I understand that when I buy an Oracle license, I can choose which version I install, these days either 11gR2 or 12c. But which patch level am I eligible to install? Is it 11.2.0.1 which was released in 2009 and can be downloaded from their website or can I download 11.2.0.4 from My Oracle Support which would be the latest full installation?
Given I'm only eligible for 11.2.0.1 - what happens when I stumble over one of it's many bugs? How would I proceed to have it fixed by Oracle?
You can install the latest version available at the time of purchase, but no newer versions after that.
The "funny" part is, these versions (like 11.2.0.4) can be obtained from https://support.oracle.com/, but you can not download them, because you do not have a support contract. In this case, when you request the installation media, an Oracle representative goes on-site with the requested software (just an example I know of, there may be other ways).
This part took quite long the last time I was in such a situation with a customer.
Without a support contract, you can not download patches, and you can not open service requests. When you hit a bug, you have to live with it or apply an acceptable workaround.
