Oracle database users will be interested to know that the company has just pushed out “the most comprehensive patch set” it’s ever released, and it comes with some eye-wateringly expensive add-ons.

Oracle Database 12.1.0.2 is available to download now, for the first time featuring the company’s in-memory technology. This feature is designed to allow critical data to be kept in as much RAM as possible to accelerate operations. Oracle has been developing this tech for years, and had to go to the extent of rewriting “the brain” of its software to get it to work.

Which is why Oracle wants a huge amount of money for it – a minimum of $23,000 per SPARC processor it’s installled on. What’s interesting – or worrying – is that INMEMORY_QUERY is enabled by default in the new version, according to database expert Kevin Closson, who analyzed the new version. As such, once the new database has been installed, administrators who’re less-than-careful might accidently create an in-memory database table, thereby running up a rather large bill for his or her bosses.

Closson reached out to Oracle for a comment on this state of affairs, but the company failed to respond. So it seems the onus is on users to know which features don’t come free, which seems unfair considering the huge bill Oracle will charge if anyone tries to make use of its in-memory.

“It really should have a default initialization setting that renders the option/feature nascent – but the reality is quite the opposite,” argues Closson.

Could it be that Oracle is just getting desperate? Its most recent financial report was certainly a bit disappointing with new software licenses staying flat, although product support revenues and software license updates grew by seven percent.

It’ll be interesting to see how many customers actually use the in-memory feature anyhow. While it’s garnered lots of media attention, the costs of implementing should ensure it’ll only be used by organizations with very specific business requirements.

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