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Net8 Configuration

This appendix describes Net8 configuration for Windows. For an overview of Net8 configuration in general, see the Net8 Administrator's Guide.

Specific topics discussed are:

• Unsupported Net8 Features

• Understanding Net8 Registry Parameter and Subkeys

• Understanding Optional Configuration Parameters

• Advanced Network Configuration

• Named Pipes Protocol on Windows 95

• Net8 Port Numbers

  See Also: Net8 integration with Active Directory for Windows 2000 is described in Chapter 4, "Using Oracle8i Client Directory Features with Active Directory".

Unsupported Net8 Features

The following Net8 features are currently unsupported on the Windows NT and Windows 95/98 platforms.

Feature	Description
TRCROUTE	Client application not supported.
SPAWN	SPAWN command in the listener control utility is not supported.
Pre-SPAWNED dedicated server processes	Not supported by the listener. Therefore, do not include the following parameters in the SID_DESC's of the LISTENER.ORA file: PRESPAWN_MAX, PROTOCOL, POOL_SIZE, and TIMEOUT.

Understanding Net8 Registry Parameter and Subkeys

Net8 contains the registry entries for Net8 parameters and Net8 service subkeys. To successfully add or modify Net8 configuration parameters, you must understand where they are located and the rules that apply to them.

Net8 Parameters

The location of the Oracle Net8 registry parameters is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\HOMEID

where ID is incremented for each additional Oracle home directory on your computer (for example, HOME0 is for a first directory, HOME1 is for a second directory, and so forth).

Net8 Service Subkeys

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\SERVICES contains subkeys that correspond to services. Depending on what is installed, your Net8 services will consist of all or a subset of the following:

• OracleHOME_NAMEClientCache

• OracleHOME_NAMECMAdmin

• OracleHOME_NAMECMan

• OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener

Each service subkey contains the following parameters:

Parameter	Description
DisplayName	Specifies the service name.
ImagePath	Specifies the fully qualified path name of the executable invoked by the service and any command line arguments passed to the executable at runtime.
ObjectName	Specifies the logon user account and computer to which the service should log on.

Understanding Optional Configuration Parameters

You can use the following parameters on Windows NT and Windows 95/98:

• LOCAL

• TNS_ADMIN

• USE_SHARED_SOCKET

Net8 first checks for the parameters as environment variables, and uses the values defined. If environment variables are not defined, it searches for these parameters in the registry.

See Also: Appendix B, "Oracle8i Configuration Parameters and the Registry" for instructions on editing Windows registry keys.

LOCAL

You can add the LOCAL parameter to make a connection without specifying a connect string service name. The value for LOCAL is the service name in the TNSNAMES.ORA file located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN directory.

For example, if the LOCAL parameter is specified as finance, you connect to a database from SQL*Plus with the following command:

SQL> CONNECT SCOTT/TIGER 

Net8 checks if LOCAL is defined as an environment variable or as a parameter in the registry, and uses finance as the service name. If it exists, Net8 connects.

TNS_ADMIN

You can add the TNS_ADMIN parameter to change the directory name for configuration files from the default location. For example, if you set TNS_ADMIN to ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\TEST\ADMIN, the configuration files are used from ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\TEST\ADMIN.

USE_SHARED_SOCKET

You can set the USE_SHARED_SOCKET parameter to TRUE to enable the use of shared sockets. If this parameter is set to TRUE, the network listener passes the socket descriptor for client connections to the database thread. As a result, the client does not need to establish a new connection to the database thread and database connection time improves. Also, all database connections share the port number used by the network listener, which can be useful if you are setting up third-party proxy servers.

On Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 or earlier, enabling this option precluded bringing the network listener up or down in a case where a database connection spawned by the network listener is active. This is not an issue on Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 or later. Oracle recommends that you upgrade to Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 if you intend to set this parameter.

This parameter only works in dedicated server mode in a TCP/IP environment. If this parameter is set, you cannot use the 8.1.6 listener to spawn Oracle 7.x databases. To spawn an Oracle 8.0.x database from an 8.1.6 listener with the shared socket enabled, you must also set the variable USE_SHARED_SOCKET for the 8.0.x Oracle home.

Advanced Network Configuration

The following sections describe advanced configuration procedures specifically for Net8 on the Windows NT and Windows 95/98 platforms.

Configuring Authentication Methods

Net8 provides two authentication methods for Windows NT and for Windows 95/98, NDS Authentication and Windows Native Authentication.

NDS Authentication

The automatically installed Novell Directory Service (NDS) authentication method allows client applications and users to access a NetWare server running Oracle through NDS. Following NDS authentication, a user logged into an NDS directory tree can use an Oracle database on a NetWare server in the same tree. This permits the user from having to enter an additional user name and password.

Note: To connect from a client using the NDS authentication method, the server must be running the NetWare operating system.

If you also use NDS External Naming, you can view the entire network under a single NDS directory tree.

Configuring a NetWare Server

Note: SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES enables one or more authentication services. If authentication has been installed, it is recommended that this parameter be set to either NONE or to one of the authentication methods.

To configure the server:

1. Install and configure Net8 for NetWare on the server.

2. Add the following entry to the SQLNET.ORA file:

   SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES = (NDS)
   

Configuring a Client

To configure a client:

1. Install and configure the Net8 on a client.

2. Add the following entry to the SQLNET.ORA file:

   SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES = (NDS)
   

Connecting from a Client

To connect from a client with the NDS authentication method:

1. Log into the NDS tree.

2. Enter the following command to access an Oracle for NetWare database:

   C:\> SQLPLUS
   SQL> CONNECT /@SERVICE_NAME
   
   

Using the NDS Naming Method

NDS naming refers to the resolution of a service name by using a supported third-party naming service. The NDS Native Naming Adapters resolve service names stored in a native naming service.

The NDS Native Naming Adapter for Windows NT and Windows 95/98 clients uses the NDS naming environment to store service names and addresses of Oracle8i NetWare Servers. This lets an NDS user view the entire network under a single NDS directory tree. You can use native name services in addition to, or instead of, Oracle Names or the TNSNAMES.ORA file.

If the NDS Authentication Adapter is used as well, a single logon can access a multi-server and multi-database network.

NetWare Server Configuration

To configure the NetWare Server:

1. Install and configure Net8 for NetWare on your server.

2. Log into the NDS tree.

3. Add NOVELL to the NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH parameter in the SQLNET.ORA file:

   NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH = (NOVELL, TNSNAMES, ONAMES)
   

Client Configuration

To configure the client:

1. Install and configure the NDS Native Naming Adapter and Net8 on your client.

2. When you configure the NDS Native Naming Adapter, add NOVELL to the NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH parameter in the SQLNET.ORA file:

   NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH = (NOVELL, TNSNAMES, ONAMES)
   

Client Connection

To connect from a client with the NDS Native Naming Adapter:

Enter the following command to access an Oracle8 for NetWare database:

C:/> SQLPLUS
SQL> CONNECT USERNAME/PASSWORD@DATABASE_OBJECT_NAME

where DATABASE_OBJECT_NAME identifies Oracle8i in NDS.

Configuring Security for Named Pipes Protocol

If you are using Named Pipes protocol with Oracle Names, the network listener may not be able to connect to the Oracle Names server.

Oracle Names creates a "named pipe" at startup time. The network listener tries to open the Named Pipe at startup. If it cannot, the network listener uses the default system account "Local System."

The network listener service may be unable to open the Named Pipe created by Oracle Names unless the OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener service has a valid user ID and password associated.

To set up the network listener permissions:

1. From the Control Panel window, double-click Services.

   The Services window appears.

2. Select the OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener service and double-click.

   The Services dialog box appears.

3. Click the This Account option button. Then, click the "..." option button next to it.

   The Add User dialog box appears.

4. Select your logon ID (user ID) from the Names list and click Add.

   The user ID appears in the Add Name text box.

5. Click OK.

   The Services dialog box appears with the user ID displayed in the This Account text box.

6. Type your password in the Password text box.

7. Retype the same logon password in the Confirm Password text box.

8. Click OK.

Named Pipes Protocol on Windows 95

If you use the Named Pipes protocol on a Windows 95 system to connect to Oracle8i for Windows NT, client applications may run very slowly due to a known problem in Microsoft's implementation of Windows 95 NWLinkDirect-Hosting.

To work around this problem, you may do any of the following:

• Use other protocols (for exampl, TCP/IP, SPX) for connecting from an Oracle client

• Remove the protocol NWLink from the Windows 95 system if you do not need to access NetWare Servers

• Disable Direct-Hosting feature on Windows 95

Refer to Microsoft documentation for detailed information.

Net8 Port Numbers

The following table describes the port numbers used by Net8.

Product	Default Port Number	How do I change the port number?
Listener	1521	Modify the LISTENER.ORA and TNSNAMES.ORA files, using Net8 Assistant. These files are located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN directory, or in the directory specified by the TNS_ADMIN environment variable or registry value.
Oracle Names	1575	Modify the NAMES.ORA file, using Net8 Assistant. NAMES.ORA is located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN directory.
Oracle Connection Manager, using TCP/IP	1630 1830	Modify the CMAN.ORA configuration file, using Net8 Assistant. CMAN.ORA is located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN directory, or in the directory specified by the TNS_ADMIN environment variable or registry value.