Read-only   You can run databases in read-only mode by supplying the -r option. Databases that have auditing turned on cannot be started in read-only mode. See -r server option, and -r database option.

In-memory mode   You can run databases entirely in memory by specifying the -im option. When you run in checkpoint mode only (-im c), the database server does not use a transaction log, but the database can be recovered to the most recent checkpoint. When you run the database in never write mode (-im nw), committed transactions are not written to the database file on disk, and all changes are lost when you shut down the database. Using either in-memory mode, your application can still make changes to the database or access it while the database is active. See -im server option.

Bulk load   This is useful when loading large quantities of data into a database using the Interactive SQL INPUT command. Do not use the -b option if you are using LOAD TABLE to bulk load data. See -b server option, and Importing and exporting data.

Starting without a transaction log   Use the -f database option for recovery—either to force the database server to start after the transaction log has been lost, or to force the database server to start using a transaction log it would otherwise not find. Note that -f is a database option, not a server option.

Once the recovery is complete, you should stop your server and restart without the -f option. See -f recovery option.

Operating quietly   The database server supports quiet mode. You determine how quiet you want the server to operate, ranging from suppressing messages or the icon in the system tray, to complete silence. To operate a completely silent database server on Windows, specify the -qi, -qs, and -qw options. With these options set, there is no visual indication that the server is running as all icons and all possible startup error messages are suppressed. If you run the database server in quiet mode, you can use either (or both) the -o or -oe options to diagnose errors.

Note that the -qi and -qs options do not suppress windows caused by the -v (version) and -ep (prompt for database encryption password) server options.