Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting

Configuring a Listener

As you may recall from Chapter 1, the Net8 listener is the software that runs on the server and that monitors the network for incoming database connection requests. Properly configuring the listener—or listeners if you are running more than one—is your key task when installing Net8 on a server.

Net8 listeners are configured by editing a text file named listener.ora . This is a file that contains a set of parameters for each listener that control that listener’s operation. You place the parameters in the file, and they are read and take effect when the listener is started. The listener.ora parameters define the following:

• The listener’s name

• The protocols supported by the listener

• The addresses, often TCP/IP port numbers, that the listener monitors for incoming connection requests

• Service names and SID names of the databases and instances serviced by the listener

• Other configuration details related to dead connection detection, prespawned dedicated server processes, and other advanced Net8 features

Since listener.ora is a text file, you can modify it using a text editor such as vi or Notepad. You can also use Oracle’s Net8 Assistant, which provides you with a GUI interface for editing listener.ora parameters. Many DBAs prefer to edit listener.ora by hand, and it’s not that difficult to do. However, if you’re at all uncomfortable with the syntax, using the Net8 Assistant gives you one less thing to worry about.

While you can have as many listeners as you like, there ...