16.3.15 ORA-12540 and TNS-00510

Indicate that an internal limit has been exceeded.

Message

ORA-12540: TNS:Internal limit restriction exceeded
TNS-00510: Internal limit restriction exceeded

Cause

Possible limits include:

  • Number of open connections that Oracle Net can process simultaneously

  • Number of memory buffers that can be used simultaneously

  • Number of processes a particular database instance is allowed

The first two are examples of hard limits. The third is an example of a limit which can be increased by setting the PROCESSES parameter in the database initialization file to a larger value. In this case, a TNS-12500 or ORA-12500 error is also returned.

In some cases, these errors can be caused by the same conditions that cause TNS-12549 or ORA-12549, and TNS-00519 errors.

Action

Wait for the open connections to close and retry. If the error persists, then check the sqlnet.log or listener.log file for the detailed error stack information.

Parent topic: Resolving the Most Common Error Messages for Oracle Net Services