Prior to Oracle Database 12c, the password file always was located under $ORACLE_HOME/dbs directory, even for RAC instances and for RAC ASM cluster. DBA had to manage and keep in sync the password file in each node. In 12c, now the password file can be stored on ASM instance and hence shared by all instances in the cluster.
The password management utility “orapwd” is still used to create password file, whether file system or asm. Orapwd got a lot more new options in 12c.
Options in 11g:
$ orapwd Usage: orapwd file= entries= force= ignorecase= nosysdba= where file - name of password file (required), password - password for SYS will be prompted if not specified at command line, entries - maximum number of distinct DBA (optional), force - whether to overwrite existing file (optional), ignorecase - passwords are case-insensitive (optional), nosysdba - whether to shut out the SYSDBA logon (optional Database Vault only). There must be no spaces around the equal-to (=) character.
Options in 12c:
$ orapwd Usage: orapwd file= entries= force= asm= dbuniquename= format= sysbackup= sysdg= syskm= delete= input_file= Usage: orapwd describe file= where file - name of password file (required), password - password for SYS will be prompted if not specified at command line. Ignored, if input_file is specified, entries - maximum number of distinct DBA (optional), force - whether to overwrite existing file (optional), asm - indicates that the password to be stored in Automatic Storage Management (ASM) disk group is an ASM password. (optional). dbuniquename - unique database name used to identify database password files residing in ASM diskgroup only. Ignored when asm option is specified (optional), format - use format=12 for new 12c features like SYSBACKUP, SYSDG and SYSKM support, longer identifiers, etc. If not specified, format=12 is default (optional), delete - drops a password file. Must specify 'asm', 'dbuniquename' or 'file'. If 'file' is specified, the file must be located on an ASM diskgroup (optional), sysbackup - create SYSBACKUP entry (optional and requires the 12 format). Ignored, if input_file is specified, sysdg - create SYSDG entry (optional and requires the 12 format), Ignored, if input_file is specified, syskm - create SYSKM entry (optional and requires the 12 format), Ignored, if input_file is specified, input_file - name of input password file, from where old user entries will be migrated (optional), describe - describes the properties of specified password file (required). There must be no spaces around the equal-to (=) character.
For more information, read Oracle Documentation.
Tomorrow, I will introduce you to a set of new commands in ASMCMD to manage the password files in ASM.