Oracle AI Database 26ai: The Future of AI + Data Is Finally Coming On-Premises
For years, on-premises Oracle customers have been waiting for the next major leap after Oracle Database 19c. That moment has finally arrived. Oracle has officially announced that Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition for Linux x86-64 will be available on-premises in January 2026, closing a long-awaited chapter and opening a massive new era for enterprise-grade AI and mission-critical data platforms.
This is more than a release — it’s a transformation. Oracle AI Database 26ai brings AI-native database capabilities directly into customer data centers while introducing groundbreaking new features across RAC, Active Data Guard, Flashback, and the unified AI-native core that powers the entire Oracle database ecosystem.
Why This Release Is Historic
For regulated sectors, mission-critical systems, government, financial services, telecom’s, and organizations with tight data-sovereignty requirements, on-premises deployment is some times non-negotiable.
Now, those customers can get the full power of Oracle AI Database 26ai inside their own data centers, including the same AI-native capabilities previously available only in cloud and Oracle-engineered systems.
This is not just an upgrade — it’s the most advanced on-premises Oracle AI Database release ever delivered.
What’s New in 26ai?
Oracle AI Database 26ai blends vector search, relational, JSON, graph, spatial, text, and analytics in one engine, making it a real converged database — with in-database AI agents, open standards, quantum-safe protection, ultra-low-latency AI execution, and much more!
But beyond the AI core, some of the most impressive upgrades are coming to Oracle’s mission-critical availability stack.
Major Innovations in Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters)
Oracle RAC becomes smarter, faster, and easier to maintain than ever — perfectly aligned with mission-critical High Availability (HA) expectations in on-premises environments.
Two-Stage Rolling Patches
A new intelligent rolling patching mechanism that reduces risk and impacts to business availability by splitting patch application into preparation and activation phases, significantly reducing service disruption. It allows RU’s now to contain all patches (rolling and non rolling) and giving the ability to users to activate non-rolling patches without downtime at their own convenience.
Single-Server Rolling Database Maintenance
Perform rolling database maintenance even in single-server environments — a massive benefit for constrained configurations.
Local Rolling Database Maintenance
Apply maintenance only to local instances without affecting the entire cluster. Perfect for node-specific updates or localized changes. No more placing nodes on maintenance. node and impacting the processing power (throughput) of the cluster.
Oracle RAC Smart Connection Rebalancing
Dynamically migrates sessions that access the same database objects to a single instance without interruption, eliminating the need for manual DBA intervention or code changes, thereby reducing latches and interconnect overhead.
Oracle RAC on Containers
RAC is now supported in containerized environments — a breakthrough for modernized, Kubernetes-driven, hybrid architectures.
RAC Fast Start Reconfiguration
Cluster reconfiguration is dramatically faster. Nodes rejoin sooner, and application disruption is minimized — ideal for environments with strict uptime SLAs.
Active Data Guard: The Biggest Improvements in a Decade
DGPDB (Data Guard Per Pluggable Database)
Granular, flexible control over PDB-level Data Guard protection — exactly what large multitenant architectures needed. Mixed protection levels per PDB are now a reality.
Automatic Preparation of the Primary
A single command to prepare a database to become primary in a Data Guard configuration.
SQLcl Now Manages Data Guard Broker Commands
Lightweight, script-friendly, and fast — DBAs can now run Data Guard commands directly from SQLcl.
New REST and PL/SQL APIs for Data Guard Management
Allowing Data Guard operations to be controlled directly through REST and PL/SQL APIs.
400% Faster Role Transitions (Massive RTO Reduction)
Database switchovers and failovers are now up to 400% faster, delivering:
- Tighter RTO.
- Improved business continuity.
- Reduced outage risk.
- More predictable DR testing.
Performance Boost for DML Redirection
Active Data Guard workloads can now redirect DML (Insert, Update and Deletes) much more efficiently — reducing latency, improving concurrency, and enabling more realistic offload scenarios, like running backups, reports, analytics, Vector Searches, and even batch operations from the Active Standby Database making a better use of resources and obtaining an even better ROI (Return on Investment).
Flashback Database Evolves for the AI Era
Flashback Logs Outside FRA
You can now place Flashback logs outside the Fast Recovery Area (FRA) for improved storage flexibility, better I/O balancing, and more resilient recovery planning.
Flashback Logs Protected by Blockchain
Flashback logs can now be secured via blockchain-based integrity protection, ensuring:
- tamper-proof recovery
- validation of historical states
- heightened regulatory compliance
- forensic-grade assurance
This is a major advancement for industries that require auditable, immutable recovery data.
Final Thoughts
The on-premises introduction of Oracle AI Database 26ai is more than a long-awaited milestone — it’s a generational leap. Customers upgrading from 19c will see huge gains in AI capabilities, performance, security, automation, and availability.
But the most exciting part? Oracle didn’t just deliver AI features — it modernized the entire high-availability and resiliency stack with RAC, Active Data Guard, and Flashback advances that push mission-critical infrastructure into the AI era.
On-premises customers are no longer waiting — they’re accelerating into the future with Oracle AI Database 26ai.