Oracle7 Server Reference Manual

Parameter Files

The parameter file is a text file that contains a list of parameters and a value for each parameter. You can specify values in the parameter file to reflect your installation.

The following are sample entries in a parameter file:

PROCESSES = 100 
OPEN_LINKS = 12 
GLOBAL_NAMES = TRUE

The name of the parameter file varies depending on your operating system. For example, it may be in mixed case or lowercase, or it may have a logical name or a variation on the name INIT.ORA. As the DBA, you can choose a different filename for your parameter file.

See your Oracle operating system specific documentation for the default location and filename for the parameter file. This is the file that the Oracle7 Server reads for its parameter information upon startup.

A sample parameter file is provided on the Oracle7 Server distribution medium for each operating system. The distributed sample file is sufficient for initial use, but you will want to make changes in the file to tune your database system for best performance. Any changes will take effect the next time you completely shut down the instance and then restart it.

Database administrators can use initialization parameters to do the following:

optimize performance by adjusting memory structures, for example, the number of database buffers in memory

set some database-wide defaults, for example, how much space is initially allocated for a context area when it is created

set database limits, for example, the maximum number of database users

specify names of files

Many initialization parameters can be fine-tuned to improve database performance. Other parameters should never be altered or only be altered under the supervision of Oracle Corporation Worldwide Support staff.