password file questions

[elaine3839]

I have a couple of questions regarding to password file authentication.

1. Only database users can be added to the password file, but not OS users, right?

2. The syntax for creating password file is:

orapwd file=file name password=pwd entries=greater than 0

What's the purpose for the parameter password? My understanding is after we add user to the password file (by grant SYSDBA or SYSOPER), we actually use that user's password instead of the password for this file to connect to the instance as SYSDBA/SYSOPER. If that's the case, why do we need to create a password for the file itself?

3. set oracle_sid=xx doesn't always work for me.
I tried to verify password authentication from another oracle client by doing:
1) set oracle_sid=oradev1
2) sqlplus /nolog
3) conn elaine/test123 as sysdba
And I got error msg: invalid login name and password. However, I know they are correct!

So I tried to do
conn elaine/test123@oradev1 as sysdba

and it works! So why the set oracle_sid=oradev1 didn't do the job?

FYI -- I am using Oracle 8.1.7 on Win2000.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

[paul]

1. Yes.

2. One purpose of the password parameter is to provide
authentication if only the instance is running, no database
associated with it.

The concepts guide goes into greater detail about how/when different methods are used to authenticate users.

--
Paul

[Edited by paul on 04-02-2002 at 04:02 PM]

[Shestakov]

1)
conn elaine/test123@oradev1 as sysdba <-- oradev1 is entry in tnsnames.ora file
2)
set oracle_sid=oradev1 <-- is SID name of oracle instance
sqlplus never use SID name as part of connection string.
3)
if u want use set variable as part (or whole) connect string u should set
TWO_TASK variable for it.

[elaine3839]

Shestakov ---

1) I agree.

2) So if sqlplus never use SID as part of connection string, I don't really need to do SET ORACLE_SID=XXX before I start SqlPlus, right?
So usually why do people want to set oracle_sid? I seems to see quite a few places doing that on the book.

3) Did you say if I set the variable TWO_TASK, then SqlPlus is going to use it as part of connection string?

Thanks again...