Making sure you are on a supported release is the most important thing you can do as a DBA. The following document can provide a guide on what release you should target for your upgrades
https://support.oracle.com/knowledge/Oracle%20Database%20Products/742060_1.html
Probably the most important section of the document, other than the dates is the release type definitiions.
Oracle Database Release Roadmap
There are two types of Oracle Database releases: Long Term Release and Innovation Release.
- Long Term Release:
Oracle Database Long Term Releases are ideal for use cases that benefit from less frequent upgrades to newer releases. Long Term Releases offer the highest level of stability and the longest length of error correction support. These releases have 5 years of Premier Support followed by 3 years of Extended Support. When combined with Extended Support, customers typically have almost 4 years to upgrade from one Long Term Release to the next Long Term Release.
- Innovation Release:
In between Oracle Database Long Term Releases, Oracle delivers Oracle Database Innovation Releases that include many enhancements and new capabilities which will also be included in the next Long Term Release. Innovation Releases are designed to enable customers to continuously use leading-edge technologies to rapidly develop or deploy new applications or augment existing applications. Support for Innovation Releases includes at least 2 years of Premier Support, but there is no Extended Support. Production workloads can be deployed on Innovation Releases if upgrading to the next database release within one year after the next database release ships is factored into the deployment plan.
My advice for your key production databases, is to upgrade to a Long Term Release
Published 1st December 2021
