Re: ORA-3113 errors, suddenly

tgp_at_iglou2.iglou.com (Terry G. Phelps) writes:

>After a year of relatively trouble-free Oracle running, first on 7.1.3
>and lately on 7.1.6, I started getting ORA-3113 errors today. I don't know
>if it's relevant, but I recently upgraded my RS/6000 AIX from 3.2.5 to
>4.1.4, and then, just a few days ago, moved all applications and data to a
>new physical server, still running 4.1.4.
 

>I'm getting the errors on both server "batch" processes, and also on client
>PC applications running SQLNET 1. What exactly does this 3113 error mean??
>The error text says "end of file on communications channel" or something.
>Is the Oracle connection being lost? What should I do to fix this, or at
>least to isolate the problem. This is becoming a serious issue quickly.
 

>HELP.
The "ORA-3113" error is defined as you said as "end of file on communications channel", which means that the process has suddenly been killed. For example, you type "Ctrl-C" during a query, or someone issues a "kill session" command.

However, you should be aware that this error is known to be misleading, and is frequently a "catch-all" error, similar to the "ORA-600" error. Sometimes if Oracle has a problem, it reports a "ORA-3113" even if that is not the true cause.

For example, I have received the ORA-3113 error when using the "analyze table x estimate statistics;" command. This surely does not have to do with SQL*Net or anything associated with Oracle communications protocols. Since you get this error even when running server "batch" processes, it may not be a SQL*Net problem. Check to see if you use SQL*Net even when running server-only batch jobs.

Try to isolate the problem. Look for any other error messages on the error message stack. Check your "alert_SID.log" file to determine what was occuring during the problem(s). Also, look for any trace files that may have been generated.

Good luck!

-Ari Kaplan
Independent Oracle DBA Consultant

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