Oracle Exadata System Software release 26.1.0 optimizes Exadata Smart Flash Cache to further improve overall system performance and flash utilization.

Historically, Exadata Smart Flash Cache has focused on online transaction processing (OLTP) and complex analytical workloads, using highly tuned caching policies that protect the performance of those workloads. In this context, large write operations were often not cached, or were quickly removed from the cache, because they were unlikely to benefit from long-term caching.

Starting with release 26.1.0, Exadata Smart Flash Cache dynamically adjusts caching policies based on cache usage. When flash capacity is available, the system can use available cache space for data that otherwise would not be cached. This accelerates write-intensive workloads, data loads, and restore operations, providing an all-flash user experience when the entire working data set fits in the cache.

This optimization extends the versatility of Exadata Smart Flash Cache and helps more workloads benefit from flash cache, while carefully preserving cache fairness and predictability for existing OLTP and analytical workloads.