In This Chapter

Configuring a database-management system requires many decisions, such as where to store the data, how to access the data, and how to protect the data. How you install and configure the database server can greatly affect the performance of database operations.

You can customize the database server so that it functions optimally in your particular data-processing environment. For example, a database server instance that serves 1000 users who execute frequent, short transactions is much different from the database server instance in which a few users make long and complicated searches.

This chapter has three purposes:

• To introduce files, environment variables, and utilities that the database server uses for configuration
• To let you quickly start the database server with a simple configuration
• To provide a foundation for more detailed information that appears throughout this book

The chapter also introduces terminology and covers some of the issues that you must consider before you install the database server. The following topics appear in this chapter:

• Planning for the database server
• Configuring the operating system
• Allocating disk space
• Installing the database server
• Setting environment variables
• Configuring connectivity information
• Preparing the ONCONFIG configuration file
• Starting and administering the database server
• Monitoring configuration information