How to start and stop the Oracle RAC database

Start the Oracle RAC database

syntax to start an RAC database:

srvctl start database -d <db_name> -o <start_option>

• -d <db_name>: Database name (e.g., RACDB)
• -o <start_option>: Optional. Default is open.

Options:
nomount: Starts the instance but not mount or open it.(means allocate memory area)
mount: Starts the instance and mounts the database.
open: Fully opens the database for user access (default).

#Start database in NOMOUNT mode
srvctl start database -d RACDB -o nomount

#Start database in MOUNT mode
srvctl start database -d RACDB -o mount

#Start database in OPEN mode
srvctl start database -d RACDB -o open

Stop Oracle RAC Database

Here’s how to stop a RAC database using srvctl:

srvctl stop database -d <db_name> -o <stop_options>

• -d <db_name>: Database name to stop (e.g., RACDB)
• -o <stop_options>: Specifies the shutdown method (optional, default is immediate)

Options:
Normal: Waits for all connected connections to end before shutting down.
Immediate: Cancels ongoing transactions and ends sessions (default option)
Transactional: Waits until current transactions finish before shutting down.
Abort: Shuts down immediately without undoing transactions or disconnecting users properly.

# Normal shutdown (waits for all users to disconnect)
srvctl stop database -d RACDB -o normal

# Immediate shutdown
srvctl stop database -d RACDB -o immediate

# Allows active transactions to complete
srvctl stop database -d RACDB -o transactional

# Shutdown abort
srvctl stop database -d RACDB -o abort