Brief explanation of how assorted Oracle files can be renamed or moved to a new location

To move or rename a controlfile do the following:

* Alter the control_files parameter using the ALTER SYSTEM comamnd.
* Shutdown the database.
* Rename the physical file on the OS.
* Start the database.

To move or rename a logfile do the following:

* Shutdown the database.
* Rename the physical file on the OS.
* Start the database in mount mode.
* Issue the ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE command to rename the file within the Oracle dictionary.
* Open the database.

To move or rename a datafile do the following:

* Shutdown the database.
* Rename the physical file on the OS.
* Start the database in mount mode.
* Issue the ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE command to rename the file within the Oracle dictionary.
* Open the database.