SYS and SYSTEM Users

The following administrative user accounts are automatically created when you install Oracle Database. They are both created with the password that you supplied upon installation, and they are both automatically granted the DBA role.

• SYS

  This account can perform all administrative functions. All base (underlying) tables and views for the database data dictionary are stored in the SYS schema. These base tables and views are critical for the operation of Oracle Database. To maintain the integrity of the data dictionary, tables in the SYS schema are manipulated only by the database. They should never be modified by any user or database administrator. You must not create any tables in the SYS schema.

  The SYS user is granted the SYSDBA privilege, which enables a user to perform high-level administrative tasks such as backup and recovery.

• SYSTEM

  This account can perform all administrative functions except the following:

  • Backup and recovery

  • Database upgrade

  While this account can be used to perform day-to-day administrative tasks, Oracle strongly recommends creating named user accounts for administering the Oracle database to enable monitoring of database activity.