Re: Database link between Oracle7 and Oracle8

Rui Marcelino wrote:

> Well, first of all, thanx for your help, you guys.
> I guess the answer to my problem is a kind of a joke...
> Here's the thing :
> The databases are defined on two different servers (both are NT servers).
> The fact was that, in the server wich contains the Oracle7 database, the
> Oracle8 database was'nt defined in the server TNSNAMES.ORA file !!! I know,
> it's a kind a dum...
> I thought that the problem was in the client TNSNAMES file...

But the problem WAS in the client tnsnames file ... your issue is a great example why the terms 'client' and 'server' can be confusing. We should use the terms to describe a specific state at a specific point in time or set of circumstances.

In the case of database link, the 'client' is the database making the information request to the server that can fulfil the request. It can get confusing, in that this 'client' is indeed a server to another client (end user's program?).

The funny thing is that the TNSNAMES.ora on the 'server' gets used twice in two completely different ways -

1. by the Listener, in server mode, to identify the available instances/services
2. by the RDBMS, in client mode, to look up the service & path to fulfill the database link requirements.

Another FAQ entry?
/Hans Received on Fri Mar 28 2003 - 09:35:22 CST