The ALS is an optional process that flushes log data to the after-image journal (.aij) file. All database servers deposit transaction log data in a cache located in the database global section. If the ALS is active, it continuously flushes the log data to disk. Otherwise, server processes might block temporarily if the cache in the global section is full. The ALS should be started only when AIJ processing is a bottleneck. Typically, multiuser databases with medium to high update activity can benefit from using the ALS. You can start the ALS either manually, using the RMU Server After_Journal Start command, or automatically when the database is opened (by specifying LOG SERVER IS AUTOMATIC in the SQL ALTER DATABASE command). By default, the ALS startup is set to manual.