Hi reydp..

let's say you wanted 2 different instances on one server.

Would that mean that you would have to install oracle software for each instance on the server with 2 oracle_homes?

I take it you would be able to start both instances simultaneously and access either one depending on oracle_sid value in .profile (unix), or service name in tnsnames for NT.

Can you please clarify as I have never needed to set up such a scenario and would like to know how it's done.

Can you also clarify whether it is possible to connect to either service on a unix box without having to set oracle_sid, but specifying service name as part of connect string ?

eg
conn system/manager@service1
conn system/manager@service2

Thanks in advance

Suresh