8
Troubleshooting

This chapter lists possible solutions to errors that you may encounter while installing or using Oracle Portal.

Specific topics covered include:

• Verify System Requirements

• Identify the Component Causing the Problem

• Troubleshooting Connection Problems with the Diagnostics Tool

• Configuration Control Points and File Locations

• Troubleshooting Oracle Portal
  • Installation and Configuration Problems

  • Problems Logging on to Oracle Portal

  • Problems Running Oracle Portal

  • Miscellaneous Issues Using Oracle Portal

8.1 Verify System Requirements

If you are having any problems installing Oracle Portal, make sure that your system meets the system requirements in Chapter 1, "Verifying Requirements".

8.1.1 Check Installation Log

Always check the installation session log that describes the actions performed and the components created upon installation.

The log file is located in:

<ORACLE_HOME>/assistants/opca/install.log

Note: The log file includes results from the diagnostic tool.

8.2 Identify the Component Causing the Problem

To troubleshoot any issue, first identify which component of Oracle Portal may be causing the problem. The following is a quick checklist for identifying the component where the problem may likely be occurring:

• Try to access http://host.domain:port in your Web browser. Failure to access indicates an issue with the Oracle HTTP Server powered by Apache listener. For more information, see Section A.1.1, "Oracle HTTP Server Configuration File (httpd.conf)".

• Confirm that the Oracle HTTP Server is started. Check the listener log file for more details. Specifically, look at the httpd_error.log file. Note that externally, the server is addressed with the default port 80; however, internally, the server.company.com is listening on port 7777. For more information, see Using the PL/SQL Gateway which is provided as part of the Oracle9i Application Server documentation set.

• Try to access http://host.domain:port/pls/admin_/ in your Web browser. Failure to access indicates an issue with the PL/SQL Gateway (Apache mod_plsql) or its configuration. Check the DAD settings in mod_plsql and verify the username, password, and connect strings for both the Oracle Portal DAD and the Login Server (SSO) DAD. See Section A.1.3, "Database Access Descriptor (DAD) Configuration File (wdbsvr.app)".

• Access http://host.domain:port/servlet/IsItWorking in your Web browser. Failure to access indicates an issue with the Apache JServ. Most internal server errors are related to Apache JServ's failure to start due to a port conflict. Check the Apache JServ log files for more details. The log files are located in <ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Jserv/logs.

8.2.1 Location of Apache Log Files

The Apache log files are located in the following directories:

Table 8-1 Apache log file locations

Apache listener log file	<ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Apache/logs
Apache JServ log file	<ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Jserv/logs

where <ORACLE_HOME> is the location of your Oracle9i Application Server.

Try accessing Oracle Portal as described in Section 2.4, "Accessing Oracle Portal in Your Browser". If you still cannot connect to Oracle Portal and have just completed the installation, use the diagnostics tool or see Section 8.5, "Troubleshooting Oracle Portal".

8.3 Troubleshooting Connection Problems with the Diagnostics Tool

The diagnostics tool locates any Oracle Portal configuration problems involving a single installation. Thus, this tool is not useful in a distributed Oracle Portal environment with multiple nodes.

Many of the portal connection problems occur because the ssodatan script did not populate the configuration information in the Login Server when run.

To use this tool, verify that the following conditions exist:

• Oracle Portal was installed successfully and basic network connections such as TCP/IP and SQL*Net are properly configured. Perform a test to connect to the Oracle Portal schema from SQL*Plus. Fix any connection failures before running the diagnostics tool.

• The Oracle Portal schema and the Login Server schema exist in the same database instance or machine.

• Oracle Portal uses the HTTP protocol.

• The owner of the Oracle Portal schema is able to connect to the location of the Oracle Portal installation: either webdb30/admin/plsql (Oracle Portal version 3.0.6 and below) or portal30/admin/plsql (version 3.0.6 and above) to run this tool. The owner must also have file creation privileges in the directory containing the diagnostics tool.

8.3.1 Problems Detected by the Diagnostics Tool

Many Oracle Portal connection problems arise due to a misconfiguration in the Login Server. During an Oracle Portal installation, the ssodatan script is responsible for associating the Oracle Portal installation node with the appropriate Login Server and populating the enabler tables. However, if this script fails, the diagnostics tool can read the configuration information in both the Oracle Portal schema and the Login Server schema. A diagnostic report provides any missing information in these tables. In addition, this tool reads the configuration information for the partner applications from the Login Server.

For the URLs stored in both the partner enabler configuration information and the partner application configuration information, it performs the following checks:

• Verifies that the correct protocol exists. Currently, the diagnostics tool works only for HTTP.

• Verifies the host name and port number by establishing a connection with Oracle Portal.

• Verifies that the PL/SQL Gateway (modplsql) is running.

• Verifies that JServ is working.

• Reads the Database Access Descriptor (DAD) information and retrieves the schema name, connect string, and the authentication mode used by this Oracle Portal installation. Any problems reading the DAD information are reported.

• Reads the DAD name from the preference store and compares it with the DAD name obtained from the Oracle Portal URL and reports any differences.

8.3.2 Problems Not Detected by the Diagnostics Tool

The following is a list of problems that the diagnostics tool does not detect:

• Installation problems including those encountered while loading various database objects such as tables, indices, packages, Java classes, and so on.

• Database problems.

• Oracle HTTP Server powered by Apache server configuration problems.

• Problems in an installation where Oracle Portal and the Login Server are installed in different database instances.

• Problems in an Oracle Portal installation that uses HTTPS.

8.3.3 Running the Diagnostics Tool

In Oracle Portal 3.0.8.5.3 and above, when the diagnostics tool is running, the Java class, Diagnose.class, and the PL/SQL package, wwsec_diagnostics, are loaded into the database.

If you are running an earlier Oracle Portal version, download the Java archive file, diag.jar, from the Oracle Technology Network to your Oracle Portal installation location (portal30/admin/plsql) and run the following command to extract the files (you can also use WinZip):

jar -xvf diag.jar

The wwc directory is created if it does not already exist.

Note: If you are a UNIX user, execute the chmod +x diag.cmd before you run the diagnostics tool.

You run this tool from the command line:

UNIX: diag.csh

Windows NT/2000: diag.cmd

Example

diag.csh -s portal30_schema -p portal30_schema_password -c connect_string

where:

Table 8-2 Diagnostics tool's diag parameters

Parameter	Description
portal30_schema	Is the name of the database schema that contains the Oracle Portal product. The default schema name is portal30.
portal30_schema_password	Is the password for to the Oracle Portal schema.
connect_string	Is the connect string for the database in which Oracle Portal is installed. The default value is orcl.

The diagnostics tool also provides any recommendations to the user based on these tests.

8.3.4 Sample Diagnostics Report

The diagnostics report, diag.txt, is created when the diagnostics command is run. Below is a sample report output.

 Diagnostics Report v 1.0: Oracle Portal v 3.0.8.6.5
 As of 14-Dec-2000 15:33:01 Schema Name: SM1 SSO Schema Name: sm1_SSO
  
 SM1.wwsec_enabler_config_info$
 Login Server URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1_sso/sm1_SSO.wwsso_app_admin.ls_login
 DAD : sm1_sso
 Host connection : successful.
 mod_plsql : working.
 JServ : working.
 Schema name : sm1_sso
 Connect string : orcl
 Authentication mode : Single Sign-On
  
  
 sm1_sso.wwsec_enabler_config_info$
 Login Server URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1_sso/sm1_SSO.wwsso_app_admin.ls_login
 DAD : sm1_sso
 Host connection : successful.
 mod_plsql : working.
 JServ : working.
 Schema name : sm1_sso
 Connect string : orcl
 Authentication mode : Single Sign-On
  
 **********************************
  
 Partner Application Information
  
  
 **** Oracle Portal (sm1) ****
 Home URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1/sm1.home
 Success URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1/sm1.wwsec_app_priv.process_signon
 DAD : sm1
 Host connection : successful.
 mod_plsql : working.
 JServ : working.
 Schema name : sm1
 Connect string : orcl
 Authentication mode : Single Sign-On
  
  
 **** The Login Server (sm1_SSO) ****
 Home URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1_sso/sm1_SSO.home
 Success URL : http://host.domain.com:3000/pls/sm1_sso/sm1_SSO.wwsso_home.process_signon
 DAD : sm1_sso
 Host connection : successful.
 mod_plsql : working.
 JServ : working.
 Schema name : sm1_sso
 Connect string : orcl
 Authentication mode : Single Sign-On
  
 *********************************************
  
 Diagnostics completed successfully!

8.4 Configuration Control Points and File Locations

When you are planning an installation or troubleshooting an Oracle Portal configuration problem, be aware of the various configuration control points which are discussed in Appendix A, "Oracle9i Application Server Configuration Files". For your convenience, the following table is provided below:

Configuration File/table	Location or Description
Oracle HTTP Server	<ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf
Apache JServ	<ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Jserv/etc/zone.properties
PL/SQL Gateway	<ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/modplsql/cfg/wdbsvr.app
Database Connection	<ORACLE_HOME>/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
Login Server enabler table	Oracle Portal and Login Server's configuration table, WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$.
Login server configuration table	Login Server's Partner Applications configuration table, WWSSO_PAPP_CONFIGURATION_INFO$.
Local HOSTS file	This file resolves IP names to IP addresses. On Windows NT, this file is at \Winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. On Unix, it is at /etc/hosts.
winstall, linstall, ssodatan, ssodatax scripts	<ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql/ For more information, see Appendix B, "Oracle Portal Installation and Configuration Scripts".

where <ORACLE_HOME> is the location of your Oracle9i Application Server installation.

8.4.1 Oracle Portal Installation Directory Name Change

Depending on your Oracle Portal version, the default location of your installation files is as follows:

Table 8-3 Oracle Portal installation directory structure

Oracle Portal 3.0.6	<ORACLE_HOME>/webdb30
Oracle Portal 3.0.7 and above	<ORACLE_HOME>/portal30

8.5 Troubleshooting Oracle Portal

The following lists configuration errors and problems.

Installation and Configuration Problems

Table 8-4 List of installation and configuration problems

	Problem or Error
	Problem: The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant displays one or more of the following errors, prompting you for the SYS password and database connect information.
	Error: The allocated SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is insufficient for the Oracle Portal installation.
	Error: The allocated JAVA_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is insufficient for the Oracle Portal installation.
	Error: The default tablespace selected requires 150 MB of free space for the Oracle Portal installation. Increase the tablespace size to proceed with the installation.
	Problem: The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant continues to display one or more of the errors listed above after the init.ora settings have been corrected.
	Problem: The Temporary Tablespace drop-down list for the Oracle Portal schema or Login Server schema is disabled in the Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant.
	Problem: Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant displays one or more of the following errors after completing the configuration of Oracle Portal.
	Error: The enabler configuration table, WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$, does not have any entries.
	Error: The Oracle Portal schema user was not created.
	Error: The Login Server user was not created.
	Error: There are invalid packages in the Oracle Portal schema.

Problems Logging on to Oracle Portal

Table 8-5 List of problems logging on to Oracle Portal

	Problem or Error
	Error: There are invalid packages in the Login Server schema.
	Error: Database Login Failure" while trying to connect to Oracle Portal.
	Error: Preference path not found error
	Problem: Receive the error: "You cannot login because there is no configuration information stored in the enabler configuration table (WWC-41439)" when trying to log on to Oracle Portal.
	Problem: Receive the error "Proxy log on failed" together with the message "TNS could not resolve service name" when trying to connect or log into Oracle Portal.
	Problem: Received the error "HTTP 400 - Bad Request /Malformed Host Header."
	Problem: Cannot log on to Oracle Portal due to an incorrect Proxy Setting.

Problems Running Oracle Portal

Table 8-6 List of problems running Oracle Portal

	Problem or Error
	Problem: The database and/or TNS listener crashes when running Oracle Portal on Windows NT/2000.
	Problem: Apache Listener crashes frequently.
	Problem: Receive the error 'Call to utl_http failed' when clicking on a URL item link rendered "in - place."
	Problem: Occasionally receive the error "Timeout for content={0}" in one or more portlets.
	Problem: Receive the error "The listener returned the following message: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" intermittently when running Oracle Portal.
	Problem: Receive the error "Internal Server Error" consistently when trying to access any page in Oracle Portal.
	Problem: Receive the error "Internal Server Error" intermittently when trying to access Oracle Portal.
	Problem: Receive "400 bad request" error or the Web browser hangs when trying to access Oracle Portal.
	Error: The request for content either timed out, or produced an error, after 0 seconds.

Miscellaneous Issues Using Oracle Portal

Table 8-7 List of miscellaneous issues using Oracle Portal

	Problem or Error
	Problem: Unable to create interMedia Text indexes.
	Problem: Apache generates the following error on startup: "The procedure entry point snlpcgtsrvbynm could not be located in the dynamic link library oranl8.dll."
	Error: missing string (login link text) language(e) domain(wwc) sub_domain(sec) Missing string(pages) language(e) domain(wwc) sub_domain(pob).
	Error: PLS-00306: wrong number or types of arguments.

8.5.1 Installation and Configuration Problems

Problem: The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant displays one or more of the following errors, prompting you for the SYS password and database connect information.

Error	The Java option is not enabled in the selected database. The Java option in the database must be enabled to install Oracle Portal.
Cause	Oracle Portal requires that the Oracle8i Java Virtual Machine (JVM) database option be installed and available in the database in which you are installing Oracle Portal. This error appears when the installer cannot find the Oracle8i JVM. The installer checks the existence of the Oracle8i JVM option with the following query: select count(object_name) from all_objects where object_type like 'JAVA%' and status='VALID'
Solution	Either install the Oracle8i JVM option by running the Oracle8i Database Configuration Assistant or specify a different Oracle8i database in the Oracle Portal installation.

Error: The allocated SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is insufficient for the Oracle Portal installation.

Cause	Oracle Portal requires that the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter be greater than 31457280. The installer determined that the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is set to a value less than 31457280. The installer checks for this requirement with the following query: select value from v$parameter where name like 'shared_pool_size'
Solution	Increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE allocation in the init.ora file for your database to continue the installation process. Shutdown and restart the database for your changes to take effect.

Error: The allocated JAVA_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is insufficient for the Oracle Portal installation.

Cause	Oracle Portal requires that the JAVA_POOL_SIZE parameter be greater than 20971520. The installer determined that the JAVA_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is set to a value less than 20971520. The installer checks for this requirement with the following query: select value from v$parameter where name like 'java_pool_size'
Solution	Increase the JAVA_POOL_SIZE allocation in the init.ora file for your database to continue the installation process. The JAVA_POOL_SIZE setting must be increased to a value greater than 20971520. Shutdown and restart the database for your changes to take effect.

Error: The default tablespace selected requires 150 MB of free space for the Oracle Portal installation. Increase the tablespace size to proceed with the installation.

Cause	Oracle Portal requires at least 150 MB of free space in the DEFAULT tablespace that is specified for the Oracle Portal schema. The Configuration Assistant detected that the DEFAULT tablespace you selected has less than 150 MB of free space available.The installer checks for this requirement with the following query: select sum(bytes)/1024 from DBA_FREE_SPACE where tablespace_name like '" + <UserSelectedTablespace> + "'
Solution	Specify a different DEFAULT tablespace for the Oracle Portal schema or increase the amount of free space available in the tablespace you have selected. The alter database datafile command achieves this. You should set the autoextend option when altering the tablespace size. See your Oracle database documentation for details.
Tip	On Windows NT/2000, for a default installation of the Oracle8i database and an Oracle9i Application Server, you can resize your tablespace for a faster installation of Oracle Portal in the following way: 1) Install a default Oracle8i database. a) Measure its tablespace size. 2) Install a default installation of Oracle9i Application Server (HTTP only install option). a) Measure its tablespace size. 3) Subtract 1a from 2a. Note: Use only the datafile changes; do not use the tablespace and/or index changes. alter database datafile 'C:\oracle\oradata\orcl\system01.dbf' resize 510M; alter database datafile 'C:\oracle\oradata\orcl\users01.dbf' resize 140M;

Problem: The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant continues to display one or more of the errors listed above after the init.ora settings have been corrected.

Cause

Based on the queries that the Configuration Assistant uses, the settings still appear to be incorrect.

Solution

Verify that you have entered the new values in the init.ora file as a valid number of bytes without using any abbreviated notations (for example, 60M as an abbreviation for 60000000). Since the Configuration Assistant compares the settings as numbers, all the digits must be entered without using abbreviated notation. Also, you must shutdown and restart your database anytime changes to the init.ora settings are made.

Problem: The Temporary Tablespace drop-down list for the Oracle Portal schema or Login Server schema is disabled in the Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant.

Cause	In version 3.0.6 of Oracle Portal, the Configuration Assistant populates the Temporary Tablespace list with those tablespaces that are of type "TEMPORARY." If your database does not have any of these tablespaces, then the drop-down list is disabled. In versions 3.0.7 and above, this problem has been fixed.
Solution	This problem must be fixed before continuing with the installation. Define at least one tablespace in your database that is of type "TEMPORARY."

Problem: Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant displays one or more of the following errors after completing the configuration of Oracle Portal.

Error	The SSOHash class has not been loaded into the database.
Cause	The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant could not find this class after the configuration was complete. To enable Single Sign-On, Oracle Portal installs the SSOHash Java class during the configuration process. This class is necessary to log on to Oracle Portal.
Solution	Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log file are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database was configured. If there are no other errors, the SSOHash class can be manually installed by entering the following command from the <ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql/wwc directory. loadjava -resolve -user <PORTAL_SCHEMA>/<PORTAL_SCHEMA>@<CONNECT> SSOHash.class where <PORTAL_SCHEMA> is the database schema name where Oracle Portal is installed and <CONNECT> is the TNS connect string for your database.

Error: The enabler configuration table, WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$, does not have any entries.

Cause

The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant did not detect any entries in the WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$ table after the configuration was complete. Oracle Portal uses the WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$ table when contacting the Login Server. This table must have at least one entry for Oracle Portal to function properly.

Solution

Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log file are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured. If there are no other errors, fix this problem by running the ssodatan script. See Section B.4, "Configuring a New Oracle Portal Instance and Login Server with the ssodatan Script".

Error: The Oracle Portal schema user was not created.

Cause

The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant did not find the Portal schema in the database after the configuration was complete.

Solution

Check the Oracle Portal installation/configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log file are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured. The log file is located in <ORACLE_HOME>/assistants/opca/install.log. When the Portal schema doesn't get created, the configuration process generates a large number of errors. The reason for the Portal Schema not being created should be close to the top of the log file. Once the problem has been determined and fixed, deinstall Oracle Portal and rerun the Configuration Assistant.

Error: The Login Server user was not created.

Cause

The Oracle Portal Configuration Assistant did not find the Login Server schema in the database after the configuration was complete.

Solution

Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log file are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured. When the Login Server schema is not created, the configuration process generates a large number of errors which typically appear at the top of the log file. Once the problem has been determined and fixed, deinstall Oracle Portal and rerun the Configuration Assistant. See Section 2.7, "Deinstalling Oracle Portal".

Error: There are invalid packages in the Oracle Portal schema.

Cause

One or more errors were generated during the configuration of Oracle Portal causing some of the PL/SQL packages to be invalid. Invalid packages may be caused by some Oracle Portal database objects failing while being created. Invalid packages may also result if required dependencies are not installed in the database. Some of the required dependencies include the PL/SQL Web Toolkit (OWA Packages), as well as the standard PL/SQL packages available in the SYS schema.

Solution

Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log files are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured. Verify that you have installed the PL/SQL Web Toolkit that ships with your version of Oracle Portal. Oracle Portal makes heavy use of the PL/SQL Web Toolkit and requires that the latest version be installed.

Error: There are invalid packages in the Login Server schema.

Cause

One or more errors were generated during the configuration of Oracle Portal causing some of the PL/SQL packages to be invalid. Invalid packages may be caused by some Login Server objects failing while being created. Invalid packages may also result if required dependencies are not installed in the database. Some of the required dependencies include the PL/SQL Web Toolkit (OWA Packages), as well as the standard PL/SQL packages available in the SYS schema.

Solution

Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log files are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured. Verify that you have installed the PL/SQL Web Toolkit that ships with your version of Oracle Portal. Because of Oracle Portal's heavy use of the PL/SQL Web Toolkit, it is important that the latest version be installed.

Error: Database Login Failure" while trying to connect to Oracle Portal.

Cause

The Database Access Descriptor (DAD) for Oracle Portal may be incorrect or the TNS names entry used in the DAD is not defined in the tnsnames.ora file located in the ORACLE_HOME location containing your Oracle9i Application Server files, including Oracle Portal. Additionally, it is possible that the installation and configuration process generated errors.

Solution

Verify the DAD configuration by entering the following URL: http://host.domain:port/pls/admin_/gateway.htm For more information, see Using the PL/SQL Gateway which is provided as part of the Oracle9i Application Server documentation set. Make sure that the connect string information for the database is correct and the same when connecting through SQL*Plus. If you have multiple Oracle Homes, confirm that the appropriate connect string is added to <ORACLE_HOME>/network/admin/tnsnames.ora. If in doubt, add the connect string to the tnsnames.ora files in all the Oracle Homes. Also, for UNIX, check the following file to verify that the appropriate ORACLE_HOME is being used: <ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Apache/bin/apachectl Check the Oracle Portal installation and configuration log file for other errors. Additional errors in the log file are usually an indication that there is a more fundamental problem with the way the database is configured.

Error: Preference path not found error

Reason

The preference path is part of the seed data. This error indicates an incomplete installation; one or more portal objects were not installed. The allocated SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is not sufficient for the Oracle9iAS Portal. Oracle Portal requires that the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter be greater than 15728640. The installer determined that the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter for the database is set to a value less than 15728640. You can verify the size by issuing the following query: select value from v$parameter where name like 'shared_pool_size'

Solution

From the Oracle8i database home location, edit the init.ora. Increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE allocation to continue the installation process. Shutdown and restart your database for this value to take effect. Be sure to specify all the digits (for example, 1000000000) for the SHARED_POOL_SIZE; do not use abbreviations (1000M).

8.5.2 Problems Logging on to Oracle Portal

Problem: Receive the error: "You cannot login because there is no configuration information stored in the enabler configuration table (WWC-41439)" when trying to log on to Oracle Portal.

There are several potential reasons for this error message. Each reason is listed below with a corresponding solution.

Reason 1	The hostname specified in the httpd.conf file was written using capital letters. This prevents the SSO subsystem from finding a matching entry in the enabler configuration table.
Solution	Modify the "servername" setting in the httpd.conf file so that the hostname uses all lowercase letters.
Reason 2	The SSOHash class has not been loaded into the database. Check this by running the following query in SQL Plus: select * from all_objects where object_type is like 'JAVA CLASS'
Solution	Manually load the SSOHash class using the following command: loadjava -resolve -user <PORTAL_SCHEMA>/<PORTAL_SCHEMA>@<CONNECT> SSOHash.class where <PORTAL_SCHEMA> is the database schema name containing your Oracle Portal installation and <CONNECT> is the TNS connect string for your database.
Reason 3	The JAVA_POOL_SIZE parameter for your database is too small. Oracle Portal requires that the JAVA_POOL_SIZE is set to a value greater than 20971520.
Solution	Increase the JAVA_POOL_SIZE allocation to continue the installation process. The JAVA_POOL_SIZE value is set in the init.ora file for your database. Also, shutdown and restart your database anytime changes to the init.ora settings are made.
Reason 4	If you are installing or configuring Oracle Portal manually, then the URL may have been mistyped when running the ssodatan script.
Solution	Rerun the ssodatan script with the correct data. See Section B.5, "Updating an Existing Portal Instance with the ssodatax Script".
Reason 5	An alias which is defined in the Apache configuration causes Apache to translate host.domain.com to just host. In this case, the login link shows only host:port (dropping the domain).
Solution	Remove all such aliases from your Apache configuration file, http.conf.
Reason 6	The default domain is not set in the Apache configuration. When this occurs, only the hostname is shown in the Login link and the domain is not included.
Solution	Define the default domain in the Apache configuration file, http.conf.
Reason 7	The default HTTP port (port 80) was specified during installation, configuration, or when running the ssodatan script. Unfortunately, Apache, and some browsers, drop the :80.
Solution	Run the ssodatan script without specifying port :80. Also, when accessing Oracle Portal through the browser, do not specify the port. See Section B.4, "Configuring a New Oracle Portal Instance and Login Server with the ssodatan Script" and Section 2.4, "Accessing Oracle Portal in Your Browser".
Reason 8	Mismatch in the case of the hostname in Oracle Portal and Apache.
Solution	Change the hostname to all lowercase in: Oracle9iAS_Home/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf

Problem: Receive the error "Proxy log on failed" together with the message "TNS could not resolve service name" when trying to connect or log into Oracle Portal.

Cause	This is likely due to a Net8 configuration problem.
Solution	Verify that the ORACLE_HOME where the listener was started is pointing to the same home where the Oracle9i Application Server tnsnames.ora file is located. Verify that the tnsnames.ora file that exists, is valid, and that it contains the service name associated with your DAD. Refer to the Net8 documentation provided with your Oracle8i database documentation library.

Problem: Received the error "HTTP 400 - Bad Request /Malformed Host Header."

Cause	This situation can happen when the hostname on the machine where Apache is running contains the underscore `_' character. Underscores are invalid in URLs.
Solution	Remove any underscores in the name of the host or access the machine by its IP Address.

Problem: Cannot log on to Oracle Portal due to an incorrect Proxy Setting.

Cause

If the Proxy Setting is incorrect or invalid, Oracle Portal cannot process logins.

Solution

Using SQL*Plus, log on as the Oracle Portal schema owner (default is PORTAL30) and issue the following statements: begin wwpre_api_value.set_value_as_varchar2( p_path=> 'oracle.portal.proxy', p_name=> 'name', p_level_type =>wwpre_api_value.SYSTEM_LEVEL_ TYPE, p_level_name => null, p_value => NULL); wwpre_api_value.set_value_as_number( p_path=> 'oracle.portal.proxy', p_name=> 'port', p_level_type => wwpre_api_value.SYSTEM_LEVEL_TYPE, p_level_name => null, p_value=> NULL); end; / After issuing these statements, the value of the proxy setting is NULL.

8.5.3 Problems Running Oracle Portal

Problem: The database and/or TNS listener crashes when running Oracle Portal on Windows NT/2000.

Cause	This is most likely happening because you are running a version of the UTL_HTTP package that shipped with early versions of the Oracle 8.1.6 database on Windows NT/2000.
Solution	Download and install the Oracle8i database 8.1.6.2 patch from Metalink at: http://metalink.oracle.com Click patches, and then select "product: Oracle Server - Enterprise Edition", "platform: MS Windows NT/2000". You must be registered to use metalink.

Problem: Apache Listener crashes frequently.

Cause

The most common problem with Apache stability is rooted in Oracle Portal's use of new 8.1.7 client libraries against an 8.1.6 database. The database team has discovered a protocol problem that exposed itself on threaded client applications like the Windows NT/2000 version of mod_plsql. This is not a problem on UNIX because mod_plsql and Apache are process-based. This patch is relevant if you are running a Windows NT/2000 middle-tier against a database on either Windows NT/2000 or UNIX.

Solution

Download and install the Oracle8i database 8.1.6.2 patch from Metalink at: http://metalink.oracle.com Click patches, and then select "product: Oracle Server - Enterprise Edition", "platform: MS Windows NT". You must be registered to use metalink.

Problem: Receive the error 'Call to utl_http failed' when clicking on a URL item link rendered "in - place."

Cause

An incorrect proxy value may be specified if running within a firewall.

Solution

Verify that the proxy is properly set on the Global Settings page in Oracle Portal which is accessed from the Services portlet on the Administers tab page. Click the Administer tab on the Portal Home Page. In the Proxy Server section, provide appropriate values for the HTTP Server, HTTP Server Port, and No Proxy Servers for Domains beginning with fields. See Section 6.5.1, "Step 1: Set up the Global Page Settings".

Problem: Occasionally receive the error "Timeout for content={0}" in one or more portlets.

Cause

The Parallel Page Engine is timing out before the portlet has a chance to respond. The {0} was actually a bug in early versions of Oracle Portal that has since been fixed. The error in newer versions of Oracle Portal displays the timeout value that was exceeded.

Solution

In the zone.properties file on your listener, set the following value to change the default timeout period. The value should be set high enough to allow the portlet time to respond. servlet.page.initArgs=requesttime=40 The value "40" can be substituted with a higher or lower number, depending on your requirements. For individual database portlets, you can also set the timeout in the portlet record. For Web portlets, increase the timeout in provider.xml.

Problem: Receive the error "The listener returned the following message: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" intermittently when running Oracle Portal.

Cause	This may occur when mod_plsql cannot connect to the database because the maximum number of database sessions has been reached. The database connection pool in mod_plsql is not shared across Apache processes meaning each process maintains its own pool.The total number of database connections pooled in Apache mod_plsql is directly related to the number of Apache processes that are spawned off and the number of DADs used to access different PL/SQL applications. The PL/SQL Gateway (mod_plsql) pools one database session per DAD per Apache process. Simply stated, the maximum number of database sessions that is pooled by mod_plsql is calculated as follows: NumberOfApacheProcesses*NumberOfDADs Currently on Windows NT/2000, since Apache is multi-threaded, all threads share the same database connection pool. The maximum number of database sessions that is pooled by mod_plsql on Windows NT/2000 is calculated as follows: MaximumNumberOfApacheThreadsEverActiveForEachDAD Ideally, every thread can take advantage of a database session created by another thread. Thus, on platforms where Apache is not multi-threaded, it is important that it be tuned carefully.
Solution	The Apache process configuration requires tuning so that processes are not started up or shutdown heavily (each process takes down its connection pool, and a new process needs to replenish its pool). This tuning is governed by the load on the Web server. The maximum number of database sessions needs to be setup according to the maximum number of Apache processes expected. Edit the following parameters in the http.conf file: Set MaxRequests = MaxSpareServers MaxRequestsPerchild=HighNumber MinSpareServers=0 KeepAlive off KeepAliveTimeOut This configuration ensures that Apache processes are very rarely shutdown and the overhead of creating an Apache process/new database connection is greatly reduced.
Solution	Check the processes parameter in your database configuration file (init$SID.ora => processes=NNN). This number should be greater than or equal to the maximum number of Apache processes configured in the httpd.conffile: StartServers+MaxSpareServers One way to verify that you have this problem is to connect as SYS through SQL*Plus, and issue the query "select username from v$session". If the count for the number of rows is almost the same as the value of the processes parameter, then you are likely exceeding the maximum number of processes.
Solution	Configure a separate Oracle HTTP Server powered by Apache listener to handle only PL/SQL requests.The main Apache listener can be used to redirect all PL/SQL requests to the new listener. For the new Oracle9i Application Server listener, specify a low number for the Apache processes parameter since it only handles PL/SQL requests. Thus, the database session numbers are kept to a minimum. See Section 5.6, "Tuning the Oracle HTTP Server".

Problem: Receive the error "Internal Server Error" consistently when trying to access any page in Oracle Portal.

Cause	This problem is most likely due to the Parallel Page Engine or the Apache JServ Engine having gone down or been misconfigured.
Solution	Ensure that the Apache JServ process has been started and is configured correctly by trying to access the following URL from any browser: http://host.domain:port/servlet/IsItWorking If this does not work, then Apache JServ is failing. Check the Apache JServ log files for more details. The log files are located in <ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Jserv/logs.

Problem: Receive the error "Internal Server Error" intermittently when trying to access Oracle Portal.

Cause	This problem is most likely due to the Apache JServ crashing periodically and then being restarted by Apache.
Solution	Check the JServ and Apache log files to determine what is causing the JServ process to crash. The log files are located in <ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Jserv/logs.

Problem: Receive "400 bad request" error or the Web browser hangs when trying to access Oracle Portal.

Cause	If Secure Socket Layer (SSL) has been configured, the most likely reason for this error is because the Parallel Page Engine is trying to talk HTTP over an HTTPS port.
Solution	Add the following configuration line in the zone.properties file to instruct the Parallel Page Engine to use https whenever it talks to this port. servlet.page.initArgs=httpsports=<HTTPS port>

Error: The request for content either timed out, or produced an error, after 0 seconds.

Cause

This is not a time out of the content being returned from the request. This message occurs when a connection problem occurs and may appear for any of the following reasons: A connection is refused due to a server being down, overloaded, or a machine not found, and the like. A connection is closed during communication due to some type of instability with the machine, network, or listener. A connection takes too long to establish due to a DNS lookup, slow network, slow listener, and the like. The latter is usually the cause of this error. However, the first reason occurs occasionally with Web providers that do not having their listener up and running.

Solution

There is a parameter that can be set in the JServ configuration file, zone.properties, that can resolve the third problem. Edit the following zone.properties parameter as required: servlet.page.initArgs=stall=<time in sec> The time in seconds serves as the a stalling mechanism for the connection. The default in the code is 10 sec, which may be insufficient if the DNS is taking too long. Normally, a connection is established almost immediately. However, if more time is required to establish the connection, a higher value can be entered. For example, entering a value of 20 sec or more may get things running. However, the higher the stall time set, the lower the performance. If the problem persists, locate the underlying reason for the connection failure. In the case of DNS, it may be a faster DNS server, or a bigger cache on the machine. It could be a port problem where there are not enough ports available for function. This may be related to File Descriptors on a UNIX box. See also: Section A.1.2, "JServ Configuration File (zone.properties)".

8.5.4 Miscellaneous Issues Using Oracle Portal

Problem: Unable to create interMedia Text indexes.

If you encounter any errors while creating an interMedia Text index, first check the following:

• Your system should meet all the requirements described in Section 1.1.8, "interMedia Text Requirements". Your system requires an Oracle8i database with the interMedia Text option installed. On Windows NT/2000, you require an 8.1.7 release of the Oracle8i database.

• Also, interMedia Text must be installed in the same Oracle Home as the database. It is not installed if you choose to perform a Minimal installation of the Oracle8i database.

• If you are planning to enable interMedia Text in Oracle Portal on Windows NT/2000, the following requirements apply:
  • Oracle Portal must be installed in an Oracle 8.1.7 database.

  • Disable connection pooling from the Database Access Descriptor page. For more information, see Using the PL/SQL Gateway which is provided as part of the Oracle9i Application Server documentation set.

    See also: Chapter 6, "Setting up the Search Feature in Oracle Portal Content Areas".

    Cause

    If any of these errors appear in the installation log, a problem creating interMedia Text indexes occurred: Cannot grant CTXAPP Role to PORTAL30. ERROR: Creating datastore procedures in CTXSYS. ERROR: Setting up interMedia Text data stores. An unexpected error has occurred (WWS-32100)

    Solution

    Choose one of the following options to resolve this issue: Access the database server and log on using the user name and password for the schema that owns the Oracle Portal content area. For example, if the schema name is "SCOTT", log on with the user name "SCOTT" and the appropriate password. Start SQL*Plus and execute the inctxgrn.sql script. This script is located in <ORACLE_HOME>\portal30\admin\plsql\wws. Running this script creates the interMedia preferences required for Oracle Portal. If you do not have access to the database server, but you do have a copy of the sbrimtlx script, you can connect to the database using SQL*Plus as the schema owner and run the following commands: set serveroutput on size 10000 begin wwv_context_util.grantCtxRole(user); end; @@sbrimtlx Replace (user) with the Oracle Portal schema owner, for example, portal30.

Problem: Apache generates the following error on startup: "The procedure entry point snlpcgtsrvbynm could not be located in the dynamic link library oranl8.dll."

Cause

The primary ORACLE_HOME contains Oracle 8.1.6 client libraries. This most likely happened because an 8.1.6-based Oracle product was installed after installing Oracle9i Application Server and the primary ORACLE_HOME was changed during the installation. This problem has been confirmed when installing Oracle Internet Directory (OID).

Solution

Change the values of the PATH variable so that it points to the Oracle9i Application Server Oracle Home before the OID home. If the DLLs are forward-compatible, then both Oracle9i Application Server and OID should work with this change. Alternatively, use the Oracle Home Selector utility to switch between different Oracle Homes. This utility solves incompatibilities and switches between different Oracle Homes. See the installation guide for your Oracle8i database for details.

Error: missing string (login link text) language(e) domain(wwc) sub_domain(sec) Missing string(pages) language(e) domain(wwc) sub_domain(pob).

Cause

This error may display when you try to access the Oracle Portal home page and National Language Support (NLS) files are missing.

Solutions

You can solve in any of the following ways: Check to make sure your browser language preference is set to the language you've installed with Oracle Portal. Oracle Portal is supported on 24 different languages with English as the default language. See Section 2.6, "Installing Language Support in Oracle Portal". Make sure that your browser is set to accept Java and JavaScript. Check the installation log file to see if wwvcbus.ctl and wwcus.ctl were loaded into Oracle Portal's NLS table, wwnls_strings$.

Error: PLS-00306: wrong number or types of arguments.

Cause	This error occurs when you are installing Oracle Portal on a machine with an existing Oracle WebDB 2.2. The installed Oracle Portal synonym (webdb30.wwv_utl_api_types) causes the WebDB 2.2 components to become invalid and you'll experience problems with your pre-existing components and creating new components in WebDB 2.2.
Solutions	You'll need to drop the WebDB 2.2 synonyms as follows: 1. Log on to SQL*Plus as the SYS user with the appropriate password. 2. Enter the following commands: drop public synonym wwv_utl_api_types; create public synonym wwv_utl_api_types for <webdb22schema>.wwv_utl_api_types