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Lesson 5 Creating the password file
Objective Create a password file for the COIN database.

Creating password File

ORAPWD syntax

To create a password file, you use a very simple command-line utility named orapwd. You run orapwd from the operating system command prompt, and pass in three pieces of information as arguments to the command. The syntax for orapwd looks like this:

oradim file=filename password=internal_password 
[entries=administrator_count]

filename is the path and filename for the password file that you want to create.
internal_password is the password for the INTERNAL user.
administrator_count is a number representing the maximum number of DBA users that you ever expect to have.

Take special note of the “=” characters in the syntax. oradim requires that no spaces exist on either side of the “=” characters.

The Entries Parameter

The value for the entries parameter is used to size the password file. Each entry takes up a fixed amount of space. The file is then created large enough to accommodate the number of entries that you specify. This number represents the maximum number of users to whom you will be able to grant SYSDBA or SYSOPER privileges. Be generous with the number of users you allow for. Password files are not that big to begin with, so space is not an issue here. Strictly speaking, the entries parameter is optional, but under most circumstances you should use it. If you leave it off, the password file will only be large enough to hold passwords for the SYS and INTERNAL users, forcing all remote DBAs to share those passwords. That is not a very secure solution.

Creating Password File - Quiz

Click the Quiz link below to test your knowledge of the details of creating a password file.
Creating Password File - Quiz