Chapter 5: Managing the Oracle Instance

Purpose

This chapter focuses on the tasks involved in managing your instance. In this chapter, you will learn how to use the property pages in the Instance region of the Administration page of Enterprise Manager.

Time to Complete

Approximately 1 hour

Topics

This tutorial covers the following topics:

	Prerequisites
	Using Enterprise Manager to Start Up and Shut Down the Oracle Instance
	Viewing Initialization Parameters
	Managing Memory Parameters
	Summary

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Prerequisites

Before you perform this tutorial, you should:

1.	Complete Chapter 2: Installing Oracle Software and Building the Database OBE
2.	Complete Chapter 3: Getting Started with Oracle Enterprise Manager OBE
3.	Complete Chapter 4: Configuring the Network Environment OBE

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Using Enterprise Manager to Start Up and Shut Down the Instance

The instance is idle until it is started. When the instance is started, an initialization parameter file is read and the instance is configured accordingly. After the instance is started and the database is opened, users can access the database. In this section, you will examine the following tasks:

A	Starting the Instance
B.	Shutting Down the Instance

Starting the Instance

You can use Enterprise Manager to start the instance and open the database by performing the following steps:

1.	Invoke Enterprise Manager from your browser. The Database page is displayed indicating that the instance is down. Click Startup to start the instance.
2.	The Startup/Shutdown:Specify Host and Target Database Credentials page is displayed. Enter the host credentials and database credentials. Select Save as Preferred Credentials. Click OK.
3.	The Startup/Shutdown:Confirmation page is displayed. Click Yes to start the instance and open the database.
4.	The Startup/Shutdown:Activity page is displayed.
5.	After the instance is started and the database is open, the Login page is displayed. Enter the username and password to log in to Enterprise Manager Database Control. Click Login.
6.	The Database home page is displayed.

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Shutting Down the Instance

You can use Enterprise Manager to shut down the instance and close the database by performing the following steps:

1.	Log in to Enterprise Manager Database Console by opening your browser and specifying the SYS username and password. Click Login.
2.	Click Shutdown on the Database Home page.
3.	The Startup/Shutdown:Specify Host and Target Database Credentials page appears. Enter the host credentials and database credentials. Click OK.
4.	The Startup/Shutdown:Confirmation page appears. Click Yes to perform the shutdown operation.
5.	The Startup/Shutdown:Activity Information page appears. Click Refresh.
6.	You can now perform maintenance or backup and recovery operations on your database. When you have finished, you must restart the database before you can access the data.

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Viewing Initialization Parameters

The initialization parameter file contains a list of configuration parameters for the instance and database. The Oracle database server reads these parameters at database startup and monitors them while the database is running. The values of the parameters are stored in memory and many can be changed dynamically.

Follow the steps below to view the values of the initialization parameters for your database:

1.	Click Server on the Database Home page to access the Administration property page.
2.	Click Initialization Parameters in the Database Configuration section.
3.	The Initialization Parameters page appears. For example, to search for a specific parameter or a group of parameters that contain 'archive,' input archive in the Name field. Click Go.
4.	All of the parameters that include the word "archive" appear in the list.
5.	Scroll to the top of the page. Click Database to return to the Database Home page.

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Managing Memory Parameters

In this section you learn how to view the values of the memory parameters in your database. Memory parameters are the initialization parameters that determine the total size of the system global area (SGA) and its sub-components, and the program global area (PGA). The values of the memory parameters can affect the performance of your database.

If the Oracle server advises you of a performance problem relating to the size of the SGA or PGA, you can use the memory advisor to help you determine appropriate new settings. The memory advisor can model the effect of parameter changes. Refer to Chapter 10 for information on using the memory advisors.

Perform the steps listed below to view the values of the memory parameters:

Click Server on the Database Home page to access the Administration property page.

Click Memory Advisors in the Database Configuration section.

The Memory Parameters page appears. Click Database to return to the Database Home page.

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Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to:

	Startup and shutdown the Oracle instance.
	Review the initialization parameters associated with the instance.
	Use the Memory Advisors page to assess the memory parameters for the instance.

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