B Upgrade Considerations for Oracle Net Services

This appendix describes coexistence and upgrade issues for Oracle Net Services. This appendix covers the following topics:

Overview of Unsupported Oracle Net Services Features
Unsupported Parameters and Control Utility Commands
Client and Database Coexistence Issues
Using the Oracle Net Manager to Handle Compatibility Issues
Upgrading to Oracle Net Services

Overview of Unsupported Oracle Net Services Features

In an effort to streamline configuration decisions for the Internet, the following subsections describe the features and the configuration file that are no longer being supported:

Identix and SecurID Authentication Methods
NDS External Naming and NDS Authentication
Net8 OPEN
protocol.ora File
Prespawned Dedicated Servers
Protocols

Identix and SecurID Authentication Methods

If you are using Identix or SecurID authentication, provided by Oracle Advanced Security, Oracle Corporation recommends upgrading to one of the following authentication methods:

CyberSafe
RADIUS
Kerberos
SSL

See Also:
Oracle Advanced Security Administrator's Guide

NDS External Naming and NDS Authentication

Support for Novell Directory Services (NDS) as an authentication method and as an external naming method are no longer supported. If you are using NDS as an external naming method, Oracle Corporation recommends using directory naming instead.

Net8 OPEN

Net8 OPEN, which provided an application program interface (API) that enabled programmers to develop both database and non-database applications, is no longer supported.

protocol.ora File

Parameters in the protocol.ora file have been merged into the sqlnet.ora file. These parameters enable you to configure access control to the database, as well as no delays in TCP/IP buffer flushing. These parameters include:

TCP.NODELAY
TCP.EXCLUDED_NODES
TCP.INVITED_NODES
TCP.VALIDNODE_CHECKING

See Also:
Oracle Database Net Services Reference Guide for a description of these parameters

If you have a protocol.ora file in $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin on UNIX and ORACLE_HOME\network\admin on Windows, Oracle Net Manager, when first started, will automatically merge its parameters into the sqlnet.ora file.

There may be operating system specific parameters in protocol.ora that are node specific. For this reason, Oracle Corporation recommends not sharing sqlnet.ora with other nodes after merging or adding these parameters.

Prespawned Dedicated Servers

Prespawned dedicated server processes are no longer supported. Instead, configure shared server (formerly named multi-threaded server) to improve scalability and system resource usage.

Protocols

Protocol addresses using the SPX or LU6.2 protocol must be replaced. Oracle Net provides support for the following network protocols:

TCP/IP
TCP/IP with SSL
Named Pipes

See Also:
Oracle Database Net Services Reference Guide for protocol parameter information

Unsupported Parameters and Control Utility Commands

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference Guide for further information about unsupported configuration parameters and control utility commands

Client and Database Coexistence Issues

Clients and database servers require compatible releases of Oracle Net Services or Net8. For example, an Oracle9i client requires an installation of Oracle Net Services, and an Oracle9i database requires an installation of Oracle Net Services with the Oracle Net Listener.

Consider the following client-to-database connection issues before you decide if upgrading is appropriate for your environment:

Oracle9i Database Connections
Oracle8 or Oracle7 Database Connections
Oracle Names

Oracle9i Database Connections

Connect descriptors, created for connections to an Oracle9i or an Oracle8i database, identify a database by its service name with the SERVICE_NAME parameter.

A connect descriptor to an Oracle9i or Oracle8i database uses the parameter SERVICE_NAME, as shown in the following example:

sales= 
(DESCRIPTION= 
(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales-server)(PORT=1521))
  (CONNECT_DATA=
(SERVICE_NAME=sales.us.acme.com)))

Connect descriptors that are currently configured with the SID parameter can remain. However, to take advantage of new features, such as client load balancing and connect-time failover, Oracle Corporation recommends replacing SID with SERVICE_NAME.

To modify a connect descriptor to use SERVICE_NAME, use the Oracle Net Manager's compatibility mode, as described in "Using the Oracle Net Manager to Handle Compatibility Issues".

See Also:

Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about database identification by SERVICE_NAME rather than SID

Consider the following questions for an environment with release 8.0 clients connecting to an Oracle9i database:

Will my third-party applications be able use features of Oracle Net Services?

No. You must rebuild or upgrade applications to work with Oracle Net libraries.
Do my clients require Oracle Net to connect to a remote Oracle9i database?

No. If a client needs to connect to a remote Oracle9i database, only Net8 Client release 8.0 needs to be configured on the client. However, new features of Oracle Net Services are not available to these clients.
Do my clients require Oracle Net to connect to a local Oracle9i database?

No. The client requires an installation of Net8 Client release 8.0 in its Oracle home and the Oracle9i requires an installation of Oracle Net and Oracle Net Listener in its Oracle home.

Oracle8 or Oracle7 Database Connections

A connect descriptor to an Oracle release 8.0 or Oracle7 database uses SID, as shown in the following example:

sales= 
(DESCRIPTION= 
(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales-server)(PORT=1521))
  (CONNECT_DATA=
(SID=sales)))

In addition, the listener.ora file on the database server must be configured with the description of the SID for the release 8.0 database. In the following example, the listener is configured to listener for a database service called sales.us.acme.com that has a SID of sales:

SID_LIST_listener=
(SID_LIST=
 (SID_DESC=
  (GLOBAL_DBNAME=sales.us.acme.com)
  (SID_NAME=sales)))

See Also:

Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about database identification by SID

Consider the following questions for an environment with Oracle9i clients connecting to a release 8.0 database.

Do my clients require Net8 Client release 8.0 to connect to a remote Oracle release 8.0 database?

No. If a client needs to connect to a remote release 8.0 database, only Net8 Client of a compatible release needs to be configured on the client. The only limitation is that the new features available with Oracle Net Services are unavailable with this connection type.
Do my clients require Net8 Client release 8.0 to connect to a local release 8.0 database?

Yes. The client requires an installation of Oracle Net in its Oracle home and the release 8.0 database requires an installation of Net8 Server in its Oracle home.

Oracle Names

If you upgrade all or part of your network to Oracle9i, you should upgrade all the Oracle Names Servers in the region to version 9.

Can my release 8.0 clients use Oracle Names version 9 to resolve service names?

Yes.

Can my release 8.0 clients then use the connect descriptor returned from Oracle Names version 9 to connect to an Oracle version 8 database?

Yes, if the connect descriptor was specified correctly when it was entered into Oracle Names.

Note:

In future releases, Oracle Names will not be supported as a centralized naming method. Because no new enhancements are being added to Oracle Names, consider using directory naming or upgrading an existing Oracle Names configuration to directory naming, as described in the Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide.

Using the Oracle Net Manager to Handle Compatibility Issues

Because some parameters are enabled only for Oracle9i and release 8.1, Oracle Net Manager offers two options that permit you to set the proper parameters in the tnsnames.ora file for clients connecting to a particular release of the database. These options are described in Table B-1.

Table B-1 Compatibility Options Available with Oracle Net Manager

Oracle Net Manager Option Description

Oracle Net Manager Option	Description
Use Options Compatible with Net8 8.0 Clients	Enables you to configure multiple addresses parameters for a client. If selected, enables the `SOURCE_ROUTE` parameter for pre-release 8.1 clients requiring Oracle Connection Manager connections. If turned off, enables you to use the `SOURCE_ROUTE`, `LOAD_BALANCE`, and `FAILOVER` parameters for Oracle9i and release 8.1 clients. See Also: Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring address list parameters
Use Oracle8 Release 8.0 Compatible Identification	Enables you to configure parameters specific to a database release in the `CONNECT_DATA` section of a connect descriptor. If turned on, allows you to enter the SID of the release 8.0 or Oracle7 database. If turned off, enables you to enter the Oracle9i or Oracle8i database service name (`SERVICE_NAME`). Note: The Advanced Service Options dialog box, which is visible when the Advanced button in the Service Identification group is chosen, is also affected by whether this option is turned on or off. Some settings are only available for connections to an Oracle9i or Oracle8i database service. See Also: Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring advanced connect data parameters

Use Options Compatible with Net8 8.0 Clients

Enables you to configure multiple addresses parameters for a client.

If selected, enables the SOURCE_ROUTE parameter for pre-release 8.1 clients requiring Oracle Connection Manager connections.

If turned off, enables you to use the SOURCE_ROUTE, LOAD_BALANCE, and FAILOVER parameters for Oracle9i and release 8.1 clients.

See Also: Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring address list parameters

Use Oracle8 Release 8.0 Compatible Identification

Enables you to configure parameters specific to a database release in the CONNECT_DATA section of a connect descriptor.

If turned on, allows you to enter the SID of the release 8.0 or Oracle7 database.

If turned off, enables you to enter the Oracle9i or Oracle8i database service name (SERVICE_NAME).

Note: The Advanced Service Options dialog box, which is visible when the Advanced button in the Service Identification group is chosen, is also affected by whether this option is turned on or off. Some settings are only available for connections to an Oracle9i or Oracle8i database service.

See Also: Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring advanced connect data parameters

Upgrading to Oracle Net Services

To upgrade from SQL*Net release 2.x to Oracle Net Services or upgrade from Net8 release 8.0 or 8.1, complete these tasks:

Step 1: Verify Service Name and Instance Name

Step 2: Perform Software Upgrade on the Database Server

Step 3: Perform Software Upgrade on the Client

Step 4: Perform Functional Upgrade

Step 1: Verify Service Name and Instance Name

If you want to identify a service and its instance in the tnsnames.ora file, ensure that the SERVICE_NAMES and INSTANCE_NAMES initialization parameters are set in the initialization parameter file.

Table B-2 Initialization Parameters for Oracle Net Services

Parameter Description

Parameter	Description
`SERVICE_NAMES`	Specifies one or more names for the database service to which this instance connects. You can specify multiple services names in order to distinguish among different uses of the same database. For example: SERVICE_NAMES = sales.us.acme.com, widgetsales.us.acme.com If you do not qualify the names in this parameter with a domain, Oracle qualifies them with the value of the `DB_DOMAIN` parameter. If `DB_DOMAIN` is not specified, Oracle uses the domain of your local database as it currently exists in the data dictionary. Note: You can change the value of `SERVICE_NAMES` parameter dynamically with the SQL `ALTER SYSTEM` when the database is running. See the Oracle Database Reference for further information about this parameter
`INSTANCE_NAME`	Specifies the unique name of this instance. Set the instance name to the value of the Oracle System Identifier (SID).

SERVICE_NAMES

Specifies one or more names for the database service to which this instance connects. You can specify multiple services names in order to distinguish among different uses of the same database. For example:

SERVICE_NAMES = sales.us.acme.com, widgetsales.us.acme.com

If you do not qualify the names in this parameter with a domain, Oracle qualifies them with the value of the DB_DOMAIN parameter. If DB_DOMAIN is not specified, Oracle uses the domain of your local database as it currently exists in the data dictionary.

Note: You can change the value of SERVICE_NAMES parameter dynamically with the SQL ALTER SYSTEM when the database is running. See the Oracle Database Reference for further information about this parameter

INSTANCE_NAME Specifies the unique name of this instance. Set the instance name to the value of the Oracle System Identifier (SID).

Step 2: Perform Software Upgrade on the Database Server

To perform a software upgrade on the database server, install the latest release of Oracle Net and Oracle Net Listener from the Oracle Universal Installer to receive the latest executables.

You are prompted to upgrade a database with the Database Upgrade Assistant if the Oracle Universal Installer detects a pre-release 9.2 database on your system. If you do not want to upgrade during the installation process, then you can choose to install this assistant and use it later.

The Oracle Universal Installer automatically performs these tasks:

Stops older listener
Starts release 9.2 listener

Step 3: Perform Software Upgrade on the Client

To perform a software upgrade on the client, install the latest release of Oracle Net Services from the Oracle Universal Installer to receive the latest executables.

Step 4: Perform Functional Upgrade

After the software is upgraded, it is not required to upgrade the configuration files unless you want to use the Oracle9i features. To take advantage of new features, review the following configuration files:

sqlnet.ora
tnsnames.ora
listener.ora
protocol.ora

Replace obsolete or renamed parameters.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Reference Guide for further information about unsupported configuration parameters

tnsnames.ora

Replace the SID parameter with the SERVICE_NAME parameter to connect to a release 8.1 or higher service, as in the following example.

sales= 
(DESCRIPTION= 
(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales-server)(PORT=1521))
  (CONNECT_DATA=
(SERVICE_NAME=sales.us.acme.com)))

If you have multiple addresses, you can configure client load balancing and connect-time failover features, as in the following example.

sales= 
(DESCRIPTION= 
 (ADDRESS_LIST=
(FAILOVER=on)
(LOAD_BALANCE=on)
(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales1-server)(PORT=1521)
(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=sales2-server)(PORT=1521))
  (CONNECT_DATA=
     (SERVICE_NAME=sales.us.acme.com)))

See Also:

"Using the Oracle Net Manager to Handle Compatibility Issues" for information about configuring the service name and multiple address features
Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about multiple addresses

listener.ora

Because instance information is registered with the listener in Oracle9i, it is no longer necessary to include the instance information with the SID_LIST_listener_name section of the listener.ora file.

However, Oracle Enterprise Manager still requires static information in the listener.ora file. If you are using Oracle Enterprise Manager to manage database objects, the listener.ora file must be configured with information about the database in the following manner:

SID_LIST_listener_name=
  (SID_LIST=
     (SID_DESC=
        (GLOBAL_DBNAME=global_database_name)
        (ORACLE_HOME=oracle_home)
        (SID_NAME=sid)))

Table B-3 Service Settings in listener.ora

Parameter	Description
`SID_NAME`	The Oracle System Identifier (SID) identifies the instance. You can obtain the SID value from the `INSTANCE_NAME` parameter in the initialization parameter file.
`GLOBAL_DBNAME`	The global database name is comprised of the database name and database domain name. You can obtain the `GLOBAL_DBNAME` value from the `SERVICE_NAMES` parameter, or from the `DB_NAME` and `DB_DOMAIN` parameters in the initialization parameter file.
`ORACLE_HOME`	Identifies the Oracle home location of the database that you are specifying Note: This setting is required on UNIX.

Important:

If you are using connect-time failover or Transparent Application Failover, such as in a Real Application Clusters environment, Oracle Corporation recommends not setting the GLOBAL_DBNAME parameter.

See Also:

Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide for information about configuring service information and connect-time failover and Transparent Application Failover (TAF)