Shutting Down a Database

To initiate database shutdown, use the SQL*Plus SHUTDOWN command. Control is not returned to the session that initiates a database shutdown until shutdown is complete. Users who attempt connections while a shutdown is in progress receive a message like the following:

ORA-01090: shutdown in progress - connection is not permitted

Note:

You cannot shut down a database if you are connected to the database through a shared server process.

To shut down a database and instance, you must first connect as SYSOPER or SYSDBA. There are several modes for shutting down a database. These are discussed in the following sections:

Shutting Down with the NORMAL Clause
Shutting Down with the IMMEDIATE Clause
Shutting Down with the TRANSACTIONAL Clause
Shutting Down with the ABORT Clause

Some shutdown modes wait for certain events to occur (such as transactions completing or users disconnecting) before actually bringing down the database. There is a one-hour timeout period for these events. This timeout behavior is discussed in this additional section:

Shutdown Timeout

Shutting Down with the NORMAL Clause

To shut down a database in normal situations, use the SHUTDOWN command with the NORMAL clause:

SHUTDOWN NORMAL

The NORMAL clause is optional, because this is the default shutdown method if no clause is provided.

Normal database shutdown proceeds with the following conditions:

No new connections are allowed after the statement is issued.
Before the database is shut down, the database waits for all currently connected users to disconnect from the database.

The next startup of the database will not require any instance recovery procedures.

Shutting Down with the IMMEDIATE Clause

Use immediate database shutdown only in the following situations:

To initiate an automated and unattended backup
When a power shutdown is going to occur soon
When the database or one of its applications is functioning irregularly and you cannot contact users to ask them to log off or they are unable to log off

To shut down a database immediately, use the SHUTDOWN command with the IMMEDIATE clause:

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE

Immediate database shutdown proceeds with the following conditions:

No new connections are allowed, nor are new transactions allowed to be started, after the statement is issued.
Any uncommitted transactions are rolled back. (If long uncommitted transactions exist, this method of shutdown might not complete quickly, despite its name.)
Oracle Database does not wait for users currently connected to the database to disconnect. The database implicitly rolls back active transactions and disconnects all connected users.

The next startup of the database will not require any instance recovery procedures.

Shutting Down with the TRANSACTIONAL Clause

When you want to perform a planned shutdown of an instance while allowing active transactions to complete first, use the SHUTDOWN command with the TRANSACTIONAL clause:

SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL

Transactional database shutdown proceeds with the following conditions:

No new connections are allowed, nor are new transactions allowed to be started, after the statement is issued.
After all transactions have completed, any client still connected to the instance is disconnected.
At this point, the instance shuts down just as it would when a SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE statement is submitted.

The next startup of the database will not require any instance recovery procedures.

A transactional shutdown prevents clients from losing work, and at the same time, does not require all users to log off.

Shutting Down with the ABORT Clause

You can shut down a database instantaneously by aborting the database instance. If possible, perform this type of shutdown only in the following situations:

The database or one of its applications is functioning irregularly and none of the other types of shutdown works.

You need to shut down the database instantaneously (for example, if you know a power shutdown is going to occur in one minute).
You experience problems when starting a database instance.

When you must do a database shutdown by aborting transactions and user connections, issue the SHUTDOWN command with the ABORT clause:

SHUTDOWN ABORT

An aborted database shutdown proceeds with the following conditions:

No new connections are allowed, nor are new transactions allowed to be started, after the statement is issued.
Current client SQL statements being processed by Oracle Database are immediately terminated.
Uncommitted transactions are not rolled back.
Oracle Database does not wait for users currently connected to the database to disconnect. The database implicitly disconnects all connected users.

The next startup of the database will require instance recovery procedures.

Shutdown Timeout

Shutdown modes that wait for users to disconnect or for transactions to complete have a limit on the amount of time that they wait. If all events blocking the shutdown do not occur within one hour, the shutdown command cancels with the following message: ORA-01013: user requested cancel of current operation.