Client / Server Interoperability Support Matrix for Different Oracle Versions (Doc ID 207303.1)

APPLIES TO

Autonomous Data Warehouse - Dedicated Infrastructure - Version N/A and later
Oracle Database - Enterprise Edition - Version 7.3.0.0 and later
Exadata Cloud Service
Oracle Database Cloud Service - Version N/A and later
Autonomous Transaction Processing - Version NA and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.

PURPOSE

Use this note to understand which Oracle client versions are supported to work with which versions of the Oracle Database.

DETAILS

Oracle Client / Server Interoperability Support

Use this note to understand which Oracle client versions are supported to work with which versions of the Oracle Database.

INTRODUCTION

This note gives a summary of the support for interoperability between Oracle client and server versions. This includes support for connections over database links between Oracle versions.

Note that this is a general guide for interoperability only - certain products or utilities may impose additional restrictions on supported combinations specific to the product / utility. eg: Precompilers, Export / Import utilities etc. For example, if you are seeking WLS / JDBC driver information, please see Document 1970437.1 instead of using the tables below.

For a summary of the support status of each Oracle release see Note 161818.1

GENERAL POLICY

Oracle’s general policy is to test and support each new Oracle release for compatibility with older releases thus:

• Test the NEW client to each OLDER server release where the OLDER release is still covered by Premier Support (formerly Primary Error Correction support) at the time that the NEW version is released.
• Test OLDER clients to the NEW server release where the OLDER release is still covered by Premier Support (formerly Primary Error Correction support) OR is in the first two years of Extended Support (formerly Extended Maintenance support).
• Tests between the NEW version and other OLDER releases may be added where Oracle deems it sensible to support interoperability between those releases.

CURRENT INTEROPERABILITY SUPPORT SITUATION

The matrix below summarizes client and server combinations that are supported for the most commonly used product versions. A full matrix appears at the end of this document.

New interoperability problems will only be investigated if BOTH releases involved are covered by a valid support contract at the time that the issue is reported.

Key:

Specific Notes:

• #1 - See Note 207319.1
• #2 - An ORA-3134 error is incorrectly reported if a 10g client tries to connect to an 8.1.7.3 or lower server. See Note 3437884.8 .
• #3 - An ORA-3134 error is correctly reported when attempting to connect to this version.
• #4 - There are problems connecting from a 10g client to 8i/9i where one is EBCDIC based. See Note 3564573.8
• #5 - For connections between 10.2 (or higher) and 9.2 the 9.2 end MUST be at 9.2.0.4 or higher. Connections between 10.2 (or higher) and 9.2.0.1, 9.2.0.2 or 9.2.0.3 have never been supported.
• #6 - For connections between 11.1 (or higher) database server and 10.1 / 10.2 database server across a database link the 10g end MUST be at 10.1.0.5 / 10.2.0.2 (or higher) respectively in order to use PLSQL between those versions. (This does not apply to normal 11g clients to 10g database server only server to server and a few very specific client products, such as Oracle Forms). See Note 4511371.8 for more details.
• #7 - For database link connections between 11.1 (or higher) and 10.2 the 10g end MUST be at 10.2.0.2 (or higher) in order to use PLSQL between those versions. See Note 4511371.8 for more details.
• #8 - Attempting to connect from 9.2 to 12.1 will fail with an “ORA-28040: No matching authentication protocol” error.
• #9 - 11.2.0.3 or 11.2.0.4 only. For Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing and Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse, there is additional limitation and 11.2.0.4 is the minimum supported client version.
• #10 - For the IBM z/OS platform only, Oracle will continue to test past 2014, at its discretion, new versions of the database running on non-z/OS platforms with the older 10.2 client running on z/OS. For more information, please refer to Note 461234.1 - Oracle Database on z/OS Support Status.

General Notes:

• For database links between different Oracle versions connections must be supported in BOTH directions in the matrix above.
  eg: As 11.2 -> 10.1 is not supported then database links between these version are not supported in either direction.
• Unsupported combinations may appear to work but can encounter errors for particular operations. The fact that they appear to work should not be relied upon - issues on unsupported combinations will not be investigated.
• Since new database servers are compatible with a limited set of older OCI clients, it may not be necessary to upgrade the client software when upgrading the database. However, some new features may not work without upgrading the client software. For example, an Oracle 10.2 client is able to connect to an 11.2 database, but is not able to take advantage of newer features such as Client Result Cache (introduced in 11.1).
• Oracle Applications , or other Oracle products, may have supported configurations not listed in the matrix above.
• The matrix above also applies between different platforms and between 32/64 bit releases of Oracle client / server except where any Oracle platform desupport notice indicates otherwise.
• Unix BEQUEATH (BEQ) connections are NOT supported between different releases. eg: Client 10.2 is not supported to make an Oracle Net connection to a 11.2 server using the BEQ protocol adapter regardless of the interoperability support listed above. See Note 364252.1 for more details.
• “Oracle Client” product interoperabilities expressed in this document do not extend to other client products, such as the “Sql-plus Instant Client” product.
• In Oracle Database Cloud Service environments, interoperability of a specific version of client is dependent on the Database version being run as a part of the Database Cloud Service.
• There may be feature limitations based on the cloud service being used and you are requested to refer to the Cloud Service documentation for any such feature limitations.

TERMINOLOGY

See the “Terminology” section of Note:161818.1 for a description of Premier Support, Extended Support, Primary Error Correction Support and Extended Maintenence Support

RELATED ARTICLES

• Support Status of each Oracle Server (RDBMS) Release Note 161818.1
• JDBC, JDK, and Oracle Database Certification Note 401934.1
  • For JDBC clients information in Note 401934.1 takes priority over information in the above matrix.
• JDBC Driver Support for Oracle Application Server (Fusion Middleware) Note 365120.1
• For Precompiler interoperability support also see “Pro*C/C++ Programmer’s Guide 11g - Release 2 (11.2)” [Part Number E10825-01]:
  • “1 Introduction”
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Can I Use Any Release of Pro*C/C++ with Any Version of the Oracle Server?
• Export / Import Compatibility Note 132904.1

FULL INTEROPERABILITY SUPPORT MATRIX

This matrix includes interoperability information for older versions and is included here for completeness.