Creating password File

Question: Which command is used to create a password file for an Oracle database?
In Oracle Database environments, the `orapwd` utility is the authoritative tool used for creating a password file. This password file stores credentials for users who are granted SYSDBA, SYSOPER, SYSASM, SYSBACKUP, or SYSDG privileges. Utilizing this utility effectively is crucial for enabling secure remote authentication and role-based management operations.

Here is the general syntax for using the `orapwd` utility:

orapwd FILE=<password_file_path> PASSWORD=<sys_password> [OPTIONS]

1. FILE: Specifies the complete path where the password file will be created. The standard naming convention is `orapw<SID>` for Unix/Linux systems.
2. PASSWORD: Sets the password for the SYS user. You are generally prompted to enter this password unless you specify it explicitly in the command.

orapwd FILE=$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapw$ORACLE_SID PASSWORD=
mysecretpassword ENTRIES=10 FORCE=Y

In this example:

1. The password file will be located at `$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapw$ORACLE_SID`.
2. The SYS password is set to `mysecretpassword`.
3. The maximum number of distinct privileged users who can connect is set to 10.
4. An existing password file will be overwritten due to the `FORCE=Y` option.

1. Ensure that the Oracle instance is shut down before creating or modifying the password file.
2. The `orapwd` utility should be run by a user who has the necessary file system permissions to write to the directory where the password file resides.
3. After creating the password file, set restrictive permissions on it to prevent unauthorized access.

Once the password file is successfully created, update your Oracle database initialization parameters (typically in `init.ora` or `spfile.ora`) to set `REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE` to either `EXCLUSIVE`, `SHARED`, or `NONE`, depending on your use case.
By adhering to these guidelines, you ensure the secure and effective management of privileged user authentication in Oracle Database environments.

To create a password file, you use a very simple command-line utility named orapwd. You run orapwd from the operating system command prompt, and pass in three pieces of information as arguments to the command. The syntax for orapwd looks like this:

oradim file=filename password=internal_password 
[entries=administrator_count]

The value for the entries parameter is used to size the password file. Each entry takes up a fixed amount of space. The file is then created large enough to accommodate the number of entries that you specify. This number represents the maximum number of users to whom you will be able to grant SYSDBA or SYSOPER privileges. Be generous with the number of users you allow for. Password files are not that big to begin with, so space is not an issue here. Strictly speaking, the entries parameter is optional, but under most circumstances you should use it. If you leave it off, the password file will only be large enough to hold passwords for the SYS and INTERNAL users, forcing all remote DBAs to share those passwords. That is not a very secure solution.

Click the Quiz link below to test your knowledge of the details of creating a password file.
Creating Password File - Quiz