Client / Server Interoperability Support Matrix for Different Oracle Versions (Doc ID

207303.1)

Oracle Client / Server Interoperability Support

Use this note to understand which Oracle client versions are supported to work with which versions of the Oracle
Database.

Introduction
This note gives a summary of the support for interoperability between Oracle client and server versions.
This includes support for connections over database links between Oracle versions.
Note that this is a general guide for interoperability only - certain products or utilities may impose
additional restrictions on supported combinations specific to the product / utility. eg: Precompilers, Export
/ Import utilities etc..
For a summary of the support status of each Oracle release see Note:161818.1

General Policy
Oracle's general policy is to test and support each new Oracle release for compatibility with older
releases thus:
Test the NEW client to each OLDER server release where the OLDER release is still covered by
Premier Support (formerly Primary Error Correction support) at the time that the NEW version is
released.
Test OLDER clients to the NEW server release where the OLDER release is still covered by
Premier Support (formerly Primary Error Correction support) OR is in the first two years of
Extended Support (formerly Extended Maintenance support).
Tests between the NEW version and other OLDER releases may be added where Oracle deems it
sensible to support interoperability between those releases.

Current Interoperability Support Situation

The matrix below summarizes client and server combinations that are supported for the most commonly
used product versions. A full matrix appears at the end of this document.
New interoperability problems will only be investigated if BOTH releases involved are covered by a valid
support contract at the time that the issue is reported .
eg:
A 11.1.0 client to an 11.2.0 server issue requires the customer to have a valid Extended
Support contract for the 11.1.0 client in order for Oracle to investigate it.

Server Version

Client
Version

12.1.0

11.2.0

11.1.0

10.2.0

10.1.0

9.2.0

12.1.0

Yes

Yes

ES

LES #7

No #3

No #3

11.2.0

Yes

Yes

ES

LES #7

No

Was #5

11.1.0

ES

ES

ES

LES #7

Was #6

Was #5

10.2.0

LES #7

LES #7

LES #7

LES

Was

Was #5

10.1.0(#4)

No

Was #6

Was #6

Was

Was

Was

9.2.0

No#8

Was #5

Was #5

Was #5

Was

Was

Key:
Yes Supported
LES Limited Extended Support
ES

Supported but fixes only possible for

customers with Extended Support .

Was a supported combination but one of the

releases is no longer covered by any of
Premier Support , Primary Error Correct
Was
support , Extended Support nor Extended
Maintenance Support so fixes are no longer
possible.
No

Has never been Supported

Specific Notes:
#1 - See Note:207319.1
#2 - An ORA-3134 error is incorrectly reported if a 10g client tries to connect to an 8.1.7.3 or
lower server. See Note:3437884.8 .
#3 - An ORA-3134 error is correctly reported when attempting to connect to this version.
#4 - There are problems connecting from a 10g client to 8i/9i where one is EBCDIC based. See
Note:3564573.8
#5 - For connections between 10.2 (or higher) and 9.2 the 9.2 end MUST be at 9.2.0.4 or higher.
Connections between 10.2 (or higher) and 9.2.0.1, 9.2.0.2 or 9.2.0.3 have never been supported.
#6 - For connections between 11.1 (or higher) database server and 10.1 / 10.2 database server
across a database link the 10g end MUST be at 10.1.0.5 / 10.2.0.2 (or higher) respectively in
order to use PLSQL between those versions. (This does not apply to normal 11g clients to 10g
database server only server to server and a few very specific client products, such as Oracle
Forms). See Note:4511371.8 for more details.
#7 - For database link connections between 11.1 (or higher) and 10.2 the 10g end MUST be at
10.2.0.2 (or higher) in order to use PLSQL between those versions. See Note:4511371.8 for more
details.
#8 - Attempting to connect from 9.2 to 12.1 will fail with an "ORA-28040: No matching
authentication protocol" error.
General Notes:
1. For database links between different Oracle versions connections must be supported in BOTH
directions in the matrix above.
eg: As 11.2 -> 10.1 is not supported then database links between these version are not
supported in either direction.
2. Unsupported combinations may appear to work but can encounter errors for particular operations.
The fact that they appear to work should not be relied upon - issues on unsupported
combinations will not be investigated.
3. Since new database servers are compatible with a limited set of older OCI clients, it may not be
necessary to upgrade the client software when upgrading the database. However, some new
features may not work without upgrading the client software. For example, an Oracle 10.2 client
is able to connect to an 11.2 database, but is not able to take advantage of newer features such
as Client Result Cache (introduced in 11.1).
4. Oracle Applications , or other Oracle products, may have supported configurations not listed in the
matrix above.
5. The matrix above also applies between different platforms and between 32/64 bit releases of
Oracle client / server except where any Oracle platform desupport notice indicates otherwise .
6. Unix BEQUEATH (BEQ) connections are NOT supported between different releases. eg: Client 10.2

is not supported to make an Oracle Net connection to a 11.2 server using the BEQ protocol
adapter regardless of the interoperability support listed above. See Note:364252.1 for more
details.

Terminology
See the "Terminology" section of Note:161818.1 for a description of Premier Support, Extended
Support, Primary Error Correction Support and Extended Maintenence Support

Related Articles
Support Status of each Oracle Server (RDBMS) Release Note:161818.1
JDBC, JDK, and Oracle Database Certification Note:401934.1
For JDBC clients information in Note:401934.1 takes priority over information in the above matrix.
JDBC Driver Support for Oracle Application Server (Fusion Middleware) Note:365120.1
For Precompiler interoperability support also see:
"Pro*C/C++ Programmer's Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)" [Part Number E10825-01]
"1 Introduction"
-> Frequently Asked Questions
-> Can I Use Any Release of Pro*C/C++ with Any Version of the Oracle Server?
Export / Import Compatibility Note:132904.1

Full Interoperability Support Matrix

This matrix includes interoperability information for older versions and is included here for completeness.
Server Version
Client
Version

12.1.0 11.2.0 11.1.0 10.2.0 10.1.0 9.2.0 9.0.1 8.1.7 8.1.6 8.1.5 8.0.6 8.0.5 7.3.4

12.1.0

Yes

Yes

ES

LES
#7

No #3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

11.2.0

Yes

Yes

ES

LES
#7

No

Was No
#5
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

11.1.0

ES

ES

ES

LES
#7

Was
#6

Was No
#5
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

10.2.0

LES
#7

LES
#7

LES
#7

LES

Was

Was
No
#5

Was

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

10.1.0(#4) No

Was
#6

Was
#6

Was

Was

Was Was

Was No
#2
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

No
#3

9.2.0

No#8

Was
#5

Was
#5

Was
#5

Was

Was Was Was No

No

Was No

No
#1

9.0.1

No

No

No

No

Was

Was Was Was Was No

Was No

Was

8.1.7

No

No

No

Was

Was

Was Was Was Was Was Was Was Was

8.1.6

No

No

No

No

No

No

Was Was Was Was Was Was Was

8.1.5

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

8.0.6

No

No

No

No

No

Was Was Was Was Was Was Was Was

8.0.5

No

No

No

No

No

No

7.3.4

No

No

No

No

No

Was Was Was Was Was Was Was Was

No

Was Was Was Was Was Was

Was Was Was Was Was Was

REFERENCES
NOTE:365120.1 - JDBC Driver Support for Oracle Application Server 10g
NOTE:401934.1 - Starting With Oracle JDBC Drivers
NOTE:4511371.8 - Bug 4511371 - ORA-6544 / ORA-4052 using PLSQL between 10g and
11g
NOTE:161818.1 - Oracle Database (RDBMS) Releases Support Status Summary
NOTE:207319.1 - ALERT: Connections from Oracle 9.2 to Oracle7 are Not Supported
NOTE:3437884.8 - Bug 3437884 - 10g client cannot connect to 8.1.7.0 - 8.1.7.3 server
NOTE:3564573.8 - Bug 3564573 - ORA-1017 when 10g client connects to 8i/9i server with
EBCDIC <-> ASCII connection
NOTE:364252.1 - Unable To BEQUEATH Connect Between Different Oracle Installations
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