# Initializing Oracle Database@AWS in a trusted account
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A trusted account is an AWS account that you designate as eligible to receive resource shares. It must be another individual AWS account in your AWS organization. Before you can use shared Oracle Database@AWS resources in a trusted account, you must initialize the service. Initialization creates the necessary metadata and establishes the connection between your AWS account and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

**Topics**
+ [What is Oracle Database@AWS initialization?](#initialize-service-overview)
+ [Next steps](#initialize-service-next-steps)

## What is Oracle Database@AWS initialization?
<a name="initialize-service-overview"></a>

After a resource has been shared with your account, you must initialize the Oracle Database@AWS service before you can access or use the shared resource. If you try to use Oracle Database@AWS APIs without initializing the service first, you receive an error.

Initialization is a one-time process. It creates the necessary metadata and establishes a connection between your AWS account and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

You can initialize the service using either the AWS Management Console or the AWS CLI.

## Console
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1. Open the Oracle Database@AWS console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/odb/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/odb/).

1. If this is your first time accessing the Oracle Database@AWS console in this account, you see a welcome page.

1. Choose **Activate account**.

1. The service initialization process begins. This process might take a few minutes to complete. 

1. Refresh the welcome page periodically until the **Activate account** button changes to the **Dashboard** button. 

1. Choose **Dashboard** to begin using Oracle Database@AWS.

## AWS CLI
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To initialize Oracle Database@AWS in your trusted account using the AWS CLI, use the `initialize-service` command.

```
aws odb initialize-service
```

To check the initialization status, use the `get-oci-onboarding-status` command.

```
aws odb get-oci-onboarding-status
```

When initialization is complete, the output shows a status of `ACTIVE_LIMITED`, indicating that your account can access shared resources but can't create a new Exadata infrastructure or ODB network.

## Next steps
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After you initialize Oracle Database@AWS in your trusted account, you can do the following:
+ View shared resources using the `list` and `get` commands or in the AWS console.
+ Create VM clusters and Autonomous VM clusters on a shared Exadata infrastructure and ODB network.
+ Create an ODB peering connection on a shared ODB network.

For more information about working with shared resources, see [Working with shared Oracle Database@AWS resources in a trusted account](working-with-shared-resources.md).