String 

DB_DOMAIN = domain_name 

Static 

WORLD 

Any legal string of name components, separated by periods and up to 128 characters long (including the periods). See valid characters below. This value cannot be null. 

You must set this parameter for every instance, and multiple instances must have the same value 

In a distributed database system, DB_DOMAIN specifies the logical location of the database within the network structure. You should set this parameter if this database is or ever will be part of a distributed system. The value consists of the extension components of a global database name, consisting of valid identifiers, separated by periods. Oracle Corporation recommends that you specify DB_DOMAIN as a unique string for all databases in a domain.

This parameter allows one department to create a database without worrying that it might have the same name as a database created by another department. If one sales department's DB_DOMAIN is "JAPAN.ACME.COM", then their "SALES" database (SALES.JAPAN.ACME.COM) is uniquely distinguished from another database with DB_NAME = "SALES" but with DB_DOMAIN = "US.ACME.COM".

If you omit the domains from the name of a database link, Oracle expands the name by qualifying the database with the domain of your local database as it currently exists in the data dictionary, and then stores the link name in the data dictionary. See also the data dictionary view "GLOBAL_NAME".

The following characters are valid in a database domain name: alphabetic characters, numbers, underscore (_), and pound (#). See Also:

• Oracle8i Designing and Tuning for Performance for more information on setting this parameter.

• Oracle8i Distributed Database Systems for information on setting this parameter in a distributed database.