Changing global_dbname

OK, I give up.

If I ever knew, I've forgotten. How do you change the global database name?

The problem is that a database link pointed at DB9.aldeburgh.local (a version 9 database) from DB8.aldeburgh.local (a version 8 database) keeps popping up, whenever used in a select statement, with the error ORA-02085: database link DB9.ALDEBURGH.LOCAL connects to DB9.US.ORACLE.COM.

In theory, global dbname is constructed from db_domain and db_name in the relevant init.ora... well, my init.ora for DB9 says db_name=DB9, db_domain=aldeburgh.local, so I've spent hours chasing my tail trying to work out why the damn thing still thinks it's pointing to a us.oracle.com domain. I confess the database was inadvertently created with global database name set to merely DB9, the same as the service name. If I create a brand new database specifying an appropriate 'X.aldeburgh.local' global database name, then everything works as advertised.

Listener.ora says

SID_LIST_LISTENER =
  (SID_LIST =
    (SID_DESC =
(GLOBAL_DBNAME = DB9.aldeburgh.local)
(ORACLE_HOME = d:\oracle\ora91)
(SID_NAME = DB9)

    )
  )

Sqlnet.ora doesn't have a default domain name set. And connections made directly in the form 'connect system/manager_at_db9' work perfectly fine.

What blindingly obvious nugget have I overlooked?

Regards
HJR

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