10
Oracle Names Parameters (names.ora)

This chapter provides a complete listing of the names.ora file configuration parameters.

This chapter contains these topics:

Overview of Oracle Names Server Configuration File

Oracle Names server configuration, stored in the names.ora file, consists of the following elements:

Oracle Names server's name
Protocol addresses that it is accepting connection requests on
Location of administrative region information
Domain information
Control parameters

By default, names.ora is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin directory on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME\network\admin directory on Windows NT. names.ora can also be stored in the directory specified by the TNS_ADMIN environment variable or in the node's global configuration directory. For Sun Solaris, this directory is /var/opt/oracle. Windows NT does not have a central directory.

Figure 10-1 shows a names.ora file for an Oracle Names server named namesrv2.

Figure 10-1 Example names.ora File

NAMES.SERVER_NAME=namesvr2.us.acme.com
NAMES.ADDRESSES=
  (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=namesrv2-server)(PORT=1575)) 
NAMES.ADMIN_REGION=
  (REGION=
    (DESCRIPTION=
      (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales-server)(PORT=1521)) 
      (CONNECT_DATA=
        (SERVICE_NAME=sales.us.acme.com))
    (USERID=system)
    (PASSWORD=manager)
    (NAME=local_region)
    (REFRESH=86400)
    (RETRY=60)
    (EXPIRE=600))
NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS=
  (HINT_DESC=
   (HINT_LIST=
     (HINT= 
      (NAME=namesvr1)
      (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=namesvr1-server)(PORT=1575))
NAMES.DOMAINS=
 (DOMAIN=
   (NAME=us.acme.com)
       (MIN_TTL=86400))

Oracle Names Parameters

This section lists and describes the names.ora file parameters.

NAMES.ADDRESSES

Purpose

The NAMES.ADDRESSES parameter lists the protocol addresses on which the Oracle Names server listens. Any valid ADDRESS or ADDRESS_LIST is allowed.

See Also:

"ADDRESSes and ADDRESS_LISTs" for a description of address syntax
"Protocol Parameters" for descriptions of the correct parameters to use for each protocol

Syntax

NAMES.ADDRESSES= 
 [(ADDRESS_LIST=]
   (ADDRESS=...)
   (ADDRESS=...)[)]

Default

NAMES.ADDRESSES= 
  (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=oranamesrvr0)(PORT=1575))

Example

NAMES.ADDRESSES=
  (ADDRESS_LIST=
  (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=namesrv2-pc)(PORT=1575)) 
  (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=namesrv2-pc)(PORT=1375)))

NAMES.ADMIN_REGION

Purpose

The NAMES.ADMIN_REGION parameter defines the data source for an administrative region.

Syntax

NAMES.ADMIN_REGION= 
 (REGION=
  (DESCRIPTION=
    (ADDRESS=...)
    (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME|SID=service_name|sid)))
  (USERID=user)
  (PASSWORD=password)
  (REFRESH=seconds)
  (RETRY=seconds)
  (EXPIRE=seconds)
  (VERSION=version)
  (TYPE=ldap|ldif)
  (HOST=directory_host)
  (PORT=port)
  (TIMEOUT=)
  (DIT_LIST=
   (DIT=(DN=base_DN)(SCOPE=sub|base|one)))
 )

Sub-Parameters

REGION supports the following sub-parameters:

DESCRIPTION--Specify the connect descriptor that the Oracle Names server uses to connect to the region database.

USERID--If loading data from the region database, specify a database user. If loading restricted data from a LDAP-compliant directory server, specify a directory user with read privileges in the form of a distinguished name (DN).

PASSWORD--Specify the password for the database user or directory user.

REFRESH--Specify the interval in seconds when the local Oracle Names server's memory cache (not the cache checkpoint file) will be refreshed from the region database.

RETRY--Specify the interval in seconds the Oracle Names server will wait after a failure to connect to the region database before trying again.

EXPIRE--Specify the time in seconds to wait before terminating the retry attempt.

VERSION--Specify an arbitrary value. Even though the value is irrelevant, this parameter is still necessary.

The following parameters are reserved for Oracle Names LDAP Proxy servers:

TYPE--Specify how the Oracle Names LDAP Proxy server is to load data from a directory server. This parameter supports the following values:

ldap: Specifies that the Oracle Names LDAP Proxy server is to load data directly from a directory server

ldif: Specifies that the Oracle Names LDAP Proxy server is to use data from an LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) file

The following sub-parameters are for (TYPE=ldap):

HOST--Specify the directory server host name.

PORT--Specify the listening TCP/IP port for the directory server. If you do not specify this option, the default port (389) is used.

TIMEOUT--Specify the time limit in seconds in which the Oracle Names LDAP Proxy server can spend performing a search of directory objects. This time limit cannot be greater than the time limit set for searches in the directory server. By default, the time limit is set to 10 seconds, which is sufficient for most searches.

SUBTREE_LIST | SUBTREE--Use the SUBTREE parameter to specify the DN. Use the SUBTREE_LIST parameter if there are multiple DNs. The SUBTREE parameter supports the following sub-parameters:

BASE--Specify a subtree location in the directory information tree (DIT) from which the Oracle Names Proxy server should load data. The location is specified as a DN of a LDAP directory entry. The Oracle Names Proxy loads directory naming data from one or more Oracle Contexts located in the subtree below the entry specified.

Note:

Do not prefix the DN with "dn:". For example, (BASE=dn:dc=com) is not acceptable.

SCOPE--Specifies where the Oracle Names Proxy server looks for directory data to load. one (default) specifies that the Oracle Names Proxy server look only in one Oracle Context directly below the entry specified in the BASE parameter. sub specifies the Oracle Names Proxy server look in all the Oracle Contexts in the subtree below the entry specified in the BASE parameter.

See Also:

Oracle9i Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information about configuring the NAMES.ADMIN_REGION parameter for Oracle Names LDAP Proxy servers

Example

NAMES.ADMIN_REGION=
 (REGION=
  (DESCRIPTION=
    (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=nineva)(PORT=1575))
    (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=sales.us.acme.com)))
  (USERID=system)
  (PASSWORD=manager)
  (REFRESH=172800)
  (RETRY=2700)
  (EXPIRE=8700)
  (VERSION=34619392))

NAMES.AUTHORITY_REQUIRED

Purpose

The NAMES.AUTHORITY_REQUIRED parameter determines whether system queries require authoritative answers.

Default

false

Example

NAMES.AUTHORITY_REQUIRED=true

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_EXPIRE

Purpose

The NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_EXPIRE parameter specifies the amount of time in seconds the Oracle Names server caches other region's database server addresses which have been obtained through the NAMES.DOMAIN.HINTS parameter. At the end of this interval, the Oracle Names server issues a query to the other region database servers to refresh the address.

Default

600 seconds

Acceptable Values

60-1209600 seconds

Example

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_EXPIRE=1200000

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_RETRY

Purpose

The NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_RETRY parameter specifies the interval in seconds that the Oracle Names server retries the other Oracle Names servers on its domain hint list.

Default

180

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

3600

Example

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_RETRY=180

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

The NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_FILE parameter specifies the name and path of the file to which the Oracle Names server writes its checkpoint file.

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/names/ckpcch.ora file on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME\network\names\ckpcch.ora file on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_FILE=c:\oracle\network\names\cacheck.ora

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL

Purpose

The NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL parameter indicates the interval in seconds in which an Oracle Names server writes a checkpoint of its stored data to a checkpoint file. Each Oracle Names server can periodically write its cached data to a file to protect against startup failures.

Default

0 (disabled)

Minimum Value

10 seconds

Maximum Value

259200 seconds (3 days)

Example

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL=24

NAMES.CONFIG_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

The NAMES.CONFIG_CHECKPOINT_FILE parameter specifies the name and path of the file used to checkpoint Oracle Names server configuration settings.

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/names/ckpcfg.ora file on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME\network\names\ckpcfg.ora file on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.CONFIG_CHECKPOINT_FILE=c:\oracle\network\names\configck.ora

NAMES.CONNECT_TIMEOUT

Purpose

The NAMES.CONNECT_TIMEOUT parameter limits the amounts of time in seconds the Oracle Names server waits for the connection from a client to complete.

Default

3 seconds

Minimum Value

1 second

Maximum Value

600 seconds

Example

NAMES.CONNECT_TIMEOUT=8

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS

Purpose

The NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS parameter provides an address list of other Oracle Names servers which are used to forward queries.

Syntax

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS= 
 (FORWARDER_LIST=
   (NAME=onames_server)
   (ADDRESS=...))

Sub-Parameters

FORWARDER_LIST supports the following sub-parameters:

NAME--Specify the Oracle Names server name to forward queries.

ADDRESS--Specify the protocol address of the Oracle Names server.

See Also:

"Protocol Parameters" for descriptions of the correct parameters to use for each protocol

Example

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS= 
 (FORWARDER_LIST=
  (FORWARDER=
    (NAME=rootserv1.com)
    (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=roothost)(PORT=4200))))

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS_ONLY

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS_ONLY is set to true, the Oracle Names server forwards queries only to those Oracle Names servers listed as default forwarders with the NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS parameter.

Default

false

Usage Notes

If set to false, Oracle Names servers listed as default forwarders are called before Oracle Names servers found in the cache.

Example

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS_ONLY=c:\oracle\network\names\domainck.ora

NAMES.DOMAIN_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.DOMAIN_CHECKPOINT_FILE to specify the name and path of the file used for checkpoint authoritative domain data.

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/names/ckpdom.ora file on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME\network\names\ckpdom.ora file on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.DOMAIN_CHECKPOINT_FILE=c:\oracle\network\names\domainck.ora

NAMES.DOMAINS

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.DOMAINS to provide a list of domains in the Oracle Names server's local region, as well as the default time to live (TTL) in seconds for data in those domains.

Syntax

NAMES.DOMAINS=
 (DOMAIN_LIST=
  (DOMAIN=
    (NAME=domain)
    (MIN_TTL=ttl))

Sub-Parameters

NAMES.DOMAINS supports the following sub-parameters:

DOMAIN--Specify the domain name.

Note:

Specify the root domain with a dot (.) or a null value.

MIN_TTL--Specify the TTL for the domain's data.

Example

In the following example, NAMES.DOMAINS contains a listing for the root (value of null), com, acme.com, and hq.oracle.com domains. All the domain precedent to hq.acme.com must be defined in order to define hq.acme.com.

NAMES.DOMAINS=
 (DOMAIN_LIST=
  (DOMAIN=
    (NAME=)
    (MIN_TTL=86400))
  (DOMAIN=
    (NAME=com)
    (MIN_TTL=86400))
  (DOMAIN=
    (NAME=acme.com)
    (MIN_TTL=86400))
  (DOMAIN=
    (NAME=hq.acme.com)
    (MIN_TTL=86400)))

NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS

Purpose

The NAMES.DOMAINS_HINTS parameter is used in one of two ways:

Identifies the address of an Oracle Names server in the root administrative region for delegated administrative regions
Identifies the name of the domain and at least one protocol address of an Oracle Names server in that domain for optimizing forwarded requests to remote administrative regions

Sub-Parameters

NAMES.DOMAINS_HINTS supports the following sub-parameters:

HINT_LIST--Specify a list of hints. Each hint contains the name and address of Oracle Names server in a remote administrative region. HINT_LIST uses the following syntax:

   (HINT_LIST=
    (HINT=(NAME=onames_server)(ADDRESS=...)))

DOMAIN_LIST--Specify the list of remote domains. DOMAIN_LIST uses the following syntax:

   (DOMAIN_LIST=
    (DOMAIN=domain))

Usage Notes

See Also:

Oracle9i Net Services Administrator's Guide for an example of a cman.ora file

Examples

In the following example, NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS contains a domain hint for Oracle Names server rootsvr.com that is located in the root domain of the remote administrative region. The DOMAIN parameter is left null, meaning that the hint is for the root domain.

NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS=
 (HINT_DESC=
   (HINT_LIST=
    (HINT=
      (NAME=rootsvr.com)
      (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=rootsvr)(PORT=1575))))
   (DOMAIN_LIST=
    (DOMAIN=)))

The following example shows a hint to query two domains, the root domain and the us.acme.com domain, for Oracle Names servers rootsvr.com and namesvr.us.acme.com.

NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS=
 (HINT_DESC=
   (HINT_LIST=
    (HINT=
     (NAME=rootsvr.com)
     (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=rootsvr)(PORT=1575)))
    (HINT=
     (NAME=namesrv.us.acme.com)
     (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=hr-server)(PORT=1575))))
   (DOMAIN_LIST=
    (DOMAIN=)
    (DOMAIN=us.acme.com)))

NAMES.FORWARDING_AVAILABLE

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.FORWARDING_AVAILABLE is set to on, the Oracle Names server forwards client request to remote Oracle Names server. When set to off, clients without access to the network outside the local domain are unable to resolve names.

Default

on

Values

on | off

Example

NAMES.FORWARDING_AVAILABLE=off

NAMES.FORWARDING_DESIRED

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.FORWARDING_DESIRED is set to true, the Oracle Names server provides remote Oracle Names server address location information to clients. This way, clients are redirected to the appropriate Oracle Names server. When set to false, the Oracle Names server connects to the remote Oracle Names server on behalf of clients.

Default

true

Values

true | false

Example

NAMES.FORWARDING_DESIRED=true

NAMES.KEEP_DB_OPEN

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.KEEP_DB_OPEN to specify whether to attempt to keep the connection to the region database open between operations. If set to false, the connection is closed after each load, reload or reload-check.

Default

true

Values

true | false

Example

NAMES.KEEP_DB_OPEN=false

NAMES.LOG_DIRECTORY

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.LOG_DIRECTORY to specify the destination directory where the log file for Oracle Names server operational events are written

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/log directory, on UNIX and the ORACLE_HOME\network\log directory on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.LOG_DIRECTORY=c:\oracle\network\names

NAMES.LOG_FILE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.LOG_FILE to indicate the name of the output file to which Oracle Names server operational events are written. The file name extension is always .log. Do not enter an extension for this parameter.

Default

names

Example

NAMES.LOG_FILE=onames

NAMES.LOG_STATS_INTERVAL

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.LOG_STATS_INERVAL to specify the number of seconds between full statistical dumps in the log file.

Default

0 (disabled)

Minimum Value

10 seconds

Maximum Value

none

Example

NAMES.LOG_STATS_INTERVAL=12

NAMES.LOG_UNIQUE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.LOG_UNIQUE to indicate whether or not log files are given unique names. When the value is set to on, a process identifier is appended to the name of each log file generated, allowing multiple trace files to coexist.

For example, log files named namespid.log are created if the default log file name, names.log, is used.

Default

false

Values

true | false

Example

NAMES.LOG_UNIQUE=true

NAMES.MAX_OPEN_CONNECTIONS

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.MAX_OPEN_CONNECTIONS to specify the number of connections that the Oracle Names server can have open at any given time. The value is generated as the value 10 or the sum of one connection for listening, 5 for clients, plus one for each remote domain defined in the local administrative region, whichever is greater.

The calculated value is acceptable for most installations.

Default

Calculated based on entered data.

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Example

NAMES.MAX_OPEN_CONNECTIONS=52

NAMES.MAX_REFORWARDS

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.MAX_REFORWARDS to specify the maximum number of times the Oracle Names server attempts to forward an operation.

Default

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Example

NAMES.MAX_REFORWARDS=2

NAMES.MESSAGE_POOL_START_SIZE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.MESSAGE_POOL_START_SIZE to determine the initial number of messages allocated in the Oracle Names server's message pool that are used for incoming or outgoing forwarded messages.

Default

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

256

Example

NAMES.MESSAGE_POOL_START_SIZE=10

NAMES.NO_MODIFY_REQUESTS

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.NO_MODIFY_REQUESTS is set to true, the Oracle Names server refuses any operations which modify the data in its region.

Default

false

Values

true | false

Example

NAMES.NO_MODIFY_REQUESTS=true

NAMES.NO_REGION_DATABASE

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.NO_REGION_DATABASE is set to true, the Oracle Names server does not load data from a region database.

Default

false

Values

true | false

Example

NAMES.NO_REGION_DATABASE=true

NAMES.PASSWORD

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.PASSWORD to set an encrypted password for an Oracle Names server, so that certain privileged operations, such as STOP, RESTART and RELOAD, used from the Oracle Names Control utility are secure.

If this parameter is set with the Oracle Net Manager, then the password is encrypted. A clear-text password can be made manually. If the password is clear-text, ensure that the NAMESCTL.INTERNAL_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD parameter in the sqlnet.ora file is set to false.

Default

None

Example

NAMES.PASSWORD=625926683431aa55

NAMES.RESET_STATS_INTERVAL

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.RESET_STATS_INTERVAL to specify the number of seconds during which the statistics collected by the Oracle Names servers should accumulate. At the frequency specified, they are reset to 0. The default value of 0 means never reset statistics.

Default

0 (never reset)

Minimum Value

10 seconds

Maximum Value

None

Example

NAMES.RESET_STATS_INTERVAL=15

NAMES.SAVE_CONFIG_ON_STOP

Purpose

When the parameter NAMES.SAVE_CONFIG_ON_STOP is set to true, the Oracle Names server saves its runtime configuration settings back into the names.ora file. Any parameters which were modified through Oracle Names Control utility SET operations replace prior names.ora settings.

Default

false

Example

NAMES.SAVE_CONFIG_ON_STOP=false

NAMES.SERVER_NAME

Use the NAMES.SERVER_NAME parameter to uniquely identify an Oracle Names server by a name. All configuration references to a particular Oracle Names server use this name.

Default

ONAMES_onames_server

Example

NAMES.SERVER_NAME=namesrv1.us.oracle.com

NAMES.TOPOLOGY_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TOPOLOGY_CHECKPOINT_FILE to specify the name and path of the file used for checkpoint topology data. This file defines the domains in the administrative region and the Oracle Names servers authoritative for each domain. Specifically, topology data consists of:

Domains, defined as a list of Oracle Names servers names with NS.SMD record types that are authoritative for the domain
Oracle Names servers, specified with a A.SMD record type and listening protocol addresses

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/names/ckptop.ora file on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME\network\names\ckptop.ora on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.TOPOLOGY_CHECKPOINT_FILE=c:\oracle\network\names\topck.ora

NAMES.TRACE_DIRECTORY

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TRACE_DIRECTORY to indicate the name of the directory to which trace files from a Oracle Names server trace session are written.

Default

The $ORACLE_HOME/network/trace directory on UNIX, and the ORACLE_HOME/network/trace directory on Windows NT

Example

NAMES.TRACE_DIRECTORY=/oracle/network/admin/trace

NAMES.TRACE_FILE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TRACE_FILE to indicate the name of the output file from an Oracle Names server trace session. The file name extension is always .trc.

Default

names

Example

NAMES.TRACE_FILE=onames

NAMES.TRACE_FUNC

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TRACE_FUNC to enable the internal mechanism to control tracing by a function name.

Default

false

Example

NAMES.TRACE_FUNC=false

NAMES.TRACE_LEVEL

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TRACE_LEVEL to indicate the level at which the Oracle Names server is to be traced.

Default

off

Values

off--No trace output

user--User trace information

admin--Administration trace information

support--Oracle Support Services trace information

Example

NAMES.TRACE_LEVEL=admin

NAMES.TRACE_UNIQUE

Purpose

Use the parameter NAMES.TRACE_UNIQUE to indicate whether or not trace files are given unique names. When the value is set to on, a process identifier is appended to the name of the trace file generated, allowing multiple trace files to coexist.

For example, trace files named namespid.trc are created if the default trace file name, names.trc, is used.

Default

on

Values

on | off

Example

NAMES.TRACE_UNIQUE=on

10 Oracle Names Parameters (names.ora)

Overview of Oracle Names Server Configuration File

Figure 10-1 Example names.ora File

Oracle Names Parameters

NAMES.ADDRESSES

Purpose

Syntax

Default

Example

NAMES.ADMIN_REGION

Purpose

Syntax

Sub-Parameters

Example

NAMES.AUTHORITY_REQUIRED

Purpose

Default

Example

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_EXPIRE

Purpose

Default

Acceptable Values

Example

NAMES.AUTO_REFRESH_RETRY

Purpose

Default

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Example

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

Default

Example

NAMES.CACHE_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL

Purpose

Default

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Example

NAMES.CONFIG_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

Default

Example

NAMES.CONNECT_TIMEOUT

Purpose

Default

Minimum Value

Maximum Value

Example

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS

Purpose

Syntax

Sub-Parameters

Example

NAMES.DEFAULT_FORWARDERS_ONLY

Purpose

Default

Usage Notes

Example

NAMES.DOMAIN_CHECKPOINT_FILE

Purpose

Default

Example

NAMES.DOMAINS

Purpose

Syntax

Sub-Parameters

Example

NAMES.DOMAIN_HINTS

Purpose

Sub-Parameters

Usage Notes

Examples

NAMES.FORWARDING_AVAILABLE

Purpose

Default

Values

Example

NAMES.FORWARDING_DESIRED

Purpose

10
Oracle Names Parameters (names.ora)