Locked files on VMS

From: Robert L. Manieri <rmanieri_at_novalink.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 93 09:32:24 EST
Message-ID: <du2e6300001_at_novalink.com>


Greetings.
For the longest time I have been wrestling with a quirk within Oracle ever since the Parallel server version came out in 1990. This quirk only seems to appear on VAX/VMS systems because of the way VMS handles file locks. UNIX will delete any file, any time, any where.
.

To speed things up when a log file switch happens or when a checkpoint occurs, you add the line

      checkpoint_process = true
to your init.ora file. This brings up the CKPT process when the instance starts. This feature works in shared or exclusive mode just dandy. However, (you knew there would be a however),
 if you:

  • alter tablespace EDDIE offline ;
  • drop tablespace EDDIE ; (with or without INCLUDING CONTENTS) you can't always delete the data files. Why, you may ask? Because the CKPT process still has a lock on them. You can tell this by doing SHOW DEVICE /FILES DUAxx: to see what files are being accessed.
    .
    I have tried doing: ALTER SYSTEM CHECKPOINT ; ALTER SYSTEM SWITCH LOGFILE ; and all the ALTER SESSION commands that dump the data file headers, dump the redo log file headers, dump the control files and even tried dumping the SGA, but to no avail.
    .
    Also tried recreating the tablespace with same name and different data files, and dropping a second time, but CKPT still keeps his lock on the original files. Once or twice I have seen it let go, but I don't what I did that caused CKPT to release the lock
    .
    Anybody out there seen this before? Please no smart answers about getting rid of VMS.
    .
    See ya in the funny papers!

  Bob Manieri - Database Administration Consultant
                 Aston Brooke Corp, Plymouth Meeting, PA
                 Pager: 609-342-0314  FAX: 609-853-8050
  email : rmanieri_at_novalink.com
          It has been said that a DBA is a professional paranoid.
                    Just because you're paranoid,
             doesn't mean that they're not out to get you.
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Received on Mon Dec 06 1993 - 15:32:24 CET

Original text of this message