RE: Oracle Names

(see answer below)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: DENNIS WILLIAMS [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> We are starting a project that will eventually have 500
> laptops wandering
> around in the wild. These will have an Access database for
> untethered use,
> and will periodically connect to Oracle via Net8 to
> resynchronize itself.
> The idea of changing 500 tnsnames.ora files sometime down the line is
> daunting. I've been studying for the OCP Net8 exam, and they
> mention Oracle
> Names.
>
> 1. Are any of you using the Oracle Names?
> 2. Is it as easy to configure as Oracle makes it sound, or is
> it difficult?
> 3. Is Names reasonably robust? I can see this as yet another
> single point of
> failure.
> 4. Oracle hinted that Oracle Names is going away in favor of
> LDAP. Is this
> imminent, or just a scare tactic? I had held off using Names
> because of
> this, but the company has made a commitment to MS Active
> Directory, which I
> gather from the list postings isn't very compatible with
> Oracle's LDAP.

Personally I think it might be worth the time to use LDAP since that's the wave of the future. Of course I don't practice what I preach and I still use a names server.

In Oracle 8.0 and above I found the setup to be a piece of cake. I do everything manually but with Net8 assistant it's probably easier. Here's what I did to set it up. I will describe setting it up without a region database, I would recommend trying this out first. Once you've done this and want to set up a region database I can show you how to do that, it's only a few extra steps.
I've never had a problem with Oracle Names 8.0 or 8.1 in production or development (though I work in a development environment now) except that if the names server goes down the delay (before receiving a message saying that you can't connect to the database) is sometimes more than two minutes - that might depend on network conditions though, I don't know for sure.

On the machine for the names server, create $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/names.ora. My UNIX server is named irvspcu03 In names.ora I put in this:
names.addresses = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = irvspcu03.quest.com)(PORT = 1522))

names.server_name = nmsrv_irvspcu03.quest.com
names.log_directory = /u01/app/oracle/admin/network/log
names.log_file = nmsrv_irvspcu03
names.trace_directory = /u01/app/oracle/admin/network/trace
names.trace_file = nmsrv_irvspcu03.trc
names.trace_level = off
names.save_config_on_stop = true
names.no_region_database = true

then use the namesctl utility (similar to lsnrctl) to start it up: #namesctl
NAMESCTL> start
NAMESCTL> exit

then register a database with the names server: #namesctl
NAMESCTL> register sdjrk1.quest.com -t ORACLE_DATABASE -d (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=irv0004259.quest.com)(PORT=1521))( CONNECT_DATA=(SID=sdjrk1)))
NAMESCTL> exit

verify that the database is registered with the names server: #namesctl
NAMESCTL> query sdjrk1.quest.com a.smd
NAMESCTL> exit

(if you want to unregister the database with the names server, you need to exactly match the description you typed in for the register command. Example:
#namesctl
NAMESCTL> unregister sdjrk1.quest.com -d (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=irv0004259.quest.com)(PORT=1521))( CONNECT_DATA=(SID=sdjrk1)))
NAMESCTL> exit
)

On the client sqlnet.ora I have the following entries (Names server on machine irvspcu03 port 1522). My sqlnet.ora is directed to first try the tnsnames.ora file, then the names server. names.directory_path= (tnsnames, onames, hostname) names.preferred_servers =
  (address_list =
    (address = (protocol = tcp)(host = irvspcu03.quest.com)(port = 1522))   )

Voila! You can now connect from your client through the names server. My 8.1.7 names server has registered databases of different versions from 7.3.4 through 8.1.7, some on the same machine as the names server, some on different machines.

-- 
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-- 
Author: Jacques Kilchoer
  INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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