Database editions

As of 2017, the latest Oracle Database version (12.2.0.1) comes in three editions for on-
premises deployments[14]:

 Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (EE): offers industry-leading scalability and

reliability[citation needed] in both clustered and single system configurations and imposes
no limitation on server resources available to the database.
 Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2): intended for small- to medium-sized
implementations, SE2 includes Real Application Clusters and may be deployed on
servers or clusters with a maximum of 2 sockets total and capped to use a maximum
of 16 concurrent user threads. SE2 uses the same code base as EE, and therefore
upwardly compatible and simple to upgrade to EE.
 Oracle Database Personal Edition (PE): A single-user, single-machine development
and deployment license that allows use of all database features. PE is upwardly
compatible to SE2 and EE.

Oracle Corporation also makes the following edition available:

 Oracle Database Express Edition (XE), a free-to-use entry-level version of Oracle

Database available for Windows and Linux platforms. The current version, Oracle
Database 18c XE is automatically resource limited up to 2 CPUs, up to 2 GB of RAM
and storing up to 12 GB of user data. It provides a subset of EE functionality (not
including features such as managed backup and recovery, high availability and
replication), is community-supported and comes with its own license terms. XE was
first introduced in 2005 with Oracle Database 10g Release 2 with a limitation to a
maximum of 1 CPU, 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of user data. Oracle Database 11g XE
was released on 24 September 2011, and increased user data capacity to 11 GB.
Oracle Database 18c XE was released on the 20th of October 2018[15], increasing
capacity to 2 CPUs, 2 GB of RAM and 12 GB of user data.

Up to (and including) Oracle Database 12c release 12.1.0.1, Oracle also offered the
following:

 Oracle Database Standard Edition (SE) for single or clustered servers with a
maximum capacity of 4 CPU sockets. It was largely the same as the current SE2
edition and included Real Application Clusters for use on server clusters with a
maximum of 4 CPU sockets.
 Oracle Standard Edition One (SE1), was first introduced with Oracle Database 10g. It
offered the same features as SE and was licensed to run on single servers with a
maximum of 2 CPU sockets.

Oracle Corporation discontinued SE and SE1 with the 12.1.0.2 release, and stopped offering
new licenses for these editions on December 1, 2015.