Oracle Networking Products Getting Started for Windows Platforms
Release 8.0.3
A53746-01

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5
Administration Tasks

This chapter discusses some common network administration tasks that may need to be performed on the server and client. Topics include:

Server Administration Tasks

Common administration tasks to perform on the server side include:

Starting Oracle Names

The table below explains how to start Oracle Names using either the command line utility NAMESCTL80 or the Windows NT Control Panel.

To start   Using the Command Line Utility NAMESCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Oracle Names  
  1. Verify whether the Oracle Names Server is running or not running.
From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  1. Enter:
C:\>NAMESCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
NAMESCTL> STATUSIf the STATUS command indicates the Oracle Names Server is running, go to Step 6. If the Oracle Names Server is not running, go to Step 5.
  1. Start the Oracle Names Server. Enter:
NAMESCTL>START
  1. Enter:
NAMESCTL>REORDER_NS
  1. Exit from the NAMESCTL80 utility. Enter:
NAMESCTL>EXIT  
  1. From the Control Panel window, double-click Services.
The Services dialog box appears. Look for the OracleNames80 service. A blank in Status column indicates that the service is not running. If the service is already running, close the dialog box and continue with the section "Starting the Listener".
  1. Select the service, and click Start.
The service starts.To change the startup mode to automatic:Click Startup. Select Automatic.Click Close.
  1. Enter at the command prompt:
C:\>NAMESCTL80
  1. Issue the REORDER_NS command:
NAMESCTL>REORDER_NS
  1. Exit from the NAMESCTL80 utility. Enter:
NAMESCTL>EXIT  

Stopping Oracle Names

Stop the Oracle Names Server (if you are using it) when you have completed database connections.

To Stop   Using the Command Line Utility NAMESCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Oracle Names  
  1. Stop Oracle Names.
From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  1. Enter:
C:\>NAMESCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
NAMESCTL>STOP
  1. Exit from the NAMESCTL80 utility. Enter:
NAMESCTL>EXIT  
  1. From the Control Panel window, double-click Services.
The Services dialog box appears. Look for the OracleNames80 service.
  1. Select the service, and click Stop.
The Services confirmation dialog box confirms it is OK to stop the Service.
  1. Click OK, and click Close to exit the Services Control Panel.
 

Starting the Listener

The table below explains how to start the listener:

To start   Using the Command Line Utility LSNRCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Listener  
  1. Verify if the listener is running by using the Listener Control Utility, LSNRCTL80.
From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  1. Enter:
C:\>LSNRCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
LSNRCTL>STATUS [listener_name]where listener_name is the name of the listener defined in the LISTENER.ORA file with the alias LISTENER. It is not necessary to identify the listener if you are using the default listener, named LISTENER.If the STATUS command indicates the listener is running, continue to Step 5. If the listener is not running, go to Step 6.
  1. Even if the listener is running, Oracle Corporation advises you to stop the listener, and start it again. To stop the listener, enter:
LSNRCTL>SET PASSWORD passwordLSNRCTL>STOP [listener_name]SET PASSWORD is only required if the password is set in the LISTENER.ORA file. The password is defaulted to ORACLE.
  1. Start the listener. Enter:
LSNRCTL>START [listener_name]
  1. Exit from the LSNRCTL utility. Enter:
LSNRCTL>EXIT  
  1. From the Control Panel window, choose the Services icon.
The Services dialog box appears. Look for the OracleTNSListener80 service. A blank in Status column indicates that the service is stopped.If the listener is running, continue to Step 2. If the listener is not running, go to Step 4.

Note: The default service name for the listener is OracleTNSListener80. If you have renamed your listener (default is LISTENER), then the name of the service will be appended with the name you have given the listener.

  1. Select the OracleTNSListener80 service, and click Stop.
The Services confirmation dialog box confirms it is OK to stop the Service.
  1. Choose Yes.
The listener is stopped. Continue to Step 4.
  1. Select the OracleTNSListener80 service, and click Start.
The listener is started.
  1. Click Close.
 

Stopping the Listener

Stop the listener when all database connections have completed, and the Oracle Names Server has been stopped.

Note::

The listener can be left running on the server, if you choose.  
Note:

If you are not authorized for access on the server, ask your server administrator for assistance.  
To Stop   Using the Command Line Utility LSNRCTL   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Net8 Listener  
  1. Stop Oracle Names.
From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  1. Enter:
C:\>LSNRCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
LSNRCTL>SET PASSWORD passwordLSNRCTL>STOP [listener_name]where listener_name is the name of the listener defined in the LISTENER.ORA file. It is not necessary to identify the listener if you are using the default listener, named LISTENER.SET PASSWORD is only required if the password is set in the LISTENER.ORA file. The password is defaulted to ORACLE.
  1. Exit from the LSNRCTL80 utility. Enter:
LSNRCTL>EXIT  
  1. From the Control Panel window, double-click Services.
The Services dialog box appears. Look for the OracleTNSListener80.
  1. Select the service, and click Stop.
The Services confirmation dialog box confirms it is OK to stop the Service.
  1. Click OK, and click Close to exit the Services Control Panel.

Note: The default service name for the listener is OracleTNSListener80. If you have renamed your listener (default is LISTENER), then the name of the service will be appended with the name you have given the listener.  

Starting the Connection Manager

The table below explains how to start the Connection Manager using either the command line utility CMCTL80 or the Windows NT Control Panel.

To start   Using the Command Line Utility CMCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Connection Manager Note: Start Oracle Names (if you are using it) and the listener before starting Connection Manager.  

 

 

...in an Oracle Names environment  
  1. From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  2. Enter:
C:\>CMCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
CMCTL>start CMAN  
  1. From the Control Panel, double-click Services.
  2. Select OracleCMAdminService80 from the list of services, and click Start.
  3. Select OracleCMANService80, and click Start.
  4. Click Close to dismiss the Control Panel window.

Note: The service OracleCMAdminService80 must be started before OracleCMANService80.  

...in a non-Oracle Names environment  
  1. From the Start menu, choose Run.
  2. Enter
C:\>CMCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
CMCTL>start CM  
  1. From the Control Panel, double-click Services.
  2. Select OracleCMANService80, and click Start.
  3. Click Close to dismiss the Control Panel window.
 

Stopping the Connection Manager

To stop the Connection Manager using either the command line utility CMCTL80 or the Windows NT Control Panel:

To stop   Using the Command Line Utility CMCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Connection Manager  

 

 

...in an Oracle Names environment  
  1. From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  2. Enter:
C:\>CMCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
CMCTL>stop CMANCMCTL>exit  
  1. From the Control Panel, double-click Services.
  2. Select OracleCMAdminService80 from the list of services, and click Stop.
  3. Select OracleCMANService80, and click Stop.
  4. Click Close to dismiss the Control Panel window.
 

...in a non-Oracle Names environment  
  1. From the taskbar, select Start > Run.
  2. Enter
C:\>CMCTL80.EXE
  1. Click OK.
  2. Enter:
CMCTL>stop CMCMCTL>exit  
  1. From the Control Panel, double-click Services.
  2. Select OracleCMANService80, and click Stop.
  3. Click Close to dismiss the Control Panel window.
 

Testing the Network Configuration on the Server

Test the network configuration by performing a loopback test on the server.

Performing a Loopback Test on the Server

A loopback test uses Net8 to go from the server back to itself, bypassing the Interprocess Communication (IPC). Performing a successful loopback verifies that Net8 is functioning on the server side.

Before performing a loopback test, perform the following tasks described earlier in this chapter:

  1. Starting Oracle Names (if you are using it)
  2. Starting the Listener
  3. Starting the Connection Manager (if you are using it)

Perform a loopback test on the server using Oracle Net8 Easy Config.To perform the loopback test:

  1. From the server or client machine, start the Oracle Net8 Easy Config application:

    From the taskbar, select Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT or Windows 95> Oracle Net8 Easy Config.

    Oracle Net8 Easy Config appears.

  2. Select Test.
  3. Select the service name from the list box on the right side of the window, and click Next.
  4. Enter a valid User name and Password for the database you want to connect to, and click Test.

    The status of the test appears in the field below the Test button. Click Done when the test is complete.

    The Finish screen appears.

  5. Click Finish to dismiss the Oracle Net8 Easy Config application.

Enabling Tracing

Tracing assists you in diagnosing and troubleshooting networking performance and problems. To enable tracing on either the client or server:

  1. Start Oracle Net8 Assistant.

    From the taskbar, select Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT or Windows 95 > Oracle Net8 Assistant.

  2. Double-click Profiles.

    The profile details appear on the right side of the screen.

  3. Select General from the drop-down list.
  4. Click the Tracing tab:

  5. Specify your tracing settings for the client and/or server:
    Tracing Setting   Description  

    Trace Level  

    Depending on what you will use the trace files for, choose from the drop-down list the level desired:

    OFF

    Tracing is not enabled. OFF is the default setting.

    USER

    Tracing is set to a level appropriate for users. Traces to identify user-induced error conditions.

    ADMIN

    Tracing is set to a level appropriate to database administrators. Traces to identify installation-specific problems.

    SUPPORT

    Tracing is set to a level appropriate for customer support.  

    Trace Directory  

    Specify the directory to which the trace file will be written. The default filename is \NET80\TRACE.  

    Trace Filename  

    Specify the name of the trace file. You may enter any valid filename. The default filename is TRACE.TRC.  

    Unique Trace File  

    Select this checkbox to allow multiple trace files to exist. Net8 assigns a unique filename to each trace file.  
  6. Choose Save Network Configuration from the File menu.
  7. Choose Exit from the File menu to exit the Oracle Net8 Assistant.

Specifying the Global Database Name, SDU Size, and Connection Manager Address

  1. Start the Oracle Net8 Assistant, if it is not already started.

    From the taskbar, select Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT or Windows 95 > Oracle Net8 Assistant.

    Oracle Net8 Assistant appears:

  2. Double-click Network, and double-click Service Names to expand the directory listing of service names you have already created.
  3. Select a service name to configure for advanced features.

    The service name details appear on the right side of the screen:

  4. Click Advanced...

    The Advanced Options screen appears:

    where:

    Field   Description  

    Global Database Name  

    This name consists of the database name and the network domain in which it resides. This unique identifier takes the form of databasename.domain. For example, for a database named SYSTEM in the domain WORLD, the global database name is SYSTEM.WORLD.  

    Data Unit, Session  

    The buffer where Net8 holds data before transmitting it across the network. The value you enter here will optimally be a multiple of the normal transport frame size, which is 1064 for an Ethernet network. The default value is 2048.  

    Source Route  

    Indicates that you want to use Connection Manager. Select if you want to use Connection Manager.

    See the section in Chapter 4, "Configuring the Network".  

  5. Click OK. The optional settings are added to your configuration files.
  6. Choose Save Network Configuration from the File menu.

    Oracle Net8 Assistant creates the TNSNAMES.ORA and the SQLNET.ORA configuration files.

  7. Choose Exit from the File menu.

    The Oracle Net8 Assistant exits.

Enabling Connection Pooling

Connection pooling is a feature used in a MTS environment.To enable connection pooling, you must edit the INITSID.ORA configuration file for your server, where SID is the system ID for your database instance. This file contains the parameters defined for your server.

Note:

Connection pooling only works with MTS in a TCP/IP environment. This feature cannot be enabled if you are using multiplexing.  
Additional Information:

See Oracle8 Reference Guide for more information about the parameters in this file.  

Client Administration Tasks

After testing the server side configuration, perform client side administration tasks by:

Verifying TCP/IP Network Connections

If your are using TCP/IP as a network protocol:

If you are not using TCP/IP, skip to "Verifying Oracle Database Connections Using TNSPING80" in this chapter.

Most TCP/IP transports attempt to use the Domain Name Service (DNS). DNS is a service used to translate the host name specified in the TNSNAMES.ORA file into the host internet address (IP). If a Domain Name Server is present on your network and the TCP/IP vendor supports DNS, the host name is successfully translated to the host address. The host IP address can be determined by using the Control Panel's Network utility to access DNS information.

Depending on your vendor, workstation configuration, and network configuration, your TCP/IP software can also use a HOSTS file to map host names to Internet addresses if DNS is not detected or supported.

If DNS and the HOSTS file are unable to resolve the host name during a remote database connection, the following error message appears: 

ORA-12545: TNS: name lookup failure

If your network administrator cannot resolve the problem, the solution to this error message is to go around DNS and the HOSTS file by modifying the (HOSTS = server_name) section of the TNSNAMES.ORA so server_name is changed to the IP address of the server.

The following sections explain how to determine the server's IP address and verify that DNS and the HOSTS file are working correctly.

Determine the Server IP Address
Note:

If you are not authorized for access on the server, ask your Database Administrator for assistance.  

To determine the server IP address:

  1. From the Control Panel window, double-click Network.

    The Network window appears.

  2. Choose the Protocols tab.

    The Protocols view appears:

  3. From the Protocol view, select the TCP/IP adapter, and click Properties.

    The Microsoft TCP/IP Properties dialog box appears with the IP Address view:

  4. Obtain the IP address, and click Cancel to close the Microsoft TCP/IP Properties dialog box.
  5. Click Cancel to close the Network window.
  6. Continue to the next section, "Use PING".

Use PING

If you are using TCP/IP, PING allows you to determine if DNS or the HOSTS file are correctly set up and your network operating system is functioning correctly.

To use PING:

  1. From the client, enter: 
    PING server_name

    where server_name is the host name, alias, or Internet address of the server to which you are trying to connect. If your network in functioning correctly, the following message appears: 

    Reply from server_name: bytes=nn time=nnms

    If there is a problem, this message appears: 

    Request timed out

    or: 

    Reply from server_name: Destination host unreachable

    The following is a partial list of reasons why a host is inaccessible:

    • the server is not accessible through the network
    • the remote host is not on-line
    • the domain name server is not functioning
    • a domain name server is not accessible through the network
    • the server name does not exist in the HOSTS file

    If PING returns an error message, ask your network administrator to help you resolve the problem. If the problem is not resolved, and you attempt to make a Net8 connection, you may receive one of the following error messages:

    • ORA-12203: TNS: unable to connect to destination
    • ORA-12535: TNS: Failure to redirect to destination
    • ORA-12541: TNS: no listener
  2. Continue to the next section, "Verifying Oracle Database Connections Using TNSPING80".

Verifying Oracle Database Connections Using TNSPING80

Use the TNSPING80 utility to determine whether or not you can reach the listener service. TNSPING80, however, never actually connects with the listener. A socket is never created and opened. TNSPING80 only checks to ascertain that a listener is present on the server side.

When you connect to a listener using TNSPING80, an estimate of the round trip time in milliseconds appears. If TNSPING80 fails, a network error message appears without the resource use of a database connection.

To use TNSPING80:

From the client, enter: 

TNSPING80 service_name count

where service_name is the database alias (or service name) and count is the number of times the program attempts to reach the server. count is optional.

The output looks like: 

TNS Ping Utility for 32-bit Windows: Version 8.0.3.0.0 - Production on 27 MAY-
97 20:20:33

Copyright, 1997(c) Oracle Corporation 1997. All rights reserved.

Attempting to contact 
(ADDRESS=(COMMUNITY=tcp.world)(PROTOCOL=TCP)(Host=host_name)(Port=1521))
OK (60 msec)

Verifying Oracle Database Connection Using Oracle Net8 Easy Config

Use Oracle Net8 Easy Config to determine whether or not you can reach the listener service. To verify connectivity, be sure to perform these tasks first:

  1. Starting Oracle Names (if you are using it)
  2. Starting the Listener
  3. Starting the Connection Manager (if you are using it)
  4. From the server or client machine, start the Oracle Net8 Easy Config application:

    From the taskbar, select Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT or Windows 95> Oracle Net8 Easy Config.

    Oracle Net8 Easy Config appears.

  5. Select Test.
  6. Select the service name from the list box on the right side of the window, and click Next.
  7. Enter a valid User name and Password for the database you want to connect to, and click Test.

    The status of the test appears in the field below the Test button. Click Done when the test is complete.

    The Finish screen appears.

  8. Click Finish to dismiss the Oracle Net8 Easy Config application.

Enabling the Client Cache Service

The client cache service is installed as a manual service. Once the cache process starts, the process stores all information received from a Names Server. To enable this feature, start the process:

To start   Using the Command Line Utility NAMESCTL80   Using the Windows NT Control Panel  

Client Address Caching  

At the command prompt, enter:

C:\>NAMESCTL80

NAMESCTL>

NAMESCTL>START_CLIENT_CACHE  
  1. From the Windows NT Control Panel, double-click Services.
  2. Select OracleClientCache80 from the list box.
  3. Click Start.
  4. Click Close to dismiss the Services Control Panel.
 
Note:

The Client Cache Service can only be used in an Oracle Names environment with DDO enabled.  

Configuring Oracle Security Server

If you want to configure a Windows NT system as an Oracle Security Server, use Oracle Enterprise Manager, the graphical administration tool. To configure a client to use Oracle Security Server:

  1. Start Oracle Net8 Assistant.

    From the taskbar, select Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT or Windows 95 > Oracle Net8 Assistant.

  2. Double-click Profiles.

    The profile details appear on the right side of the screen.

  3. Select Oracle Security Server from the drop-down list:
  4. Click the Authentication tab.
  5. Select OSS from the Available Services list, and click the < button to add your selection to the Selected Services list.
  6. Order your selections by using the Promote or Demote button.
  7. Click the Parameter tab.

  8. Enter the full path name and filename of the Wallet Directory (where your wallet resides).
  9. Enter the Security Server Name.
  10. Choose Save Network Configuration from the File menu when you are finished.
  11. Choose Exit to exit the Oracle Net8 Assistant
    Note:  
    .
    Additional Information:

    See:

     


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