1.10 How do I…Start the checkpoint process?Problem
I suspect that checkpoint processing at our site will be intensive, and I would like to ease the workload on the LGWR process by enabling the CKPT process. How can I tell whether the CKPT process is currently running? How do I activate and deactivate the CKPT process?
Technique
The helpful CKPT process will not run unless the DBA requests it specifically. The show parameter command, issued from within one of the database administration tools, will reveal the current status of the CKPT process.
Steps
1. Start the Server Manager utility and connect as internal.
2. Enter the command show parameter checkpoint_process to find out whether the CKPT process is running. Figure 1.24 displays the results of this command and indicates that the CKPT process is not running.
3. Use one of the database administration tools to shut down the database.
4. Edit the parameter initialization file by locating the line specifying the checkpoint_process parameter (or adding a checkpoint_process line) and setting the parameter to the value TRUE.
5. Use one of the database administration tools to restart and open the database.
6. Use the show parameter checkpoint_process command from step 1 again to verify that the checkpoint process parameter is now set to TRUE.
How It Works
The show parameter command in step 1 and its output indicate that the CKPT process is not running.
Step 2 closes the database, a precursor for changing initialization parameters. In Step 3, you use any text editor to edit the parameter initialization file to enable the CKPT process. When the database opens in Step 5, the CKPT process will be ready to aid LGWR when checkpoints occur.
Comments
If it is possible to add one more background process to the server, the CKPT process is a worthwhile addition to most Oracle instances.