Simply speaking, consider SID to be the name for the various background process (DBWR, LGWR, et all) and the memory structures (SGA, PGA). A SID needs to be associated with a database, which would be the DB_NAME. The SID and DB_NAME need not be the same. They have to be different in an Oracle Parallel Server environment, where you can have two SID's say ORA1 and ORA2 associated with the same database, say ORA.
Raj ora ak <ora_magic@ya To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> hoo.com> cc: Sent by: Subject: SID and DB_NAME root@fatcity. com October 24, 2002 11:23 PM Please respond to ORACLE-L I know this novice question for dba's but just wanted to refresh this , what is difference between SID and DATABASE_NAME , why init.ora file shouldhave database name same as SID and in what circumstances SID and DB_NAME can be different . TIA oramagic -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).