Oracle options usage tracking enhanced

In the Options tab of the property sheet for Oracle database instances, the Used (Yes or No) property is a hyperlink that displays an additional dialog of Usage Details for the corresponding Oracle option. That usage dialog is now enhanced with an additional column for Last usage date, where this information is available. Only a small selection of the Oracle sources investigated (and shown in the Source column) provide this value:

• DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS
• FEATURE_INFO
• PACK_FEATURE_USAGE
• PACK_USAGE.

Even from these sources, the Oracle GLAS (Global Licensing and Advisory Services) data does not always include the usage date; but where the date of the most recent usage is available, it is now visible in this dialog. The date is also maintained in the Oracle database instance, so that even if an option is subsequently "switched off" (and the Used column therefore shows No), the Last usage date continues to display the last date reported before usage was discontinued.