2 Installation and Configuration

This chapter describes the installation of Oracle Database Extensions for .NET, system requirements, and file locations.

This chapter contains these topics:

System Requirements
Requirements for .NET Stored Procedures and Functions
File Locations after Installation
Installation and First Use
Configuring Extproc Agent Using Windows Service
Migrating .NET Stored Procedures from Oracle Database 10.2 to Oracle Database 11.1
Oracle Database Extensions for .NET Registry Options
Unhandled Exceptions

System Requirements

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET requires the following:

Windows operating system
- 32-bit: Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate Editions), Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional Edition.
- 64 bit: Windows Vista x64 (Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate Editions), Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows Server 2003 R2 x64, or Windows XP x64.
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or later.

For .NET Framework 2.0-specific features, ODP.NET 10.2.0.2.20 or later is required

64-bit Windows platforms support only 64-bit .NET Framework for version 2.0 and later. Thus, 64-bit ODE only supports 64-bit .NET Framework 2.0 or later. The first 64-bit ODE version is 10.2.0.3.02 on both Windows x64 and Itanium.
Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) or later.
Oracle Client release 10g Release 2 (10.2) or later is required for .NET stored procedure development and deployment.
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET is required for .NET stored procedure development and deployment.

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET is not released with Oracle Database. It can be obtained from the Oracle .NET Developer Center at OTN.

Requirements for .NET Stored Procedures and Functions

A .NET stored procedure or function must meet the following requirements:

Be declared a public static method.
Not be a constructor or a destructor.
Use parameter types that are compatible with the Oracle native database types.

File Locations after Installation

OraClr11.dll is installed in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin directory.The readme file, readme.html, is installed in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\ODE.NET\DOC directory.

.NET assemblies deployed by developers are copied into the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin\CLR directory (or its subdirectory) by the Oracle Deployment Wizard for .NET.

Installation and First Use

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET is installed as part of a custom Oracle Database installation using the Oracle Universal Installer. From the Oracle Universal Installer Welcome screen, you must chose Advanced Installation, then from the Select Installation Type screen, choose Custom. When the Available Product Components list is displayed, go to Enterprise Edition Options, and select Oracle Database Extensions for .NET.

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET is configured using the Database Configuration Assistant.

Configuring Extproc Agent Using Windows Service

As part of Oracle Database Extensions for .NET installation, a Windows service is installed. The service is called OraClrAgnt and can be accessed through the Service Control Panel, as OracleORACLE_HOMEClrAgent, where ORACLE_HOME represents your Oracle home.

This service is used for the startup, configuration, and shutdown of the extproc agent.

The parameters which can be configured using this service are listed in Table 2-1, "OraClrAgnt Service Parameters".

These parameter values can be specified as part of the Start Parameters in the properties window of the Control Panel Service. In this case, the parameter values are not saved and the values must be supplied again if the service is restarted later.

To persist the parameter values, you can change the Windows registry entry for this service and provide the parameter values as command line parameters to OraClrAgnt.exe. To do this, set the Windows registry key, ImagePath, located at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ OracleOracleHomeClrAgent

The value should be something similar to the following:

ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin\OraClrAgnt.exe agent_sid=CLRExtProc max_dispatchers=2 tcp_dispatchers=0 max_task_threads=6 max_sessions=25 ENVS="EXTPROC_DLLS=ONLY:ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin\oraclr11.dll"

If the service cannot be started or stopped, the error messages are logged in the Application Log of the Event Viewer, with the service name as the event source name.

OraClrAgnt Service Parameters

Table 2-1 lists the parameters which can be configured using this service.

Table 2-1 OraClrAgnt Service Parameters

Parameters	Descriptions
`agent_sid`	This represents the `SID` of the `extproc` process. The default value is `CLRExtProc`. This is a mandatory parameter. If this parameter value is changed, appropriate changes need to be made in `tnsnames.ora` and `listener.ora` files.
`ENVS`	Variable that specifies the `EXTPROC_DLLS` environment variable, which restricts the DLLs that `extproc` can load. This is similar to setting environment variables to external procedures using `listener.ora`. Refer to "Table 13–5 External Procedures Settings in listener.ora" in Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information.
`listener_address`	Address on which the listener is listening. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this is set to the default value.
`max_dispatchers`	Number of maximum dispatchers in the `extproc` process. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this number is set to a default value.
`max_sessions`	Number of maximum sessions in the `extproc` process. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this number is set to a default value.
`max_task_threads`	Number of maximum task threads in the `extproc` process. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this number is set to a default value.
`shutdown_address`	Address on which the agent should listen for shutdown messages from `agtctl`. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this is set to the default value.
`tcp_dispatchers`	Number of TCP dispatchers in the `extproc` process. This is an optional parameter. If it is not specified, then this number is set to a default value.

Note:

By default, this service is created and run in the Local System Account; however, it can be changed to work with a logged-on user account through the service control panel.

Tuning OraClrAgnt for Performance

You should tune the OraClrAgnt to match the expected load on your system.

Excessive extproc.exe processes being spawned is a sign that you have set the configuration values too low.

Start with the following values and increase as you test your system for performance:

OraClrAgnt Parameter	Initial Value
`max_sessions`	`25`
`max_task_threads`	`6`
`max_dispatchers`	`2`

Migrating .NET Stored Procedures from Oracle Database 10.2 to Oracle Database 11.1

You can migrate .NET stored procedures from Oracle Database release 10.2 to release 11.1 as follows:

Select the libraries that are used by .NET stored procedures from the Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) database. For example,

SELECT library_name, file_spec FROM ALL_LIBRARIES WHERE OWNER='SYS' and FILE_SPEC LIKE '$ORACLE_HOME\bin\clr\%';

library_name is usually in the format dll_name_DLL. For example, the library_name for Project1.dll would be PROJECT1_DLL.

Create a SQL file manually (for example, DotNetSP_Grant.sql) with the following SQL statements:

CREATE LIBRARY "SYS"."library_name" AS 'file_spec'
GRANT EXECUTE ON "SYS"."library_name" TO "schema_name"
GRANT EXECUTE ON "SYS"."DBMS_CLR" TO "schema_name"
GRANT EXECUTE ON "SYS"."DBMS_CLRTYPE" TO "schema_name"
GRANT EXECUTE ON "SYS"."DBMS_CLRPARAMTABLE" TO "schema_name"

Run Oracle Data Pump Export utility for the Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2).

Expdp system schemas="schema_name" directory=ORACLECLRDIR dumpfile=DotNetSP.dmp include=PROCEDURE,FUNCTION

Copy .NET stored procedure assemblies from Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin\clr folder and its subfolders to the same directory structure in Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1).
Run DotNetSP_Grant.sql as SYSDBA against the Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) database.
Run Oracle Data Pump Import utility for the Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) database.
```
impdp system schemas="schema_name" directory=ORACLECLRDIR dumpfile=DotNetSP.dmp
```

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET Registry Options

You can add functionality to Oracle Database Extensions for .NET using Windows registry entries that are located at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\KEY_ORACLE_HOME\ODE

Table 2-2 lists registry keys that add functionality to Oracle Database Extensions for .NET and the sections where the keys are discussed.

Table 2-2 Registry Options

Registry Key	Section
.`NETFramework`	"Selecting a .NET Run Time Version"
`ProviderNull`	"Backward Compatibility for Nullable ODP.NET Connected Types"
`RecreateAppDomain`	"Unloading .NET Assemblies for Easy Redeployment"
`TraceFileName`	"TraceFileName"
`TraceOption`	"TraceOption"
`TraceLevel`	"TraceLevel"

Unloading .NET Assemblies for Easy Redeployment

With release 11.1.0.6.20, you can unload .NET assemblies when .NET stored procedure execution completes. This makes it easier to repeatedly test your code during development. If this registry key is not enabled, the exproc.exe process must be stopped and started with each redeployment.

This feature should not be used during performance testing or for production, as it has a negative effect on performance.

To define assembly loading behavior, set the registry value RecreateAppDomain of type REG_SZ under this registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\KEY_ORACLE_HOME\ODE

The valid values for RecreateAppDomain are:

0 = .NET Assembly remains loaded when the .NET stored procedure execution completes.

1 = .NET Assembly is unloaded when the .NET stored procedure execution completes.

Backward Compatibility for Nullable ODP.NET Connected Types

ODP.NET for .NET 2.0 supports a static Null property in ODP.NET Connected Types, in addition to the existing support for disconnected types such as OracleDecimal. It also supports a public property, IsNull, for each of these types to check whether or not objects of these types have been assigned a value.

Selecting a .NET Run Time Version

If multiple .NET run time versions are installed on the database computer, then Oracle Database Extensions for .NET defaults to the latest .NET run time available. However, you can configure Oracle Database Extensions for .NET to load a particular .NET run time by setting a registry value.

To specify .NET run time version, set the registry value, .NETFramework under this registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\KEY_ORACLE_HOME\ODE

Set the registry value to the appropriate .NET run time version, for example, v2.0.50727.

For example, if the server has .NET framework version 1.1 and 2.0 and the .NET stored procedures are built with .NET framework 1.1, then this registry value may be set to v1.1.4322 to instruct Oracle Database Extensions for .NET to load .NET framework version 1.1.4322.

The following are typical .NET runtime version values for various .NET versions:

1.0 : v1.0.3705

1.1 : v1.1.4322

2.0 : v2.0.50727"

Debug Tracing

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET provides debug tracing support, which allows logging of all the Oracle Database Extensions for .NET activities into a trace file. Different levels of tracing are available.

The following registry settings should be configured under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\KEY_ORACLE_HOME\ODE

TraceOption

TraceOption specifies whether to log trace information in single or multiple files for different threads. If a single trace file is specified, the filename specified in TraceFileName is used. If the multiple trace files option is requested, a Thread ID is appended to the file name provided to create a trace file for each thread.

The valid values for TraceOption are:

0 = Single trace file

1 = Multiple trace files

Note: You can use Oracle Data Provider for .NET tracing mechanism to troubleshoot ODP.NET specific issues.

TraceFileName

TraceFileName specifies the file name that is to be used for logging trace information. If TraceOption is set to 0, the name is used as is. However, if TraceOption is 1, the Thread ID is appended to the file name provided.

The valid values for TraceFileName are: any valid path name and file name.

TraceLevel

TraceLevel specifies the level of tracing in Oracle Database Extensions for .NET.

The valid values for TraceLevel are:

0 = None

1 = Entry and exit information

Unhandled Exceptions

.NET stored procedures are hosted inside the external procedure agent extproc.exe. .NET run time version 2.0 allows most unhandled exceptions in threads to proceed, which might cause an unhandled exception to terminate extproc.exe. This behavior is different from .NET run time versions 1.0 and 1.1, which provide a backstop for many unhandled exceptions.

extproc.exe Config File

Oracle Database Extensions for .NET installs extproc.exe.config file in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\Bin directory to force .NET run time version 2.0 to use the behavior of .NET run time version 1.1. If the Garbage Collector or a thread created inside the .NET stored procedures throws an exception, and if this exception is not handled by the .NET stored procedure, then the tracing mechanism reports the exception.

The following is an example extproc.exe.config file:

<configuration>
  <runtime>
    <legacyUnhandledExceptionPolicy enabled="1"/>
  </runtime>
</configuration>

You can change this file to revert back to .NET 2.0 behavior by modifying the extproc.exe.config file as follows:

<configuration>
  <runtime>
   <legacyUnhandledExceptionPolicy enabled="0"/>
  </runtime>
</configuration>