Oracle Platinum Services provides patching features for the full software stack, which includes operating systems, virtualization, storage software and firmware, and databases. This service is typically performed up to twice per year, allowing customers to schedule the patching at their convenience. The patching is usually done to keep the software and firmware up-to-date and to fix any known security vulnerabilities. It's important to note that patching services are not done automatically during business hours, customer's involvement and schedule is needed, and the rolling and complete downtime approaches are options to minimize the impact on the system during patching.

When multiple databases share space on the storage servers in an unpartitioned storage grid, two Exadata security features can be configured to control which databases can access which griddisks.
Exadata storage realms using ASM-scoped security mode: This feature allows you to create storage realms and assign them to specific databases. This allows you to control which databases have access to which griddisks. The ASM-scoped security mode applies to all griddisks within an ASM disk group, which means that all griddisks in a disk group will be accessible only to the databases that belong to the assigned storage realm.
File permissions on the griddisks in each storage server: This feature allows you to configure file permissions on the griddisks at the storage server level. You can assign specific permissions to specific users or groups, allowing you to control which databases can access which griddisks.

The Platinum Services Advanced Support Gateway is a component of Oracle's Platinum Services offering that enables customers to access advanced support features and tools, such as automated problem diagnosis and resolution. Customers have the option to host the Advanced Support Gateway on an Oracle Database Appliance, Oracle Virtual Machine with required hardware, or an Exadata Engineered System. These options allow customers to leverage existing infrastructure and resources to host the gateway, rather than needing to purchase and install new hardware. Providing individual x86 64-Bit gateway hardware or purchase the recommended x86 64-Bit gateway hardware from Oracle are also options but it depends on the customer's infrastructure and resources.