SHUTDOWN

Purpose

Shuts down a currently running Oracle instance, optionally closing and dismounting a database.

Syntax

SHUTDOWN [ABORT|IMMEDIATE|NORMAL|TRANSACTIONAL]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

ABORT

Proceeds with the fastest possible shutdown. Does not wait for calls to complete or users to disconnect. Does not close or dismount the database, but does shut down the instance. Requires instance recovery on next startup. You must use this option if a background process terminates abnormally.

IMMEDIATE

Does not wait for current calls to complete, prohibits further connects, and closes and dismounts the database. Finally, shuts down the instance. Does not wait for connected users to disconnect. Does not require instance recovery on next startup.

NORMAL

Waits for currently connected users to disconnect from the database, prohibits further connects, and closes and dismounts the database. Finally, shuts down the instance. Does not require instance recovery on next startup. NORMAL is the default option.

TRANSACTIONAL

Performs shutdown of an instance while minimizing interruption to clients. No client can start a new transaction on the instance. If a client attempts to start a new transaction, they are disconnected. After all transactions have either been committed or aborted, any client still connected to the instance is disconnected. At this point, the instance shuts down just as it would when a SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE is submitted.

Using SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL prevents clients from losing work, and at the same time, does not require all users to log off.

Usage Notes

SHUTDOWN with no arguments is equivalent to SHUTDOWN NORMAL.

You must be connected to a database as SYSOPER, or SYSDBA. You cannot connect via a multi-threaded server. For more information about connecting to a database, see the CONNECT command earlier in this chapter.

Example

To shutdown the database in normal mode, enter

SQL> SHUTDOWN 
Database closed. 
Database dismounted. 
Oracle instance shut down.