Oracle8i

Release Notes

Release 2 (8.1.6) for Windows NT

January 2000

Part No. A73009-01

This document provides important last minute information not included in the documentation set.

Specific topics discussed are:

Important: READMEDOC.HTM and Additional READMEs

A file called READMEDOC.HTM is located at the top-level of the Oracle8i CD-ROM. It contains important last minute information not included in these Release Notes or the documentation set. Please review this file before installing or using this product.

Additional product README files are located in the product subdirectories under the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME directory or in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\RELNOTES directory.

Windows 2000 Support

See the READMEDOC.HTM file at the top-level of the CD-ROM for the latest information on certification and support of release 8.1.6 products on Windows 2000. Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) on Windows NT is certified on Windows 2000 with the following exceptions:

Oracle Enterprise Manager release 2.1 is not supported on Windows 2000. After certification is complete, a patch, if necessary, will be released that includes Windows 2000 support.
Legato Storage Manager (LSM) 5.5, included with this product CD-ROM, is not supported on Windows 2000. If you plan to run Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) on Windows 2000, do not install LSM 5.5. A version of LSM supported on Windows 2000 will be released in the future. Contact Oracle Support Services to inquire about the availability of LSM for Windows 2000.

Additions to README.DOC

The following are additions to the README.DOC, Section 37.1, Oracle Database Configuration Assistant. This README is located in the \RELNOTES directory on the Oracle8i product CD-ROM.

(Bug 1120470). If there is no LISTENER.ORA file on the computer where Oracle Database Configuration Assistant is running, a Java exception is thrown if the database attempts to register with the Oracle Internet Directory (OID) Server. Create a LISTENER.ORA file in the same Oracle home directory where the database is created.
(Bug 1130161). Oracle Database Configuration Assistant throws exceptions when the database mode in the response file is changed to "SHARED" indicating Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) enabling. This is because MTS variables are set to null because their values are not picked from the response file. Do not use SHARED for the response mode. Use the graphical interface if MTS is required.

Installation Issues

Oracle Universal Installer

If your system PATH is longer than 1024 characters, installing Oracle products will reset the PATH. The implications could be one of the following:
- If the system starts up but other applications fail to start, you need to manually add the required directories to the existing SYSTEM PATH. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Environment and update the PATH variable. Then choose Set > Apply > OK.
- If the system fails to reboot or fails after logon with a blank screen, you need to press CTL-ALT-DEL to access Task Manager. With the Applications tab displayed, choose the New Task button. Run the EXPLORER.EXE or CONTROL.EXE command. In a few moments, the Desktop appears. Update the PATH with Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Environment.
- If you do not see a logon screen, restart the system again. Press the space bar at the OS LOADER menu (...select operating system to start), and boot to "Last Known Good Menu". The same method applies to multi-boot systems. Press the space bar and then select Windows NT, which would lead to "Last Known Good Menu".
Spaces are not allowed in the directory path for the Oracle home.
Silent installations are recommended in cases when no interaction with the user is intended or when a non-graphical terminal is used. The user needs to first edit a response file (in most cases provided) to specify the components to install. With Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) release 1.7.x or earlier, the target installation system still requires login to a desktop system on Windows NT.
When mounting a CD-ROM on a Novell drive to a Windows NT client and running Oracle Universal Installer, you may get the following error: "The Java Runtime Environment was not found at <location> hence the Oracle Universal Installer cannot be run". As the Novell server does not support long filenames, the directory path for JRE_LOCATION is not recognized (some of the directory names have more than 8 characters). Therefore, this configuration is not supported. Try mounting the CD-ROM locally or on a Windows NT Server.
On slower computers you may notice a "flicker" at the Oracle Universal Installer loading screen. It does not affect the installation in any way.
On systems with a combination of Windows NT 4.0 SP5 and an ATI display driver, a memory dump occurs when the Oracle Universal Installer dialog is moved around the screen. Selecting a smaller display for the screen may reduce the frequency of this occurrence. This problem is a display driver conflict and no Windows NT patch was found at this time.
The Help window invoked from Oracle Universal Installer's Inventory window cannot be scrolled or resized the second time it is accessed. A workaround is to close the Inventory window. The Help window is now accessible. Resize the Help window, then close it. The next time you invoke Help from the Inventory window, it will appear at that size. This is a bug due to Java Development (JDK) 1.1.8.
When installing Oracle8i on dual boot systems, the software uses the same physical space on both operating systems. Therefore, any tasks done on Windows 95 will also be done on Windows NT, including deinstallation.

You can avoid this by performing the following steps:
1. Install Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6.) into the first environment.
2. Before installing in the second environment, provide a different location than the default when Oracle Universal Installer prompts you where to write the Oracle Universal Installer inventory. The second environment inventory will be independent of the first, and products can be installed or deinstalled separately on both systems.
If you install Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) and Oracle Enterprise Manager release 2.1, and Oracle8i release 8.1.5 with Oracle Enterprise Manager release 1.1.7 is already installed on the same computer, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) will also be updated in the release 8.1.5 Oracle home.

Additionally, if you install Oracle8i release 8.1.5 (or Oracle Enterprise Manager release 2.0), and then install Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) with Oracle Enterprise Manager release 2.1, the JRE is downgraded to release 1.1.7 because of a bug in Oracle Universal Installer. In this case, Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6.) and Oracle Enterprise Manager release 2.1 will run against the old release of JRE. You can reinstall JRE 1.1.7 from the Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6.) CD-ROM using the Custom installation type.
The Oracle Provider for OLE DB, being a COM component, is not multiple Oracle Home compliant. Only one version of Oracle Provider for OLE DB can exist on a computer at a time.

If you have the beta version of Oracle Provider for OLE DB installed on your computer, deinstall that provider before reinstalling the new provider.

System Requirements on FAT and NTFS Systems

Because of the difference in space allocation on FAT and NTFS systems, the system requirements will vary. On FAT file systems, the calculation of the space requirements as reported by Oracle Universal Installer for each of the available installation types is incorrect.

The following tables show the correct amount of space required for each installation type. The installations listed were done on a FAT partition, with a default block size of 32K, and an NTFS partition, with a default block size of 2K.

Oracle8i Enterprise Edition or Oracle8i:

Installation Type RAM Hard Disk:
FAT Hard Disk: NTFS Hard Disk: System Drive

Typical 96MB 1.46 GB 948 MB 22 MB

Minimal 96MB 1.15 GB 766 MB 21 MB

Installation Type	RAM	Hard Disk: FAT	Hard Disk: NTFS	Hard Disk: System Drive
Typical	96MB	1.46 GB	948 MB	22 MB
Minimal	96MB	1.15 GB	766 MB	21 MB

Oracle8i Client:

Installation Type RAM Hard Disk:
FAT Hard Disk: NTFS Hard Disk: System Drive

Administrator 64MB 678 MB 236 MB 19 MB

Programmer 32 MB 164 MB 102 MB 16 MB

Application User 32 MB 93 MB 48 MB 16 MB

Installation Type	RAM	Hard Disk: FAT	Hard Disk: NTFS	Hard Disk: System Drive
Administrator	64MB	678 MB	236 MB	19 MB
Programmer	32 MB	164 MB	102 MB	16 MB
Application User	32 MB	93 MB	48 MB	16 MB

Oracle8i Management Infrastructure:

Installation Type RAM Hard Disk:
FAT Hard Disk: NTFS Hard Disk: System Drive

Oracle Management Server 64 MB 1.12 GB 266 MB 14 MB

Oracle Internet Directory 96 MB 974 MB 904 MB 17 MB

Installation Type	RAM	Hard Disk: FAT	Hard Disk: NTFS	Hard Disk: System Drive
Oracle Management Server	64 MB	1.12 GB	266 MB	14 MB
Oracle Internet Directory	96 MB	974 MB	904 MB	17 MB

Web-based Installations with Oracle Universal Installer

Oracle Universal Installer supports Web-based installations of Oracle components with one limitation: the configuration tools normally launched at the end of a Typical, Minimal, or Custom installation do not automatically start. Instead, perform the following steps:

Exit Oracle Universal Installer at the end of installation.
Run Oracle Database Configuration Assistant and Net8 Configuration Assistant separately.

This limitation will be fixed in future releases.

Silent Installation and Net8 Configuration Assistant

If you perform a Minimal installation type of Oracle8i in silent mode, Net8 Configuration Assistant fails to configure your system at the end of the installation. After installation, complete Net8 configuration by running Net8 Configuration Assistant from the Oracle home directory.

Note:
You can start Net8 Configuration Assistant after installation by choosing Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Network Administration > Net8 Configuration Assistant. Start Net8 Assistant by choosing Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Network Administration > Net8 Assistant. See Net8 Administrator's Guide for more information on configuring Net8.

Deinstallation

You cannot deinstall Oracle JServer separately from other products installed with Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6).

Deinstalling Oracle JServer causes Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle8i and other products dependent on Oracle JServer from your system.

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on Windows 95 and Windows 2000

The JRE has not been certified on Windows 95 and Windows 2000.

Microsoft Management Console Snap-Ins

Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) ships several Snap-Ins for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Microsoft Management Console is a built-in feature of Windows 2000, but requires the Microsoft Management Console add-on to be installed to function correctly in Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, or Windows 98.

The add-on can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/MANAGEMENT/MMC/download.htm

The Snap-In components that ship with Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) require this add-on to be installed before they will run. In addition, these Snap-Ins require Internet Explorer version 5 (IE5) or later to be installed before they can be configured for use on the system. If you have installed any of these Snap-Ins before installing IE5, please install IE5, then reinstall the Snap-In from the Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) distribution media to configure it correctly.

The Oracle Snap-In components which have this dependency are:

Oracle Administration Assistant for Windows NT
Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server
Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT

Net8

Configuring Oracle Names Server with Net8 Assistant

When configuring Oracle Names servers with Net8 Assistant, consider the following:

In addition to deleting an Oracle Names server from the Oracle Names Servers folder, you must manually delete Oracle Names server entries in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN\NAMES.ORA and ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\NAMES\CKP*.ORA files.
Creation of Oracle Names servers on Windows 95 and Windows 98 is not supported, but the functionality is not disabled from Net8 Assistant. Net8 Assistant allows you to create Oracle Names servers, but you cannot start, stop, or configure them.

Net8 Configuration Assistant

In a Typical, silent installation of Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6), Net8 Configuration Assistant does not configure an IIOP listening end point to provide access to Oracle JServer. After installation, start the Net8 Configuration Assistant from the taskbar and configure an IIOP end point for the listener called "LISTENER." For more information, see Net8 Administrator's Guide.

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++ release 8.1.6 is compatible with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 only. AppWizard will not work with VC++ 5.0. An 8.1.6 version that works with VC++5.0 will be available soon on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site (technet.oracle.com).

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++ release 8.1.6 can be installed through the Custom installation type of Oracle8i Enterprise Edition, Oracle8i, or Oracle8i Client.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Java Beans and CORBA Tools

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) oneway call messages may not be delivered reliably to the server if a client writes several oneway messages and then immediately closes the connection and exits. This is due to a Windows Sockets API bug on Windows NT 4.0 SP6 and SP6a with the Lotus security patch.

Do not exit immediately after invoking oneway calls, for example, by putting a call to Thread.sleep ( ). Additionally, the CORBA specification describes oneway call semantics as best-effort, at-most-once and does not guarantee delivery of the message. The Aurora Object Request Broker (ORB) guarantees delivery of even oneway calls, but because of this bug on Windows NT, it may not guarantee it on Windows NT.

Oracle Internet Directory

Several products included with Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) are now directory-enabled and can take advantage of an LDAP version 3 directory server such as Oracle Internet Directory. Purchase of Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) includes a restricted use version of Oracle Internet Directory release 2.0.6 for Windows NT that may only be used in conjunction with Oracle's directory-enabled components and products such as Net8, Oracle Advanced Security, Oracle8i, and all future directory-enabled Oracle products.

Oracle Corporation recommends that you install Oracle Internet Directory on a system that does not already have an Oracle8i database. Unless it detects an existing database in the Oracle home where it will install Oracle Internet Directory, Oracle Universal Installer automatically installs the necessary software and creates the datafiles for a release 2 (8.1.6) database. This database should only be used to store Oracle Internet Directory information.

See Also:
Oracle Internet Directory Release Notes for more information on Oracle Internet Directory.

Oracle Migration Workbench

Microsoft Access Installation

When using the Microsoft Access plugin, MS Access must be installed on the computer on which you are running Oracle Migration Workbench.

Linked Tables in MS Access

Oracle Migration Workbench only supports one level of linked tables. You may experience problems when attempting to migrate multiple levels of linked tables. Also, if your MS Access databases contain linked tables, you must ensure that the names of the tables to which you are linking are not the same as any table names in the database from which you are linking.

Microsoft Access ODBC

When modifying your MS Access front end, ensure that the name of your Oracle ODBC data source is the same as the service name of the destination Oracle database specified in the TNSNAMES.ORA file.

Windows 2000 Support

The four plugin components of Oracle Migration Workbench (MS SQL Server 6.5, MS SQL Server 7.0, Sybase Adaptive Server 11, and MS Access) are all fully supported on Windows 2000.

NONCLUSTERED Primary Keys in Sybase

Please disregard this problem that is mentioned in the "Known Problems and Workarounds" section of the Oracle Migration Workbench Release Notes as this is no longer an issue.

Oracle Parallel Server

OracleCMService and OracleServiceSID

When Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (ODBCA) creates Parallel Server databases, the Windows NT service, OracleServiceSID, is created. This service must be started after the OracleCMService. However, the OracleServiceSID is not created by Oracle Database Configuration Assistant with a dependency on the OracleCMService. Thus, when the node is rebooted, the OracleServiceSID fails to start up because the OracleCMService has not started. In this case, the Windows NT Event Log will contain Application Log entries such as the following:

    error 203; LoadOpsOsd
    2, OPS: Startup routine failed: 0 2 3

To start OracleServiceSID after OracleCMService starts, a dependency must be added. Enter the following command:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceSID /d OracleCMService

For example, if ODBCA creates a parallel server named OP with two instances named OP1 and OP2, on the node where OP1 runs, enter the following:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceOP1 /d OracleCMService

On the node where OP2 runs, enter:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceOP2 /d OracleCMService

This adds the dependencies on OracleCMService to each of the OracleServiceSID services, ensuring the correct service startup order.

Net8 Configuration Assistant Does Not Create Windows NT Listener Service On Remote Cluster Nodes (Bug 1992549)

When running the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant to create an Oracle Parallel Server database as part of the installation process, the LISTENER.ORA and TNSNAMES.ORA files will not be updated with the appropriate information for the newly-created database. This is because Net8 Configuration Assistant did not create a Windows NT service for the listener on the remote nodes.

To avoid this problem, after the Oracle Universal Installer has run the Net8 Configuration Assistant, but before the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant completes, open an MS-DOS command prompt window on each remote node and enter:

C:\> LSNRCTL START

If installing in Custom mode, and the listener created using Net8 Configuration Assistant was not named LISTENER, instead enter:

C:\> LSNRCTL START LISTENER-NAME

The LSNRCTL command will create the NT service and start the listener.

If the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant fails to update the network configuration, the following configuration items will be missing:

The SID_DESC entry in each node's LISTENER.ORA for each OPS instance.
The connect descriptor for the OPS database in TNSNAMES.ORA.
The connect descriptor for each OPS instance in TNSNAMES.ORA.
On Windows NT, the ORACLE_SID_startup connect descriptor for each OPS instance in TNSNAMES.ORA.
If the listener uses a port number other than 1521, a LISTENER_ORACLE_SID entry for each node in TNSNAMES.ORA.

For details on creating these missing configuration items, see Chapter 3, "Installing and Creating an Oracle Parallel Server Database", of the Oracle Parallel Server Setup and Configuration Guide.

Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT

Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT is not installed in the Typical installation option. If you install Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT using the Custom installation option, you must disable the OracleHOME_NAMEDataGatherer service in the Windows NT Services dialog box. Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT cannot co-exist with Oracle Data Gatherer (a component of Oracle Intelligent Agent) on the same computer.

Oracle Trace

(Bug 1187624) Performing two or more simultaneous Oracle Trace collections for an Oracle8 for Windows NT database may cause the database to crash. Oracle Trace database collections must be limited to only a single active collection at any time, until a patch is available or this has been corrected in a future release.

This restriction does not apply to non-Windows NT platforms, nor does it apply to multiple simultaneous Oracle Trace collections for other non-database products.

ORADIM

Deleting an Instance Using ORADIM

To delete an instance, use the following commands:

ORADIM -DELETE -SID SIDA, SIDB, SIDC, ... 
ORADIM -DELETE -SVRC SVRCA, SVRCB, SVRC, ...

where:

SIDA, SIDB, SIDC are the values of the SIDs to delete.
SVRCA, SVRCB, SVRC are the values of the services to delete.

Pro*COBOL Precompiler for Windows

Pro*COBOL Precompiler for Windows release 1.8.51 is now automatically installed with the Programmer installation type of the Oracle8i Client top-level component. You do not need to use the Custom installation type of the Oracle8i Client top-level component.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) on Windows NT

To enable SSL when connecting to an Oracle database, do not use the default user account in the Windows NT Services dialog box when starting the Oracle service and the listener service. Start these services in the same user account as the wallet created in Oracle Wallet Manager. If the Oracle service and the listener service are started in the default user accounts, SSL will not work and the listener will not start.

TCP/IP Support on Windows 95

Oracle TCP/IP support for Windows 95/98 uses Windows Sockets 2 interfaces. Therefore, you must install Windows Socket 2 Update for Windows 95 before installing Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6.). It can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads

Windows Socket 2 Update for Windows 95 can also be installed by double-clicking on the file WS2SETUP.EXE located in the \WINSOCK2 directory at the root of your distribution media.

Windows 2000 Users

DNS Domain Name

If a Windows 2000 computer is not identified with a DNS domain name, you will receive the following error message:

Calling query w32RegQueries1.7.0.17.0  RegGetValue
Key = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SubKey = SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Value = Domain

Query Exception: GetValueKeyNotFoundException
Query Exception Class: class oracle.sysman.oii.oiil.OiilQueryException
...

Perform the following steps:

Go to Control Panel > System > Network Identification > More > Primary DNS.
Enter a domain name, for example, US.ORACLE.COM.

Windows 98 Users

Icon Creation on Windows 98 Systems

On Windows 98 systems that have been configured for use for multiple users, the icons used to launch Oracle programs from the Windows 98 Start Menu are not displayed correctly by the operating system.

To correct this problem, copy the Oracle Program Group folders located on the hard drive in the directory:

WindowsDirectory\Start Menu\Programs

and place them in the directory:

WindowsDirectory\profiles\username\Start Menu\Programs

The actual location on the hard drive where the Oracle Program Group folders need to be placed may vary from system to system but can be determined by right-clicking on the "Start" button located on the Taskbar, then clicking "Explore" or "Open". A window will open indicating the location of the "Programs" directory in which the Oracle Program Group folders need to be copied.

Windows Native Authentication

Current user database links are not supported with Windows Native Authentication.

Windows Terminal Server

This release is not certified with Windows Terminal Server.