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Re: using ifile in the tnsnames.ora file

From: Stefan Knecht <knecht.stefan_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 14:47:17 +0100
Message-ID: <486b2b610702090547n7230c66dn24c1a7de9c4520e1@mail.gmail.com>


Well, that depends.

A former employer of mine - an outsourcer - wanted to use a central grid control repository to manage all the clients' databases. In addition to that, we wanted to provide isql*plus to some of the team. And to do that you'd need a central tnsnames.ora - which quickly gets confusing with 100's of instances in there. Names wasn't an option - due to security constraints.

using IFILE (i.e. one file for each client) allowed quick and efficient management of the aliases. (If only it would've worked right :)

Stefan

On 2/9/07, Mercadante, Thomas F (LABOR) <Thomas.Mercadante_at_labor.state.ny.us> wrote:
>
> Cques,
>
>
>
> I always thought that the whole "ifile" business was bad practice. Maybe
> I'm lazy, but when I want to look at the init.ora file, or the
> tnsnames.ora file, I don't want to have to go searching other files to see
> what I'm looking for.
>
>
>
> I like things simple and clear, and the ifile thing is neither.
>
>
> This is, of course, simply my opinion.
>
>
>
> Tom
>
>
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> *From:* oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:
> oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] *On Behalf Of *Jacques Kilchoer
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 08, 2007 4:38 PM
> *To:* oracle-l
> *Subject:* RE: using ifile in the tnsnames.ora file
>
>
>
> Sorry, I should do better proof-reading. I corrected a sentence below.
>
>
>
> Recently however, when creating database links, I noticed that the
> database link FAILED WHEN using an alias that is coming from an "ifile" in
> the tnsnames.ora (unable to resolve service name)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *De la part de* Jacques Kilchoer
> *Objet :* using ifile in the tnsnames.ora file
>
> Do you use an IFILE parameter in a network configuration file (
> tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora, other) to consolidate entries in a central
> location? I guess it's an obsolete practice and I should stop.
>
> I've been using IFILE parametes in the tnsnames.ora file for as long as
> I've been using Oracle. Recently however, when creating database links, I
> noticed that the database link failed when using an alias that is coming
> from an "ifile" in the tnsnames.ora (unable to resolve service name),
> even though SQL*Plus on the server could use that entry. I've never had
> problems using an IFILE in the tnsnames.ora except the one I recently
> encountered with database links.
>
> Imagine my surprise when I saw this on Tom Kyte's website:
>
>
> http://asktom.oracle.com/pls/asktom/f?p=100:11:0::::P11_QUESTION_ID:489021635775
>
> Quoter: "IFILE is not supported for tnsnames/listener/sqlnet/protocol.ora
> files."
>
>
> I checked the network administration / reference manuals for 8.0.6, 8.1.7,
> 9.0, 9.2, 10.1, the "ifile" parameter is never mentioned for the network
> configuration files (sqlnet.ora, tnsnames.ora, listener.ora, cman.ora,
> names.ora, ldap.ora) - but it is mentioned in the server reference manual
> as a valid parameter for the init.ora file.
>
> Is this a new limitation? For example I quickly found Metalink note
> 1017689.102 that tells me I can use ifile in the tnsnames.ora and
> listener.ora files with an Oracle 8.0 listener.
>
> I found a couple of recent notes that mentioned a tnsnames.ora containing
> an ifile (Notes 397684.1 and 397567.1) but both of these notes had the
> comment "This document is being delivered to you via Oracle Support's Rapid
> Visibility (RaV) process, and therefore has not been subject to an
> independent technical review."
>
>

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Received on Fri Feb 09 2007 - 07:47:17 CST

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