Create Spfile From Pfile Tips

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create spfile from pfile tips

Oracle Tips by Burleson Consulting

Introducing the PFILE and SPFILE

Oracle provides two different types of mutually exclusive parameter files that you can

use, PFILE and SPFILE. Lets look at the PFILE and the SPFILE in a bit more detail.

Tip! - Making a PFILE when Oracle will not start

SQL> connect system/manager as sysdba

SQL> create pfile='C:\ora\pfile\init.ora'

File Created.

Now edit the pfile in notepad to make the changes need to allow Oracle to start.

Finally, start the database using the pfile you just edited:

SQL startup pfile='C:\ora\pfile\init.ora';

SQL create spfile from pfile='C:\ora\pfile\init.ora'

The Oracle PFILE

As we said, the parameters are stored in either a PFILE or an SPFILE. The PFILE is a

text-based file, and the init.ora file has been around for over a decade. Inside the

PFILE are a number of database settings called parameters. These parameters help the

Oracle programs know how to start. The parameters tell the Oracle programs how

much memory to allocate, where to put files related to the database and where certain

database files already exist.

As the PFILE is text based, one can edit it in an editor like vi on UNIX or Notepad on

Windows. When you have changed it, you need to make sure you save your changes to

disk before you exit the editor. Also, make sure you save it as a plain text file, since

some editors (like Microsoft Word) can save documents in special formats that Oracle

would not be able to read.

Depending on which operating system you are running on, your PFILE is located by

default in the ORACLE_HOME\database (usually the case on Windows) or

ORACLE_HOME\dbs directory for most other platforms (we talked about where

ORACLE_HOME was earlier in this book).

If you are using a PFILE, it takes on the form of initSID.ora, meaning the file will use the

ORACLE_SID you defined when you created the database. If your SID is called

testdb, the resulting PFILE should be called inittestdb.ora

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The Oracle SPFILE

The SPFILE is different from the PFILE in that it can not be directly edited. This is

because it has a header and footer that contains binary values. Since you can not change

a SPFILE directly, Oracle allows you to manage the SPFILE via the alter system

command.

Also see this spfile example.

That might sound a bit more complex, but it really is no harder than manually changing a

PFILE. For using an SPFILE, you can reap great benefits. It can be backed up byRMAN (Oracles backup and recovery software) every time a change is made or when

the database is backed up, which means its easier to recover (we will talk about

RMAN a great deal in a later chapter!). Also, SPFILES allow you to make dynamic

changes to parameters that are persistent. For example, remember that we said this

database parameter change was not persistent if we were using PFILES:

Alter system set db_recovery_file_dest_size=10g;

If we were using SPFILES the parameter would keep the same value, even after a

database restart. This means you only have to change the parameter value in one place,

and that you can forget having to change it in the PFILE of the database.

One of the most important benefits of the SPFILE is that Oracle has introduced many

automatic tuning features into the core of the database. Without an SPFILE, Oracle

can not autotune your database.

An SPFILE uses the same formatting for its file name as the PFILE, except the word

spfile replaces init. For instance, if your ORACLE_SID is testdb, the resulting spfile

would be called spfiletestdb.ora.

Create spfile from pfile

The spfile is created using the CREATE SPFILE statement; this requires connecting as

SYSDBA.

Connect system/manager as sysdba;

CREATE SPFILE FROM PFILE;

This command creates an spfile in a non-default location

($ORACLE_HOME/database). However, you can fully-qualify the path name is the

create spfile statement:

CREATE SPFILE='/u01/admin/prod/pfile/file_mydb.ora'

FROM

PFILE=/u01/admin/prod/pfile/initprod.ora';

Warning - After an spfile is created, when you bounce the database you may

encounter an error. To get around this, you have to reconnect as SYSDBA and

use the STARTUP command.

The addition of the spfile has changed the search path for the Oracle startup deck.

Oracle now uses the following path:

Search for the spfile$ORACLE_SID.ora file in the default location,

Look for the spfile.ora; and

Search for the pfile by name init$ORACLE_SID.ora.
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As a DBA the main thing you need to worry about with the SPFILE and PFILES are

backing them up. You can use RMAN to backup an SPFILE, or back them up

yourself.

Remember that a PFILE is simply a text based file, which means you can copy it to

another directory without affecting the Oracle instance. This is the easiest way to

backup a PFILE.

To back up an SPFILE, you will first want to convert it to a PFILE. You can do thiswith the following syntax.

SQL> create pfile from spfile;

This will create a PFILE named initSID.ora in your $ORACLE_HOME/database

(Windows) or $ORACLE_HOME/dbs (Linux/Unix) directory.

Note that the SID in initSID.ora will be replaced with the SID of your database as

defined during creation.

In addition, you can back up the file directly to the preferred location with the

command:

SQL> create pfile=/path/to/backup.ora from spfile;

If the time comes that you must put the SPFILE back into place, you can do so with this

command:

SQL> create spfile from pfile=/path/to/backup.ora

If your database is currently running using the SPFILE, be sure to shut down first so

Oracle can replace the file. As your SPFILE is in use the entire time your database is

running, you should never overwrite it during normal operations

You can use the V$PARAMETER dynamic view to see the current setting of the

different database parameters. In this example, we use the DESC SQL*Plus command

to describe the V$PARAMETER view, and we then query the V$PARAMETER viewto see the value of the control_file parameter setting:

SQL> select name, value from v$parameter where name = 'control_files';

NAME VALUE

-------------------- -----------------------------------------------

control_files C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\BOOKTST\BOOKTST\CONTROL01.CTL, C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\BOOKTST\BOOKTST\CONTROL02.CTL, C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\

BOOKTST\BOOKTST\CONTROL03.CTL

You may also use the shortcut show parameter command. For instance:

SQL> show parameter control_files;

The Parameter File at Startup Time

Oracle prefers the use of an SPFILE to a PFILE. When you startup your Oracle

database, Oracle will scan the contents of your parameter directory

($ORACLE_HOME/database on Windows or the Linux directory name

$ORACLE_HOME/dbs), searching in the following order:

* spfileSID.ora

* spfile.ora

* initSID.ora

*
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.

If the directory contains none of the above, then the startup will fail.

Alternatively, you can tell Oracle where to find a PFILE if you store it in a different

location.

SQL> startup pfile=/path/to/pfile/inittestdb.ora

Furthermore, you can create a PFILE that contains nothing but the following line:

SPFILE=/path/to/spfiletestdb.ora

By doing so, we are able to startup using a PFILE in any location we want, but continue

to use an SPFILE that can also be in a different location. This can be very beneficial for

those that wish to store their SPFILE in a centralized location, such as a SAN. Now,

lets take a quick look at redo log administration.

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Burleson is the American Team

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