Re: Is an Oracle license required for a development environment?

  • From: "Stefan Knecht" <knecht.stefan@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 3 May 2006 08:17:37 +0200

We've just recently had a guy from Oracle in-house to perform a routine
"License Check" for our major client.

We've got 13 CPU's licensed for Oracle running various production instances.
We've also got about another dozen of CPU's runnign Oracle Test/Development
instances, and we're not paying a dime for them, and the guy didn't seem to
object in any way. I'm pretty confident that you're allowed to use Oracle
for Test and Development as much as you like.

But please correct me if I'm wrong :)  -- even if I doubt my boss would like
to hear otherwise  <grin>


Stefan

On 5/3/06, Mark Brinsmead <pythianbrinsmead@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Giovanni has more or less "hit the nail on the head".

I have always interpreted this license to mean that one (as an indepenent
consultant) can use the development (OTN) license to develop software that
will be used by customers, but a corporation developing applications for
(eventual) use in-house would require commercial licenses.  It *might* be
legal for a corporation doing in-house development to use OTN licenses for
the version 0.0 prototype, but (as I read the license) a commercial
license would have to be obtained prior to "deployment".

Basically, the bottom line is -- as Mladen has suggested -- that
everything must be licensed.  The major exceptions being the various
products that Oracle now gives away free, and "cold-standy" (or
"recovery-test" or "disaster-recovery") database servers where you are
allowed to install the software without licensing it, with the restriction
that you may run the software for no more than 10 days per calendar year
without purchasing a license.  (Note: that is actually "10
days-or-parts-thereof".  Anyone who has ever rented a car should know that
this is not even remotely similar to 240 hours!)

Please note:  I am not a lawyer.  And I am not your lawyer.  Heck, I have
not even actually read the standard OLSA license in several months, and I
may or may not be accurately remembering the details or correctly
interpreting the language.  Even in the highly unlikey event that I *am*, I
probably have not seen the actual contract that applies to you.  Do not
base any decisions on anything I have said here or anywhere else.  Go hire
a qualified lawyer.  Do it NOW!!!!  Save yourself!  Run!  ;-)



On 5/2/06, Giovanni Cuccu <giovanni.cuccu@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>    here is a ctrl-C of the development licence:
> Oracle Technology Network Development License Agreement
> ....
> ...
> We grant you a nonexclusive, nontransferable limited license to use
> the programs only for the purpose of developing a single prototype of
> your application, and not for any other purpose.  If you use the
> application you develop under this license for any internal data
> processing or for any commercial or production purposes, or you want
> to use the programs for any purpose other than as permitted under this
> agreement, you must contact us, or an Oracle reseller, to obtain the
> appropriate license.
> ....
> ....
>
> I understand that when I start developing an application I can
> download and use the Oracle Software. It's not clear what happens to
> my development DB when my application goes live (provided that the
> customers are buying their licences), can the version 1.0 be
> considered as a prototype for the next version?
> Mah,
>      Giovanni
>
> On 5/2/06, Nigel Bishop < Nigel.Bishop@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> >
> >
> > Nigel
> >
> >
> >
>
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-- Cheers, -- Mark Brinsmead Staff DBA, The Pythian Group http://www.pythian.com/blogs

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