An administrator wants to patch an NDB-managed Oracle database.

NDB uses Oracle out-of-place patching for Oracle database software. Instead of modifying the actively used Oracle home directly, NDB prepares or uses a separate Oracle home containing the required patched software and then moves the database to that home through an orchestrated workflow. This method keeps the original Oracle home available and reduces the risks associated with changing production binaries in place. It also supports more predictable patching and recovery procedures because the old and new software homes remain logically separated. Binary synchronization and in-memory synchronization are not Oracle patching methods used by NDB. In-place patching would directly modify the existing Oracle home and therefore does not describe the documented NDB workflow. Nutanix explicitly states that NDB uses out-of-place patching in its official Oracle database patching documentation.