Synopses & Reviews
Net8 is the fundamental Oracle technology that allows Oracle services and clients to communicate with each other over a network. Net8 is most often used to connect client software to Oracle database servers. It may also be used to connect database servers to one another, allowing communication between distributed databases.
This practical guide provides the information that readers, especially database administrators, need to know in order to install configure, tune, and troubleshoot Net8. It discusses how Oracle's network architecture, products, and name resolution methods work, and it provides the details of client and server configuration using a variety of Oracle protocols and networking products, including:
- The Oracle Internet Directory (OID), Oracle's implementation of the standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). This directory can be used to maintain a central repository of net service names that can be referenced by all clients.
- Oracle Names, a networking component used mainly in earlier versions of Oracle, that allows net service names to be defined centrally.
- Multi-Threaded Server (MTS), an environment in which the client connections share access to a pool of shared server processes.
- Oracle Connection Manager, a Net8 component that acts much like a router and provides protocol conversion, connection concentration, and access control.
The book also describes the utilities Oracle provides to help manage a Net8 environment; these include the Listener Control Utility (lsnrctl), the Oracle Names Control Utility (namesctl), the Oracle Connection Manager Control Utility (cmctl), tnsping, and Net8 Assistant. In addition, it provides a variety of networking troubleshooting techniques and commonly encountered Net8 configuration problems, and provides complete syntax for all networking files and commands.
Synopsis
Net8 is the fundamental Oracle technology that allows Oracle services and clients to communicate with each other over a network. Net8 is most often used to connect client software to Oracle database servers. It may also be used to connect database servers to one another, allowing communication between distributed databases.This practical guide provides the information that readers, especially database administrators, need to know in order to install configure, tune, and troubleshoot Net8. It discusses how Oracle's network architecture, products, and name resolution methods work, and it provides the details of client and server configuration using a variety of Oracle protocols and networking products, including:
- The Oracle Internet Directory (OID), Oracle's implementation of the standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). This directory can be used to maintain a central repository of net service names that can be referenced by all clients.
- Oracle Names, a networking component used mainly in earlier versions of Oracle, that allows net service names to be defined centrally.
- Multi-Threaded Server (MTS), an environment in which the client connections share access to a pool of shared server processes.
- Oracle Connection Manager, a Net8 component that acts much like a router and provides protocol conversion, connection concentration, and access control.
The book also describes the utilities Oracle provides to help manage a Net8 environment; these include the Listener Control Utility (lsnrctl), the Oracle Names Control Utility (namesctl), the Oracle Connection Manager Control Utility (cmctl), tnsping, and Net8 Assistant. In addition, it provides a variety of networking troubleshooting techniques and commonly encountered Net8 configuration problems, and provides complete syntax for all networking files and commands.
About the Author
Toledo is director of engineering at DaVinci Software in Chicago. His previous roles include vice president of IT planning at HALO Industries and principal in Navigant Consulting's IT strategy practice where he advised Global 500 firms on best practices in information technology.
Table of Contents
Preface; Audience; Which Platform and Version?; Structure of This Book; Conventions Used in This Book; Comments and Questions; Acknowledgments; How Net8 Works; Chapter 1: Oracle's Network Architecture and Products; 1.1 Goals of Net8; 1.2 Net8 Components; 1.3 Stack Communications; 1.4 Management Utilities; Chapter 2: Name Resolution; 2.1 Local Naming; 2.2 Directory Naming; 2.3 Centralized Naming; 2.4 Host Naming; 2.5 External Name Resolution; 2.6 Choosing the Method to Use; Net8 Configuration; Chapter 3: Client Configuration; 3.1 The Overall Process; 3.2 Installing the Net8 Client Software; 3.3 Configuring Your Profile; 3.4 Defining Net Service Names; 3.5 Using LDAP; 3.6 Using Oracle Names; 3.7 Using External Naming Methods; 3.8 Testing Client Connectivity; Chapter 4: Basic Server Configuration; 4.1 The Overall Process; 4.2 Software to Install; 4.3 Configuring a Listener; 4.4 The Listener Control Utility; 4.5 Securing a Listener; 4.6 Modifying and Deleting a Listener; 4.7 Detecting Dead Connections; Chapter 5: Multi-Threaded Server; 5.1 Understanding MTS; 5.2 Planning for MTS; 5.3 Database Initialization File Changes; 5.4 Forcing a Dedicated Server Connection; 5.5 Viewing MTS Status; 5.6 Online MTS Modifications; Chapter 6: Net8 and LDAP; 6.1 What Is LDAP?; 6.2 Client Configuration for LDAP; 6.3 Defining Net Service Names in an LDAP Directory; Chapter 7: Oracle Names; 7.1 Configuring a Names Server; 7.2 Managing a Names Server; 7.3 Discovery and Client Configuration; 7.4 Domains and Regions; Chapter 8: Net8 Failover and Load Balancing; 8.1 Failover; 8.2 Load Balancing; Chapter 9: Connection Manager; 9.1 Connection Manager Benefits; 9.2 Connection Manager Architecture; 9.3 Configuring Connection Manager; 9.4 Configuring a Client; 9.5 Managing Connection Manager; Net8 Troubleshooting; Chapter 10: Net8 Troubleshooting Techniques; 10.1 Testing Connectivity to the Server; 10.2 Looking at Net8 Log Files; 10.3 Generating Net8 Trace Files; Chapter 11: Solutions to Common Problems; 11.1 Net8 General Problems; 11.2 Connection Manager Problems; 11.3 Multi-Threaded Server Problems; 11.4 Oracle Names Problems; Appendixes; The sqlnet.ora File; The tnsnames.ora File; Net Service Name Definitions; The Parameters; The listener.ora File; Listener Addresses; Static Services; Control Parameters; The names.ora File; Environment and Registry Variables; Net8 Environment Variables; Net8 Variables and Windows NT; MTS Initialization Parameters; MTS Performance Views; Colophon;