In Oracle AI Database 26ai, several enhancements have been introduced to improve Oracle Data Guard management, automation, and performance. Below are the key new features and improvements.

1. JSON Output for Data Guard Broker (DGMGRL)

Oracle 26ai introduces JSON-formatted output for the Data Guard Broker command-line tool (DGMGRL).

Makes Data Guard easier to integrate with automation tools, scripts, and DevOps pipelines.
Helps administrators parse and process configuration information programmatically.

2. Faster Switchover and Failover

Role transitions between primary and standby databases are significantly faster.

Switchovers and failovers can be up to 400% faster.
This improves Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and reduces downtime during disaster recovery operations.

3. Restrict Switchover and Failover Candidates

Oracle 26ai adds the ability to restrict which standby databases are eligible to become primary.

A new broker property allows DBAs to define a list of permitted promotion candidates.
This gives better control over failover behavior in complex Data Guard environments.

4. Improved PDB-Level Data Guard Management

Enhancements are made for multitenant environments (CDB/PDB).

Simplified setup and management for Data Guard protection of individual PDBs.
DBCA now supports creating and cloning PDBs in a Data Guard environment.
New DBMS_DG APIs are introduced to perform common Data Guard PDB operations.

5. SQLcl Support for Data Guard Broker

Oracle 26ai allows DBAs to run Data Guard broker commands directly from SQLcl.

Provides a lightweight, script-friendly alternative to traditional tools.
Simplifies command execution and automation workflows.

6. Better Active Data Guard DML Redirection

Active Data Guard performance is improved for DML redirection.

Inserts, updates, and deletes from standby environments are handled more efficiently.
Enables more realistic workloads on standby databases such as reporting, analytics, backups, and batch operations.

✅ In summary, the major Data Guard improvements in Oracle 26ai focus on:

Automation and DevOps integration (JSON output, SQLcl support)
Faster switchover and failover
Better control over failover candidates
Enhanced PDB-level Data Guard management
Improved Active Data Guard workload handling

If you want, I can also explain “Top 10 Data Guard enhancements from 19c → 23ai → 26ai”, which is very useful for DBA interviews and upgrade discussions.

Top 10 Data Guard enhancements from 19c → 23ai → 26ai

Here are the Top 10 Oracle Data Guard enhancements from
Oracle Database 19c → Oracle Database 23ai → Oracle AI Database 26ai.
These versions gradually improved automation, performance, multitenant support, and cloud readiness.

Top 10 Data Guard Enhancements (19c → 23ai → 26ai)

1️⃣ Faster Switchover & Failover

19c: Standard role transition performance.
23ai: Improved automation with better broker handling.
26ai: Up to 4x faster switchover/failover, reducing downtime and improving RTO. ⚡

2️⃣ Data Guard Broker Improvements

19c: Stable broker with CLI management.
23ai: Better broker validation and monitoring.
26ai: JSON output support in DGMGRL for automation and DevOps pipelines.

3️⃣ SQLcl Support for Data Guard

19c: Managed mainly using DGMGRL.
23ai: Limited scripting improvements.
26ai: Data Guard Broker commands supported in SQLcl, simplifying scripting and automation.

4️⃣ Active Data Guard DML Redirection

19c: Read-only standby with limited DML redirection.
23ai: Improved redirection performance.
26ai: More efficient DML redirection, enabling reporting and workloads directly on standby. 📊

5️⃣ Multitenant (CDB/PDB) Data Guard Enhancements

19c: Basic support for CDB-level Data Guard.
23ai: Improved PDB management.
26ai: Better PDB-level Data Guard management and APIs for automation.

6️⃣ Data Guard per-PDB Operations

19c: Mostly CDB-level management.
23ai: Initial PDB-level recovery improvements.
26ai: Enhanced APIs (DBMS_DG) for PDB-level Data Guard operations.

7️⃣ Restricting Failover Candidates

19c: Any standby could become primary.
23ai: Limited control.
26ai: DBAs can define which standby databases are allowed to become primary. 🔐

8️⃣ Improved Monitoring & Observability

19c: Basic monitoring views.
23ai: Better diagnostic views.
26ai: Enhanced broker status reporting and automation-friendly outputs.

9️⃣ Cloud & Hybrid Integration

19c: Designed mainly for on-premise environments.
23ai: Better integration with Oracle Cloud.
26ai: Cloud-native Data Guard architecture supporting hybrid and multi-region setups. ☁️

🔟 Automation & DevOps Integration

19c: Mostly manual DBA-driven operations.
23ai: Some scripting improvements.
26ai: Strong focus on automation, APIs, JSON output, and scripting support.

✅ Summary

Version	Major Focus
19c	Stability and long-term support
23ai	Multitenant and automation improvements
26ai	AI-era database with faster recovery, automation, and cloud-native Data Guard

💡 Tip for DBAs / Interviews:
If asked about Data Guard evolution, the best short answer is:

“From 19c to 26ai, Oracle Data Guard evolved toward **automation, faster failover, multitenant PDB protection, and DevOps-friendly management with JSON and SQLcl support.”

Reference :- ChatGPT

shashi

Thursday, March 5, 2026