Once you use the RMU Open command to open a database, the database remains open and mapped until you close it explicitly with an RMU Close command and all users have exited the database with the SQL DISCONNECT or EXIT statements. If you do not issue the RMU Open command, the first user to attach to the database incurs the cost of implicitly opening it and the last user to detach from the database incurs the cost of implicitly closing it. The effect of the RMU Open command depends on whether you have specified the OPEN IS AUTOMATIC or OPEN IS MANUAL clause to the SQL ALTER DATABASE statement, as follows: o OPEN IS AUTOMATIC If you have specified automatic opening for your database, users can invoke the database at any time without first issuing an RMU Open command. (Although as mentioned above, it is more efficient to explicitly open the database with an RMU Open command and close it with an RMU Close command.) o OPEN IS MANUAL If you have specified manual opening for your database, the RMU Open command must be issued before users can invoke the database. If you modify the database attribute from OPEN IS AUTOMATIC to OPEN IS MANUAL, the modification takes effect only after all users have detached from the database. (You can issue the RMU/CLOSE/ABORT=FORCEX command to force all users to detach.) Then, you must issue the RMU Open command before users can invoke the database. If you modify the database attribute from OPEN IS MANUAL to OPEN IS AUTOMATIC, users can invoke the database at their discretion. You do not have to issue the RMU Open command. However, if a user has already opened the database manually when you make this change to the database attribute, the modification takes effect only after you manually close the database by issuing the RMU Close command. See the Oracle Rdb Guide to Database Maintenance for information to help you decide whether to set your database attribute to automatic or manual opening. When you create a database, you have a choice of how to set up buffers for database pages. You can choose either local or global buffering. Global buffers can provide better system performance. See the Oracle Rdb7 Guide to Database Performance and Tuning for more information on setting the number of global buffers for your system.