Oracle Database licensing in multitenant architectures

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
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    Summary of Oracle Database licensing in multitenant architectures

    The Software Asset Management (SAM) application supports licensing rules for Oracle databases that use multitenant architectures, enabling consolidation of multiple pluggable databases (PDBs) into a single container database (CDB). This architecture, supported from Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) onward, simplifies management by allowing simultaneous tracking, provisioning, cloning, resource management, and upgrading of multiple PDBs within one CDB.

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    Licensing requires both Oracle Database licenses and Oracle Multitenant option licenses, which are generally managed separately except for certain Oracle Cloud Service editions where the Multitenant option is included.

    Oracle Multitenant Option Licensing

    The Oracle Multitenant option can be licensed using either the Named User Plus or Per Processor metrics:

    • Named User Plus: Licenses all users and physical devices accessing user-created PDBs.
    • Per Processor: Licenses processor cores on all physical hosts running user-created PDBs.

    Note that licensing applies only to user-created PDBs, excluding proxy or seed PDBs.

    Licensing Requirements by Oracle Database Version and Edition

    Licensing requirements vary based on the Oracle Database version, edition, and number of user-created PDBs per database instance as follows:

    • 12c Release 1 (12.1):
      • Standard Edition (SE): Multitenant option not supported.
      • Standard Edition One (SE1), Standard Edition 2 (SE2), Enterprise Edition (EE): No licensing required if each instance has only one user-created PDB. Licensing required if any instance has more than one user-created PDB.
      • Supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per instance. Exceeding this creates compliance removal candidates.
    • 12c Release 2 (12.2) and 18c:
      • Enterprise Edition (EE): Licensing required only if any instance has more than one user-created PDB.
      • Standard Edition 2 (SE2): Supported only if each instance has one user-created PDB; no licensing required.
      • Supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per instance with compliance limits.
    • Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Editions (DBCS EE-HP, DBCS EE-EP) and Exadata Cloud Service (ExaCS):
      • No separate Multitenant licensing required; included in the database license.
      • Supports up to 4,096 user-created PDBs per instance; exceeding this triggers compliance removal candidates.
    • 19c and later:
      • Enterprise Edition (EE): No licensing required if each instance has three or fewer user-created PDBs; licensing required if any instance has more than three.
      • Standard Edition 2 (SE2): Supported only if each instance has three or fewer user-created PDBs; no licensing required.
      • Cloud Service editions follow the same rules as above with no separate licensing and support up to 4,096 PDBs.
      • Supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per instance; exceeding this requires remediation for compliance.

    Key Compliance Considerations

    • Oracle Multitenant licensing applies only to user-created PDBs, not proxy or seed PDBs.
    • There are strict maximum limits on user-created PDBs per database instance (252 for most editions, 4,096 for certain cloud editions); exceeding these limits will cause SAM to flag removal candidates to maintain license compliance.
    • Customers must monitor their PDB counts carefully to avoid non-compliance and remediate excess PDBs as necessary.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers using the Software Asset Management application can leverage these licensing rules to:

    • Accurately track Oracle Database licenses and Multitenant option usage within multitenant architectures.
    • Determine when additional Multitenant licensing is required based on the number of user-created PDBs and database editions.
    • Ensure compliance by monitoring PDB counts and addressing any excess beyond supported limits.
    • Benefit from automatic compliance notifications and removal candidate identification for non-compliant PDBs.

    Understanding these licensing rules helps optimize Oracle Database deployments, avoid unexpected licensing costs, and maintain compliance efficiently.

    The Software Asset Management application supports licensing rules for Oracle databases in multitenant architectures.

    The Oracle multitenant architecture simplifies database management by enabling you to consolidate multiple pluggable databases (PDBs) into a single container database (CDB). With a CDB, you can track, provision, clone, manage resources for, and upgrade multiple PDBs simultaneously. This multitenant architecture is supported on Oracle Database version 12c Release 1 (12.1) and later.

    To run an Oracle database in a multitenant architecture, you must purchase and manage licenses for both Oracle Database and the Oracle Multitenant option. In most cases, Oracle Multitenant option licenses must be purchased and managed separately from Oracle Database licenses. However, Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - High Performance (DBCS EE-HP), Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - Extreme Performance (DBCS EE-EP), and Oracle Database Exadata Cloud Service (ExaCS) do not require a separate license for the Oracle Multitenant option, as it is already included in the database license. For more information on Oracle Database licensing, see Software Asset Management publisher pack for Oracle.

    Oracle Multitenant option licensing

    The Oracle Multitenant option supports both the Named User Plus and Per Processor license metrics. The Named User Plus license metric licenses all users and physical devices that access a user-created PDB. The Per Processor license metric licenses the processor cores on all physical hosts that are running a user-created PDB. For more information on these license metrics, see Oracle license metrics.
    Important:
    Oracle Multitenant option licensing accounts for user-created PDBs only. It does not account for proxy PDBs or seed PDBs.
    You can determine whether Oracle Multitenant option licensing is required for your database deployment based on the following criteria:
    • The Oracle Database version and edition of your PDBs and CDBs.
    • The number of user-created PDBs within each database instance that is running on the database installation.
    Table 1. Oracle Multitenant option licensing requirements
    Oracle Database version Oracle Database edition Licensing requirement
    12c Release 1 (12.1) Oracle Database Standard Edition (SE) The Oracle Multitenant option is not supported.
    Oracle Database Standard Edition One (SE1)
    Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2)
    Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (EE)
    • If every database instance contains only one user-created PDB each, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    • If any database instance contains more than one user-created PDB, licensing is required using either the Named User Plus or Per Processor license metric.
      Important:
      This version and edition of Oracle Database supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per database instance. If a database instance contains more than 252 user-created PDBs, Software Asset Management creates removal candidates for the additional PDBs. You must remove the additional PDBs to maintain compliance.
    12c Release 2 (12.2) and 18c Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (EE)
    • If every database instance contains only one user-created PDB each, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    • If any database instance contains more than one user-created PDB, licensing is required using either the Named User Plus or Per Processor license metric.
      Important:
      This version and edition of Oracle Database supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per database instance. If a database instance contains more than 252 user-created PDBs, Software Asset Management creates removal candidates for the additional PDBs. You must remove the additional PDBs to maintain compliance.
    Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2) The Oracle Multitenant option is supported only in deployments where every database instance contains one user-created PDB each. However, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - High Performance (DBCS EE-HP)
    • If every database instance contains one user-created PDB each, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    • If any database instance contains more than one user-created PDB, the Oracle Multitenant option is in use. However, separate licensing is not required for this option since it is already included in the Oracle Database license.
      Important:
      These versions and editions of Oracle Database support up to 4,096 user-created PDBs per database instance. If a database instance contains more than 4,096 user-created PDBs, Software Asset Management creates removal candidates for the additional PDBs. You must remove the additional PDBs to maintain compliance.
    Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - Extreme Performance (DBCS EE-EP)
    Oracle Database Exadata Cloud Service (ExaCS)
    19c and later Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (EE)
    • If every database instance contains three or less user-created PDBs each, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    • If any database instance contains more than three user-created PDBs, licensing is required using either the Named User Plus or Per Processor license metric.
      Important:
      This version and edition of Oracle Database supports up to 252 user-created PDBs per database instance. If a database instance contains more than 252 user-created PDBs, Software Asset Management creates removal candidates for the additional PDBs. You must remove the additional PDBs to maintain compliance.
    Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2) The Oracle Multitenant option is supported only in deployments where every database instance contains three or less user-created PDBs each. However, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - High Performance (DBCS EE-HP)
    • If every database instance contains three or less user-created PDBs each, licensing is not required since the Oracle Multitenant option is not in use.
    • If any database instance contains more than three user-created PDBs, the Oracle Multitenant option is in use. However, separate licensing is not required for this option since it is already included in the Oracle Database license.
      Important:
      These versions and editions of Oracle Database support up to 4,096 user-created PDBs per database instance. If a database instance contains more than 4,096 user-created PDBs, Software Asset Management creates removal candidates for the additional PDBs. You must remove the additional PDBs to maintain compliance.
    Oracle Database Cloud Service Enterprise Edition - Extreme Performance (DBCS EE-EP)
    Oracle Database Exadata Cloud Service (ExaCS)