Performing Oracle User-Managed Backups - OCP: Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Professional - page 24

documentation yet). The main difference here is that the SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL com-
mand will wait for active transactions to complete (commit) before shutting down those
sessions. As a result, the SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL command can take a while longer to
complete its task, but on the positive side, users might be a little bit happier (if they are
actually able to be happy anytime the database comes down). Here is an example of the
SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL command:
SQL> shutdown transactional
The bad boy of database shutdowns is the SHUTDOWN ABORT command. If you want your data-
base to come down without debate, this is the way to do it. This is like pulling the power cord
on your database; it is a crash of the database, shutting it down in an inconsistent manner.
Here is an example of the SHUTDOWN ABORT command:
SQL> shutdown abort
The ShUTDOWN ABORT Command: The Truth is Out There
As long as the SHUTDOWN ABORT command has been around it has been surrounded in
controversy. It is believed by some that the Seven-Day War was actually started as the
result of a disagreement between DBAs over the SHUTDOWN ABORT command (they conve-
niently ignore the fact that Oracle didn't even exist then). The truth is that the SHUTDOWN
ABORT command is the fastest way to shut down your database. Because the database
will be shut down in an inconsistent manner, it may result in a delayed database startup
because of the recovery process that Oracle must go through internally. Often, though,
SHUTDOWN ABORT may well be the way to get your database shut down and started back
up in the shortest amount of time possible.
The ALTER DATABASE Command The ALTER DATABASE command is used to move
the database from one state to another. For example, if the instance was started with the
STARTUP NOMOUNT command, you may want to mount the database. To do so, you would
use the ALTER DATABASE MOUNT command, as shown here:
SQL> alter database mount;
If the database is already mounted and you want to open it, then the ALTER DATABASE OPEN
command would be appropriate, as shown in this example:
SQL> alter database open;