Trying to get SQL*Plus to Talk to a Remote Server

[Quoted]         I am struggling to get communication established between a Redhat Linux system running SQL*Plus: Release 10.1.0.2.0 and a Pinnacle server presently running an Oracle8I data base.

        Being new to Oracle, I don't yet have a good feel for where to look when things don't work right.
I am needing to query this server in order to get information to use in UNIX shell scripts and C programs so everything else is dead in the water until I get past this hurdle.

        At this time, it has never worked so I don't know what a working setup actually does except it is probably similar to php in that you send your sql commands and, assuming they are proper, the server sends you back your information, etc.

        The administrator of the Pinnacle server sent me examples of the sqlnet.ora and tnsnames.ora files she uses on a Windows system that accesses the same server. I did remember to fix the new line conversion so that the extra carriage return goes away, but it doesn't look like there is much Windows-centric information in the files.

        The sqlplus client does find the sqlnet.ora and tnsnames.ora files, but obviously does not like their contents or there is something else missing.

        My question boils down to: Is there some way other than a blanket error message stating that it's broken to trace or debug what and where the process is going wrong?

        It took strace, a UNIX command, to inform me that I had the tnsnames.ora and sqlnet.ora files in the wrong directory.

        First, the error message that is all I get when running sqlplus. It is sort of my sql banner screen these days:

SQL*Plus: Release 10.1.0.2.0 - Production on Mon Jun 14 08:29:06 2004

Copyright (c) 1982, 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved.

ERROR:
ORA-12154: TNS:could not resolve the connect identifier specified

SP2-0751: Unable to connect to Oracle. Exiting SQL*Plus

        Here is a modified version of the tnsnames.ora file:

# TNSNAMES.ORA
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.

fully.qualified.server.domain =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST =
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = ip.hostname.of.server)(PORT = 1521))     )
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVICE_NAME = shortname)
    )
  )

        Now for sqlnet.ora:

# SQLNET.ORA
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.

NAMES.DEFAULT_DOMAIN = our.site.domain.edu

# SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES= (NTS)
NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH= (HOSTNAME, TNSNAMES)         Thank you for any constructive suggestions. This is getting quite frustrating, not only for me, but for others who are waiting for me to start actually doing something with the information in question. Thank you for a ny constructive ideas.

-- 

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Information Technology Division Network Operations Group