Oracle Network Products Troubleshooting Guide

Graphical Mode for MS Windows

When you click on the Client Status Monitor icon, a window like that shown in Figure 4 - 19 appears:

Figure 4 - 19. Initial Client Status Monitor Window

This window includes a menu bar from which you can access other windows, as described in the following section, and a page that displays the names and paths to important client files.

Client Status Monitor Menu Bar

The following sections described the choices on the Menu Bar.

File Menu

This menu has three choices:

Print Setup --Displays a window in which you can set defaults for printing from the Client Status Monitor.

Generate Report -- Displays a window from which you can choose to view, save to file, or print a report about the client. See the section "Generate Report" later in this chapter.

Exit -- Select Exit to close the Client Status Monitor.

Tools Menu

This menu provides access to two tools:

SQLNET.ORA Editor -- Displays the SQLNET.ORA Editor, from which you can edit many of the optional parameters in the SQLNET.ORA configuration file. For detailed information, see "SQLNET.ORA Editor" later in this chapter.

Test Connection -- Displays a window from which you can resolve a service name of an Oracle database service, and trace a connection attempt. See the section "Test a Connection" later in this chapter.

View Menu

This menu has three choices which influence the appearance of the Client Status Monitor window:

Toolbar -- Hide or Display the icon tool bar. Default is for the Tool Bar to be displayed.

Secure Network Services Details --Hide or display the folder tabs for Secure Network Services (encryption, checksumming, and authentication). Default is that they be hidden.

Native Naming Details --Hide or display the folder tab for name resolution services. Default is that it be hidden.

Help Menu

This menu has three choices:

Index -- Displays the Table of Contents of the Help file. From the Table of Contents you can navigate to help on various topics pertaining to the Client Status Monitor.

Using Help -- Displays a file that explains how to use Microsoft Help.

About Client Status Monitor -- Displays a window with information about this release of the Client Status Monitor.

Icon Tool Bar

Immediately below the Menu Bar is a set of icons. You can use these icons as alternatives to selecting items from the Menu Bar.

Note: You can choose whether or not to display the icons by selecting Toolbar from the View menu.

Figure 4 - 20. Toolbar

The icons and their functions are as follows:

Show/Hide SNS Pages Equivalent to selecting Secure Network Services Details from the View menu
Show/Hide Naming page Equivalent to selecting Native Naming Details from the View menu
Test Connection Equivalent to selecting Test Connection from the Tools menu
Generate Report Equivalent to selecting Generate Report from the File menu
SQLNET.ORA Editor Equivalent to selecting SQLNET.ORA Editor from the Tools menu
Help Equivalent to selecting Index from the Help menu

The following sections describe the Test Connection, Generate Report, and SQLNET.ORA Editor options in detail.

Test Connection

Selecting this icon or menu item displays a window in which you can resolve a service name to its network address, and from which you can trace an attempted connection to that service. An example is shown in Figure 4 - 21.

Figure 4 - 21. Test Connection Window

To use this window, enter the service name of the database you wish to reach, and select Resolve Service. The names resolution method will appear in the Resolved From field, and the address will appear in the Resolved To field.

Note: The names resolution method should match the first one shown in the names resolution path field in the Name Resolution Services window.

You can see if a connection is possible to this service by selecting Test Connection. If you select Trace Attempt you can view the trace file that results.

Note: You cannot turn on tracing and set the trace level from this window. Use the SQLNET.ORA Editor to set the trace level.

If a trace and log file are created, you can view them by selecting View, and you can print them from the Viewer window.

Generate Report

Selecting this icon or menu item displays a windowshown in Figure 4 - 22., in which you can choose to display, save to file, or print a detailed report of the status of your client.

Figure 4 - 23. Report Window

If you select Display, a Viewer window displays all the information that appears separately in the read-only client information pages.

If you select File, a window appears in which you can select a file name and location. The default name is CLSTATUS.RPT, and the default location is the CSM directory.

Note that if you select File, copies of the client configuration, log and trace files are included in the file by default. You may choose not to include them by deselecting them in the Generate Report window.

If you select Printer, a window like that shown in Figure 4 - 24 appears.

Figure 4 - 24. Initial Print Page

Note that if you select Printer, copies of the client configuration, log and trace files are printed by default. You may choose not to print them by deselecting them in the Generate Report window.

Figure 4 - 25

Figure 4 - 25. Print with Fax Header Sheet

Enter the following information in the appropriate empty fields.

To Person to contact within Oracle Customer Support, if known
Fax Number Fax number of the branch of Oracle Customer Support for your area
From Name of person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Support ID Identifying number that authorizes you to get help from Oracle Customer Support
Phone Number Phone number of the person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Fax Number Fax number of the person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Comment Optional field in which to explain the problem

To print the report, which includes the information in this window as well as all the client information from the Client Status Monitor, select OK.

To close this window, select Cancel.

SQLNET.ORA Editor

The SQLNET.ORA files contain parameters that affect the behavior of the client. If created by Oracle Network Manager, the SQLNET.ORA file has values that are the same for all clients of a particular client profile, or client type. Once the SQLNET.ORA files are distributed to individual clients, however, they can be modified to reflect individual needs. The SQLNET.ORA Editor provides a convenient way to do this.

You can open the SQLNET.ORA Editor on an MS Windows machine directly by double-clicking in the SQLNET.ORA Editor icon. You can also access the SQLNET.ORA Editor from the Client Status Monitor. Either way, when you open the SQLNET.ORA Editor you are asked whether you want to edit the system level SQLNET.ORA file, the local (user level) SQLNET.ORA file, or another SQLNET.ORA file. If you select Other, a window appears in which you select the location of the file you want to edit.

Values in the local (user) SQLNET.ORA file override those in the system SQLNET.ORA file.

Note: You might not have write permission for the system SQLNET.ORA file.

Note: Not all parameters in SQLNET.ORA can be modified using this editor. Specifically, not all parameters related to Authentication in Secure Network Services are available to this tool in this release. Also, you cannot use this tool to set preferred Names Servers.

Like the Client Status Monitor, the SQLNET.ORA Editor has a number of pages, which are displayed when you select their folder tabs.

There are four buttons at the bottom of the SQLNET.ORA Editor window:

Select OK to save your changes to the SQLNET.ORA file.

Select CANCEL to lose your changes and leave the window.

The APPLY button is not usable. If you want to apply your entries, select OK.

Select HELP to get online information about the SQLNET.ORA Editor.

General Page

The first page that displays is the General Page, as shown in Figure 4 - 26.

Figure 4 - 26. SQLNET.ORA Editor General Page

Client LOG File Name Change the existing name for the log file in this field. In most operating systems, the log filename is automatically appended with the suffix .LOG. You do not need to enter that suffix in the field.
Client LOG Directory Change the existing directory to which the client log file is written in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.
Client Registration Enter an identifier for the client machine. This identifier will be passed to the listener with any connection request and included in the Audit Trail. The identifier can be any alphanumeric string up to 128 characters. A typical identifier might be a department name.
Default Domain Enter a default domain in this field. The default domain is the domain to which most client connection requests are directed. In a hierarchical name space, the default domain should be the domain in which the most frequently contacted servers reside.

You can toggle the following features ON and OFF by selecting the buttons next to their names.

Automatic IPC Select this button if you want the client to try an IPC (internal) connection before trying other protocols. The default is for Automatic IPC to be ON.
Use Dedicated Server Select this button if you want to make a connection to a dedicated server rather than to use a multi-threaded server.
DISABLE Out of Band Breaks (OOB) Select this button if you want to disable out-of-band breaks.

For further information about these optional parameters, please refer to the appropriate sections in Understanding SQL*Net.

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

Tracing

Select Tracing to display the page in which you can modify the parameters that affect tracing on the client. The page looks like that shown in Figure 4 - 27.

Figure 4 - 27. SQLNET.ORA Editor Tracing Page

Client Trace Unique Select this box to toggle the value of this parameter to ON. When set to ON, this parameter will give each client trace file a different identifying number so that repeated traces do not overwrite one another.
Client Trace Level Select a trace level from the scrolling list. Unless you are troubleshooting a particular problem, the trace level should be OFF. Other choices are USER, for a moderately detailed trace report, and ADMIN, for more extensive trace information.
NOTE: After troubleshooting your connection problem, turn trace level back to OFF. Leaving the trace facility on can impact performance.
Client Trace File Name Change the existing name for the trace file in this field. In most operating systems, the trace file name is automatically appended with the suffix .TRC. You do not need to enter that suffix in the field.
Client Trace Directory Change the existing directory to which the client trace file is written in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.
TNSPING Trace Level Ttrace the behavior of the TNSPING utility by selecting a trace level from the scrolling list. Unless you are troubleshooting a particular problem, the trace level should be OFF. Other choices are USER, for a moderately detailed trace report, and ADMIN, for more extensive trace information.
Note: After troubleshooting your connection problem, turn trace level back to OFF. Leaving the trace facility ON can impact performance.
TNSPING Trace Directory Change the location of the TNSPING trace file from the platform-specific default by entering the desired location in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

Encryption

Select Encryption to change any of the Secure Network Services encryption parameters for the client. An example of this window is shown in Figure 4 - 28.

Figure 4 - 28. SQLNET.ORA Editor Encryption Page

Client Seed Enter a new random number to act as a seed for encryption of client messages. Enter a string of between 16 and 70 random characters.
Client Level Change the level of encryption the client requests. Choices in the pop-up list are Accepted, Rejected, Requested, and Required. (Whether encryption is implemented in a client-server connection is determined by the level requested by both the client and the server.)
Client Type Select the type of encryption desired from the choices in the Available list box on the left. (Do not select a type unless it has been installed. Even if a type appears in the list, it may not be installed in your system.) You can select more than one type. Remove a type from the Client Type list box by selecting it and selecting Remove.

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

Checksumming

Select Checksumming to change any of the Secure Network Services checksum parameters for the client. An example of this window is shown in Figure 4 - 29.

Figure 4 - 29. SQLNET.ORA Editor Checksumming Page

Client Level Change the client's requested level of checksumming. Choices in the pop-up list are Accepted, Rejected, Requested, and Required. (Whether checksumming is implemented in a client-server connection is determined by the level requested by both the client and the server.)
Client Type Select the type of checksumming from the choices available in the Available list box. In this release, only MD5 is available. (Do not select a type unless it has been installed.)

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

Authentication

Select Authentication to change the authentication service the client requests. Do not select a service that has not been installed. Select one or more authentication services from the Available list box. If more than one is selected, the first one that is also on the server's list is the one that is used. An example of this window is shown in Figure 4 - 30.

Figure 4 - 30. SQLNET.ORA Editor Authentication Page

Note: If you select CYBERSAFE or KERBEROS5, you may need to modify other parameters that are not accessible from the SQLNET.ORA Editor. Both these authentication adapters require other parameters to be set. If they are not already set in the SQLNET.ORA file, you must set them through Oracle Network Manager, or by using a text editor. See Secure Network Services Administrator's Guide and your Oracle platform-specific documentation for more information.

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

Name Resolution

Select Name Resolution to change the preferred method for resolving service names to addresses. The order in which the name resolution services appear in th Ordering of Path list determines the order in which they are tried. For example, if you select ONAMES and then TNSNAMES, the client will first request names resolution from Oracle Names rather than the SQL*Net configuration file TNSNAMES.ORA. An example of this window is shown in Figure 4 - 12.

Figure 4 - 31. SQLNET.ORA Editor Name Resolution Page

To change the order of the names services selected in the Ordering of Names list box, select the service at the top of the list and select Remove, then select it from the Available list and select Add. It will reappear in the Ordering of Path list at the bottom.

Press OK to apply your changes; press Cancel to cancel them.

The default, if no selections are made, is for TNSNAMES to be tried first.

Client Information Pages

Beneath the Menu Bar and Tool Bar, information about the client is displayed. Related sets of information appear on different pages, which you access by selecting the folder tabs. These pages are read-only. If you want to change any of the values on these pages, use the SQLNET.ORA Editor or Oracle Network Manager to do so.

General Page

The General page, which is shown in Figure 4 - 19, lists the names and paths of several important client files. You can see any of the files by selecting View, and you can print any file by selecting Print from the Viewer window that appears. For example, Figure 4 - 32 shows the Viewer window for a SQLNET.ORA file.

Figure 4 - 32. Viewer Window for a SQLNET.ORA File

The General page also shows any client registration information that appears in the SQLNET.ORA file, and shows the current trace level.

Note: The trace level and client registration shown on the General page are those in the local (user) SQLNET.ORA file, if one is available. The values in the local SQLNET.ORA file override the values in the system SQLNET.ORA file.

Protocol Adapters

If you select the Protocol Adapters folder tab, the window shown in Figure 4 - 33 appears. This page displays all Oracle protocol adapters installed on the client machine. It also shows the location and version of the DLLs used by the protocol adapter you highlight.

Figure 4 - 33. Protocol Adapter Page

Checksumming Services

The Checksumming page, shown in Figure 4 - 34, displays the checksum services installed and selected.

Figure 4 - 34. Checksumming Page

Authentication Services

The Authentication page, shown in Figure 4 - 35, displays the authentication services installed and selected.

Figure 4 - 35. Authentication Page

The highlighted service is described briefly, and the DLL used by the highlighted service is displayed.

Encryption Services

The Encryption page, shown in Figure 4 - 36, shows the encryption services installed and selected.

Figure 4 - 36. Encryption Page

The highlighted service is described briefly in the Description area.

Name Resolution Services

The Name Resolution page, shown in Figure 4 - 37, displays the default order of the name resolution services installed on the client, and, in the second column, the order in which they are used. (The order is determined by a parameter in the SQLNET.ORA file.)

Figure 4 - 37. Name Resolution Page

The highlighted service is described in the Description area.

Show/Hide SNS Pages	Equivalent to selecting Secure Network Services Details from the View menu
Show/Hide Naming page	Equivalent to selecting Native Naming Details from the View menu
Test Connection	Equivalent to selecting Test Connection from the Tools menu
Generate Report	Equivalent to selecting Generate Report from the File menu
SQLNET.ORA Editor	Equivalent to selecting SQLNET.ORA Editor from the Tools menu
Help	Equivalent to selecting Index from the Help menu

To	Person to contact within Oracle Customer Support, if known
Fax Number	Fax number of the branch of Oracle Customer Support for your area
From	Name of person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Support ID	Identifying number that authorizes you to get help from Oracle Customer Support
Phone Number	Phone number of the person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Fax Number	Fax number of the person at your location who is the liaison with Oracle Customer Support
Comment	Optional field in which to explain the problem

Client LOG File Name	Change the existing name for the log file in this field. In most operating systems, the log filename is automatically appended with the suffix .LOG. You do not need to enter that suffix in the field.
Client LOG Directory	Change the existing directory to which the client log file is written in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.
Client Registration	Enter an identifier for the client machine. This identifier will be passed to the listener with any connection request and included in the Audit Trail. The identifier can be any alphanumeric string up to 128 characters. A typical identifier might be a department name.
Default Domain	Enter a default domain in this field. The default domain is the domain to which most client connection requests are directed. In a hierarchical name space, the default domain should be the domain in which the most frequently contacted servers reside.

Automatic IPC	Select this button if you want the client to try an IPC (internal) connection before trying other protocols. The default is for Automatic IPC to be ON.
Use Dedicated Server	Select this button if you want to make a connection to a dedicated server rather than to use a multi-threaded server.
DISABLE Out of Band Breaks (OOB)	Select this button if you want to disable out-of-band breaks.

Client Trace Unique	Select this box to toggle the value of this parameter to ON. When set to ON, this parameter will give each client trace file a different identifying number so that repeated traces do not overwrite one another.
Client Trace Level	Select a trace level from the scrolling list. Unless you are troubleshooting a particular problem, the trace level should be OFF. Other choices are USER, for a moderately detailed trace report, and ADMIN, for more extensive trace information.
	NOTE: After troubleshooting your connection problem, turn trace level back to OFF. Leaving the trace facility on can impact performance.
Client Trace File Name	Change the existing name for the trace file in this field. In most operating systems, the trace file name is automatically appended with the suffix .TRC. You do not need to enter that suffix in the field.
Client Trace Directory	Change the existing directory to which the client trace file is written in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.
TNSPING Trace Level	Ttrace the behavior of the TNSPING utility by selecting a trace level from the scrolling list. Unless you are troubleshooting a particular problem, the trace level should be OFF. Other choices are USER, for a moderately detailed trace report, and ADMIN, for more extensive trace information.
	Note: After troubleshooting your connection problem, turn trace level back to OFF. Leaving the trace facility ON can impact performance.
TNSPING Trace Directory	Change the location of the TNSPING trace file from the platform-specific default by entering the desired location in this field. Be sure that you have write permission to the directory you select.

Client Seed	Enter a new random number to act as a seed for encryption of client messages. Enter a string of between 16 and 70 random characters.
Client Level	Change the level of encryption the client requests. Choices in the pop-up list are Accepted, Rejected, Requested, and Required. (Whether encryption is implemented in a client-server connection is determined by the level requested by both the client and the server.)
Client Type	Select the type of encryption desired from the choices in the Available list box on the left. (Do not select a type unless it has been installed. Even if a type appears in the list, it may not be installed in your system.) You can select more than one type. Remove a type from the Client Type list box by selecting it and selecting Remove.

Client Level	Change the client's requested level of checksumming. Choices in the pop-up list are Accepted, Rejected, Requested, and Required. (Whether checksumming is implemented in a client-server connection is determined by the level requested by both the client and the server.)
Client Type	Select the type of checksumming from the choices available in the Available list box. In this release, only MD5 is available. (Do not select a type unless it has been installed.)