Re: Getting a List of SIDs on a network.

"FaheemRao" <faheemrao_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message

> So I need to Populate different SIDs available on that
> Network(client's Network)and Display these SIDs to User as available
> Databases on that network.

The easiest would be to retrieve the list of available Oracle db connections from the local TNSNAMES.ORA file. Assuming of course that this file had been configured with a list of valid local connections.

> Now in this case Tnsnames.ora file may not have that information
> unless net8 is already configured to connect to that database.

Yes. In which case the only other option I think is using Oracle Name Server.. in which case you need to have SQLNET.ORA configured correctly to access the Name Server.

It's a catch 22 if there is nothing configured in SQLNET.ORA or TNSNAMES.ORA.

> I have any Idea about it , but I am not clear. I want to use the
> method which Oracle Enterprise manager does in "Discover New Services"
> , But I need to do it through My application, its mean I need to know
> excatly which API is used for this Purpose.
> Any Ideas ????

Let me admit my biggest sin - not using Oracle Enterprise Manager. I tried version 1.0 many years ago. Hated it. Looked like crap. Worked like crap. Lacked support for OPS. Wrote my own customised enterprise OPS manager (based on the SQL-Server's Enterprise Manager GUI) and have been using that since '96. So I have NO idea what the "discover new services" are about. :-)

At protocol level, what you can do is scan for well known listener ports on an IP address range and hope that you pick up the listeners like that. Very much a hack though. And I'm not sure if you can then interrogate the listener for the SIDs that it supports. I honestly think that such an attempt is not worth it.

From an application perspective - you must assume that a) SQL*Net is installed
b) optionally that SQL*Net is configured (TNSNAMES & SQLNET ora file)

If (a) has not been done, there is little your application (or Installer) can do to rectify it. If (b) is not done, you can allow the user to define a new connection pretty much the same way that silly SQL*Net Client Config tool does - you prompt for port, SID and hostname and create a TNSNAMES.ORA entry. Much more than that and you will spend more time developing for something that should not be the focus of your application or installer.

My 2'c on the subject. :-)

--
Billy