Re: sqlnet v2 - non-unique name error on reboot

lhen_at_chevron.com (Leslie Sandiland) wrote:
>Tony Damon wrote:
>>
>> Gary Walker (gjwalker_at_cix.compulink.co.uk) wrote:
>> :
>> : On a Sol2 Ora7.2 setup, every time the LISTENER is run after reboot, it
>> : complains that the (db?) names are non-unique on the network.
>> :
>> : Editing the connect aliases in tnsnames.ora and listener.ora fixes this.
 ..
>> Ok, a couple of guesses -
>>
>> where is the listener.ora file you're editing ? /var/opt/oracle ?
>> or in product/<release>/network/admin ? Are you editing the right
>> file? When the listener starts up, what parameter and log files
>> does it say it's using? Are they what you expect?
>>
>> What is in /var/opt/oracle/oratab ? any duplicate names ?
>>
>> After reboot, what environment is the startup process running
>> in ? Oracle's? Roots? Should be oracle's.
>>
>> HTH,
>> Tony DamonYou might want to check and make sure that during the reboot that you
>have issued before bringing up the listener:
>
>su - oracle ( this should give you the same environment as oracle)
>
>You also want to check and make sure that the TNS_ADMIN variable is
>pointing to the correct network/admin directory where the .ora files for
>sqlnet reside.

I had a similar problem last year. The completely undocumented answer (from Oracle support) is that when the SQL*Net V2 listener (on Solaris) is started up, it creates a hidden directory, /var/tmp/.oracle. In this directory are several files (pipes?) that SQL*Net uses, that are named uniquely to that listener. If the machine is rebooted or the daemon killed without properly shutting down the listener (i.e., via tnsadmin or "lsnrctl stop"), then the /var/tmp/.oracle directory is not removed. The next time you try to start the listener, it tries to create the same directory with the same set of files, and cannot because they already exist. The TOTALLY MISLEADING error message is that the "name is not unique on network"!!!

This drove me crazy for days, on three different boxes, before I finally called Oracle. The support guy was knowledgable and forthright with the answers, but I had to ask WHY ISN'T THIS DOCUMENTED ANYWHERE????, not even in the platform-specific IUG?

Hope this helps!

Chris

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| Chris Hamilton -- chamilto_at_xis.com       |
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