Problem - Oracle 7.1.5 hanging on Digital Alpha 8400 under VMS 6.2

We are having difficulty running Oracle 7.1.5 on a Digital Alpha 8400 under VMS 6.2. Heavy updates/inserts to the database causes it to hang. The only way to get things going again is to shut down and restart the database.

If you are running Oracle on an Alpha 8400 with VMS 6.2:

  Have you encountered/solved this problem?

  If you are running OK, could you send us details of your

• hardware configuration
• patches, you may have applied to VMS/compilers/Oracle
• SYSGEN parameters
• INIT.ORA parameters
• UAF parameters for pertinent accounts such as ORACLE

Apparently, a "lock" or "latch" internal to Oracle gets stuck, and everything hangs waiting for it. So far, Oracle's only suggestion is to upgrade to Oracle 7.3 which is said to be "brand new" for the VMS/Alpha platform. They don't assure us that it will solve the problem, and our existing "canned" applications are not tested on it - so we'd rather try to get 7.1.5 working if possible. We're also reluctant to put up a yet unproven 7.3 for the platform.

Apparently there have been a couple of other sites with similar symptoms on the 8400. Oracle says that "changing the CPU" at another site with the problem "solved the problem", but they can't say whether by "changing the CPU", they mean just the module, or the entire system cabinet (eek!) with another. I'm skeptical that a system that runs perfectly well otherwise could have a "defective" CPU, but Digital Field Service is willing to swap modules, so we're trying that next week.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Our configuration is as follows:

   Digital Alpha 8400/300Mhz dual processor    VMS 6.2 with VAXCTRL patch #5
   2Gb memory
   2 HSZ40 controllers connected to KFTIA with about 50Gb disk space on RZ28Ms    2 PCI SCSI controllers with additional space    Local Area VAXcluster via Ethernet with a dozen VAXstation 4000/VLCs      (booting from the Alpha)
   Oracle SGA at about 60Mb

Thanks in advance!

Dave Kelley
VAX Systems Manager
University of Hartford
860-768-4272
kelley_at_uhavax.hartford.edu
system_at_uhavax.hartford.edu Received on Sat Sep 28 1996 - 00:00:00 CEST