Oracle on OpenVMS problem

[Graham Van der vaart_1]

Hi
I am probably going to get heckled about version support etc but here goes anyway ....

We have 7 Alphas running OpenVMS 7.1 and Oracle 7.3.2. (It's true!!)
I as a newcomer to OpenVMS have been tasked with the dubious task of upgrading OpenVMS to 7.3-1 and Oracle to 8.1.7 (for now that is!)

I have two dev boxes in a lab on a private network that I restored images of two of the seven systems to. I then upgraded OpenVMS to 7.3 and then to 7.3-1 (no problems so far).

On one of these upgraded hosts I needed to test Data Protector client backups on and also test the Openview Operations agent. I did this successfully but needed to test it on the production network. So, I did a "set hosts" and "set interf" on this host to give it an IP to use in the prod network. I also disabled startup of Oracle on this host during the test so that Oracle snapshots would not be a problem.
In order for the OpenView Operations agent to work I needed to apply patches:
VMS731_UPDATE-V0600
VMS731_PCSI
DCE_030SSRT3608


After the tests I put the host back into the private network and did a "set hosts" and "set interf" again back to the orig IP. (BTW I did do a "set nohost" first).

Since I have done this I have a problem with connecting to Oracle via the listener, ie when I sqlplus locally at the command prompt I can connect to the instance. But when I sqlplus @ I get a timeout. The same applies if I try to connect to this Oracle instance from the other OpenVMS host on the private network.

Has anybody any ideas why this listener problem may have arisen?
Obvious things like listener started etc and "show hosts" I have checked.

I cannot be sure when the problem was introduced ie the moment the hosts were introduced to the private network (absence of gateway, DNS etc) or after the upgrade of the OS.
The fact that the "other" upgraded host works fine when I "sqlplus / to itself and therby using the listener seems to indicate that it was as a result of the IP changes, patches or OpenView agent install.

Any ideas?

Regards
Graham

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

I would use tcpip$config to do changes.

What is ucx show comm showing as local host name ?

Wim

[Graham Van der vaart_1]

Hi
It's showing correctly and thanks for the tip regarding tcpip$config.
G

[Hein van den Heuvel]

Whenever I have problem like this (happened more than once!) my first step is often to check "lsnrctl status".
Of course you want to see that status, but more importantly perhpas you want to see the listener.log location. Then tail that file to 'see' (or not see) the attempted connections come in.

Then I go play with 'simple' node names versus fully qualified node names (with domain).

And on the TNS side I try somethign similar. Like adding the ".world" or not.

When all else fails I add a fresh entry to tnsnames.ora cloned from the orig, but with a hard coded, numeric, IP address.

Good luck!
Hein.

[Robert Gezelter]

Graham,

Recently, I untangled an issue with the listener at a client.

It was extremely useful to go back to the fundamentals and check each part of the configuration. Cross check all of the parameters, I was amazed at what I found.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Graham Van der vaart_1]

Thanks for all the responses. I think that in this case there are too many variables, so I'll refresh the system with an OpenVMS 7.1 restore and then test and after each upgrade, patch or product install I will test to see when it breaks. I'll post my findings on this forum case asap.

Regards
Graham

[Robert Gezelter]

Graham,

Personally, I would NOT recommend a restore. I would merely work with the configuration files relating to the listener.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Marc Van den Broeck]

Hi,

look in tns_admin:tnsnames.ora
Locate the 'SID' entry you are supposed to use.
Try 'tcpip ping' to the hostname specified in that entry.
If you get a timeout also, you dont have an Oracle listener problem but a tcpip problem.
So, pls look at that first.

Rgds
Marc

[George_145]

Ok, so here's the heckle. If you are going through the trouble of upgrading, why not upgrade to a supported version like V7.3-2?

George Pagliarulo
OpenVMS Patch Release Process

[Graham Van der vaart_1]

Marc, tcpip is fine. I'm not sure about routing especially in the context of my private network.
George, I will definitely go 7.3-2 since it also means I won't need to load the patches that OVO agent require.

In terms of testing in a lab on a private network. What changes would I need to make to ensure that the network functions OK as though it were on the public network iro Oracle connectivity?
I copied tnsnames, listener files from public network production hosts and stll the Oracle connectivity issues persist.
Regards
Graham

[Robert Gezelter]

Graham,

Please be careful when "... copying listener files ...".

If you are in doubt as to whether the complete listener is installed, then you need to reconfigure/reinstall that part of the Oracle suite from the distribution kit.

One of the problems that I encountered at the client site I mentioned earlier was that someone (who was no longer with the client) had unaccountably failed to install all of the components associated with listener.

If there is any doubt, reinstall the listener components.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Marc Van den Broeck]

Graham,

listener.ora is the configuration file used by Oracle for the listeners running on the computer where it is defined.
You define here which database(s) will be served by the listener on on what port(s) it has to listen.

So, you cant copy this file from another system.

tnsnames.ora tells Oracle where to find a 'remote' database. The information in this file has to match the information in the 'remote' listener.ora file.

Theoretically the tnsnames.ora file should be identical on all computers and can thus be copied.

But, there is a 3 file, sqlnet.ora involved. Here you define parameters involved in this process (s.a. your default_domain, typically this is world)

Rgds
Marc

[Hein van den Heuvel]

Marc wrote "But, there is a 3 file, sqlnet.ora involved. Here you define parameters involved in this process (s.a. your default_domain, typically this is world)"

Ayup, that's why I suggested trying with an explicit .world on the listener.ora / tnsnames.ora comand line.

Does one need en entry for the listener port in TCPIP$ETC:SERVICES.DAT?


Graham,
Did you look at the tail end of the listener .log to see whether your conection attemps are coming in and perhaps what errors are reported?

Hein.

[Marc Van den Broeck]

Hein,

afaik you dont need to adapt TCPIP$ETC:SERVICES.DAT.

Graham,

besides from looking in listener.log. I would also look in sqlnet.log. If you have connection errors you should find problems there.

Rgds
Marc