Summary

In this chapter, we've begun to dig deeper into the day-to-day activities of an Oracle DBA. We've examined the processes of database startup and shutdown, and learned to control those processes. We've managed Oracle database parameters using the PFILE and SPFILE. We've explored the data dictionary and learned to query it in order to retrieve valuable database information. We've learned about the process of gathering database diagnostics, and used the alert log and trace files to do so. We've also looked at the new ADR and ADRCI diagnostic command tools. Finally, we've examined the Oracle Support model, including the My Oracle Support website and the patching process. In our next chapter, we explore the concept of database security, including the ability to grant and revoke various types of database permissions.