Parameter Initialization Changes(Oracle)

Lesson 3	Initialization changes
Objective	Identify changes to initialization parameters.

Parameter Initialization Changes

Before installing the database, it is useful to understand what changes have been made to the initialization settings. Changes in initial settings of the database can affect your system if you are migrating an existing Oracle database to oracle. This lesson covers those changes.

Legacy Note

If you are migrating a database that is Oracle version 7, you should review the changes that occurred between version 7 and Oracle8 as well as the changes listed here.

New parameters

This table lists new parameters that have been added to the initialization parameters for oracle.

View the table below to view these parameters.

Parameter name	Description	Improvement over earlier Oracle versions.
`DB_BLOCK_CHECKING`	Identifies corrupt blocks when changes are made to a block.	Earlier detections of corrupted blocks.
`ENT_DOMAIN_NAME`	Identify which global domain this server belongs to. Used for Oracle Advanced Security.	Allows global user security to be implemented.
`FAST_START_IO_TARGET`	Specifies the number of I/O writes before the database is made available to users.	Smaller values for this parameter result in faster recovery times.
`FAST_START_PARALLEL_ROLLBACK`	Specifies the maximum number of parallel processors that can perform a rollback.	Higher values utilize more parallel processors for faster rollback.
`HS_AUTOREGISTER`	Enables self-registration of agents that connect to the database.	Less overhead for subsequent connections of the same agent.
`INSTANCE_NAME`	Identifies an instance when there are multiple instances on the same server.	Compatible with new feature for multiple services that connect to the same database instance.
`JAVA_POOL_SIZE`	Size of the Java Pool.	Allows larger Java Pool when more Java activity is used on the database.
`LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n`	Specifies location of multiple archives.	Needed to use the new standby backup database and READ ONLY database features.
`LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_STATE_n`	Enable or disable one of the multiple archive destinations.	Used for multiple archive feature.
`LOG_ARCHIVE_MAX_PROCESSES`	Define number of ARCH background processes to start.	Used for multiple archive feature.
`NLS_COMP`	Require language-specific sorts for queries if the NLS_SORT is used in the session.	Easier foreign language (NLS) compatibility.
`NLS_DUAL_CURRENCY`	Override default currency symbol.	Easier foreign language (NLS) compatibility.
`PARALLEL_AUTOMATIC_TUNING`	Allow Oracle to tune parallel queries.	Less demand for Shared Pool resources.
`PARALLEL_SERVER_INSTANCES`	Specifies the number of parallel server instances.	Less demand for Shared Pool resources.
`PARALLEL_THREADS_PER_CPU`	Number of parallel threads the CPU can handle.	Better load balancing for parallel execution of processes.
`QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED`	Allows query to be rewritten to use a materialized view.	Take advantage of materialized views.
`QUERY_REWRITE_INTEGRITY`	Enforces relationship integrity when rewriting a query.	Take advantage of materialized views.
`RESOURCE_MANAGER_PLAN`	Specify a resource manager plan to use.	Take advantage of the resource manager.
`SERVICE_NAMES`	Specify multiple service names for an instance, if desired.	Use to create multiple services for the same instance.
`SORT_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT`	Tune large data sorts.	More efficient handling of high volumes of data.
`STANDBY_ARCHIVE_DEST`	Defines archive logs used for the standby database.	Needed to create a standby database.

It is important to familiarize yourself with these twenty-one new parameters, keeping in mind that Oracle removed nearly sixty parameters from its Oracle8 software to create this new version. The net effect is that there are far fewer parameters to set for your oracle database.
How do you set these new parameters for your database? You can edit the initialization file (usually called init.ora) or use the Database Configuration Assistant to change these parameters, as described in the next lesson.
The next lesson describes the features of the Database Configuration Assistant.