In my previous post, Registering the Oracle Database with the listener, I mentioned the role of the initialization parm LOCAL_LISTENER in dynamic registration of the database instance to the listener. Now I’d like to deliver on my promise to explore that piece of the puzzle.
To quickly recap that post, there are two methods by which a listener comes to know what databases it can service. In Oracle terminology, this is referred to as “registering with the listener.”
Static Instance Registration
The first – and older – method is static registration. In this method, the instance is listed in the SID_LIST section of the listener’s configuration file, “listener.ora”. Such a registration would show in the listener.ora like this:
# listener.ora Network Configuration File: /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
LISTENER =
(DESCRIPTION_LIST =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = IPC)(KEY = EXTPROC1521))
)
)
SID_LIST_LISTENER =
(SID_LIST =
(SID_DESC =
(GLOBAL_DBNAME=tulsa)
(ORACLE_HOME = /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1)
(SID_NAME = tulsa)
)
)
Fig. 1
And that static registration shows up in the listener status with a status of UNKNOWN:
oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:24:29 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:24:25 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 4 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Services Summary... Service "tulsa" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status UNKNOWN, has 1 handler(s) for this service... The command completed successfully
Fig. 2
At Fig. 2, line 24, the status is UNKNOWN because there is no mechanism to guarantee that the specified instance even exists. The listener just assumes that the instance will be there when a connect request is received. In fact, my database was down when I took the status shown in Fig. 2.
Dynamic Instance Registration
With version 9.0 Oracle introduced the concept of dynamic registration. With this, it is no longer necessary to list the database instance in the listener.ora file. Instead, the database instance contacts the listener directly and registers itself. We can observe the result of that in the listener status. First, I’ll “remove” my listner.ora by renaming it, then restart the listener and see what it says about itself. The listener is quite capable of running without a listner.ora file at all. It will simply start and run with all default values.
oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl stop LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:26:32 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) The command completed successfully oracle:tulsa$ mv lsnrctl istener.ora listener.save oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl start LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:27:13 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Starting /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/bin/tnslsnr: please wait... TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Log messages written to /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) Connecting to (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=)(PORT=1521)) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:27:13 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) The listener supports no services The command completed successfully
Fig. 3
So we can see in Fig. 3, line 39 that the listener has started but supports no services. If we try to connect at this point we will get the ora-12514:
C:\>tnsping tulsa TNS Ping Utility for 64-bit Windows: Version 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2 016 16:29:37 Copyright (c) 1997, 2010, Oracle. All rights reserved. Used parameter files: C:\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\client_1\network\admin\sqlnet.ora Used TNSNAMES adapter to resolve the alias Attempting to contact (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS_LIST = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP) (HOST = vblnxsrv02)(PORT = 1521))) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVICE_NAME = tulsa))) OK (60 msec) C:\>sqlplus scott/tiger@tulsa SQL*Plus: Release 11.2.0.1.0 Production on Sat Jan 23 16:29:52 2016 Copyright (c) 1982, 2010, Oracle. All rights reserved. ERROR: ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor
Fig. 4
In Fig. 4, line 1, a tnsping proves that our tnsnames resolution is correct. But at line 23 we see that an actual attempt to connect to the service proves the listener doesn’t know anything about the service “tulsa”.
Now let’s start the instance and check again:
oracle:tulsa$ sqlplus / as sysdba SQL*Plus: Release 12.1.0.2.0 Production on Sat Jan 23 16:39:03 2016 Copyright (c) 1982, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connected to an idle instance. SQL> startup ORACLE instance started. Total System Global Area 713031680 bytes Fixed Size 2928488 bytes Variable Size 520093848 bytes Database Buffers 184549376 bytes Redo Buffers 5459968 bytes Database mounted. Database opened. SQL> exit Disconnected from Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition Release 12.1.0.2.0 - 64bit Production With the Partitioning, OLAP, Advanced Analytics and Real Application Testing options oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:39:26 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=)(PORT=1521)) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:27:13 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 12 min. 13 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1521))) Services Summary... Service "tulsa" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... Service "tulsaXDB" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... The command completed successfully oracle:tulsa$
Fig. 5
In Fig. 5 we observe that once the instance is started (line 9), when we re-check the listener (line 24) it now knows of service “tulsa”, with a status of READY (line 45). This obviously did not come from listener.ora as I had removed that file. Notice also that, unlike the static registration, this time the status is READY. The listener knows the instance is ready because the instance itself told the listener it was ready. And we can prove it by establishing a connection from a remote system:
C:\>sqlplus scott/tiger@tulsa SQL*Plus: Release 11.2.0.1.0 Production on Sat Jan 23 16:40:54 2016 Copyright (c) 1982, 2010, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connected to: Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition Release 12.1.0.2.0 - 64bit Production With the Partitioning, OLAP, Advanced Analytics and Real Application Testing opt ions SQL>
Fig. 6
The LOCAL_LISTENER initialization parameter
So we’ve seen that the listener is able to start up and successfully handle connection requests without a listener.ora configuration file. It does this by using all defaults (including the listener name and port) and the database instance is able to register itself with the listener.
How does the instance know how to contact the listener in order to register itself? It uses the initialization parameter LOCAL_LISTENER. From the Oracle® Database Reference 12c we read
LOCAL_LISTENER specifies a network name that resolves to an address or address list of Oracle Net local listeners
Let’s see what my instance says about that …
SQL> show parameter local_listener NAME TYPE VALUE ------------------------------------ ----------- ------------------------------ local_listener string SQL>
Fig. 7
OK, so the instance is supposed to use LOCAL_LISTENER to locate the listener so that it (the instance) can register itself with the listener. But I don’t have LOCAL_LISTENER set to anything. Well, it so happens that LOCAL_LISTENER has a default value that dovetails nicely with the default settings of the listener. Again, from the Reference manual:
Default value: (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=hostname)(PORT=1521)) where hostname is the network name of the local host.
I’ve seldom found a good reason NOT to run the listener with anything other the default name and port, but some people insist, and that’s when we need to adjust LOCAL_LISTENER to match up. So let’s set up a test case.
First, I’ll set my listener to use a non-default port. Notice I’ve also removed the SID_LIST section entirely.
# listener.ora Network Configuration File: /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
LISTENER =
(DESCRIPTION_LIST =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1522))
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = IPC)(KEY = EXTPROC1521))
)
)
Fig. 8
And restarting the listener
oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl start LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:47:56 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Starting /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/bin/tnslsnr: please wait... TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production System parameter file is /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Log messages written to /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:47:56 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) The listener supports no services The command completed successfully
Fig. 9
At this point my listener is up, listening on the non-default port of 1522 (line 28) and knows of no services. With a default setup, I should be able to connect to the database and force a registration. Remember that at this point, my listener is using the non-default port of 1522, while the database is still trying to contact the listener on the default port of 1521.
SQL> show parameter local listener show parameter local_listener NAME TYPE VALUE ------------------------------------ ----------- ------------------------------ local_listener string SQL> alter system register; System altered. SQL>
Fig. 10
I had expected this to return an error, but as you can see, it did not. I also could find no related errors in the alert log. But, as expected, the instance is not registered with the listener:
oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 16:55:04 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:47:56 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 7 min. 7 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) The listener supports no services The command completed successfully oracle:tulsa$
Fig. 11
In order to enable the instance to register with the non-default listener, we need to set LOCAL_LISTENER to an appropriate value. Remember from the documentation that “LOCAL_LISTENER specifies a network name that resolves to an address or address list of Oracle Net local listeners”. So let’s set it:
oracle:tulsa$ sqlplus / as sysdba SQL*Plus: Release 12.1.0.2.0 Production on Sat Jan 23 17:32:23 2016 Copyright (c) 1982, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connected to: Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition Release 12.1.0.2.0 - 64bit Production With the Partitioning, OLAP, Advanced Analytics and Real Application Testing options SQL> alter system set LOCAL_LISTENER='(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1522))' scope=both; System altered. SQL> alter system register; System altered. SQL> exit Disconnected from Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition Release 12.1.0.2.0 - 64bit Production With the Partitioning, OLAP, Advanced Analytics and Real Application Testing options oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 23-JAN-2016 17:32:44 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 23-JAN-2016 16:47:56 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 44 min. 47 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Services Summary... Service "tulsa" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... Service "tulsaXDB" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... The command completed successfully oracle:tulsa$
Fig. 12
So by setting LOCAL_LISTENER to the values appropriate for the listener, it is again able to contact the listener and register its services.
Did it occur that the setting of LOCAL_LISTENER looks a lot like an entry in tnsnames.ora? Remember that the description of LOCAL_LISTENER “specifies a network name that resolves to an address …” (emphasis mine). As a matter of fact, we can use a tnsnames entry instead of hardcoding the address in LOCAL_LISTENER. To do this, we need to create a special entry in the tnsnames.ora file on the server, then set LOCAL_LISTENER to point to that entry. Unlike the usual tnsnames entry that points to a database service, this entry will point to the listener itself. (By the way, it is often said that the tnsnames.ora file is used only by client processes. This use of tnsames by the database instance is no exception. At this point the instance is acting in the role of a client, just as it does when using a database link to access data on another database.)
Let’s create the tnsnames entry, and test it with tnsping. I’ll add the entry FUBAR for this.
oracle:orcl$ cat tnsnames.ora
# tnsnames.ora Network Configuration File: /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
TULSA =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SERVER = DEDICATED)
(SERVICE_NAME = tulsa)
)
)
FUBAR =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1522))
oracle:orcl$ tnsping fubar
TNS Ping Utility for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 24-JAN-2016 10:50:26
Copyright (c) 1997, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Used parameter files:
/u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/sqlnet.ora
Used TNSNAMES adapter to resolve the alias
Attempting to contact (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT = 1522))
OK (10 msec)
oracle:orcl$
Fig. 13
In reality I’d want to make the tnsnames alias something more meaningful, but here I wanted to use a name that would very obviously not be some reserved or default “magic” value. Notice that since FUBAR is used to locate the listener itself (rather than the services of a database instance) we do not need to include the CONNECT_DATA section.
Now that we have a tnsnames entry that points specifically to the listener, let’s prove it out.
First, we set LOCAL_LISTENER to reference the tnsnames.ora entry:
SQL> alter system set local_listener='fubar' scope=both; System altered. SQL> show parameter local_listener NAME TYPE VALUE ------------------------------------ ----------- ------------------------------ local_listener string fubar SQL>
Fig. 14
Next, I’ll restart the listener, in order to flush the current registrations and start clean.
oracle:orcl$ lsnrctl stop LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 24-JAN-2016 10:53:04 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) The command completed successfully oracle:orcl$ lsnrctl start LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 24-JAN-2016 10:53:10 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Starting /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/bin/tnslsnr: please wait... TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production System parameter file is /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Log messages written to /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 24-JAN-2016 10:53:10 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) The listener supports no services The command completed successfully oracle:orcl$
Fig. 15
Finally, I’ll force a registration of the instance, then recheck the listener status.
SQL> alter system register; System altered. SQL> !lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 24-JAN-2016 10:54:47 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 24-JAN-2016 10:53:10 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 1 min. 37 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Services Summary... Service "tulsa" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... Service "tulsaXDB" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... The command completed successfully SQL>
Fig. 16
Conclusion
I’ve shown how it is possible for the listener to operate without the use of the listener.ora configuration file. I have also shown how the database instance registers itself with the listener with both default and non-default settings, and how the instance uses the LOCAL_LISTENER initialization parameter and the tnsnames.ora file to locate the listener for self-registration.
I would also like to point out that for the purposes of this demo, I never mixed static and dynamic registrations. I did that to make it perfectly clear that the two are separate and distinct and not inter-related. However, I also need to point out that this does not mean that the two are mutually exclusive. It is actually rather normal to have both at the same time. When doing so, the listener will report both:
oracle:tulsa$ lsnrctl status LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on 24-JAN-2016 15:12:35 Copyright (c) 1991, 2014, Oracle. All rights reserved. Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) STATUS of the LISTENER ------------------------ Alias LISTENER Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 12.1.0.2.0 - Production Start Date 24-JAN-2016 15:11:49 Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 46 sec Trace Level off Security ON: Local OS Authentication SNMP OFF Listener Parameter File /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora Listener Log File /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vblnxsrv02/listener/alert/log.xml Listening Endpoints Summary... (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vblnxsrv02.localdomain)(PORT=1522))) (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521))) Services Summary... Service "tulsa" has 2 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status UNKNOWN, has 1 handler(s) for this service... Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... Service "tulsaXDB" has 1 instance(s). Instance "tulsa", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service... The command completed successfully oracle:tulsa$
Fig. 17
At this point I have covered just about the entire range of TNS configuration items that cause the vast majority of Oracle database connection issues. In previous posts I covered the “configuration chain” from the initial client connection request, through the network routing, through the listener, to the database instance. In this post I have shown the configuration issues that lead to the listener knowing what database instances it is supposed to be able to service. Hopefully, this series will be of help to those faced with the original question, “Why can’t I connect to my database?”
Ed Stevens, DBA 