home: This method involves using the patchmgr tool to patch the database home of the primary database. This method also requires you to shut down the database and restart it after the patching, which can cause a significant downtime and potential data loss1. The patchmgr tool is mainly used for patching the operating system of the Exadata compute nodes, not the database home3.
• D. Leverage Opatch to execute patching the database Home: This method involves using the opatch tool to patch the database home of the primary database. This method also requires you to shut down the database and restart it after the patching, which can cause a significant downtime and potential data loss1. The opatch tool is mainly used for applying one-off patches, not the quarterly patch updates4.
• E. Move the database to a new Home with the desired patch level: This method involves creating a new database home with the desired patch level and then moving the database to the new home. This method can reduce the downtime compared to the in-place patching methods, but it still requires you to stop and start the database during the move operation1. This method also consumes more storage space and requires more steps to complete1.

References: 1: Patching Exadata Cloud Service 2: Using Oracle Data Guard on Exadata Cloud Service 3: Updating Guest VM Operating System 4: Patching Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure Software Manually 5: Patching Exadata Cloud Service 6: Using Oracle Data Guard on Exadata Cloud Service 7: Patching Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure Software Manually

The NoSQLHandle interface is used to access Oracle NoSQL tables and perform various operations on them, such as getting, putting, deleting, querying, and indexing rows. However, it is not used to set the row retention time, which is a property of the table itself. The row retention time is specified when creating or altering a table using the TableRequest class, which is a subclass of Request. The NoSQLHandle interface does not have a method to create or alter tables, only to execute requests that are already created by the application12. References:

• NoSQLHandle (Oracle NoSQL Database Java API)
• Obtaining a NoSQL handle - Oracle Help Center

To use the MySQL Database Service, you need to have the following three prerequisites1:

• You must create a tenancy and be able to sign in to it. A tenancy is a secure and isolated partition within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure where you can create, organize, and administer your cloud resources2. You need to have a valid Oracle Cloud account and credentials to access your tenancy and use the MySQL Database Service.
• You must create a compartment to store your resources. A compartment is a logical container that you can use to organize and isolate your cloud resources within a tenancy3. You can create one or more compartments to store your MySQL Database Service resources, such as MySQL DB systems, backups, and connections. You can also control the access and permissions for each compartment using policies4.
• You or your group must be granted the policies described in Mandatory Policies. Policies are documents that specify who can access which resources, and how5. To use the MySQL Database Service, you need to have the necessary permissions to create and manage the MySQL Database Service resources, as well as the related Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources, such as Virtual Cloud Networks, subnets, and security lists. The documentation provides a list of mandatory policies that you or your group must be granted to use the MySQL Database Service.

D is incorrect, because you do not have to download the latest MySQL version from https://edelivery.oracle.com/. The MySQL Database Service is a fully managed service that provides you with the MySQL version that you select when creating a MySQL DB system. You do not have to download or install any MySQL software on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

E is incorrect, because you do not have to install the downloaded MySQL version onto Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. As mentioned above, the MySQL Database Service is a fully managed service that handles the installation and configuration of the MySQL software for you.

References: 1: Getting Started With MySQL Database Service 2: About Your Tenancy 3: About Compartments 4: Managing Compartments 5: About Policies : Mandatory Policies : Creating a MySQL DB System

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) provides various methods to monitor the performance and availability of your MySQL Database Service system. You can use the following methods to collect and analyze useful quantitative data about your system1:

• Data points: A data point is a single value that represents a metric at a specific point in time. Data points are collected by the OCI Monitoring service and stored in a time series database. You can use data points to track the changes in your system over time and compare different metrics2.
• Metrics: A metric is a named set of data points that share the same namespace, dimensions, and unit of measurement. Metrics are used to measure the behavior and utilization of your system, such as connection count, statement count, latency, OCPU usage, memory usage, and disk I/O. You can use metrics to create charts and dashboards to visualize your system performance3.
• Queries: A query is a way to retrieve and manipulate data points from the time series database. You can use queries to filter, aggregate, transform, and analyze metrics data. You can also use queries to create alerts and notifications based on certain conditions or thresholds4.

Therefore, statements B, D, and E are true, and statements A and C are false. Notifications and alarms are not methods to measure data, but rather methods to notify you when certain data points meet certain criteria5. References: 1: Monitor your MySQL Database Service using MySQL Enterprise Monitor 2: [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation], Monitoring Overview 3: [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation], Metrics Overview 4: [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation], Query Language Reference 5: [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation], Alarms Overview

The type of file that is NOT backed up by default and is the customer’s responsibility to back up is the Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) keystore (wallet). This is because the TDE keystore contains the encryption keys that are used to protect the data in the database, and it is not included in the automatic backups feature of Exadata Cloud@Customer1. The customer must manually back up the TDE keystore to a secure location and restore it when needed1. The TDE keystore backup is essential for recovering the encrypted data in the database, as the data cannot be decrypted without the corresponding keys1.

The other types of files, such as database archivelog files, server parameter file, and database control files, are backed up by default by the automatic backups feature of Exadata Cloud@Customer1. The automatic backups feature supports Recovery Service and Object Storage as the backup destination to provide a fully automated cloud backup solution1. The automatic backups feature performs daily incremental backups and weekly full backups of the database, and also backs up the configuration files and metadata of the database1. The customer can also perform on-demand full backups of the database using the Console, the API, or the CLI1. The customer can restore the database from the backups stored in Recovery Service or Object Storage using the Console, the API, the CLI, or the dbaascli utility1. References:

• 3: Back Up and Recovery in Base Database Service - Oracle Help Center

 According to the Oracle NoSQL Database Cloud Service documentation, the maximum supported rate of DDL operations is 4 DDL operations per minute1. This limit applies to the creation, alteration, and deletion of tables and indexes. If you exceed this limit, you may encounter an OperationThrottlingException2. Therefore, option E is the correct answer and the rest are incorrect. References: 1: Plan your service - Oracle Help Center 2: Oracle NoSQL cloud service - Stack Overflow

Oracle recommends that you do not stop any servers or database instances before applying a patch to your DB system. Stopping the servers or instances can cause the patching process to fail or take longer than expected. Instead, you should run the precheck operation before you apply any update to verify that your DB system meets the patching prerequisites. You should also back up your databases before you apply any updates to your system, and patch the DB system before updating a database for DB systems with Grid Infrastructure/ASM storage management. Therefore, statement D is not an Oracle best practice and the rest are. References:

• 3: In-Place Upgrade for Database Cloud Service (DBCS) VM DB Systems
• 4: Update a DB System - Oracle Help Center

To consolidate two databases into a single Oracle Home, you need to perform the following actions1:

• Schedule a downtime window with the team using the 193B database. This is necessary because you need to stop the database service and detach the pluggable databases (PDBs) from the source Oracle Home before moving them to the target Oracle Home2.
• Use the Move Database option from the console to relocate the database to the target Oracle Home. This is the easiest and fastest way to move the database and its PDBs to a different Oracle Home. You can use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console or the API to initiate the move operation, which will automatically copy the required files, update the configuration, and restart the database service in the target Oracle Home3.

Therefore, statements A and D are correct, and statements B and C are incorrect. Copying the sqlnet.ora and spfile from OH193_B to OH193_A and restarting PDBs is not sufficient to move the database to a different Oracle Home, as it does not update the Oracle Inventory, the Oracle Restart configuration, or the database registry4. Creating a new container database under OH193B and migrating the PDBs from 193B to 193A is not necessary, as you can move the existing PDBs directly to the target Oracle Home without creating a new container database5. References: 1: Oracle Base Database Services 2023 Professional, Section 4.2.2: Moving a Database to a Different Oracle Home 2: Base Database Service, Section 4.2.2.1: Prerequisites for Moving a Database to a Different Oracle Home 3: Base Database Service, Section 4.2.2.2: Moving a Database to a Different Oracle Home 4: [Oracle Database Administrator’s Guide], Section 2.4.1: Moving Oracle Database to a New Oracle Home 5: [Oracle Database Administrator’s Guide], Section 19.1.1: Overview of Pluggable Database Migration

To check if cloud tools are up-to-date in Exadata Database Service, you need to perform the following two steps1:

• You must first connect to Exadata Cloud Service as opc and sudo to the root user. This is because the cloud tools are installed and updated by the root user on the database servers1. The opc user is the default administrative user that has sudo privileges to run commands as root1. The oracle user is the default database user that owns the Oracle software and the database files, but it does not have access to the cloud tools1.
• Run the rpm -qa|grep -i dbaastools_exadata command. This command will list the installed packages that match the dbaastools_exadata pattern, which is the name of the cloud tooling package for Exadata Database Service1. The output will show the current version of the cloud tooling package, such as dbaastools_exadata-20.4.1-1.el7.x86_641. You can compare this version with the latest version available from the Oracle Base Database Service documentation1.

The other option, running the dbaascli patch tools list command, is incorrect because it is not a valid command for Exadata Database Service. The dbaascli utility is a command-line interface that provides various functions for managing the database service, such as patching, backup, recovery, and encryption1. However, the patch tools subcommand is not supported for Exadata Database Service, as the cloud tools are automatically updated by Oracle1. Therefore, the correct answer is C and D. References:

• 4: About Oracle Base Database Service - Oracle Help Center

Oracle database with Object Storage in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) can be used for the following use cases:

• Database backups: Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) is an Oracle Database client that performs Oracle database backup and recovery. It automates the administration of Oracle backup strategies and greatly simplifies backing up, restoring, and recovering database files. RMAN can use OCI Object Storage as a backup destination, which offers reliable and cost-efficient data durability1.
• Database log files: Oracle Database can use OCI Object Storage as a destination for archiving redo log files, which are generated during normal database operation and contain a record of the changes made to the database. Archiving redo log files to OCI Object Storage can help reduce the storage costs and improve the availability and disaster recovery of the database2.

The other two options are not valid use cases for Oracle database with Object Storage in OCI:

• Database data files: Oracle Database cannot use OCI Object Storage as a storage option for data files, which store the actual data of the database. Data files require block storage, which provides low latency and high performance. OCI Object Storage is an object storage service, which provides high scalability and durability, but not low latency and high performance3.
• Database binaries: Oracle Database cannot use OCI Object Storage as a storage option for database binaries, which are the executable files and libraries that make up the Oracle Database software. Database binaries require a file system, which provides a hierarchical structure and metadata for files and directories. OCI Object Storage is an object storage service, which provides a flat namespace and metadata for objects3.

References: 1: Backing Up to Object Storage 2: Archiving Redo Log Files to Object Storage 3: Object Storage Overview

You can fast provision a virtual machine (VM) database (DB) system, using Logical Volume Manager (LVM) for storage management, only for Oracle Database versions 12.2 and greater1. This is because LVM is a new feature introduced in Oracle Base Database Service to enable faster provisioning of single-node VM DB systems1. LVM allows you to create logical volumes from physical disks and manage them more easily and efficiently1. LVM also reduces the storage overhead and improves the performance of the VM DB system1. LVM is not available for Oracle Database versions lower than 12.2, or for multi-node VM DB systems, or for bare metal DB systems1. For these cases, you must use Automatic Storage Management (ASM) for storage management, which is the default and recommended option for Oracle Base Database Service1. ASM provides high availability, scalability, and performance for Oracle databases by managing the disk groups and data files1. Therefore, the correct answer is B. References:

• 3: About Oracle Base Database Service - Oracle Help Center

 A VM DB system database uses OCI block storage instead of local storage. You specify a storage size when you create the DB system, and you can scale up the storage as required at any time1. Scaling the storage does not affect the availability or performance of the database2. You can use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console or the API to scale the storage of a VM DB system1.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. After you have provisioned a VM DB system, you cannot increase or decrease block storage. This is false because you can increase or decrease the storage of a VM DB system at any time1.
• C. If you want to increase or decrease the storage, you must change the shape of the VM DB system. This is false because changing the shape of a VM DB system affects the number of CPU cores, not the storage3. You can scale the storage independently of the shape1.
• D. If a VM DB system has different requirements for block storage, you can increase or decrease the storage at any time without impacting the system. This is partially true, but not the best answer. You can increase or decrease the storage at any time, but there is a limitation if you are scaling from a value less than 10,240 GB (10 TB) to a value exceeding 10,240 GB. In that case, you must perform the scaling in two operations2.

References: 1: Scale the DB System 2: About Virtual Machine DB Systems 3: [Change the Shape of a DB System]

The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Database Management Service is a fully integrated feature of Oracle Database that provides a single console for managing and monitoring your Oracle Databases on OCI. It supports Oracle Database versions 11.2.0.4 and later, running on any edition, including Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition 2, and Express Edition1. It can monitor both OCI databases and external databases that are accessible from the OCI tenancy2. External databases are databases that are not deployed on OCI, but can be registered with the Database Management Service using a Database Management private endpoint and a Database Management agent3.

According to the documentation, the following types of external databases are supported by the Database Management Service3:

• Oracle Database on-premises
• Oracle Database on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Classic
• Oracle Database on other cloud platforms
• Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer
• Oracle Exadata Database Machine

Therefore, the correct answer is A and C, as they are both external databases that can be monitored by the Database Management Service. B is incorrect, because Oracle Autonomous Database is not an external database, but an OCI database that is managed by Oracle and does not require a Database Management agent4. D is incorrect, because Oracle 11gR2 Database is not a supported version for the Database Management Service, as it requires at least 11.2.0.41.

References: 1: Supported Database Versions and Features 2: About Database Management 3: Managing External Databases 4: Autonomous Database on Shared Exadata Infrastructure