The Problem

Recently, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) started removing older Oracle Database software images from OCI. At the time of writing, database software images earlier than Oracle Database 19.31 are no longer readily available for new upgrade operations. If your organization is planning to upgrade an existing database home that requires one of these older images, you may suddenly discover that the required image no longer exists in OCI.

Fortunately, there are two practical options to move forward.

Option 1 – Request an Exception from Oracle OCI Support

The recommended approach is to open a Service Request (SR) with Oracle Support and request an exclusive exception to access the older Oracle Database software image.

Explain:

• Your current database version
• Target upgrade version
• Why the older image is required
• Business impact if the image is unavailable

Oracle Support may be able to provide temporary access depending on your environment and support policy. This is the cleanest approach because it keeps the upgrade workflow fully managed through OCI.

Option 2 – Manual Software Image Deployment

If obtaining an exception isn’t possible or would delay your maintenance window, you can manually reuse an existing software image. On an existing Exadata Cloud Service node (or another cluster that already contains the required image), navigate to:

cd /var/opt/oracle/dbaas_acfs/images/

List the available software images:

[root@node images]# ls -ltr
total 156
drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 20480 Jan 19 2023 ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.uk-london-1.xxxxxxxxx
drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 20480 Apr 2 16:07 ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.iad.xxxxxxxxx
drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 20480 Jul 2 11:15 ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.uk-london-1.xxxxxxxxx

Inside the directory corresponding to your required software image, you’ll find a ZIP archive similar to:

ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.iad.xxxxxxxxx.zip

Copy the Image

Copy the ZIP file to the target Exadata cluster where you plan to perform the Database Home upgrade.

For example:

scp ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.iad.xxxxxxxxx.zip \
oracle@target-node:/u01/software/

Extract the Software Image

On the destination cluster:

cd /u01/software
unzip ocid1.databasesoftwareimage.oc1.iad.xxxxxxxxx.zip

This recreates the Oracle software image that OCI previously used during automated Database Home provisioning.

Continue with the Manual Database Home Upgrade

After extracting the image:

• Create the new Oracle Home
• Perform the manual software deployment
• Apply the required Release Update (RU), if necessary
• Run the standard Oracle Database Home upgrade procedure
• Switch the databases to the new Oracle Home
• Validate services and database status

The remaining upgrade steps are the same as a normal manual Oracle Home upgrade.

When Should You Use This Method?

This approach is useful when:

• OCI no longer provides the required software image.
• Another Exadata cluster already contains the desired image.
• You need to maintain a specific Release Update (RU).
• Maintenance windows cannot wait for Oracle Support.

Oracle’s decision to retire older database software images from OCI can catch DBAs off guard, especially when maintaining environments that depend on specific Release Updates.