When it comes to managing an Oracle database, you must understand its important components. Two such components are Service Name and Database Name which are related to identifying the database. However, people get confused that whether they are similar or not and what are the differences between them.
This post will discuss the following content:
What is the Oracle Service Name?
The Service Name is a logical identifier that is utilized to access a specific service in single or multiple instances of an Oracle database. It is a TNS alias used by clients in the connection string or URL to connect a remote database mostly. It was first introduced in Oracle 8i to aid the database register itself with the listener.
What is the Oracle Database Name?
Database Name is a unique identifier that identifies all physical files that make up the Oracle database. It is specified at the time of the creation of the database as a parameter in the “CREATE DATABASE” statement, which cannot be modified without recreating the database.
Difference Between Service Name and Database Name
The Service Name and Database Name are two distinct concepts in the Oracle Database environment; however, they are related to each other. Let’s enlist some differences between these two:
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- Database Name is a unique identifier of the physical database files that forms an Oracle database whereas, Service Name identifies a specific service offered by a database single or multiple instances.
- The Database Name is a non-configurable parameter that is specified while creating the database instance while Service Name is a configurable parameter.
- Database Name is stored in database control files and Service Name is stored in a file named “ora“.
- Database Name is used by Oracle and the operating system to identify the database and access the database files on-the-other-hand Service Name is used in the connection string or URL to establish a database connection, especially with the remote database.
- Multiple services can be registered for a single instance, and each service can be accessed using a unique Service Name whereas a database can only contain one Database Name.
How to Find Oracle “Service Name” Using SQL PLUS?
Login to your database using SQL PLUS and execute the command provided below to find the Service Name:
The output displays the Service Name value:
How to Find Oracle “Database Name” Using SQL PLUS?
To find the Database Name in Oracle, login to your database and execute this command:
The output has successfully returned the Database Name:
This post discussed Database Name and Service Name in Oracle along with their differences and commands to find them.
Conclusion
There are different concepts in the Oracle Database environment. Database Name is a unique identifier of the physical database files that forms an Oracle database while a Service Name identifies a specific service in single or multiple instances of an Oracle database. Database Name is stored in database control files and Service Name is stored in a file named “tnsnames.ora“.
