Blockchain Tables in Oracle Database 21c

A blockchain table is a tamper-proof, insert-only table with an associated table-level and row-level retention period. Rows are organised into chains, with each row containing a hash of the data contained in the row, and the hash of the previous rows data.

This feature has been backported to Oracle 19.10, but also requires patch 32431413 and the COMPATIBLE parameter set to 19.10.0 or later. From 19.11 the additional patch is not required.

Create a Blockchain Table

In addition to adding the BLOCKCHAIN keyword to the CREATE TABLE command, there are three blockchain clauses.

The NO DROP clause determines how long the table is protected from being dropped. If the table has no rows it can still be dropped. Unlike the initial releases of blockchain tables, in (19.11 and 21.3) the NO DROP clause also prevents the table being dropped via a DROP USER ... CASCADE command.

NO DROP [ UNTIL number DAYS IDLE ]

• NO DROP : The table can't be dropped. Be careful about using this setting during testing.
• NO DROP UNTIL number DAYS IDLE : The table can't dropped until there have been no new rows inserted for the specified number of days. You may prefer to use 0 or 1 as the number of days during testing this functionality.

The NO DELETE clause determines the retention period. How long each row will be protected from deletion.

NO DELETE { [ LOCKED ] | (UNTIL number DAYS AFTER INSERT [ LOCKED ]) }

• NO DELETE : Each row is retained forever. The absence of the LOCKED keyword implies the setting can be changed with the ALTER TABLE command, but it can't. Retention periods can only be increased.
• NO DELETE LOCKED : Same as NO DELETE.
• NO DELETE UNTIL number DAYS AFTER INSERT : Each row is protected from deletion for the specified number of days, but this setting can be increased using the ALTER TABLE command. Minimum 16 days.
• NO DELETE UNTIL number DAYS AFTER INSERT LOCKED : Each row is protected from deletion for the specified number of days, and this setting can't be changed using the ALTER TABLE command. Minimum 16 days.

The blockchain hash and data format clause is fixed in the current release. It looks like it will allow alternative hashing algorithms in future releases.

HASHING USING sha2_512 VERSION v1

Putting it all together gives us something like the following.

--drop table bct_t1 purge;

create blockchain table bct_t1 (
  id            number,
  fruit         varchar2(20),
  quantity      number,
  created_date  date,
  constraint bct_t1_pk primary key (id)
)
no drop until 0 days idle
no delete until 16 days after insert
hashing using "SHA2_512" version "v1";

Checking the USER_TAB_COLS view shows us several invisible columns have been added to our column list. The hidden columns are described here.

set linesize 120 pagesize 50
column column_name format a30
column data_type format a27
column hidden_column format a13

select internal_column_id,
       column_name,
       data_type,
       data_length,
       hidden_column
FROM   user_tab_cols       
WHERE  table_name = 'BCT_T1'
ORDER BY internal_column_id;

INTERNAL_COLUMN_ID COLUMN_NAME                    DATA_TYPE                   DATA_LENGTH HIDDEN_COLUMN
------------------ ------------------------------ --------------------------- ----------- -------------
                 1 ID                             NUMBER                               22 NO
                 2 FRUIT                          VARCHAR2                             25 NO
                 3 QUANTITY                       NUMBER                               22 NO
                 4 CREATED_DATE                   DATE                                  7 NO
                 5 ORABCTAB_INST_ID$              NUMBER                               22 YES
                 6 ORABCTAB_CHAIN_ID$             NUMBER                               22 YES
                 7 ORABCTAB_SEQ_NUM$              NUMBER                               22 YES
                 8 ORABCTAB_CREATION_TIME$        TIMESTAMP(6) WITH TIME ZONE          13 YES
                 9 ORABCTAB_USER_NUMBER$          NUMBER                               22 YES
                10 ORABCTAB_HASH$                 RAW                                2000 YES
                11 ORABCTAB_SIGNATURE$            RAW                                2000 YES
                12 ORABCTAB_SIGNATURE_ALG$        NUMBER                               22 YES
                13 ORABCTAB_SIGNATURE_CERT$       RAW                                  16 YES
                14 ORABCTAB_SPARE$                RAW                                2000 YES

14 rows selected.

SQL>

The {CDB|DBA|ALL|USER}_BLOCKCHAIN_TABLES views display information about blockchain tables. It's a view over the SYS.BLOCKCHAIN_TABLE$ table.

column row_retention format a13
column row_retention_locked format a20
column table_inactivity_retention format a26
column hash_algorithm format a14

SELECT row_retention,
       row_retention_locked, 
       table_inactivity_retention,
       hash_algorithm  
FROM   user_blockchain_tables 
WHERE  table_name = 'BCT_T1';

ROW_RETENTION ROW_RETENTION_LOCKED TABLE_INACTIVITY_RETENTION HASH_ALGORITHM
------------- -------------------- -------------------------- --------------
           16 NO                                            0 SHA2_512

SQL>

Alter a Blockchain Table

The documentation suggests the NO DROP clause can be altered using the ALTER TABLE command, as long as the retention period is not reduced. At the time of writing this doesn't seem to work for tables that were initially created with NO DROP UNTIL 0 DAYS IDLE, as all values of days return an error. We currently have a retention period of 0 days for the table. In the following example we try to change it to 100 days, which gives an error. The command is syntactically correct, so I assume this is a bug in this release update. This is still broken in 19.12, but works correctly in 21.3.

alter table bct_t1 no drop until 100 days idle;

Error report -
ORA-05732: retention value cannot be lowered

SQL>

This command will work on tables created with NO DROP UNTIL 1 DAYS IDLE or higher.

Regardless of the current drop delay setting, an attempt to switch to the maximum value of NO DROP causes an ORA-00600 error. This is still broken in 19.12, but works correctly in 21.3.

alter table bct_t1 no drop;

Error starting at line : 1 in command -
alter table bct_t1 no drop
Error report -
ORA-00600: internal error code, arguments: [atbbctable_1], [0], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], []

This is a problem, as I would expect most people to want to play it safe by starting with a zero day delay, then upping the value later once they are happy with their setup. Starting on day one with a NO DROP seems very risky, as the only way to remove the table is to drop the whole schema.

Assuming it was not defined as locked, the NO DELETE clause can be modified using the ALTER TABLE command, as long as the retention period is not reduced. We currently have a row retention period of 16 days. In the example below we increase that value to 32. When we subsequently attempt to lower the value to 16 it gives an error.

-- Increase to 32 days.
alter table bct_t1 no delete until 32 days after insert;

Table BCT_T1 altered.

SQL>


-- Decrease to 16 days (fail).
alter table bct_t1 no delete until 16 days after insert;

Error report -
ORA-05732: retention value cannot be lowered

SQL>

In the current release, attempting to set the row retention to NO DELETE, which is an increase in the retention period, results in an ORA-00600 error. I assume this is a bug in the current release update. This is still broken in 19.12, but works correctly in 21.3.

alter table bct_t1 no delete;

Error report -
ORA-00600: internal error code, arguments: [atbbctable_1], [0], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], []

Blocked DML and DDL Operations

As you would expect for an insert-only table, all DML and DDL operations that would result in row data being amended or deleted are prevented for a blockchain table.

The following example shows a successful insert, then some unsuccessful DML statements.

-- INSERT
insert into bct_t1 (id, fruit, quantity, created_date ) values (1, 'apple', 20, sysdate);

1 row inserted.

SQL> commit;

Commit complete.

SQL>


-- UPDATE
update bct_t1 set quantity = 10 where id = 1;

Error report -
SQL Error: ORA-05715: operation not allowed on the blockchain table

SQL>


-- DELETE
delete from bct_t1 where id = 1;

Error report -
SQL Error: ORA-05715: operation not allowed on the blockchain table

SQL>

Some DDL statements that could alter the contents of the data are also prevented. Here is an example of the TRUNCATE statement.

truncate table bct_t1;

Error report -
ORA-05715: operation not allowed on the blockchain table

SQL>

Extending existing columns is fine, but adding new columns or dropping existing columns is not allowed.

-- Extend column.
alter table bct_t1 modify (fruit varchar2(25));

Table BCT_T1 altered.

SQL>


-- Add column
alter table bct_t1 add (additional_info varchar2(50));

Error report -
ORA-05715: operation not allowed on the blockchain table

SQL>


-- Drop column.
alter table bct_t1 drop column quantity;

Error report -
ORA-05715: operation not allowed on the blockchain table

SQL>

DBMS_BLOCKCHAIN_TABLE Package

The DBMS_BLOCKCHAIN_TABLE package is used for maintenance of blockchain tables.

The DELETE_EXPIRED_ROWS procedure removes any rows that are beyond the retention period. They can't be removed using a normal DELETE statement.

set serveroutput on
declare
  l_rows  number;
begin
  dbms_blockchain_table.delete_expired_rows(
    schema_name            => 'admin',
    table_name             => 'bct_t1',
    before_timestamp       => null,
    number_of_rows_deleted => l_rows);

  dbms_output.put_line('Rows Deleted=' || l_rows);
end;
/
Rows Deleted=0

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL>

Alternatively, we can limit the deletion by date. The rows will only be deleted if they are outside the retention period, and match the date criteria.

set serveroutput on
declare
  l_rows  number;
begin
  dbms_blockchain_table.delete_expired_rows(
    schema_name            => 'testuser1',
    table_name             => 'it_t1',
    before_timestamp       => systimestamp - 60,
    number_of_rows_deleted => l_rows);

  dbms_output.put_line('Rows Deleted=' || l_rows);
end;
/
Rows Deleted=0

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL>

The VERIFY_ROWS procedure checks the rows in the table have a consistent hash, and signature if used.

set serveroutput on
declare
  l_rows      number;
  l_verified  number;
begin
  select count(*)
  into   l_rows
  from   admin.bct_t1;

  dbms_blockchain_table.verify_rows(
    schema_name             => 'admin',
    table_name              => 'bct_t1',
    number_of_rows_verified => l_verified);

  dbms_output.put_line('Rows=' || l_rows || '  Verified Rows=' || l_verified);
end;
/
Rows=1  Verified Rows=1

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.