Oracle Database Administration

How does one create a new database?

One can create and modify Oracle databases using the Oracle “dbca” (Database Configuration
Assistant) utility. The dbca utility is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory. The Oracle
Universal Installer (oui) normally starts it after installing the database server software.
One can also create databases manually using scripts. This option, however, is falling out of fashion,
as it is quite involved and error prone. Look at this example for creating and Oracle 9i database:
CONNECT SYS AS SYSDBA
ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST=’/u01/oradata/’;
ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_CREATE_ONLINE_LOG_DEST_1=’/u02/oradata/’;
ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_CREATE_ONLINE_LOG_DEST_2=’/u03/oradata/’;
CREATE DATABASE;

What database block size should I use?

Oracle recommends that your database block size match, or be multiples of your operating system block
size. One can use smaller block sizes, but the performance cost is significant. Your choice should depend
on the type of application you are running. If you have many small transactions as with OLTP, use a
smaller block size. With fewer but larger transactions, as with a DSS application, use a larger block size.
If you are using a volume manager, consider your “operating system block size” to be 8K. This
is because volume manager products use 8K blocks (and this is not configurable).
How does one coalesce free space?
SMON coalesces free space (extents) into larger, contiguous extents every 2 hours and even
then, only for a short period of time.
SMON will not coalesce free space if a tablespace’s default storage parameter “pctincrease” is set to
0. With Oracle 7.3 one can manually coalesce a tablespace using the ALTER TABLESPACE ...
COALESCE; command, until then use:
SQL> alter session set events ‘immediate trace name coalesce level n’;
Where ‘n’ is the tablespace number you get from SELECT TS#, NAME FROM SYS.TS$;
You can get status information about this process by selecting from the
SYS.DBA_FREE_SPACE_COALESCED dictionary view.
How does one prevent tablespace fragmentation?
Always set PCTINCREASE to 0 or 100.
Bizarre values for PCTINCREASE will contribute to fragmentation. For example if you set
PCTINCREASE to 1 you will see that your extents are going to have weird and wacky sizes: 100K, 100K,
101K, 102K, etc. Such extents of bizarre size are rarely re-used in their entirety. PCTINCREASE of 0 or
100 gives you nice round extent sizes that can easily be reused. Eg. 100K, 100K, 200K, 400K, etc.
Thiru Vadivelu contributed the following:
Use the same extent size for all the segments in a given tablespace. Locally Managed tablespaces
(available from 8i onwards) with uniform extent sizes virtually eliminates any tablespace
fragmentation. Note that the number of extents per segment does not cause any performance
issue anymore, unless they run into thousands and thousands where additional I/O may be
required to fetch the additional blocks where extent maps of the segment are stored.
Where can one find the high water mark for a table?
There is no single system table, which contains the high water mark (HWM) for a table. A
table’s HWM can be calculated using the results from the following SQL statements:
SELECT BLOCKS
FROM DBA_SEGMENTS
WHERE OWNER=UPPER(owner) AND SEGMENT_NAME = UPPER(table);
ANALYZE TABLE owner.table ESTIMATE STATISTICS;

SELECT EMPTY_BLOCKS
FROM DBA_TABLES
WHERE OWNER=UPPER(owner) AND SEGMENT_NAME = UPPER(table);
Thus, the tables’ HWM = (query result 1) - (query result 2) - 1
NOTE: You can also use the DBMS_SPACE package and calculate the HWM =
TOTAL_BLOCKS - UNUSED_BLOCKS - 1.
How are extents allocated to a segment?
Oracle8 and above rounds off extents to a multiple of 5 blocks when more than 5 blocks are requested. If
one requests 16K or 2 blocks (assuming a 8K block size), Oracle doesn’t round it up to 5 blocks, but it
allocates 2 blocks or 16K as requested. If one asks for 8 blocks, Oracle will round it up to 10 blocks.
Space allocation also depends upon the size of contiguous free space available. If one asks for 8 blocks
and Oracle finds a contiguous free space that is exactly 8 blocks, it would give it you. If it were 9 blocks,
Oracle would also give it to you. Clearly Oracle doesn’t always round extents to a multiple of 5 blocks.
The exception to this rule is locally managed tablespaces. If a tablespace is created
with local extent management and the extent size is 64K, then Oracle allocates 64K or
8 blocks assuming 8K-block size. Oracle doesn’t round it up to the multiple of 5 when a
tablespace is locally managed.
Can one rename a database user (schema)?
No, this is listed as Enhancement Request 158508.
Workaround: Do a user-level export of user A
create new user B
Import system/manager fromuser=A
touser=B Drop user A
Can one rename a tablespace?
No, this is listed as Enhancement Request 148742.
Workaround: Export all of the objects from the tablespace
Drop the tablespace including
contents Recreate the tablespace
Import the objects
Can one resize tablespaces and data files?
One can manually increase or decrease the size of a datafile from Oracle 7.2 using the
command. ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE ‘filename2’ RESIZE 100M;
Because you can change the sizes of datafiles, you can add more space to your database
without adding more datafiles. This is beneficial if you are concerned about reaching the
maximum number of datafiles allowed in your database.
Manually reducing the sizes of datafiles allows you to reclaim unused space in the
database. This is useful for correcting errors in estimations of space requirements.
Also, datafiles can be allowed to automatically extend if more space is required. Look at the
following command:
CREATE TABLESPACE pcs_data_ts
DATAFILE ‘c:\ora_apps\pcs\pcsdata1.dbf’ SIZE 3M
AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 1M MAXSIZE UNLIMITED
DEFAULT STORAGE (INITIAL 10240
NEXT 10240
MINEXTENTS 1
MAXEXTENTS UNLIMITED
PCTINCREASE 0)
ONLINE
PERMANENT;
 How does one create a standby database?
While your production database is running, take an (image copy) backup and
restore it on duplicate hardware. Note that an export will not work!!!
On your standby database, issue the following commands:
ALTER DATABASE CREATE STANDBY CONTROLFILE AS
‘filename’; ALTER DATABASE MOUNT STANDBY DATABASE;
RECOVER STANDBY DATABASE;
On systems prior to Oracle 8i, write a job to copy archived redo log files from the primary
database to the standby system, and apply the redo log files to the standby database (pipe it).
Remember the database is recovering and will prompt you for the next log file to apply.
Oracle 8i onwards provide an “Automated Standby Database” feature, which will send archived,
log files to the remote site via NET8, and apply then to the standby database.
When one needs to activate the standby database, stop the recovery process and
activate it: ALTER DATABASE ACTIVATE STANDBY DATABASE;
How does one give developers access to trace files (required as input to tkprof)?
The “alter session set sql_trace=true” command generates trace files in USER_DUMP_DEST
that can be used by developers as input to tkprof. On Unix the default file mask for these files
are “rwx r-- ---“. There is an undocumented INIT.ORA parameter that will allow everyone to read
(rwx r—r--) these trace files:
_trace_files_public = true
Include this in your INIT.ORA file and bounce your database for it to take effect.
How does one see the uptime for a database?
Look at the following SQL query:
SELECT to_char (startup_time,’DD-MON-YYYY HH24: MI: SS’) “DB Startup
Time” FROM sys.v_$instance;
Marco Bergman provided the following alternative solution:
SELECT to_char (logon_time,’Dy dd Mon HH24: MI: SS’) “DB Startup
Time” FROM sys.v_$session
WHERE Sid=1 /* this is pmon */
/
Users still running on Oracle 7 can try one of the following
queries: Column STARTED format a18 head ‘STARTUP TIME’
Select C.INSTANCE,
to_date (JUL.VALUE, ‘J’)
|| to_char (floor (SEC.VALUE/3600), ‘09’)
|| ‘:’
-- || Substr (to_char (mod (SEC.VALUE/60, 60), ‘09’), 2, 2)
|| Substr (to_char (floor (mod (SEC.VALUE/60, 60)), ‘09’), 2, 2)
|| ‘.’
|| Substr (to_char (mod (SEC.VALUE, 60), ‘09’), 2, 2)
STARTED from SYS.V_$INSTANCE JUL,
SYS.V_$INSTANCE SEC,
SYS.V_$THREAD C
Where JUL.KEY like ‘%JULIAN%’
and SEC.KEY like ‘%SECOND%’;
Select to_date (JUL.VALUE, ‘J’)
|| to_char (to_date (SEC.VALUE, ‘SSSSS’), ‘ HH24:MI:SS’)
STARTED from SYS.V_$INSTANCE JUL,
SYS.V_$INSTANCE SEC
where JUL.KEY like ‘%JULIAN%’
and SEC.KEY like ‘%SECOND%’;
select to_char (to_date (JUL.VALUE, ‘J’) + (SEC.VALUE/86400), -Return a
DATE ‘DD-MON-YY HH24:MI:SS’) STARTED
from V$INSTANCE JUL,
V$INSTANCE SEC
where JUL.KEY like ‘%JULIAN%’
and SEC.KEY like ‘%SECOND%’;
Where are my TEMPFILES, I don’t see them in V$DATAFILE or DBA_DATA_FILE?
Tempfiles, unlike normal datafiles, are not listed in v$datafile or dba_data_files.
Instead query v$tempfile or dba_temp_files:
SELECT * FROM v$tempfile;
SELECT * FROM dba_temp_files;
How do I find used/free space in a TEMPORARY tablespace?
Unlike normal tablespaces, true temporary tablespace information is not
listed in DBA_FREE_SPACE. Instead use the V$TEMP_SPACE_HEADER
view: SELECT tablespace_name, SUM (bytes used), SUM (bytes free)
FROM V$temp_space_header
GROUP BY tablespace_name;
How can one see who is using a temporary segment?
For every user using temporary space, there is an entry in SYS.V$_LOCK with type ‘TS’.
All temporary segments are named ‘ffff.bbbb’ where ‘ffff’ is the file it is in and ‘bbbb’ is first block
of the segment.
If your temporary tablespace is set to TEMPORARY, all sorts are done in one large temporary
segment. For usage stats, see SYS.V_$SORT_SEGMENT
From Oracle 8.0, one can just query SYS.v$sort_usage. Look at these examples:
select s.username, u.”USER”, u.tablespace, u.contents, u.extents, u.blocks
from sys.v_$session s, sys.v_$sort_usage u
where s.addr = u.session_addr
/
select s.osuser, s.process, s.username, s.serial#,
Sum (u.blocks)*vp.value/1024 sort_size
from sys.v_$session s, sys.v_$sort_usage u, sys.v_$parameter VP
where s.saddr = u.session_addr
and vp.name = ‘db_block_size’
and s.osuser like ‘&1’
group by s.osuser, s.process, s.username, s.serial#, vp.value
/
How does one get the view definition of fixed views/tables?
Query v$fixed_view_definition. Example:
SELECT * FROM v$fixed_view_definition WHERE view_name=’V$SESSION’;
 Oracle Backup and Recovery
Why and when should I backup my database?
Backup and recovery is one of the most important aspects of a DBAs job. If you lose your
company’s data, you could very well lose your job. Hardware and software can always be
replaced, but your data may be irreplaceable!
Normally one would schedule a hierarchy of daily, weekly and monthly backups, however consult with
your users before deciding on a backup schedule. Backup frequency normally depends on the following
factors:
· Rate of data change/ transaction rate
· Database availability/ Can you shutdown for cold backups?
· Criticality of the data/ Value of the data to the company
· Read-only tablespace needs backing up just once right after you make it read-only
· If you are running in archivelog mode you can backup parts of a database over an extended
cycle of days
· If archive logging is enabled one needs to backup archived log files timeously to prevent
database freezes
· Etc.
Carefully plan backup retention periods. Ensure enough backup media (tapes) are available and
that old backups are expired in-time to make media available for new backups. Off-site vaulting
is also highly recommended.
Frequently test your ability to recover and document all possible scenarios. Remember, it’s the
little things that will get you. Most failed recoveries are a result of organizational errors and
miscommunications.
What strategies are available for backing-up an Oracle database?
The following methods are valid for backing-up an Oracle database:
Export/Import - Exports are “logical” database backups in that they extract logical definitions
and data from the database to a file.
Cold or Off-line Backups - Shut the database down and backup up ALL data, log, and control files.
Hot or On- line Backups - If the databases are available and in ARCHIVELOG mode, set the
tablespaces into backup mode and backup their files. Also remember to backup the control files
and archived redo log files.
RMAN Backups - While the database is off-line or on-line, use the “rman” utility to backup the
database.
It is advisable to use more than one of these methods to backup your database. For example, if
you choose to do on-line database backups, also cover yourself by doing database exports.
Also test ALL backup and recovery scenarios carefully. It is better to be save than sorry.
Regardless of your strategy, also remember to backup all required software libraries, parameter
files, password files, etc. If your database is in ARCGIVELOG mode, you also need to backup
archived log files.
What is the difference between online and offline backups?
A hot backup is a backup performed while the
database is online and available for read/write.
Except for Oracle exports, one can only do on-line
backups when running in ARCHIVELOG mode.
A cold backup is a backup performed while the
database is off-line and unavailable to its users.
What is the difference between restoring and recovering?
Restoring involves copying backup files from secondary storage (backup media) to disk. This
can be done to replace damaged files or to copy/move a database to a new location.
Recovery is the process of applying redo logs to the database to roll it forward. One can roll-
forward until a specific point-in-time (before the disaster occurred), or roll-forward until the last
transaction recorded in the log files.
Sql> connect SYS as SYSDBA
Sql> RECOVER DATABASE UNTIL TIME ‘2001-03-06:16:00:00’ USING BACKUP
CONTROLFILE;
How does one backup a database using the export utility?
Oracle exports are “logical” database backups (not physical) as they extract data and logical definitions
from the database into a file. Other backup strategies normally back-up the physical data files.
One of the advantages of exports is that one can selectively re-import tables, however one
cannot roll-forward from an restored export file. To completely restore a database from an
export file one practically needs to recreate the entire database.
Always do full system level exports (FULL=YES). Full exports include more information
about the database in the export file than user level exports.
How does one do off-line database backups?
Shut down the database from sqlplus or server manager. Backup all files to secondary storage
(eg. tapes). Ensure that you backup all data files, all control files and all log files. When
completed, restart your database.
Do the following queries to get a list of all files that needs to be
backed up: select name from sys.v_$datafile;
select member from sys.v_$logfile;
select name from sys.v_$controlfile;
Sometimes Oracle takes forever to shutdown with the “immediate” option. As workaround to this
problem, shutdown using these commands:
alter system checkpoint;
shutdown abort
startup restrict
shutdown immediate
Note that if you database is in ARCHIVELOG mode, one can still use archived log files to roll forward
from an off-line backup. If you cannot take your database down for a cold (off-line) backup at a
convenient time, switch your database into ARCHIVELOG mode and perform hot (on-line) backups .

How does one do on-line database backups?

Each tablespace that needs to be backed-up must be switched into backup mode before copying the files
out to secondary storage (tapes). Look at this simple example.
ALTER TABLESPACE xyz BEGIN BACKUP;
! cp xyfFile1 /backupDir/
ALTER TABLESPACE xyz END BACKUP;
It is better to backup tablespace for tablespace than to put all tablespaces in backup mode.
Backing them up separately incurs less overhead. When done, remember to backup your
control files. Look at this example:
ALTER SYSTEM SWITCH LOGFILE; -- Force log switch to update control file headers
ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO ‘/backupDir/control.dbf’;
NOTE: Do not run on-line backups during peak processing periods. Oracle will write complete
database blocks instead of the normal deltas to redo log files while in backup mode. This will
lead to excessive database archiving and even database freezes.
How does one backup a database using RMAN?
The biggest advantage of RMAN is that it only backup used space in the database. Rman
doesn’t put tablespaces in backup mode, saving on redo generation overhead. RMAN will re-
read database blocks until it gets a consistent image of it. Look at this simple backup example.
rman target sys/***
nocatalog run {
allocate channel t1 type
disk; backup
format ‘/app/oracle/db_backup/%d_t%t_s%s_p%p’
( database );
release channel t1;
}
Example RMAN restore:
rman target sys/***
nocatalog run {
allocate channel t1 type disk;
# set until time ‘Aug 07 2000 :51’;
restore tablespace users;
recover tablespace users;
release channel t1;
}
The examples above are extremely simplistic and only useful for illustrating basic concepts. By
default Oracle uses the database controlfiles to store information about backups. Normally one
would rather setup a RMAN catalog database to store RMAN metadata in. Read the Oracle
Backup and Recovery Guide before implementing any RMAN backups.
Note: RMAN cannot write image copies directly to tape. One needs to use a third-party media manager
that integrates with RMAN to backup directly to tape. Alternatively one can backup to disk and then
manually copy the backups to tape.

How does one put a database into ARCHIVELOG mode?

The main reason for running in archivelog mode is that one can provide 24-hour availability and
guarantee complete data recoverability. It is also necessary to enable ARCHIVELOG mode
before one can start to use on-line database backups.
To enable ARCHIVELOG mode, simply change your database startup command script, and
bounce the database:
SQLPLUS> connect sys as sysdba
SQLPLUS> startup mount exclusive;
SQLPLUS> alter database archivelog;
SQLPLUS> archive log start;
SQLPLUS> alter database open;
NOTE1: Remember to take a baseline database backup right after enabling archivelog mode.
Without it one would not be able to recover. Also, implement an archivelog backup to prevent
the archive log directory from filling-up.
NOTE2: ARCHIVELOG mode was introduced with Oracle V6, and is essential for database point-in-
time recovery. Archiving can be used in combination with on-line and off-line database backups.
NOTE3: You may want to set the following INIT.ORA parameters when enabling ARCHIVELOG
mode: log_archive_start=TRUE, log_archive_dest=... and log_archive_format=...
NOTE4: You can change the archive log destination of a database on-line with the ARCHIVE
LOG START TO ‘directory’; statement. This statement is often used to switch archiving between
a set of directories.
NOTE5: When running Oracle Real Application Server (RAC), you need to shut down all nodes
before changing the database to ARCHIVELOG mode.
How does one backup archived log files?
One can backup archived log files using RMAN or any operating system backup utility. Remember to
delete files after backing them up to prevent the archive log directory from filling up. If the archive log
directory becomes full, your database will hang! Look at this simple RMAN backup script:
RMAN> run {
2> allocate channel dev1 type
disk; 3> backup
4> format ‘/app/oracle/arch_backup/log_t%t_s%s_p%p’
5> (archivelog all delete input);
6> release channel
dev1; 7> }
Does Oracle write to data files in begin/hot backup mode?
Oracle will stop updating file headers, but will continue to write data to the database files even if
a tablespace is in backup mode.
In backup mode, Oracle will write out complete changed blocks to the redo log files. Normally only deltas
(changes) are logged to the redo logs. This is done to enable reconstruction of a block if only half of it
was backed up (split blocks). Because of this, one should notice increased log activity and archiving
during on-line backups.
My database was terminated while in BACKUP MODE, do I need to recover?
If a database was terminated while one of its tablespaces was in BACKUP MODE (ALTER
TABLESPACE xyz BEGIN BACKUP;), it will tell you that media recovery is required when you
try to restart the database. The DBA is then required to recover the database and apply all
archived logs to the database. However, from Oracle7.2, you can simply take the individual
datafiles out of backup mode and restart the database.
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE ‘/path/filename’ END BACKUP;
One can select from V$BACKUP to see which datafiles are in backup mode. This normally
saves a significant amount of database down time.
Thiru Vadivelu contributed the following:
From Oracle9i onwards, the following command can be used to take all of the datafiles out of
hot backup mode:
ALTER DATABASE END BACKUP;
The above commands need to be issued when the database is mounted.
My database is down and I cannot restore. What now?
Recovery without any backup is normally not supported, however, Oracle Consulting can sometimes
extract data from an offline database using a utility called DUL (Disk UnLoad). This utility reads data in
the data files and unloads it into SQL*Loader or export dump files. DUL does not care about rollback
segments, corrupted blocks, etc, and can thus not guarantee that the data is not logically corrupt. It is
intended as an absolute last resort and will most likely cost your company a lot of money!!!
I’ve lost my REDOLOG files, how can I get my DB back?
The following INIT.ORA parameter may be required if your current redo logs are corrupted or blown away.
Caution is advised when enabling this parameter as you might end-up losing your entire database.
Please contact Oracle Support before using it.
_allow_resetlogs_corruption = true

I’ve lost some Rollback Segments, how can I get my DB back?

Re-start your database with the following INIT.ORA parameter if one of your rollback segments
is corrupted. You can then drop the corrupted rollback segments and create it from scratch.
Caution is advised when enabling this parameter, as uncommitted transactions will be marked as
 committed. One can very well end up with lost or inconsistent data!!! Please contact Oracle
Support before using it.
_Corrupted_rollback_segments = (rbs01, rbs01, rbs03, rbs04)

What are the differences between EBU and RMAN?

Enterprise Backup Utility (EBU) is a functionally rich, high performance interface for backing up
Oracle7 databases. It is sometimes referred to as OEBU for Oracle Enterprise Backup Utility.
The Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) utility that ships with Oracle8 and above is similar to
Oracle7’s EBU utility. However, there is no direct upgrade path from EBU to RMAN.
How does one create a RMAN recovery catalog?
Start by creating a database schema (usually called rman). Assign an appropriate
tablespace to it and grant it the recovery_catalog_owner role. Look at this example:
sqlplus sys
SQL> create user rman identified by rman;
SQL> alter user rman default tablespace tools temporary tablespace temp;
SQL> alter user rman quota unlimited on tools;
SQL> grant connect, resource, recovery_catalog_owner to rman;
SQL> exit;
Next, log in to rman and create the catalog schema. Prior to Oracle 8i this was done by
running the catrman.sql script.
rman catalog rman/rman
RMAN> create catalog tablespace tools;
RMAN> exit;
You can now continue by registering your databases in the catalog. Look at this
example: rman catalog rman/rman target backdba/backdba
RMAN> register database;

What are the common RMAN errors (with solutions)?

Some of the common RMAN errors are:
RMAN-20242: Specification does not match any archivelog in the recovery catalog.
Add to RMAN script: sql ‘alter system archive log current’;
RMAN -06089: archived log xyz not found or out of sync with
catalog Execute from RMAN: change archivelog all validate;
What third party tools can be used with Oracle EBU/ RMAN?
The following Media Management Software Vendors have integrated their media management software
packages with Oracle Recovery Manager and Oracle7 Enterprise Backup Utility. The Media Management
Vendors will provide first line technical support for the integrated backup/recover solutions.
Veritas NetBackup
EMC Data Manager
(EDM) HP OMNIBack II
IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager - formerly
ADSM Legato Networker
ManageIT Backup and Recovery
Sterling Software’s SAMS:Alexandria - formerly from
Spectralogic Sun Solstice Backup
.
Books on Oracle Backup and Recovery?
· Oracle Backup and Recovery Handbook (Rama Velpuri, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing)
Kevin Loney’s New DBA FAQs: Part 1 - Backup Strategy
 Oracle Monitoring and Performance Tuning
Why and when should one tune?
One of the biggest responsibilities of a DBA is to ensure that the Oracle database is tuned
properly. The Oracle RDBMS is highly tunable and allows the database to be monitored and
adjusted to increase its performance.
One should do performance tuning for the following reasons:
The speed of computing might be wasting valuable human time (users waiting for
response); Enable your system to keep-up with the speed business is conducted; and
Optimize hardware usage to save money (companies are spending millions on hardware).
Although this FAQ is not overly concerned with hardware issues, one needs to remember than
you cannot tune a Buick into a Ferrari.
What database aspects should be monitored?
One should implement a monitoring system to constantly monitor the following aspects of a
database. Writing custom scripts, implementing Oracle’s Enterprise Manager, or buying a third-
party monitoring product can achieve this. If an alarm is triggered, the system should
automatically notify the DBA (e-mail, page, etc.) to take appropriate action.
Infrastructure availability:
· Is the database up and responding to requests
· Are the listeners up and responding to requests
· Are the Oracle Names and LDAP Servers up and responding to requests
· Are the Web Listeners up and responding to requests
Things that can cause service outages:
· Is the archive log destination filling up?
· Objects getting close to their max extents
· Tablespaces running low on free space/ Objects what would not be able to extend
· User and process limits reached
Things that can cause bad performance:
See question “ What tuning indicators can one use?”.
Where should the tuning effort be directed?
Consider the following areas for tuning. The order in which steps are listed needs to be maintained to
prevent tuning side effects. For example, it is no good increasing the buffer cache if you can reduce I/O
by rewriting a SQL statement.
Database Design (if it’s not too late):
Poor system performance usually results from a poor database design. One should generally normalize
to the 3NF. Selective denormalization can provide valuable performance improvements. When designing,
always keep the “data access path” in mind. Also look at proper data partitioning, data replication,
aggregation tables for decision support systems, etc.
Application Tuning:
Experience showed that approximately 80% of all Oracle system performance problems are resolved by
coding optimal SQL. Also consider proper scheduling of batch tasks after peak working hours.
Memory Tuning:
Properly size your database buffers (shared pool, buffer cache, log buffer, etc) by looking at
your buffer hit ratios. Pin large objects into memory to prevent frequent reloads.
Disk I/O Tuning:
Database files needs to be properly sized and placed to provide maximum disk subsystem throughput.
Also look for frequent disk sorts, full table scans, missing indexes, row chaining, data fragmentation, etc.
 Eliminate Database Contention:
Study database locks, latches and wait events carefully and eliminate where possible.
Tune the Operating System:
Monitor and tune operating system CPU, I/O and memory utilization. For more information, read
the related Oracle FAQ dealing with your specific operating system.
What tuning indicators can one use?
The following high-level tuning indicators can be used to establish if a database is performing
optimally or not:
· Buffer Cache Hit Ratio
Formula: Hit Ratio = (Logical Reads - Physical Reads) / Logical Reads
Action: Increase DB_CACHE_SIZE (DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS prior to 9i) to increase hit ratio
· Library Cache Hit Ratio
Action: Increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE to increase hit ratio
What tools/utilities does Oracle provide to assist with performance tuning?
Oracle provide the following tools/ utilities to assist with performance monitoring and tuning:
· TKProf
· UTLBSTAT.SQL and UTLESTAT.SQL - Begin and end stats monitoring
· Statspack
· Oracle Enterprise Manager - Tuning Pack

What is STATSPACK and how does one use it?

Statspack is a set of performance monitoring and reporting utilities provided by Oracle from
Oracle8i and above. Statspack provides improved BSTAT/ESTAT functionality, though the old
BSTAT/ESTAT scripts are still available. For more information about STATSPACK, read the
documentation in file $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/spdoc.txt.
Install Statspack:
cd $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
sqlplus “/ as sysdba” @spdrop.sql -- Install Statspack -
sqlplus “/ as sysdba” @spcreate.sql-- Enter tablespace names when prompted
Use Statspack:
sqlplus perfstat/perfstat
exec statspack.snap; -- Take a performance snapshots exec
statspack.snap;
• Get a list of snapshots
select SNAP_ID, SNAP_TIME from STATS$SNAPSHOT;
@spreport.sql -- Enter two snapshot id’s for difference report
Other Statspack Scripts:
· sppurge.sql - Purge a range of Snapshot Id’s between the specified begin and end Snap Id’s
· spauto.sql - Schedule a dbms_job to automate the collection of STATPACK statistics
· spcreate.sql - Installs the STATSPACK user, tables and package on a database (Run as SYS).
· spdrop.sql - Deinstall STATSPACK from database (Run as SYS)
· sppurge.sql - Delete a range of Snapshot Id’s from the database
· spreport.sql - Report on differences between values recorded in two snapshots
· sptrunc.sql - Truncates all data in Statspack tables
When is cost based optimization triggered?
It’s important to have statistics on all tables for the CBO (Cost Based Optimizer) to work
correctly. If one table involved in a statement does not have statistics, Oracle has to revert to
rule-based optimization for that statement. So you really want for all tables to have statistics
right away; it won’t help much to just have the larger tables analyzed.
Generally, the CBO can change the execution plan when you:
1. Change statistics of objects by doing an ANALYZE;
2. Change some initialization parameters (for example: hash_join_enabled,
sort_area_size, db_file_multiblock_read_count).
 How can one optimize %XYZ% queries?
It is possible to improve %XYZ% queries by forcing the optimizer to scan all the entries from the
index instead of the table. This can be done by specifying hints.
If the index is physically smaller than the table (which is usually the case) it will take less time to
scan the entire index than to scan the entire table.
Where can one find I/O statistics per table?
The UTLESTAT report shows I/O per tablespace but one cannot see what tables in the
tablespace has the most I/O.
The $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/catio.sql script creates a sample_io procedure and table
to gather the required information. After executing the procedure, one can do a simple SELECT
* FROM io_per_object; to extract the required information.
For more details, look at the header comments in the $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/catio.sql script.

My query was fine last week and now it is slow. Why?

The likely cause of this is because the execution plan has changed. Generate a current explain
plan of the offending query and compare it to a previous one that was taken when the query
was performing well. Usually the previous plan is not available.
Some factors that can cause a plan to change are:
· Which tables are currently analyzed? Were they previously analyzed? (ie. Was the query
using RBO and now CBO?)
· Has OPTIMIZER_MODE been changed in INIT.ORA?
· Has the DEGREE of parallelism been defined/changed on any table?
· Have the tables been re-analyzed? Were the tables analyzed using estimate or
compute? If estimate, what percentage was used?
· Have the statistics changed?
· Has the INIT.ORA parameter DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT been changed?
· Has the INIT.ORA parameter SORT_AREA_SIZE been changed?
· Have any other INIT.ORA parameters been changed?
· What do you think the plan should be? Run the query with hints to see if this produces the
required performance.
Why is Oracle not using the damn index?
This problem normally only arises when the query plan is being generated by the Cost Based
Optimizer. The usual cause is because the CBO calculates that executing a Full Table Scan would
be faster than accessing the table via the index. Fundamental things that can be checked are:
· USER_TAB_COLUMNS.NUM_DISTINCT - This column defines the number of distinct values
the column holds.
· USER_TABLES.NUM_ROWS - If NUM_DISTINCT = NUM_ROWS then using an index would be
preferable to doing a FULL TABLE SCAN. As the NUM_DISTINCT decreases, the cost of using
an index increase thereby is making the index less desirable.
· USER_INDEXES.CLUSTERING_FACTOR - This defines how ordered the rows are in the index. If
CLUSTERING_FACTOR approaches the number of blocks in the table, the rows
are ordered. If it approaches the number of rows in the table, the rows are randomly
ordered. In such a case, it is unlikely that index entries in the same leaf block will point
to rows in the same data blocks.
· Decrease the INIT.ORA parameter DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT - A higher
value will make the cost of a FULL TABLE SCAN cheaper.
· Remember that you MUST supply the leading column of an index, for the index to be used
(unless you use a FAST FULL SCAN or SKIP SCANNING).
· There are many other factors that affect the cost, but sometimes the above can help to show why an
index is not being used by the CBO. If from checking the above you still feel that the query should be
using an index, try specifying an index hint. Obtain an explain plan of the query either using TKPROF with
TIMED_STATISTICS, so that one can see the CPU utilization, or with AUTOTRACE to see the statistics.
Compare this to the explain plan when not using an index.
When should one rebuild an index?
You can run the ‘ANALYZE INDEX VALIDATE STRUCTURE’ command on the affected indexes - each
invocation of this command creates a single row in the INDEX_STATS view. This row is overwritten by the
next ANALYZE INDEX command, so copy the contents of the view into a local table after each ANALYZE.
The ‘badness’ of the index can then be judged by the ratio of ‘DEL_LF_ROWS’
to ‘LF_ROWS’.
How does one tune Oracle Wait events?
Some wait events from V$SESSION_WAIT and V$SYSTEM_EVENT views:
Event Name: Tuning Recommendation:
db file sequential Tune SQL to do less I/O. Make sure all objects are analyzed. Redistribute I/O across
read disks.
Increase DB_CACHE_SIZE (DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS prior to 9i)/ Analyze
buffer busy waits contention from SYS.V$BH
log buffer space Increase LOG_BUFFER parameter or move log files to faster disks

What is the difference between DBFile Sequential and Scattered Reads?

Both “db file sequential read” and “db file scattered read” events signify time waited for I/O read requests
to complete. Time is reported in 100’s of a second for Oracle 8i releases and below, and 1000’s of a
second for Oracle 9i and above. Most people confuse these events with each other as they think of how
data is read from disk. Instead they should think of how data is read into the SGA
buffer cache. db file sequential read:
A sequential read operation reads data into contiguous memory (usually a single-block read
with p3=1, but can be multiple blocks). Single block I/Os are usually the result of using indexes.
This event is also used for rebuilding the controlfile and reading datafile headers (P2=1). In
general, this event is indicative of disk contention on index reads.
db file scattered read:
Similar to db file sequential reads, except that the session is reading multiple data blocks and
scatters them into different discontinuous buffers in the SGA. This statistic is NORMALLY indicating
disk contention on full table scans. Rarely, data from full table scans could be fitted into a contiguous
buffer area, these waits would then show up as sequential reads instead of scattered reads.
The following query shows average wait time for sequential versus scattered reads:
prompt “AVERAGE WAIT TIME FOR READ REQUESTS”
select a.average_wait “SEQ READ”, b.average_wait “SCAT READ”
from sys.v_$system_event a, sys.v_$system_event b
where a.event = ‘db file sequential read’
and b.event = ‘db file scattered read’;
 DBA Tasks, Responsibilities and Skills Required
DBA Responsibilities:
The job of the DBA seems to be everything that everyone else either doesn’t want to do, or doesn’t have
the ability to do. DBAs get the enviable task of figuring out all of the things no one else can figure out.
More seriously though, here is a list of typical DBA responsibilities:
· Installation, configuration and upgrading of Oracle server software and related products
· Evaluate Oracle features and Oracle related products
· Establish and maintain sound backup and recovery policies and procedures
· Take care of the Database design and implementation
· Implement and maintain database security (create and maintain users and roles, assign privileges)
· Perform database tuning and performance monitoring
· Perform application tuning and performance monitoring
· Setup and maintain documentation and standards
· Plan growth and changes (capacity planning)
· Work as part of a team and provide 7x24 support when required
· Perform general technical trouble shooting and give consultation to development teams
· Interface with Oracle Corporation for technical support.

Required Skills:
· Good understanding of the Oracle database, related utilities and tools
· A good understanding of the underlying operating system
· A good knowledge of the physical database design
· Ability to perform both Oracle and operating system performance tuning and monitoring
· Knowledge of ALL Oracle backup and recovery scenarios
· A good knowledge of Oracle security management
· A good knowledge of how Oracle acquires and manages resources
· A good knowledge Oracle data integrity
· Sound knowledge of the implemented application systems
· Experience in code migration, database change management and data management through
the various stages of the development life cycle
· A sound knowledge of both database and system performance tuning
· A DBA should have sound communication skills with management, development teams,
vendors and systems administrators
· Provide a strategic database direction for the organisation
· A DBA should have the ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines
· A DBA should possess a sound understanding of the business

Interview Questions
· Tell us about yourself/ your background.
· What are the three major characteristics that you bring to the job market?
· What motivates you to do a good job?
· What two or three things are most important to you at work?
· What qualities do you think are essential to be successful in this kind of work?
· What courses did you attend? What job certifications do you hold?
· What subjects/courses did you excel in? Why?
· What subjects/courses gave you trouble? Why?
· How does your previous work experience prepare you for this position?

· How do you define ‘success’?

· What has been your most significant accomplishment to date?
· Describe a challenge you encountered and how you dealt with it.
· Describe a failure and how you dealt with it.
· Describe the ‘ideal’ job... the ‘ideal’ supervisor.
· What leadership roles have you held?
· What prejudices do you hold?
· What do you like to do in your spare time?
· What are your career goals (a) 3 years from now; (b) 10 years from now?
· How does this position match your career goals?
· What have you done in the past year to improve yourself?
· In what areas do you feel you need further education and training to be successful?
· What do you know about our company?
· Why do you want to work for this company. Why should we hire you?
· Where do you see yourself fitting in to this organization . . .initially? . . .in 5 years?
· Why are you looking for a new job?
· How do you feel about re-locating?
· Are you willing to travel?
· What are your salary requirements?
· When would you be available to start if you were selected?
· Did you use online or off-line backups?
· What version of Oracle were you running?
· Haw many databases and what sizes?
· If you have to advise a backup strategy for a new application, how would you approach it
and what questions will you ask?
· If a customer calls you about a hanging database session, what will you do to resolve it?
· Compare Oracle to any other database that you know. Why would you prefer to work on one
and not on the other?

Oracle Database Internals

What is the difference between locks, latches, enqueues and semaphores?
are always exclusive. Latches are never queued,
A latch is an internal Oracle mechanism used to
but will spin or
protect data structures in the SGA from
simultaneous access. Atomic hardware instructions
like TEST-AND-SET is used to implement latches.
Latches are more restrictive than locks in that they
 sleep until they obtain a resource, or time out.
Enqueues and locks are different names for the same thing. Both support queuing and
concurrency. They are queued and serviced in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) order.
Semaphores are an operating system facility used to control waiting. Semaphores are controlled by the
following Unix parameters: semmni, semmns and semmsl. Typical settings are:
semmns = sum of the “processes” parameter for each instance
(see init<instance>.ora for each instance)
semmni = number of instances running simultaneously;
semmsl = semmns
Where can one get a list of all hidden Oracle parameters?
Oracle initialization or INIT.ORA parameters with an underscore in front are hidden or
unsupported parameters. One can get a list of all hidden parameters by executing this query:
select *
from SYS.X$KSPPI
where substr(KSPPINM,1,1) = ‘_’;
The following query displays parameter names with their current value:
select a.ksppinm “Parameter”, b.ksppstvl “Session Value”, c.ksppstvl
“Instance Value”
from x$ksppi a, x$ksppcv b, x$ksppsv c
where a.indx = b.indx and a.indx = c.indx
and substr(ksppinm,1,1)=’_’
order by a.ksppinm;
Remember: Thou shall not play with undocumented parameters!

What is a database EVENT and how does one set it?

Oracle trace events are useful for debugging the Oracle database server. The following two
examples are simply to demonstrate syntax. Refer to later notes on this page for an explanation
of what these particular events do.
Either adding them to the INIT.ORA parameter file can activate
events. E.g. event=’1401 trace name errorstack, level 12’
... or, by issuing an ALTER SESSION SET EVENTS command: E.g.
alter session set events ‘10046 trace name context forever, level 4’;
The alter session method only affects the user’s current session, whereas changes to
the INIT.ORA file will affect all sessions once the database has been restarted.
What database events can be set?
The following events are frequently used by DBAs and Oracle Support to diagnose problems:
· 10046 trace name context forever, level 4
Trace SQL statements and show bind variables in trace output.
· 10046 trace name context forever, level 8
This shows wait events in the SQL trace files
· 10046 trace name context forever, level 12
This shows both bind variable names and wait events in the SQL trace files
· 1401 trace name errorstack, level 12
1401 trace name errorstack, level 4
1401 trace name processstate

Dumps out trace information if an ORA-1401 “inserted value too large for column” error occurs.
The 1401 can be replaced by any other Oracle Server error code that you want to trace.
· 60 trace name errorstack level 10
Show where in the code Oracle gets a deadlock (ORA-60), and may help to diagnose the problem .
The following lists of events are examples only. They might be version specific, so
please call Oracle before using them:
· 10210 trace name context forever, level 10
10211 trace name context forever, level 10
10231 trace name context forever, level 10
 These events prevent database block corruptions
· 10049 trace name context forever,
level 2 Memory protect cursor
· 10210 trace name context forever,
level 2 Data block check
· 10211 trace name context forever,
level 2 Index block check
· 10235 trace name context forever,
level 1 Memory heap check
· 10262 trace name context forever, level
300 Allow 300 bytes memory leak for connections
Note: You can use the Unix oerr command to get the description of an event. On Unix, you can
type “oerr ora 10053” from the command prompt to get event details.
How can one dump internal database structures?
The following (mostly undocumented) commands can be used to obtain information about
internal database structures.
• Dump control file contents
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name CONTROLF level 10’
/
• Dump file headers
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name FILE_HDRS level 10’
/
• Dump redo log headers
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name REDOHDR level 10’
/
• Dump the system state
NOTE: Take 3 successive SYSTEMSTATE dumps, with 10-minute intervals
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name SYSTEMSTATE level 10’
/
• Dump the process state
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name PROCESSSTATE level 10’
/
• Dump Library Cache details
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name library cache level 10’
/
• Dump optimizer statistics whenever a SQL statement is parsed (hint: change statement or flush
pool)
alter session set events ‘10053 trace name context forever, level 1’
/
• Dump a database block (File/ Block must be converted to DBA address)
Convert file and block number to a DBA (database block
address). Eg: variable x varchar2;
exec :x :=
dbms_utility.make_data_block_address(1,12); print x
alter session set events ‘immediate trace name blockdump level 50360894’
/

How does one use ORADEBUG from Server Manager/ SQL*Plus?

Execute the “ORADEBUG HELP” command from svrmgrl or sqlplus to obtain a list of valid
ORADEBUG commands. Look at these examples:
SQLPLUS> REM Trace SQL statements with bind variables
SQLPLUS> oradebug setospid 10121
Oracle pid: 91, Unix process pid: 10121, image: oracleorcl
SQLPLUS> oradebug EVENT 10046 trace name context forever, level 12
Statement processed.
SQLPLUS> ! vi /app/oracle/admin/orcl/bdump/ora_10121.trc
SQLPLUS> REM Trace Process Statistics
SQLPLUS> oradebug setorapid 2
Unix process pid: 1436, image: ora_pmon_orcl
SQLPLUS> oradebug procstat
Statement processed.
SQLPLUS> oradebug TRACEFILE_NAME
/app/oracle/admin/orcl/bdump/pmon_1436.trc
SQLPLUS> REM List semaphores and shared memory segments in use
SQLPLUS> oradebug ipc SQLPLUS>
REM Dump Error Stack
SQLPLUS> oradebug setospid <pid>
SQLPLUS> oradebug event immediate trace name errorstack level 3
SQLPLUS> REM Dump Parallel Server DLM locks
SQLPLUS> oradebug lkdebug -a convlock
SQLPLUS> oradebug lkdebug -a convres
SQLPLUS> oradebug lkdebug -r <resource handle> (i.e 0x8066d338 from convres
dump)
Are there any undocumented commands in Oracle?
Sure there are, but it is hard to find them. Look at these examples:
From Server Manager (Oracle7.3 and above): ORADEBUG HELP
It looks like one can change memory locations with the ORADEBUG POKE command. Anyone
brave enough to test this one for us?
Previously this functionality was available with ORADBX (ls -l
$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/lib/oradbx.o; make -f oracle.mk oradbx)
SQL*Plus: ALTER SESSION SET CURRENT_SCHEMA = SYS;
What is in all those X$ tables?
The following list attempts to describe some x$ tables. The list may not be complete or accurate, but
represents an attempt to figure out what information they contain. One should generally not write queries
against these tables as they are internal to Oracle, and Oracle may change them without any prior
notification.

X$K2GTE2 Kernel 2 Phase Commit Global Transaction Entry Fixed Table

X$K2GTE Kernel 2 Phase Commit Global Transaction Entry Fixed Table
Buffer headers contain information describing the current contents of a
X$BH
piece of the buffer cache.
Cache Buffer Current Buffer Header Fixed Table. It can predict the
potential loss of decreasing the number of database buffers. The
X$KCBCBH db_block_lru_statistics parameter has to be set to true to gather information
in this table.
X$KCVFH File Header Fixed Table
X$KDNCE SGA Cache Entry Fixed Table
X$KDNST Sequence Cache Statistics Fixed Table
X$KDXHS Histogram structure Fixed Table
X$KDXST Statistics collection Fixed Table
X$KGHLU One-row summary of LRU statistics for the shared pool
X$KGLBODY Derived from X$KGLOB (col kglhdnsp = 2)
X$KGLCLUSTER Derived from X$KGLOB (col kglhdnsp = 5)
X$KGLINDEX Derived from X$KGLOB (col kglhdnsp = 4)
X$KGLLC Latch Clean-up state for library cache objects Fixed Table
X$KGLPN Library cache pin Fixed Table
X$KGLTABLE Derived from X$KGLOB (col kglhdnsp = 1)
X$KGLTR Library Cache Translation Table entry Fixed Table
 X$KGLTRIGGER Derived from X$KGLOB (col kglhdnsp = 3)
X$KGLXS
X$KKMMD Library Cache Access Table
X$KKSBV Fixed table to look at what databases are mounted and their status
X$KSMSP Cursor Cache Bind Variables
X$KSQDN Each row represents a piece of memory in the shared pool
X$KSQST Global database name
X$KSUCF Enqueue statistics by type
X$KSUPL Cost function for each Kernel Profile (join to X$KSUPL)
X$KSURU Resource Limit for each Kernel Profile
X$KSQST Resource Usage for each Kernel Profile (join with X$KSUPL)
X$KTTVS Gets and waits for different types of enqueues
X$KVII Indicate tablespace that has valid save undo segments
X$KVIS Internal instance parameters set at instance
initialization Oracle Data Block (size_t type) variables
X$KVIT
Instance internal flags, variables and parameters that can change
X$KXFPCDS during the life of an instance
X$KXFPCMS Client Dequeue Statistics
X$KZDOS Client Messages Statistics
X$KZSRO Represent an os role as defined by the operating system
Security state Role: List of enabled roles
X$LE
Lock Element: each PCM lock that is used by the buffer cache
(gc_db_locks)
X$MESSAGES
Displays all the different messages that can be sent to the
X$NLS_PARAMETE Background processes
RS
NLS database parameters
kviival s
write_batch_siz t
Handy e
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e
‘kcbswc’;
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given $ Listed below are some of the important
time: k subsystems in the Oracle kernel. This table
sele s
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you see
message K
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c Kernel Subsystems:
k
:
 OPI Oracle Program Interface
KK Compilation Layer - Parse SQL, compile PL/SQL
KX Execution Layer - Bind and execute SQL and PL/SQL
K2 Distributed Execution Layer - 2PC handling
NPI Network Program Interface
KZ Security Layer - Validate privs
KQ Query Layer
RPI Recursive Program Interface
KA Access Layer
KD Data Layer
KT Transaction Layer
KC Cache Layer
KS Services Layer
KJ Lock Manager Layer
KG Generic Layer
KV Kernel Variables (eg. x$KVIS and X$KVII)
S or ODS Operating System Dependencies

Oracle Security
How does one change an Oracle user’s password?
Issue the following SQL command:
ALTER USER <username> IDENTIFIED BY <new_password>;
From Oracle8 you can just type “password” from SQL*Plus, or if you need to change another
user’s
password, type “password user_name”. Look at this example:
SQL> password
Changing password for
SCOTT Old password:
New password:
Retype new
password:
How does one create and drop database users?
Look at these examples:
CREATE USER scott
IDENTIFIED BY tiger -- Assign password
DEFAULT TABLESACE tools -- Assign space for table and
index segments
TEMPORARY TABLESPACE temp; -- Assign sort space
DROP USER scott CASCADE; -- Remove user
After creating a new user, assign the required privileges:
GRANT CONNECT, RESOURCE TO scott;
GRANT DBA TO scott; -- Make user a DB Administrator
Remember to give the user some space quota on its tablespaces:
ALTER USER scott QUOTA UNLIMITED ON tools;
How does one manage Oracle database users?
Oracle user accounts can be locked, unlocked, forced to choose new passwords, etc. For example,
all accounts except SYS and SYSTEM will be locked after creating an Oracle9iDB database using
the DB Configuration Assistant (dbca). DBA’s must unlock these accounts to make them available to
users.
Look at these examples:
ALTER USER scott ACCOUNT LOCK -- lock a
user account
 ALTER USER scott ACCOUNT UNLOCK; -- unlocks a locked users account
ALTER USER scott PASSWORD EXPIRE; -- Force user to choose a new password

How does one enforce strict password control?

By default Oracle’s security is not extremely good. For example, Oracle will allow users to choose
single character passwords and passwords that match their names and userids. Also, passwords
don’t ever expire. This means that one can hack an account for years without ever locking the user.
From Oracle8 one can manage passwords through profiles. Some of the things that one can restrict:
· FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS - failed login attempts before the account is locked
· PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME - limits the number of days the same password can be used
for authentication
· PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME - number of days before a password can be reused
· PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX - number of password changes required before the current
password can be reused
· PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME - number of days an account will be locked after maximum failed
login attempts
· PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME - number of days after the grace period begins during which a
warning is issued and login is allowed
· PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION - password complexity verification script
Look at this simple example:
CREATE PROFILE my_profile LIMIT
PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME 30;
ALTER USER scott PROFILE my_profile;

What is an administrative (privileged) user?

Oracle DBAs and operators typically use administrative accounts to manage the database and database
instance. An administrative account is a user that is granted SYSOPER or SYSDBA privileges. SYSDBA
and SYSOPER allow access to a database instance even if it is not running. Control of these privileges is
managed outside of the database via password files and special operating system groups. This password
file is created with the orapwd utility.

How does one connect to an administrative user?

If an administrative user belongs to the “dba” group on Unix, or the “ORA_DBA”
(ORA_sid_DBA) group on NT, he/she can connect like this:
connect / as sysdba
No password is required. This is equivalent to the desupported “connect internal” method.
A password is required for “non-secure” administrative access. These passwords are stored in password
files. Remote connections via Net8 are classified as non-secure. Look at this
example: connect sys/password as sysdba

How does one create a password file?

The Oracle Password File ($ORACLE_ HOME/dbs/orapw or orapwSID) stores passwords for
users with administrative privileges. One needs to create a password files before remote
administrators (like OEM) will be allowed to connect.
Follow this procedure to create a new password file:
· Log in as the Oracle software owner
· Runcommand: orapwd file=$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapw$ORACLE_SID password=mypasswd
· Shutdown the database (SQLPLUS> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE)
· Edit the INIT.ORA file and ensure REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE=exclusive is set.
· Startup the database (SQLPLUS> STARTUP)
NOTE: The orapwd utility presents a security risk in that it receives a password from the command line.
This password is visible in the process table of many systems. Administrators needs to be aware of this!
How does one add users to a password file?
can be added to the password file by granting
One can select from the
them SYSDBA or SYSOPER privileges, or by
SYS.V_$PWFILE_USERS view to see which
using the orapwd utility.
users are listed in the password file. New users
GRANT SYSDBA TO scott;

How does one switch to another user in Oracle?

Users normally use the “connect” statement to connect from one database user to another. However,
DBAs can switch from one user to another without a password. Of course it is not advisable to bridge
Oracle’s security, but look at this example:
SQL> select password from dba_users where username=’SCOTT’;
PASSWORD
F894844C34402B67

SQL> alter user scott identified by lion;

User altered.
SQL> connect scott/lion
Connected.
REM Do whatever you like...
SQL> connect system/manager
Connected.
SQL> alter user scott identified by values ‘F894844C34402B67’;
User altered.
SQL> connect scott/tiger
Connected.
Note: Also see the su.sql script in the Useful Scripts and Sample Programs Page.
Why are OPS$ accounts a security risk in a client/server environment?
If you allow people to log in with OPS$ accounts from Windows Workstations, you cannot be
sure who they really are. With terminals, you can rely on operating system passwords, with
Windows, you cannot. If you set REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT=TRUE in your init.ora file, Oracle
assumes that the remote OS has authenticated the user.
If REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT is set to FALSE (recommended), remote users will be unable to
connect without a password. IDENTIFIED EXTERNALLY will only be in effect from the local
host. Also, if you are using “OPS$” as your prefix, you will be able to log on locally with or
without a password, regardless of whether you have identified your ID with a password or
defined it to be IDENTIFIED EXTERNALLY.
Who created all these users in my database?/ Can I drop this user?
Oracle creates a number of default database users or schemas when a new database is created. Below are
a few of them:
SYS/CHANGE_ON_INSTALL or INTERNAL
Oracle Data Dictionary/ Catalog
Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/sql.bsq and various cat*.sql scripts
Can password be changed: Yes (Do so right after the database was
created) Can user be dropped: NO
SYSTEM/MANAGER
The default DBA user name (please do not use
SYS) Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/sql.bsq
Can password be changed: Yes (Do so right after the database was
created) Can user be dropped: NO

OUTLN/OUTLN
Stored outlines for optimizer plan stability
Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/sql.bsq
Can password be changed: Yes (Do so right after the database was
created) Can user be dropped: NO
SCOTT/TIGER, ADAMS/WOOD, JONES/STEEL, CLARK/CLOTH and BLAKE/PAPER.
Training/ demonstration users containing the popular EMP and
DEPT tables Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/utlsampl.sql
Can password be changed: Yes
Can user be dropped: YES - Drop users cascade from all production environments
HR/HR (Human Resources), OE/OE (Order Entry), SH/SH (Sales History).
 Training/ demonstration users containing the popular EMPLOYEES and
DEPARTMENTS tables Created by: ?/demo/schema/mksample.sql
Can password be changed: Yes
Can user be dropped: YES - Drop users cascade from all production environments
CTXSYS/CTXSYS
Oracle interMedia (ConText Cartridge) administrator
user Created by: ?/ctx/admin/dr0csys.sql
TRACESVR/TRACE
Oracle Trace server
Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/otrcsvr.sql
DBSNMP/DBSNMP
Oracle Intelligent agent
Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/catsnmp.sql, called from catalog.sql
Can password be changed: Yes - put the new password in snmp_rw.ora file
Can user be dropped: YES - Only if you do not use the Intelligent Agents
ORDPLUGINS/ORDPLUGINS
Object Relational Data (ORD) User used by Time
Series, etc. Created by: ?/ord/admin/ordinst.sql
ORDSYS/ORDSYS
Object Relational Data (ORD) User used by Time
Series, etc Created by: ?/ord/admin/ordinst.sql
DSSYS/DSSYS
Oracle Dynamic Services and Syndication
Server Created by: ?/ds/sql/dssys_init.sql
MDSYS/MDSYS
Oracle Spatial administrator user
Created by: ?/ord/admin/ordinst.sql
AURORA$ORB$UNAUTHENTICATED/INVALID
Used for users who do not authenticate in Aurora/ORB
Created by: ?/javavm/install/init_orb.sql called from ?/javavm/install/initjvm.sql
PERFSTAT/PERFSTAT
Oracle Statistics Package (STATSPACK) that supersedes
UTLBSTAT/UTLESTAT Created by: ?/rdbms/admin/statscre.sql
Remember to change the passwords for the SYS and SYSTEM users immediately after
installation! Except for the user SYS, there should be no problem altering these users to use a
different default and temporary tablespace.
What is Fine Grained Auditing?
Fine Grained Auditing (DBMS_FGA) allows auditing records to be generated when certain rows are selected from a
table. A list of defined policies can be obtained from DBA_AUDIT_POLICIES. Audit records are stored in
DBA_FGA_AUDIT_TRAIL. Look at this example:
• Add policy on table with autiting condition...
execute dbms_fga.add_policy(‘HR’, ‘EMP’, ‘policy1’, ‘deptno > 10’);
• Must ANALYZE, this feature works with CBO (Cost Based Optimizer)
analyze table EMP compute statistics;
select * from EMP where c1 = 11; -- Will trigger auditing
select * from EMP where c1 = 09; -- No auditing
• Now we can see the statments that triggered the auditing condition...
select sqltext from sys.fga_log$;
delete from sys.fga_log$;
What is Fine Grained Access Control?
See question “What is a Virtual Private Database”.
What is a Virtual Private Database?
Oracle 8i introduced the notion of a Virtual Private Database (VPD). A VPD offers Fine-Grained
Access Control (FGAC) for secure separation of data. This ensures that users only have access
to data that pertains to them. Using this option, one could even store multiple companies’ data
within the same schema, without them knowing about it.
VPD configuration is done via the DBMS_RLS (Row Level Security) package. Select from
SYS.V$VPD_POLICY to see existing VPD configuration.
 What is Oracle Label Security?
Oracle Label Security (formerly called Trusted Oracle MLS RDBMS) uses the VPD (Virtual Private
Database) feature of Oracle8i to implement row level security. Access to rows are restricted according to
a user’s security sensitivity tag or label. Oracle Label Security is configured, controlled and managed
from the Policy Manager, an Enterprise Manager-based GUI utility.

RMAN

WHAT IS RMAN ?
Recovery Manager is a tool that: manages the process of creating backups
and also manages the process of restoring and recovering from them .

WHY USE RMAN ?

· No extra costs …Its available free
· RMAN introduced in Oracle 8 it has become simpler with newer versions and easier than user
managed backups
· Proper security
· You are 100% sure your database has been backed up.
· Its contains detail of the backups taken etc in its central repository
· Facility for testing validity of backups also commands like crosscheck to check the status of
backup.
· Faster backups and restores compared to backups without RMAN
· RMAN is the only backup tool which supports incremental backups.
· Oracle 10g has got further optimized incremental backup which has resulted in improvement of
performance during backup and recovery time
· Parallel operations are supported
· Better querying facility for knowing different details of backup
· No extra redo generated when backup is taken..compared to online
· backup without RMAN which results in saving of space in hard disk
· RMAN an intelligent tool
· Maintains repository of backup metadata
· Remembers backup set location
· Knows what need to backed up
· Knows what is required for recovery
· Knows what backups are redundant

UNDERSTANDING THE RMAN ARCHITECTURE

An oracle RMAN comprises of
RMAN EXECUTABLE This could be present and fired even through client side
TARGET DATABASE This is the database which needs to be backed up .
RECOVERY CATALOG Recovery catalog is optional otherwise backup details are stored in
target database controlfile .
It is a repository of information queried and updated by Recovery Manager
It is a schema or user stored in Oracle database. One schema can support many databases
It contains information about physical schema of target database datafile and archive
log ,backup sets and pieces
Recovery catalog is a must in following scenarios
· In order to store scripts
· For tablespace point in time recovery
Media Management Software
Media Management software is a must if you are using RMAN for storing backup in tape drive directly.

Backups in RMAN
Oracle backups in RMAN are of the following type RMAN complete
backup OR RMAN incremental backup
These backups are of RMAN proprietary nature
IMAGE COPY
The advantage of uing Image copy is its not in RMAN proprietary format..
Backup Format
RMAN backup is not in oracle format but in RMAN format. Oracle backup comprises of backup sets
and it consists of backup pieces. Backup sets are logical entity In oracle 9i it gets stored in a default
location There are two type of backup sets Datafile backup sets, Archivelog backup sets
One more important point of data file backup sets is it do not include empty blocks. A backup set
would contain many backup pieces.
A single backup piece consists of physical files which are in RMAN proprietary format.
Example of taking backup using
RMAN Taking RMAN Backup
In non archive mode in dos prompt type
RMAN
You get the RMAN prompt
RMAN > Connect Target
Connect to target database : Magic <Dbid=129283912> using
target database controlfile instead of recovery catalog
Lets take a simple backup of database in non archive
mode shutdown immediate ; - - Shutdowns the database
startup mount
backup database ;- its start backing the
database alter database open;
We can fire the same command in archive log
mode And whole of datafiles will be backed
Backup database plus archivelog;
Restoring database
Restoring database has been made very simple
in 9i . It is just
Restore database..
RMAN has become intelligent to identify which datafiles has to be
restored and the location of backuped up file.
Oracle Enhancement for RMAN in 10 G
Flash Recovery Area
Right now the price of hard disk is falling. Many dba are taking oracle database backup inside
the hard disk itself since it results in lesser mean time between recoverability.
The new parameter introduced is
DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST = /oracle/flash_recovery_area
By configuring the RMAN RETENTION POLICY the flash recovery area will automatically delete
obsolete backups and archive logs that are no longer required based on that configuration
Oracle has introduced new features in incremental backup
Change Tracking File
Oracle 10g has the facility to deliver faster incrementals with the implementation of changed
tracking file feature.This will results in faster backups lesser space consumption and also
reduces the time needed for daily backups
Incrementally Updated Backups
Oracle database 10g Incrementally Updates Backup features merges the image copy of a
datafile with RMAN incremental backup. The resulting image copy is now updated with block
changes captured by incremental backups.The merging of the image copy and incremental
backup is initiated with RMAN recover command. This results in faster recovery.
Binary compression technique reduces backup space usage by 50-75%.
With the new DURATION option for the RMAN BACKUP command, DBAs can weigh backup
 performance against system service level requirements. By specifying a duration, RMAN will
automatically calculate the appropriate backup rate; in addition, DBAs can optionally specify
whether backups should minimize time or system load.
New Features in Oem to identify RMAN related backup like backup pieces, backup sets and image copy

Oracle 9i New features Persistent RMAN Configuration

A new configure command has been introduced in Oracle 9i , that lets you configure various
features including automatic channels, parallelism ,backup options, etc.
These automatic allocations and options can be overridden by commands in a RMAN command file.
Controlfile Auto backups
Through this new feature RMAN will automatically perform a controlfile auto backup. after every
backup or copy command.
Block Media Recovery
If we can restore a few blocks rather than an entire file we only need few
blocks. We even dont need to bring the data file offline.
Syntax for it as follows
Block Recover datafile 8 block 22;
Configure Backup Optimization
Prior to 9i whenever we backed up database using RMAN our backup also used take backup of read
only table spaces which had already been backed up and also the same with archive log too.
Now with 9i backup optimization parameter we can prevent repeat backup of read only
tablespace and archive log.
The command for this is as follows Configure backup optimization on
Archive Log failover
If RMAN cannot read a block in an archived log from a destination. RMAN automatically
attempts to read from an alternate location this is called as archive log failover
There are additional commands like
backup database not backed up since time ‘31-jan-2002
14:00:00’ Do not backup previously backed up files
(say a previous backup failed and you want to restart from where it
left off). Similar syntax is supported for restores
backup device sbt backup set all Copy a disk backup
to tape (backing up a backup
Additionally it supports
· Backup of server parameter file
· Parallel operation supported
· Extensive reporting available
· Scripting
· Duplex backup sets
· Corrupt block detection
· Backup archive logs
Pitfalls of using RMAN
Previous to version Oracle 9i backups were not that easy which means you
had to allocate a channel compulsorily to take backup You had to give a
run etc . The syntax was a bit complex …RMAN has now become very
simple and easy to use..
If you changed the location of backup set it is compulsory for you to
register it using RMAN or while you are trying to restore backup It
resulted in hanging situations
There is no method to know whether during recovery database restore
is going to fail because of missing archive log file.
Compulsory Media Management only if using tape backup
Incremental backups though used to consume less space used to be
slower since it used to read the entire database to find the changed
blocks and also They have difficult time streaming the tape device. .
 Considerable improvement has been made in 10g to optimize the
algorithm to handle changed block.
Observation
Introduced in Oracle 8 it has become more powerful and
simpler with newer version of Oracle 9 and 10 g.
So if you really don’t want to miss something critical please start using RMAN.

Oracle Enterprise Manager and Management Server

What is OEM (Oracle Enterprise Manager)?
OEM is a set of systems management tools provided by Oracle Corporation for managing the Oracle
environment. It provides tools to monitor the Oracle environment and automate tasks (both one-time
and repetitive in nature) to take database administration a step closer to “Lights Out” management.
What are the components of OEM?
Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) has the following components:
· Management Server (OMS): Middle tier server that handles communication with the
intelligent agents. The OEM Console connects to the management server to monitor and
configure the Oracle enterprise.
· Console: This is a graphical interface from where one can schedule jobs, events, and monitor the
database. The console can be opened from a Windows workstation, Unix XTerm (oemapp
command) or Web browser session (oem_webstage).
 Intelligent Agent (OIA): The OIA runs on the target database and takes care of the
execution of jobs and events scheduled through the Console.
How does one stop and start the OMS?
Use the following command sequence to stop and start the OMS (Oracle Management Server):
oemctl start oms
oemctl status oms sysman/oem_temp
oemctl stop oms sysman/oem_temp
Windows NT/2000 users can just stop and start the required services. The default OEM
administrator is “sysman” with a password of “oem_temp”.
NOTE: Use command oemctrl instead of oemctl for Oracle 8i and below.
How does one create a repository?
For OEM v2 and above, start the Oracle Enterprise Manager Configuration Assistant (emca on
Unix) to create and configure the management server and repository. Remember to setup a
backup for the repository database after creating it.
The following describes means to create a OEM V1.x (very old!!!) repository on
WindowsNT:
· Create a tablespace that would hold the repository data. A size between 200- 250 MB
would be ideal. Let us call it Dummy_Space.
· Create an Oracle user who would own this repository. Assign DBA, SNMPAgent,
Exp_Full_database, Imp_Full _database roles to this user. Lets call this user
Dummy_user. Assign Dummy_Space as the default tablespace.
· Create an operating system user with the same name as the Oracle username. I.e.
Dummy_User. Add ‘Log on as a batch job’ under advanced rights in User manager.
· Fire up Enterprise manager and log in as Dummy_User and enter the password. This would
trigger the creation of the repository. From now on, Enterprise manager is ready to accept jobs.

How does one list one’s databases in the OEM Console?

Follow these steps to discover databases and other services
from the OEM Console:
 1. Ensure the GLOBAL_DBNAME parameter is set for all databases in your LISTENER.ORA
file (optional). These names will be listed in the OEM Console. Please note that names entered
are case sensitive. A portion of a listener.ora file:
(SID_DESC =
(GLOBAL_DBNAME =
DB_name_for_OEM) (SID_NAME = ...
2. Start the Oracle Intelligent Agent on the machine you want to discover. See section “How
does one start the Oracle Intelligent Agent?”.
3. Start the OEM Console, navigate to menu “Navigator/ Discover Nodes”. The OEM Discovery Wizard
will guide you through the process of discovering your databases and other services.
Should the OEM Console be displayed at all times (when there are scheduled jobs)?
When a job is submitted the agent will confirm the status of the job. When the status shows up
as scheduled, you can close down the OEM console. The processing of the job is managed by
the OIA (Oracle Intelligent Agent). The OIA maintains a .jou file in the agent’s subdirectory.
When the console is launched communication with the Agent is established and the contents of
the .jou file (binary) are reported to the console job subsystem.
Note that OEM will not be able to send e-mail and paging notifications when the Console is not started.

What kind of jobs can one schedule with OEM?

OEM comes with pre-defined jobs like Export, Import, run OS commands, run sql scripts, SQL*Plus
commands etc. It also gives you the flexibility of scheduling custom jobs written with the TCL language.
How does one backout events and jobs during maintenance slots?
Managemnet and data collection activity can be suspended by imposing a blackout. Look at
these examples:
agentctl start blackout # Blackout the entrire agent
agentctl stop blackout # Resume normal monitoring and management
agentctl start blackout ORCL # Blackout database ORCL
agentctl stop blackout ORCL # Resume normal monitoring and
management
agentctl start blackout -s jobs -d 00:20 # Blackout jobs for
20 minutes
What is the Oracle Intelligent Agent?
The Oracle Intelligent Agent (OIA) is an autonomous process that needs to run on a remote node in
the network to make the node OEM manageable. The Oracle Intelligent Agent is responsible for:
· Discovering targets that can be managed (Database Servers, Net8 Listeners, etc.);
· Monitoring of events registered in Enterprise Manager; and
· Executing tasks associated with jobs submitted to Enterprise Manager.

How does one start the Oracle Intelligent Agent?

One needs to start an OIA (Oracle Intelligent Agent) process on all machines that will to be
managed via OEM.
For OEM 9i and above:
agentctl start agent
agentctl stop agent
For OEM 2.1 and below:
lsnrctl dbsnmp_start
lsnrctl dbsnmp_status
On Windows NT, start the “OracleAgent” Service.
If the agent doesn’t want to start, ensure your environment variables are set correctly and delete
the following files before trying again:
1) In $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin: snmp_ro.ora and snmp_rw.ora.
2) Also delete ALL files in $ORACLE_HOME/network/agent/.
 Can one write scripts to send alert messages to the console?
Start the OEM console and create a new event. Select option “Enable Unsolicited Event”. Select
test “Unsolicited Event”. When entering the parameters, enter values similar to these:
Event Name:
/oracle/script/myalert Object: *
Severity: *
Message: *
One can now write the script and invoke the oemevent command to send alerts to the console.
Look at this example:
oemevent /oracle/script/myalert DESTINATION alert “My custom error message”
where DESTINATION is the same value as entered in the “Monitored Destinations” field when
you’ve registered the event in the OEM Console.
Where can one get more information about TCL?
One can write custom event checking routines for OEM using the TCL (Tool Command
Language) language. Check the following sites for more information about TCL:
· The Tcl Developer Xchange - download and learn about TCL
· OraTCL at Sourceforge - Download the OraTCL package
· Tom Poindexter’s Tcl Page - Oratcl was originally written by Tom Poindexter
Are there any troubleshooting tips for OEM?
· Create the OEM repository with a user (which will manage the OEM) and store it in a
tablespace that does not share any data with other database users. It is a bad practice to create
the repository with SYS and System.
· If you are unable to launch the console or there is a communication problem with the
intelligent agent (daemon).
Ensure OCX files are registered. Type the following in the DOS prompt (the current directory
should be $ORACLE_HOME\BIN:
C:\Orawin95\Bin> RegSvr32 mmdx32.OCX
C:\Orawin95\Bin> RegSvr32 vojt.OCX
· If you have a problem starting the Oracle Agent
Solution A: Backup the *.Q files and Delete all the *.Q Files ($Oracle_home/network/agent
folder) Backup and delete SNMP_RO.ora, SNMP_RW.ora, dbsnmp.ver and services.ora files
($Oracle_Home/network/admin folder)
Start the Oracle Agent service.
Solution B: Your version of Intelligent Agent could be buggy. Check with Oracle for any
available patches. For example, the Intelligent Agent that comes with Oracle 8.0.4 is buggy.
Sometimes you get a Failed status for the job that was executed successfully. Check
the log to see the results of the execution rather than relying on this status.

Oracle E-Business Suite (Oracle Applications)

What is Oracle Financials?
Oracle Financials products provide organizations with solutions to a wide range of long- and
short-term accounting system issues. Regardless of the size of the business, Oracle Financials
can meet accounting management demands with:
· Oracle Assets: Ensures that an organization’s property and equipment investment is
accurate and that the correct asset tax accounting strategies are chosen.
· Oracle General Ledger: Offers a complete solution to journal entry, budgeting, allocations,
consolidation, and financial reporting needs.
· Oracle Inventory: Helps an organization make better inventory decisions by minimizing
stock and maximizing cash flow.
· Oracle Order Entry: Provides organizations with a sophisticated order entry system for
managing customer commitments.
 · Oracle Payables: Lets an organization process more invoices with fewer staff members
and tighter controls. Helps save money through maximum discounts, bank float, and prevention
of duplicate payment.
· Oracle Personnel: Improves the management of employee- related issues by retaining and
making available every form of personnel data.
· Oracle Purchasing: Improves buying power, helps negotiate bigger discounts,
eliminates paper flow, increases financial controls, and increases productivity.
· Oracle Receivables:. Improves cash flow by letting an organization process more payments
faster, without off-line research. Helps correctly account for cash, reduce outstanding
receivables, and improve collection effectiveness.
· Oracle Revenue Accounting Gives an organization timely and accurate revenue and
flexible commissions reporting.
· Oracle Sales Analysis: Allows for better forecasting, planning. and reporting of sales
information.
What is the most important module in Oracle Financials?
The General Ledger (GL) module is the basis for all other Oracle Financial modules. All other modules
provide information to it. If you implement Oracle Financials, you should switch your current GL system
first.GL is relatively easy to implement. You should go live with it first to give your implementation team
a chance to be familiar with Oracle Financials.
What is the MultiOrg and what is it used for?
MultiOrg or Multiple Organizations Architecture allows multiple operating units and their
relationships to be defined within a single installation of Oracle Applications. This keeps each
operating unit’s transaction data separate and secure.
Use the following query to determine if MuliOrg is intalled:
select multi_org_flag from fnd_product_groups;
What is the difference between Fields and FlexFields?
A field is a position on a form that one uses to enter, view, update, or delete information. A field
prompt describes each field by telling what kind of information appears in the field, or
alternatively, what kind of information should be entered in the field.
A flexfield is an Oracle Applications field made up of segments. Each segment has an assigned
name and a set of valid values. Oracle Applications uses flexfields to capture information about your
organization. There are two types of flexfields: key flexfields and descriptive flexfields.

Oracle Import/ Export

What is import/export and why does one need it?
The Oracle export (EXP) and import (IMP) utilities are used to perform logical database backup and
recovery. They are also used to move Oracle data from one machine, database or schema to another.
The imp/exp utilities use an Oracle proprietary binary file format and can thus only be used between
Oracle databases. One cannot export data and expect to import it into a non-Oracle database. For
more information on how to load and unload data from files, read the SQL*Loader FAQ.
The export/import utilities are also commonly used to perform the following tasks:
· Backup and recovery (small databases only)
· Reorganization of data/ Eliminate database fragmentation
· Detect database corruption. Ensure that all the data can be read.
· Transporting tablespaces between databases
· Etc.
 How does one use the import/export utilities?
Look for the “imp” and “exp” executables in your $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory. One can run
them interactively, using command line parameters, or using parameter files. Look at the
imp/exp parameters before starting. These parameters can be listed by executing the following
commands: “exp help=yes” or “imp help=yes”.
The following examples demonstrate how the imp/exp utilities can be
used: exp scott/tiger file=emp.dmp log=emp.log tables=emp rows=yes
indexes=no exp scott/tiger file=emp.dmp tables=(emp,dept)
imp scott/tiger file=emp.dmp full=yes
imp scott/tiger file=emp.dmp fromuser=scott touser=scott
tables=dept exp userid=scott/tiger@orcl parfile=export.txt
... where export.txt contains:
BUFFER=100000
FILE=account.dmp FULL=n

OWNER=scott
GRANTS=y
COMPRESS=y
NOTE: If you do not like command line utilities, you can import and export data with the
“Schema Manager” GUI that ships with Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM).
Can one export a subset of a table?
From Oracle8i one can use the QUERY= export parameter to selectively unload a subset of the
data from a table. Look at this example:
exp scott/tiger tables=emp query=\”where deptno=10\”
Can one monitor how fast a table is imported?
If you need to monitor how fast rows are imported from a running import job, try one of the
following methods:
Method 1:
select substr(sql_text,instr(sql_text,’INTO “’),30)
table_name, rows_processed,
round((sysdate-to_date(first_load_time,’yyyy-mm-dd hh24:mi:ss’))*24*60,1) minutes,
trunc(rows_processed/((sysdate-to_date(first_load_time,’yyyy-mm-dd hh24:mi:ss’))*24*60))
rows_per_min
from sys.v_$sqlarea
where sql_text like ‘INSERT %INTO
“%’ and command_type = 2
and open_versions > 0;
For this to work one needs to be on Oracle 7.3 or higher (7.2 might also be OK). If the import
has more than one table, this statement will only show information about the current table being
imported. Contributed by Osvaldo Ancarola, Bs. As. Argentina.
Method 2:
Use the FEEDBACK=n import parameter. This command will tell IMP to display a dot for every
N rows imported.
Can one import tables to a different tablespace?
Oracle offers no parameter to specify a different tablespace to import data into. Objects
will be re-created in the tablespace they were originally exported from. One can alter
this behaviour by following one of these procedures:
Pre-create the table(s) in the correct tablespace:
· Import the dump file using the INDEXFILE= option
· Edit the indexfile. Remove remarks and specify the correct tablespaces.
· Run this indexfile against your database, this will create the required tables in the
appropriate tablespaces
· Import the table(s) with the IGNORE=Y option.
 Change the default tablespace for the user:
· Revoke the “UNLIMITED TABLESPACE” privilege from the user
· Revoke the user’s quota from the tablespace from where the object was exported. This
forces the
import utility to create tables in the user’s default tablespace.
· Make the tablespace to which you want to import the default tablespace for the user
· Import the table
Does one need to drop/ truncate objects before importing?
Before one import rows into already populated tables, one needs to truncate or drop these
tables to get rid of the old data. If not, the new data will be appended to the existing tables. One
must always DROP existing Sequences before re-importing. If the sequences are not dropped,
they will generate numbers inconsistent with the rest of the database.
Note: It is also advisable to drop indexes before importing to speed up the import process.
Indexes can easily be recreated after the data was successfully imported.
Can one import/export between different versions of Oracle?
Different versions of the import utility is upwards compatible. This means that one can take an export
file created from an old export version, and import it using a later version of the import utility. This is
quite an effective way of upgrading a database from one release of Oracle to the next.
Oracle also ships some previous catexpX.sql scripts that can be executed as user SYS
enabling older imp/exp versions to work (for backwards compatibility). For example, one can run
$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/catexp7.sql on an Oracle 8 database to allow the Oracle 7.3
exp/imp utilities to run against an Oracle 8 database.
Can one export to multiple files?/ Can one beat the Unix 2 Gig limit?
From Oracle8i, the export utility supports multiple output files. This feature enables large
exports to be divided into files whose sizes will not exceed any operating system limits
(FILESIZE= parameter) . When importing from multi-file export you must provide the same
filenames in the same sequence in the FILE= parameter. Look at this example:
exp SCOTT/TIGER FILE=D:\F1.dmp,E:\F2.dmp FILESIZE=10m LOG=scott.log
Use the following technique if you use an Oracle version prior to 8i:
Create a compressed export on the fly. Depending on the type of data, you probably can export
up to 10 gigabytes to a single file. This example uses gzip. It offers the best compression I know
of, but you can also substitute it with zip, compress or whatever.
# create a named pipe
mknod exp.pipe p
# read the pipe - output to zip file in the
background gzip < exp.pipe > scott.exp.gz &
# feed the pipe
exp userid=scott/tiger file=exp.pipe ...

How can one improve Import/ Export performance?

EXPORT:
· Set the BUFFER parameter to a high value (e.g. 2M)
· Set the RECORDLENGTH parameter to a high value (e.g. 64K)
· Stop unnecessary applications to free-up resources for your job.
· If you run multiple export sessions, ensure they write to different physical disks.
· DO NOT export to an NFS mounted filesystem. It will take forever.
IMPORT:
· Create an indexfile so that you can create indexes AFTER you have imported data. Do
this by setting INDEXFILE to a filename and then import. No data will be imported but a file
containing index definitions will be created. You must edit this file afterwards and supply the
passwords for the schemas on all CONNECT statements.
· Place the file to be imported on a separate physical disk from the oracle data files
· Increase DB_CACHE_SIZE (DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS prior to 9i) considerably in the
init$SID.ora file
· Set the LOG_BUFFER to a big value and restart oracle.
· Stop redo log archiving if it is running (ALTER DATABASE NOARCHIVELOG;)
· Create a BIG tablespace with a BIG rollback segment inside. Set all other rollback
segments offline (except the SYSTEM rollback segment of course). The rollback segment must
be as big as your biggest table (I think?)
· Use COMMIT=N in the import parameter file if you can afford it
· Use ANALYZE=N in the import parameter file to avoid time consuming ANALYZE statements
· Remember to run the indexfile previously created
What are the common Import/ Export problems?
ORA-00001: Unique constraint (...) violated - You are importing duplicate rows. Use
IGNORE=NO to skip tables that already exist (imp will give an error if the object is re-
created) . ORA-01555: Snapshot too old - Ask your users to STOP working while you
are exporting or use parameter CONSISTENT=NO
ORA-01562: Failed to extend rollback segment - Create bigger rollback segments or
set parameter COMMIT=Y while importing
IMP-00015: Statement failed ... object already exists... - Use the IGNORE=Y import
parameter to ignore these errors, but be careful as you might end up with duplicate rows.

Oracle SQL*Loader
What is SQL*Loader and what is it used for?
SQL*Loader is a bulk loader utility used for moving data from external files into the Oracle
database. Its syntax is similar to that of the DB2 Load utility, but comes with more options.
SQL*Loader supports various load formats, selective loading, and multi-table loads.
How does one use the SQL*Loader utility?
One can load data into an Oracle database by using the sqlldr (sqlload on some platforms) utility. Invoke
the utility without arguments to get a list of available parameters. Look at the following example:
sqlldr scott/tiger control=loader.ctl
This sample control file (loader.ctl) will load an external data file containing
delimited data: load data
infile ‘c:\data\mydata.csv’
into table emp
fields terminated by “,” optionally enclosed by
‘”’ ( empno, empname, sal, deptno )
The mydata.csv file may look like
this: 10001,”Scott Tiger”, 1000, 40
10002,”Frank Naude”, 500, 20
Another Sample control file with in-line data formatted as fix length records. The trick is to specify “*”
as the name of the data file, and use BEGINDATA to start the data section in the control file.
load data
infile *
replace
into table departments
( dept position (02:05) char(4),
deptname position (08:27) char(20)
)
begindata
COSC COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGL ENGLISH LITERATURE
MATH MATHEMATICS POLY
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Is there a SQL*Unloader to download data to a flat file?
Oracle does not supply any data unload utilities. However, you can use SQL*Plus to select and
format your data and then spool it to a file:
set echo off newpage 0 space 0 pagesize 0 feed off head off
trimspool on spool oradata.txt
select col1 || ‘,’ || col2 || ‘,’ ||
col3 from tab1
where col2 = ‘XYZ’;
spool off
Alternatively use the UTL_FILE PL/SQL package:
rem Remember to update initSID.ora, utl_file_dir=’c:\oradata’
parameter declare
fp utl_file.file_type;
begin
fp := utl_file.fopen(‘c:\oradata’,’tab1.txt’,’w’);
utl_file.putf(fp, ‘%s, %s\n’, ‘TextField’, 55);
utl_file.fclose(fp);
end;
/
You might also want to investigate third party tools like SQLWays from Ispirer Systems, TOAD
from Quest, or ManageIT Fast Unloader from CA to help you unload data from Oracle.
Can one load variable and fix length data records?
Yes, look at the following control file examples. In the first we will load delimited data (variable
length): LOAD DATA
INFILE *
INTO TABLE load_delimited_data
FIELDS TERMINATED BY “,” OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY ‘”’
TRAILING NULLCOLS
( data1,
data2
)
BEGINDATA
11111,AAAAAAAAAA
22222,”A,B,C,D,”
If you need to load positional data (fixed length), look at the following control file
example: LOAD DATA
INFILE *
INTO TABLE load_positional_data (
data1 POSITION(1:5),
data2 POSITION(6:15)
)
BEGINDATA
11111AAAAAAAAAA
22222BBBBBBBBBB
Can one skip header records load while loading?
Use the “SKIP n” keyword, where n = number of logical rows to skip. Look at this
example: LOAD DATA
INFILE *
INTO TABLE
load_positional_data SKIP 5
( data1 POSITION(1:5),
data2 POSITION(6:15)
)
BEGINDATA
11111AAAAAAAAAA
22222BBBBBBBBBB
Can one modify data as it loads into the database?
Data can be modified as it loads into the Oracle Database. Note that this only applies for the
conventional load path and not for direct path loads.
LOAD DATA
INFILE *
INTO TABLE modified_data
( rec_no “my_db_sequence.nextval”,
region CONSTANT ‘31’,
time_loaded “to_char(SYSDATE, ‘HH24:MI’)”,
data1 POSITION(1:5) “:data1/100”,
data2 POSITION(6:15) “upper(:data2)”,
data3 POSITION(16:22)”to_date(:data3, ‘YYMMDD’)”
)
BEGINDATA
11111AAAAAAAAAA991201
22222BBBBBBBBBB990112
LOAD DATA
INFILE ‘mail_orders.txt’
BADFILE ‘bad_orders.txt’
APPEND
INTO TABLE mailing_list
FIELDS TERMINATED BY “,”
( addr,
city,
state,
zipcode,
mailing_addr “decode(:mailing_addr, null, :addr, :mailing_addr)”,
mailing_city “decode(:mailing_city, null, :city, :mailing_city)”,
mailing_state
)
Can one load data into multiple tables at once?
Look at the following control
file: LOAD DATA
INFILE *
REPLACE
INTO TABLE emp
WHEN empno != ‘ ‘
( empno POSITION(1:4) INTEGER
EXTERNAL, ename POSITION(6:15) CHAR,
deptno POSITION(17:18) CHAR,
mgr POSITION(20:23) INTEGER EXTERNAL
)
INTO TABLE proj
WHEN projno != ‘ ‘
( projno POSITION(25:27) INTEGER EXTERNAL,
empno POSITION(1:4) INTEGER EXTERNAL
)
Can one selectively load only the records that one need?
Look at this example, (01) is the first character, (30:37) are characters
30 to 37: LOAD DATA
INFILE ‘mydata.dat’ BADFILE ‘mydata.bad’ DISCARDFILE
‘mydata.dis’ APPEND
INTO TABLE my_selective_table
WHEN (01) <> ‘H’ and (01) <> ‘T’ and (30:37) = ‘19991217’
(
region CONSTANT ‘31’,
service_key POSITION(01:11) INTEGER EXTERNAL,
call_b_no POSITION(12:29) CHAR
 )
Can one skip certain columns while loading data?
One cannot use POSTION(x:y) with delimited data. Luckily, from Oracle 8i one can specify FILLER
columns. FILLER columns are used to skip columns/fields in the load file, ignoring fields that one
does not want. Look at this example: -- One cannot use POSTION(x:y) as it is stream data, there are
no positional fields—the next field begins after some delimiter, not in column X. -->
LOAD DATA
TRUNCATE INTO TABLE T1
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ‘,’
( field1,
field2 FILLER,
field3
)
How does one load multi-line records?
One can create one logical record from multiple physical records using one of the following two clauses:
· CONCATENATE: - use when SQL*Loader should combine the same number of physical
records together to form one logical record.
· CONTINUEIF - use if a condition indicates that multiple records should be treated as one. Eg.
by having a ‘#’ character in column 1.
How can get SQL*Loader to COMMIT only at the end of the load file?
One cannot, but by setting the ROWS= parameter to a large value, committing can be reduced.
Make sure you have big rollback segments ready when you use a high value for ROWS=.
Can one improve the performance of SQL*Loader?
A very simple but easily overlooked hint is not to have any indexes and/or constraints (primary
key) on your load tables during the load process. This will significantly slow down load times
even with ROWS= set to a high value.
Add the following option in the command line: DIRECT=TRUE. This will effectively bypass most
of the RDBMS processing. However, there are cases when you can’t use direct load. Refer to
chapter 8 on Oracle server Utilities manual.
Turn off database logging by specifying the UNRECOVERABLE option. This option can only be
used with direct data loads.
Run multiple load jobs concurrently.
How does one use SQL*Loader to load images, sound clips and documents?
SQL*Loader can load data from a “primary data file”, SDF (Secondary Data file - for loading
nested tables and VARRAYs) or LOGFILE. The LOBFILE method provides and easy way to
load documents, images and audio clips into BLOB and CLOB columns. Look at this example:
Given the following table:
CREATE TABLE image_table (
image_id NUMBER(5),
file_name VARCHAR2(30),
image_data BLOB);
Control File:
LOAD DATA
INFILE *
INTO TABLE
image_table REPLACE
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ‘,’
(
image_id INTEGER(5),
file_name CHAR(30),
image_data LOBFILE (file_name) TERMINATED BY EOF
)
BEGINDATA
001,image1.gif
002,image2.jpg
What is the difference between the conventional and direct path loader?
The conventional path loader essentially loads the data by using standard INSERT statements. The direct
path loader (DIRECT=TRUE) bypasses much of the logic involved with that, and loads directly into the
Oracle data files. More information about the restrictions of direct path loading can be obtained from the
Utilities Users Guide.

What is a DBA?
A DBA is a Database Administrator, and this is the most common job that you find a database
specialist doing. There are Development DBAs and Production DBAs.
A Development DBA usually works closely with a team of developers and gets more involved
in design decisions, giving advice on performance and writing good SQL.
That can be satisfying at a human level because you are part of a team and you share the
satisfaction of the team’s accomplishments.
A Production DBA (on the other hand) is responsible for maintaining Databases within an
organisation, so it is a very difficult and demanding job. He or she, often gets involved when all
the design decisions have been made, and has simply to keep things up and running.
Therefore, of course, it is also a rewarding job, both financially and in terms of job satisfaction.
But it’s a more ‘lonely’ job than being a Development DBA.
I have many years experience of working as a Production DBA, maintaining live Databases in
Investment Banks, such as J.P.Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney.
Those were some of the most demanding and high-pressure years in my professionalcareer.
I knew that if the phone rang, nobody was calling to ask about my health, or to say that
everything was OK.
If they called, it meant they had a problem, and they wanted it fixed immediately, and they did
not care what else you were doing.
Of course, sometimes the phone would ring at home when I was in bed at 3.00 in the morning,
so I would have to get up, switch on my PC, login remotely and fix the problem.
This usually meant bringing the Database Servers down and then up again.
After I while I got to be able to do this without becoming fully awake so I could to go back to bed
and back to sleep again, and get paid for it !!!
To enjoy being a DBA, and to do it properly, you need to like technical responsibility.
You need to enjoy the feeling that ‘this is my territory’ and to take sole responsibility for a
technically demanding role.
Oddly enough, it’s easy to find out whether you would be a good
DBA. These are the Steps you follow :-
Buy a book,(see elsewhere on this Site),
If you buy a book with an evaluation copy of a DBMS then the next Step is made a whole lot easier.
Hint: Look for a book called SQL Reference, by Groff and Weinberg, which have copies of all three -
Oracle, IBM’s DB2 and Microsoft’s SQL Server on the CD-ROM that comes with the book.
Get Oracle, DB2 or SQL Server on a PC using NT.
Start doing DBA tasks, going through your chosen ‘Step-by-Step’ book,
(such as SAMS Teach Yourself DB2 in 21 days, or Oracle 8i on NT in 24
hours). If you find it boring then give it up.
If you don’t like the prospect of always being at the end of a phone ‘Help Line’, then give it up.
Else, get started as a DBA by doing daily tasks on your Database at home, and prepare for an
interview. Surprisingly enough, it’s easy to find work - either a permanent job or a contract.
There is a great demand, which is likely to remain so for the next few years.
VENDORS: -
Microsoft SQL Server is easier to get started with, because everything is Windows-driven.
It doesn’t pay so well, but you might be able to get an interesting role combining DBA with Development
work, because being a DBA doesn’t take so much time.
Being a DBA in a development environment is much less stressful, and is a natural progression
as you begin to experience ‘burn-out’ in a production environment.
Oracle has a steeper learning curve, because it is geared towards the Command Line, (except
for TOAD), but it pays better.
IBM’s DB2 is somewhere in between.
Certification will help you get a job, but (like a degree - see below) because of the
demand, Certification is not always mandatory if you have experience as a DBA.
Can you get a job as an Oracle DBA with Certification but no experience ?
If you get certified as an Oracle DBA but don’t have any experience, it can be difficult to
find a job. I have heard about people who have been able to do it, but I’ve also been told
that it is very difficult. It obviously helps if you have a background as an Oracle developer,
and if you have no other Oracle experience, then it’s certainly going to be difficult.
It is very difficult to get a job as a Production DBA without hands-on experience, and it’s
hard to find openings for Junior DBAs.
It is easier to find a job as a Development DBA, then if you really wanted to, you could move
into a slot as a Production DBA.
To do this, you should offer experience in PL/SQL, advising developers on writing efficient SQL,
creating Data Sets and sample data, which is the kind of thing, which developers often ask for.
So if you have any experiences that you would like to share and help other people trying to plan
what to do, please let us know.
Personally, I think Microsoft Certification process is just another example of how Microsoft tries
to increase their revenue stream, and I’ve heard that many of the questions asked in the
Certification exams are not the kind of questions, which come up as part of the job.
I’ve also met many people who have obtained Microsoft Certification but then never use it.
Neither Certification nor Degrees are necessary if you know your stuff, but they will definitely
help to prove commitment and competence if you are trying to change careers.
Oracle has recently introduced a qualification of Internet Database Operator, which offers the
cheapest path to Certification, at a relatively modest (for Oracle Education) cost of one 4-day
Course and a Certification Examination.
This qualification will look good on your CV but it will not help you get a job because it only
teaches you how to install Oracle Products and get them to work,(although that’s a valuable skill
but it is not enough on its own).
It also teaches you some basics about SQL in Oracle.
One option is to sign up as an Oracle Partner, which gives you 5 days free training and then
use, the training to get Certification as an Internet Database Operator.
There is a very useful set of Oracle 8i Documentation available online (Courtesy Ars Digita and
Philip Greenspun) which will help you learn a lot about how Oracle works.
The announcement of Oracle 9i means that the water has just become muddier because it
means that a great deal of the current lengthy training may be unnecessary.
9i is moving much closer to point-and- click and away from command-line administration,
although there will be plenty of Oracle 8i installations for a long time to come.
Check out the Oracle 9i Partner Accelerator Kit for an overview, and see how Oracle expects
you to administer a Database using Oracle Enterprise Manager.
Then finally, look at Oracle’s new Wizard for creating a Database for Data Warehousing.
All of these new features mean that Oracle is moving towards to a point-and-click approach for
many common DBA tasks.
This will make the work of an Oracle DBA work much more like it is for IBM’s DB2 and Microsft
SQL Server.
This means that many ‘Command Line’ skills being taught will become obsolete in the future.
Oracle - another Career Option -
As well as DBA work,a very attractive Career Option involves PL/SQL, which is Oracle’s
Procedural Language.
PL/SQL includes and extends SQL, and is primarily intended for developers who
work close to the Database, rather than close to the User.
Working with PL/SQL often includes some DBA work, for example, in data extraction and
migration from a Database.
It is therefore much more of a development job and offers design challenges and is more creative than
100% DBA work.
Here’s a typical Help Wanted Ad to give you a feeling for the skills
required - ”PL/SQL Developer With DBA Skills”
Multinational Multimedia organisation requires an experienced PL/SQL Developer who also has
had DBA exposure, with good Unix Shell Scripting skills. Working on a systems migration
project, you will have proven technical ability and excellent interpersonal skills.
An ability to be able to write PL/SQL packages & procedures, create database load scripts and
set-up development databases is essential.
The position will demand some DBA support (approximately 20% of the role) however the
support will be of a wholly ad-hoc nature.
Working within an Oracle 7, 8 & v8i environment, associated experience is essential,as is solid
commercial experience with PL/SQL.
As for Qualifications, it’s always good to have at least a Bachelor’s degree, but because of the
demand, that’s not always necessary. Subsequently, you need to keep up-to-date with new
versions of your chosen RDBMS(s).
Beware, that if you talk a good interview, but don’t deliver, you will get found out very quickly,
and then you’ll be on the road again.
What are the major Components in an RDBMS ?
ANSWER : This describes the three major Components which make up the run-time processes.
1) The Database Server.
This takes the SQL, decides how to execute it, with a sub-Component called the Query
Optimiser, and produces a Query Execution Plan.
It is possible to have many Database Server processes running simultaneously, with each one tailored to
a particular kind of “SQL Query”. I used to work as a DBA for Salomon, Smith Barney supporting
databases for Florida,England and Germany running on the same UNIX box. I always had three Servers
running, one for each location, so that I could provide high-priority,high-CPU percentage,high-memory
allocation for the very demanding real-time applications,and lower- priority for background batch jobs. It
also allowed me to handle each database independently, and bring down the server for England without
affecting the Servers and the Databases for Florida and Germany.
2) An Archive Process.
This writes completed Transactions onto a Journal or History File and deletes them from the Log
File. This is done to avoid the Log File getting filled up because then everything fails and the Servers
have to be brought down to recover. This is an embarrassing process. The worst part is that as the
DBA, you often do not know that the Archive process is not running until the Log File fills up, no
more transactions can start, everybody’s program hangs and the phone rings off the hook. I also
worked as a DBA at J.P.Morgan where the user were just as demanding as Salomon, Smith Barney,
so I created some UNIX daemons which ran all the time and would notify me automatically if the
Archive process was not running. This was in the situation where the normal messages from starting
up the Database Server would not make it clear whether the Archive process had started correctly.
3) A Recovery Process.
The Recovery Process handles the situations where is there is a Database crash and it
recovers to the last known point at which the Database was running OK and had ‘integrity’. In
other words, all the data representing a consistent set of related records had been written to the
Database at the end of a committed Transaction, with no open Transactions.

Ted Codd and his Rules for Relational Databases

THE RULES:
0. (Yes, there is a Rule 0!)
For a system to qualify as a RELATIONAL, DATABASE, MANAGEMENT system, that system
must use its RELATIONAL facilities (exclusively) to MANAGE the DATABASE.
1. The information rule
The information rule simply requires all information in the database to be represented in one
and only one way, Namely by values in column positions within rows of tables.
 2. The guaranteed access rule
This rule is essentially a restatement of the fundamental requirement for primary keys. It says
that every individual scalar value in the database must be logically addressable by specifying
the mane of the containing table, the name of the containing column and the
Primary key value of the containing row.
3. Systematic treatment of null values
The DBMS is required to support a representation of “missing information and inapplicable
Information” that is systematic, distinct from all regular values (for example, “distinct from zero
or any other number,” in the case of numeric values), and independent of data type. It is also
implied that such representations must be manipulated by the DBMS in a systematic way.
4. Active online catalog based on the relational model
The system is required to support an online, inline, relational catalog that is accessible to
authorized users by means of their regular query language.
5. The comprehensive data sub language rule
The system must support a least one relational language that
(1) Has a linear syntax,
(2) Can be used both interactively and within application programs, and © supports data definition
operations (including view definitions), data manipulation operations (update as well as retrieval), security
and integrity constraints, and transaction management operations (begin, commit, and rollback).
6. The view-updating rule
All views that are theoretically up datable must be updatable by the system.
7. High-level insert, update, and delete
The system must support set-at-a-time INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operators.
8. Physical data independence
Self-explanatory.
9. Logical data independence
Self-explanatory
10. Integrity independence
Integrity constraints must be specified separately from application programs and stored in the
catalog. It must be possible to change such constraints as and when appropriate without
unnecessarily affecting existing applications.
11. Distribution independence
Existing applications should continue to operate successfully
(1) When a distributed version of the DBMS is first introduced;
(2) When existing distributed data is redistributed around the system.
12. The nonsubversion rule
If the system provides a low-level (record-at-a-time) interface, then that interface cannot be
used to subvert the system (e.g.) bypassing a relational security or integrity constraint.

What is Data Warehousing?

Data Warehousing is concerned with the activities involved with creating a DataRepository
where you store all the facts you know about some large enterprise or activity, and then analyse
the data in different ways,to look for patterns on the data.
Typically this is done by large retail organisations, trying to identify patterns in buying behaviour
so they can sell more stuff to the poor unsuspecting customer.
The most commonly quoted example is that somewhere in the States they discovered that on
Friday nights the sales of beer and diapers/nappies went up.
The explanation seemed to be that men would call in to buy beer for the weekend and the wives
would say “While you are in the supermarket,please pick up some diapers/nappies for the baby”.
As a result of this analysis they started putting diapers/nappies next to the beer and increased the sales of
 both items.
TERMS IN COMMON USE in DW is: -
Facts - for example, sales in a shop for the beer and nappies example.
2) Dimensions - for example, date and time of purchase, product and product category.
Then DW involves analyzing Facts by different combinations of Diumensions.
For example, “When do we sell most beer? “And “When do we sell most nappies” - then they
find the answer to both of these is Friday evening -and hey presto they can make more money
by making it easier for the beer-buyers to buy nappies (and please the wife), and vice versa.
From this example, you can see that most DW examples and work are pretty boring. A major growth area
for DW at present is the storage and analysis of ‘clickstream data’ of traffic on Internet Web Sites.
This is typically used to identify hits and page impressions to determine how many people will
see a particular banner advertisement on the Web Site. An excellent book covering this very
new area is “The Data Webhouse” by Ralph Kimball.
3) OLAP: -

OLAP stands for ‘On-Line Analytical Processing, and the term was first used by Dr.Ted Codd, of
IBM Research, who was the father of the relational database and SQL.
The beer and nappies example is a case of OLAP in practice.
What it means is that you are online analyzing masses of data.
Whereas the common use of databases is to store details of ‘transactions’ such as Bank
account details. OLAP requirements are not very well met by SQL so extensions have been
developed by the vendors of OLAP products, like Brio or Cognos.
How do I set a database in archivelog or noarchivelog?
1) shutdown the
database sql> shutdown
2) startup the database in mount
state sql> startup mount
3) set the database in archivelog or noarchivelog
sql> alter database archivelog | noarchivelog
4) open the database
sql> alter database open
5) Take a full backup

What are the different ways to stop an Oracle instance?

There are 4 ways to shutdown an Oracle Instance,
1) Normal
2) Transactional
3) Immediate
4) Abort
1) Normal
During “normal” shutdown no new connections are allowed and the server will wait for all
users to disconnect before shutting down. The redo buffers and database buffer are written
to the datafiles, then the variousbackground processes are terminated and the allocated
memory for the SGAare de-allocated. Finally Oracle will close and dismount the database .

2) Transactional
During “transactional” shutdown no new connections are allowed and the server will disconnect users
as soon as they complete their current transaction. After that Oracle will immediately shut down the
Instance.
3) Immediate
During “immediate” shutdown no new connections are allowed. The server will not wait for clients to
disconnect nor for transactions to complete and will do a rollback if needed. So after disconnecting
the clients and rolling back any active transactions Oracle will shut down the Instance.
4) Abort
During abort” shutdown no new connections are to disconnect, uncommitted transactions will not be
allowed. The server will not wait for connected users rolled back redo and database buffers are
 “not” written to disk and the database is not closed or dismounted. Instance recovery will be
needed on the next startup.
What are the responsibilities of the system monitor (SMON)?

The system monitor is responsible for:

1) Instance Recovery
It rolls forward any data that has been recorded in the online redo log files but not to the data files.
It opens the database and any data that is not locked by unrecovered transactions is available
to the users It rolls back uncommitted transactions (rolled back by SMON or by the server
process as they access the locked data)
2) Combining or coalesces free space in the data files
3) Deallocates temporary segments to return them as free space in the data files.
What does the Process monitor (PMON) do?

The process monitor is responsible for: Rolling back the current user’s transaction after a failed process.
Releasing all currently held table and row locks after a failed process. Freeing up other resources
reserved by the user after a failed process. Restart dead dispatchers after a failed process.
Why is a checkpoint initiated?

A checkpoint is initiated to ensure that modified data in memory are written to the datafiles on
regular basis, so no data is lost during a crash or failure.
A checkpoint is also initiated to reduce the time needed to do instance recovery. (Only from that
(check)point redo log entries need to be processed).
A checkpoint is initiated to ensure that all committed data has been written to the data files
when shutting down.