Init parameterProcesses & sessions

OPEN_CURSORS

What it controls

The most cursors one session can have open at once.

Know this before you change it

It's a per-session ceiling and costs no memory until cursors are actually opened. If ORA-01000 keeps coming back, look for an application leak before raising it again.

Check and change it

1-- Current value on every instance2SELECT inst_id, name, value, isdefault, ismodified3FROM gv$parameter4WHERE name = 'open_cursors';5 6-- Value stored in the spfile7SELECT sid, value FROM v$spparameter WHERE name = 'open_cursors' AND isspecified = 'TRUE';8 9-- Dynamic: takes effect now and is kept after a restart10ALTER SYSTEM SET open_cursors = 1000 SCOPE = BOTH SID = '*';11 12-- Remove it from the spfile to go back to the default at the next restart13ALTER SYSTEM RESET open_cursors SCOPE = SPFILE SID = '*';

Related scripts

• Everything about one sessionPrompts for a SID and shows the user, OS details, program, current and previous SQL_ID, wait event and the OS process ID behind it.

Open in the parameter referenceOracle's reference

More in Processes & sessions

• PROCESSESThe most operating system processes that can connect to the instance, including background processes.
• SESSIONSThe most sessions the instance allows.
• SESSION_CACHED_CURSORSHow many closed cursors each session keeps cached, which saves repeated soft parses.
• JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSESThe most job slave processes for Scheduler and DBMS_JOB jobs.
• RESOURCE_LIMITWhether profile resource limits such as idle time and CPU per call are enforced.
• DDL_LOCK_TIMEOUTSeconds a DDL statement waits for a lock before failing with ORA-00054.