Preface

This document describes the features of Oracle Database for Windows software installed on Windows NT Server, Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

This guide is your primary source of introductory and reference information for Oracle Database for Windows for both client and server. Differences between product versions are noted where appropriate.

This Preface contains these topics:

Audience
Documentation Accessibility
Structure
Related Documents
Conventions

Audience

Oracle Database Platform Guide is intended for:

Database administrators
Network administrators
Security specialists
Developers who use Oracle Database

To use this document, you need:

Oracle-certified Windows operating system software installed and tested
Knowledge of object-relational database management concepts

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Structure

This document contains:

Chapter 1, "Oracle Database Architecture on Windows"

This chapter describes how Oracle Database architecture takes advantage of some of the more advanced services in the Windows operating system.

Chapter 2, "Database Tools on Windows"

This chapter provides a list of preferred and optional tools you can use to perform common database administration tasks. It also explains how to start these tools.

Chapter 3, "Postinstallation Database Creation on Windows"

This chapter explains how to create a database after installing Oracle Database, using either the Database Configuration Assistant or command-line tools.

Chapter 4, "Postinstallation Configuration Tasks on Windows"

This chapter describes some of the configuration tasks you must perform before using Oracle interMedia and other Oracle options.

Chapter 5, "Administering a Database on Windows"

This chapter explains how to administer Oracle Database for Windows.

Chapter 6, "Monitoring a Database on Windows"

This chapter explains how to monitor Oracle Database for Windows.

Chapter 7, "Tuning Windows to Optimize Oracle Database"

This chapter explains how to tune Windows Server operating systems to ensure that Oracle Database is running in the best possible environment.

Chapter 8, "Authenticating Database Users with Windows"

This chapter describes authentication of Oracle Database users on Windows operating systems.

Chapter 9, "Administering External Users and Roles on Windows"

This chapter describes the administration of external users and roles.

Chapter 10, "Storing Oracle Wallets in the Windows Registry"

This chapter describes storing and retrieving Oracle Wallets in the Windows registry.

Chapter 11, "Oracle PKI Integration with Windows"

This chapter describes the integration of Oracle public key infrastructure (PKI) with Windows 2000 public key infrastructure (Windows PKI) on Windows operating systems.

Chapter 12, "Using Oracle Database with Microsoft Active Directory"

This chapter describes how to configure and use Microsoft Active Directory as the LDAP directory.

Chapter 13, "Oracle Database Specifications for Windows"

This chapter discusses initialization parameters, which Oracle Database uses on Windows to enable various features of the database every time an instance is started.

Chapter 14, "Configuration Parameters and the Registry"

This chapter describes the use of the registry for various Oracle Database components. In addition, this chapter lists the recommended values and ranges for configuration parameters.

Chapter 15, "Developing Applications for Windows"

This chapter points to sources of information on developing applications for Windows and outlines a procedure for building and debugging external procedures.

Appendix A, "Getting Started with Your Documentation"

This appendix describes the contents of your Oracle Database documentation set.

Appendix B, "Storing Tablespaces on Raw Partitions"

This appendix describes how to configure your system to store datafiles for tablespaces on raw partitions.

Appendix C, "Oracle Net Services Configuration on Windows"

This appendix describes Oracle Net Services configuration for Windows. For an overview of Oracle Net Services configuration in general, seeOracle Net Services Administrator's Guide.

Appendix D, "Error Messages on Windows"

This appendix lists error messages, causes, and corrective actions that are specific to the operation of Oracle Database for Windows.

Appendix E, "Using Oracle Database on Windows 2000"

This appendix highlights differences between Windows 2000 and Windows NT, with emphasis on procedures for common database tasks.

Appendix F, "Oracle Database Windows/UNIX Differences"

This appendix compares features of Oracle Database for Windows and UNIX. This information may be helpful to Oracle Database developers and database administrators moving from UNIX to Windows platforms.

Appendix G, "Oracle Database for 64-Bit Windows"

This appendix identifies unsupported features and special procedures for Oracle Database for 64-bit Windows.

Glossary

The Glossary contains definitions of technical terms used in this guide. The first appearance of each term in a chapter is a link to its definition in the Glossary.

Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in the text and code examples of this documentation set. It describes:

Conventions in Text
Conventions in Code Examples
Conventions for Windows Operating Systems

Conventions in Text

We use various conventions in text to help you more quickly identify special terms. The following table describes those conventions and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
Bold	Bold typeface indicates terms that are defined in the text or terms that appear in a glossary, or both.	When you specify this clause, you create an index-organized table.
Italics	Italic typeface indicates book titles or emphasis.	Oracle Database Concepts Ensure that the recovery catalog and target database do not reside on the same disk.
`UPPERCASE monospace (fixed-width) font`	Uppercase monospace typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. Such elements include parameters, privileges, datatypes, RMAN keywords, SQL keywords, SQL*Plus or utility commands, packages and methods, as well as system-supplied column names, database objects and structures, usernames, and roles.	You can specify this clause only for a `NUMBER` column. You can back up the database by using the `BACKUP` command. Query the `TABLE_NAME` column in the `USER_TABLES` data dictionary view. Use the `DBMS_STATS`.`GENERATE_STATS` procedure.
`lowercase monospace (fixed-width) font`	Lowercase monospace typeface indicates executable programs, filenames, directory names, and sample user-supplied elements. Such elements include computer and database names, net service names and connect identifiers, user-supplied database objects and structures, column names, packages and classes, usernames and roles, program units, and parameter values. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown.	Enter `sqlplus` to start SQL*Plus. The password is specified in the `orapwd` file. Back up the datafiles and control files in the `/disk1/oracle/dbs` directory. The `department_id`, `department_name`, and `location_id` columns are in the `hr.departments` table. Set the `QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED` initialization parameter to `true.` Connect as `oe` user. The `JRepUtil` class implements these methods.
`lowercase italic monospace (fixed-width) font`	Lowercase italic monospace font represents placeholders or variables.	You can specify the `parallel_clause`. Run `old_release``.SQL` where `old_release` refers to the release you installed prior to upgrading.

Conventions in Code Examples

Code examples illustrate SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, or other command-line statements. They are displayed in a monospace (fixed-width) font and separated from normal text as shown in this example:

SELECT username FROM dba_users WHERE username = 'MIGRATE';

The following table describes typographic conventions used in code examples and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
[ ]	Anything enclosed in brackets is optional.	DECIMAL (digits [ , precision ])
{ }	Braces are used for grouping items.	{ENABLE \| DISABLE}
\|	A vertical bar represents a choice of two options.	{ENABLE \| DISABLE} [COMPRESS \| NOCOMPRESS]
...	Ellipsis points mean repetition in syntax descriptions. In addition, ellipsis points can mean an omission in code examples or text.	CREATE TABLE ... AS subquery; SELECT col1, col2, ... , coln FROM employees;
Other symbols	You must use symbols other than brackets ([ ]), braces ({ }), vertical bars (\|), and ellipsis points (...) exactly as shown.	acctbal NUMBER(11,2); acct CONSTANT NUMBER(4) := 3;
Italics	Italicized text indicates placeholders or variables for which you must supply particular values.	CONNECT SYSTEM/system_password DB_NAME = database_name
UPPERCASE	Uppercase typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. We show these terms in uppercase in order to distinguish them from terms you define. Unless terms appear in brackets, enter them in the order and with the spelling shown. Because these terms are not case sensitive, you can use them in either UPPERCASE or lowercase.	SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees; SELECT * FROM USER_TABLES; DROP TABLE hr.employees;
lowercase	Lowercase typeface indicates user-defined programmatic elements, such as names of tables, columns, or files. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown.	SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees; sqlplus hr/hr CREATE USER mjones IDENTIFIED BY ty3MU9;

Conventions for Windows Operating Systems

The following table describes conventions for Windows operating systems and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
Choose Start > *menu item*	How to start a program.	To start the Database Configuration Assistant, choose Start > Programs > Oracle - *HOME_NAME* > Configuration and Migration Tools > Database Configuration Assistant.
File and directory names	File and directory names are not case sensitive. The following special characters are not allowed: left angle bracket (<), right angle bracket (>), colon (:), double quotation marks ("), slash (/), pipe (\|), and dash (-). The special character backslash (\) is treated as an element separator, even when it appears in quotes. If the filename begins with \\, then Windows assumes it uses the Universal Naming Convention.	c:\winnt"\"system32 is the same as C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32
`C:\>`	Represents the Windows command prompt of the current hard disk drive. The escape character in a command prompt is the caret (^). Your prompt reflects the subdirectory in which you are working. Referred to as the command prompt in this manual.	C:\oracle\oradata>
Special characters	The backslash (\) special character is sometimes required as an escape character for the double quotation mark (") special character at the Windows command prompt. Parentheses and the single quotation mark (') do not require an escape character. Refer to your Windows operating system documentation for more information on escape and special characters.	C:\>exp HR/HR TABLES=employees QUERY=\"WHERE job_id='SA_REP' and salary<8000\"
HOME_NAME	Represents the Oracle home name. The home name can be up to 16 alphanumeric characters. The only special character allowed in the home name is the underscore.	C:\> net start OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener
`ORACLE_HOME` and `ORACLE_BASE`	In releases prior to Oracle8i release 8.1.3, when you installed Oracle components, all subdirectories were located under a top level `ORACLE_HOME` directory. The default for Windows NT was `C:\orant`. This release complies with Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines. All subdirectories are not under a top level `ORACLE_HOME` directory. There is a top level directory called `ORACLE_BASE` that by default is `C:\oracle\product\10.1.0`. If you install the latest Oracle release on a computer with no other Oracle software installed, then the default setting for the first Oracle home directory is `C:\oracle\product\10.1.0\db_``n`, where `n` is the latest Oracle home number. The Oracle home directory is located directly under `ORACLE_BASE`. All directory path examples in this guide follow OFA conventions. Refer to Oracle Database Installation Guide for Windows for additional information about OFA compliances and for information about installing Oracle products in non-OFA compliant directories.	Go to the `ORACLE_BASE``\``ORACLE_HOME``\rdbms\admin` directory.

Preface

Audience

Documentation Accessibility

Structure

Related Documents

Conventions