5
Configuration and Administration Tools Overview

This chapter introduces the various administration tools of Oracle Net Services. It discusses the main administration application, Oracle Net Manager, and describes how to launch and navigate through it. It also introduces the command line control utilities.

This chapter contains these topics:

• Oracle Net Manager
• Oracle Net Configuration Assistant
• Oracle Net Control Utilities
• Duties of a Network Administrator

Oracle Net Manager

Oracle Net Manager is a graphical user interface tool that combines configuration abilities with Oracle Names component control to provide an integrated environment for configuring and managing Oracle Net. It can be used on either the client or server. Oracle Net Manager is also integrated with Oracle Enterprise Manager.

You can use Oracle Net Manager to configure the following network components:

• Naming--Define simple names, connect identifiers, and map them to connect descriptors to identify the network location and identification of a service. Oracle Net Manager supports configuration of connect descriptors in local tnsnames.ora files, a centralized LDAP-compliant directory service, or an Oracle Names server.
• Naming Methods--Configure the different ways in which connect identifiers are resolved into connect descriptors.
• Profiles--Configure preferences for enabling and configuring Oracle Net features on the client or server.
• Listeners--Create and configure listeners to receive client connections.

If an Oracle Names server is configured, you can start, stop, tune, or gather statistics for it with Oracle Net Manager.

This section introduces you to the features of Oracle Net Manager. However, the primary documentation for using Oracle Net Manager is the accompanying online help. This section contains these topics:

• Starting Oracle Net Manager
• Navigating Oracle Net Manager
• Toolbar
• Menus
• Oracle Net Manager Wizards

  See Also: Oracle Enterprise Manager documentation set and online help for information about using Oracle Enterprise Manager

Starting Oracle Net Manager

You can start Oracle Net Manager using the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console or as an independent application.

To start Oracle Net Manager from the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, on the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, choose Tools > Service Management > Oracle Net Manager.

To start Oracle Net Manager as standalone application:

• On UNIX, run netmgr from $ORACLE_HOME/bin
• On Windows NT, choose Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Configuration and Migration Tools > Net Manager

Navigating Oracle Net Manager

The Oracle Net Manager interface includes two panes, a toolbar, and various menu items.

Figure 5-1 Oracle Net Manager Interface

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Panes

The Oracle Net Manager interface has two panes: the navigator pane and the right pane.

Navigator Pane

The navigator pane provides a graphical tree view of network objects and the objects they contain, organized in hierarchies of folders. You can use the navigator pane to view, modify, add, or delete objects in each folder.

The navigator pane functions the same way as it does in other Oracle Enterprise Manager applications. That is, the navigator pane lets you:

• Expand and contract folders so that you can navigate to the network object you want to monitor or manage. Examples of objects are connect identifiers, listeners, profiles, and Oracle Names servers.
• Right-click an object to perform operations on the object.

When you expand a folder, you see a nested list of objects and folders. When a object is selected, information about the object is displayed in the right pane of the Oracle Net Manager.

Table 5-1 lists the main folders in the navigator pane.

Table 5-1  Oracle Net Manager Navigator Pane Folders

Option	Description
Local	Displays networking elements configured in local configuration files: Net service names in the tnsnames.ora file Listeners in the listener.ora file Profiles in the sqlnet.ora file
Directory	Displays connect identifiers configured in a directory server
Local	Displays networking elements configured in local configuration files: Net service names in the tnsnames.ora file Listeners in the listener.ora file Profiles in the sqlnet.ora file
Oracle Names Servers	Displays Oracle Names servers

Right Pane

The right pane contains property sheets that enable you to configure network components. Figure 5-2 shows the Service Attributes property sheet used for connect identifier configuration.

Figure 5-2 Service Attributes Property Sheet

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Toolbar

The toolbar contains buttons that correspond to the network objects in the folder hierarchies. The toolbar buttons are enabled depending on the objects viewed or selected in a pane. Move the mouse cursor over a toolbar button to display the description of the button's function. The toolbar buttons are:

Create

This button creates new connect identifiers, listeners, and Oracle Names servers objects under the Directory or Local > Service Naming, Listeners, and Oracle Names Servers folders.

Delete

This button deletes connect identifier and listener objects under the Directory or Local > Service Naming and Listeners folders.

Verify Connectivity

This button verifies the connectivity of a selected connect identifier to an Oracle database service. During a connectivity test, a connection to a database service is made by using connect descriptor information stored in a directory server or a tnsnames.ora file.

Help

The Help button opens the Oracle Net Manager online help.

Menus

You use Oracle Net Manager menus to perform actions, such as testing connectivity to an Oracle database, and to open wizards and dialog boxes. The following list describes the items available under each menu.

File Menu

Table 5-2 describes the contents of the File menu.

Table 5-2  File Menu Contents

Option	Description
Open Network Configuration	Opens the local configuration files
Save Network Configuration	Saves the current configuration settings to the default location
Save As	Saves the current configuration settings to a nondefault location
Revert to Saved Configuration	Does not save any of the current configuration settings. Instead, retrieves the last saved configuration
Exit	Closes the Oracle Net Manager

Edit Menu

Table 5-3 describes the contents of the Edit menu.

Table 5-3  Edit Menu Contents

Option	Description
Create	Creates new connect identifiers, listeners, and Oracle Names servers objects under the Directory or Local > Service Naming, Listeners, and Oracle Names Servers folders.
Delete	Deletes connect identifier and listener objects under the Directory or Local > Service Naming and Listeners folders.
Rename	Renames a network object

Command Menu

Table 5-4 describes the contents of the Command menu.

Table 5-4  Command Menu Contents

Option	Description
Directory	The Directory submenu contains the following menu items: Change Current Context: Enables you to change the current Oracle Context. The Oracle Context is a subtree in the directory that stores Oracle entries, including database services and net service names for use with directory naming. When a new Oracle Context is selected, objects in the navigator's Oracle Net Configuration > Directory or Local > Service Naming folder display for the new Oracle Context. Set Authentication: Enables you to set authentication credentials to the directory server Import Net Service Names: Launches the Directory Server Migration Wizard. This wizard imports net service names stored in a tnsnames.ora file to a directory server.
Test Service	Connects to a database service using connect descriptor information stored in a directory server or a tnsnames.ora file
Discover Oracle Names Servers	Finds Oracle Names servers. Once the client finds an Oracle Names server, it queries for all other Oracle Names servers in the domain. Based on the Oracle Names servers found, a list of Oracle Names servers is created on the client. The list is created in order of response time. See Also: "About Discovery"
Reload All Names Servers	The Oracle Names server checks immediately for data changes in its administrative region. If there are changes, the Oracle Names server reloads all stored data.

Help Menu

Table 5-5 describes the contents of the Help menu.

Table 5-5  Help Menu Contents

Option	Description
Contents	Opens Oracle Net Manager online help
About Oracle Net Manager	Opens a window that displays the Oracle Net Manager version number and copyright information

Oracle Net Manager Wizards

The Oracle Net Manager wizards provide step-by-step guidance for tasks that require many steps. The wizards simplify complex tasks by guiding you through the task in manageable steps. The wizards are not intended to provide all configuration options. Once you have completed a task with a wizard, use other components of Oracle Net Manager to modify the configuration.

The following topics describe the Oracle Net Manager wizards:

• Net Service Name Wizard
• Directory Server Migration Wizard
• Names Wizard

Net Service Name Wizard

The Net Service Name Wizard guides you through creating a basic net service name in a directory server or a tnsnames.ora file.

To start the Net Service Name Wizard to create net service names:

1. In the navigator pane, choose Directory or Local > Service Naming.
2. Choose plus (+) from the toolbar, or choose Edit > Create from the menu bar.

Figure 5-3 Opening Page of the Net Service Name Wizard

Text description of the illustration netwiz1.gif

Directory Server Migration Wizard

If a tnsnames.ora file already exists, its net service names can be exported to a directory server with the Directory Server Migration Wizard.

To start the Directory Server Migration Wizard, choose Command > Directory > Import Net Service Names in the Oracle Net Manager menu bar.

Figure 5-4 Opening Page of the Directory Server Migration Wizard

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Names Wizard

The Names Wizard guides you through creating and configuring an Oracle Names server.

To start the Net Service Name Wizard to create an Oracle Names server:

1. In the navigator pane, choose Oracle Names Servers.
2. Choose plus (+) from the toolbar, or choose Edit > Create from the menu bar.

Figure 5-5 Welcome Page of the Names Wizard

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Oracle Net Configuration Assistant

Oracle Net Configuration Assistant is provided primarily to configure basic network components during installation, including:

• Listener names and protocol addresses
• Naming methods the client will use to resolve connect identifiers to connect descriptors
• Net service names in a tnsnames.ora file
• Directory server usage

Oracle Net Configuration Assistant runs automatically during software installation, as described in your Oracle installation guide.

It can also be run after installation in standalone mode to configure naming method usage, the listener, net service names in the tnsnames.ora file, and directory server usage in a similar way that is provided during installation.

To start Oracle Net Configuration Assistant:

• On UNIX, run netca from $ORACLE_HOME/bin.
• On Windows NT, choose Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Configuration and Migration Tools > Net Configuration Assistant.

  See Also: Oracle Net Configuration Assistant online help

Figure 5-6 Opening Page of the Oracle Net Configuration Assistant

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Table 5-6 describes the configuration options in the Welcome page:

Table 5-6  Oracle Net Configuration Assistant

Option	Description
Listener configuration	Choose this option to create modify, delete, or rename a listener.
Naming Methods configuration	Choose this option to configure this computer to resolve connect identifiers to connect descriptor through one or more of following naming methods: Local naming Directory naming Oracle Names Host naming Network Information Service Cell Directory Service
Local Net Service Name configuration	Choose this option to create, modify, delete, rename, or test connectivity of a connect descriptor stored in a local tnsnames.ora file.
Directory Usage configuration	Choose this option to configure a directory server for directory-enabled features.

Oracle Net Control Utilities

Oracle Net provides the following tools to help you start, stop, configure, and control each network component:

• Listener Control Utility
• Oracle Connection Manager Control Utility
• Oracle Names Control Utility

Listener Control Utility

The Listener Control utility enables you to administer the listener. The basic syntax for this utility is as follows:

LSNRCTL command [listener_name] 

For example, the following command starts a listener named lsnr:

LSNRCTL START lsnr

You can also issue Listener Control utility commands at the LSNRCTL> program prompt. To obtain the prompt, enter lsnrctl with no arguments at the operating system command line. When you run lsnrctl, the program is started. You can then enter the necessary commands from the program prompt.

For example:

lsnrctl
LSNRCTL> START lsnr

Oracle Connection Manager Control Utility

The Oracle Connection Manager Control utility enables you to administer an Oracle Connection Manager. The basic syntax for this utility follows:

CMCTL command [process_type] 

where process_type is the name of the Oracle Connection Manager process. The choices are as follows:

• cman for both the CMGW process (gateway process) and the CMADMIN process (administrative process)
• cm for the CMGW process
• adm for the CMADMIN process

For example, the following command starts both the CMGW and the CMADMIN processes:

CMCTL START cman

You can also issue Oracle Connection Manager utility commands at the CMCTL> program prompt. To obtain the prompt, enter cmctl with no arguments at the operating system command line. When you run cmctl, the program is opened. You can then enter the necessary commands from the program prompt.

For example:

cmctl
CMCTL> START cman

Oracle Names Control Utility

The Oracle Names Control utility enables you to administer an Oracle Names server. The basic syntax for this utility follows:

NAMESCTL command [arguments]

For example, the following command starts Oracle Names server configured in the local node's names.ora file:

NAMESCTL START

You can also issue Oracle Names Control utility commands at the NAMESCTL> program prompt. To obtain the prompt, enter namesctl with no arguments at the operating system command line. When you run namesctl, the program is started. You can then enter the necessary commands from the program prompt.

For example:

namesctl
NAMESCTL> START 

Duties of a Network Administrator

Network configuration and administration tasks are described throughout this guide. Table 5-7 lists the common tasks, the tools associated with them, and points you to the topic in the guide that describes the task.

Table 5-7  Common Tasks for Configuring and Administering Oracle Net Services

Task	Tools to Perform Task	See Also
Configuring Directory Server for Oracle Net Usage
Configure directory server usage.	Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	Chapter 8, "Setting Up Directory Server Usage"
Add users to the OracleNetAdmins group.	Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	"Adding Users To the OracleNetAdmins Group"
Authenticate with the directory.	Oracle Net Manager	Choose Directory > Service Naming > How To > Change the Oracle Context in the online help
Change the Oracle Context.	Oracle Net Manager	Choose Directory > Service Naming > How To > Set Authentication Credentials in the online help
Configuring Naming Methods
Configure the local naming method.	Oracle Net Configuration Assistant Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring the Local Naming Method"
Configure the directory naming method.	Oracle Net Configuration Assistant Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring the Directory Naming Method"
Configure the Oracle Names method. Note: In future releases, Oracle Names will not be supported as a centralized naming method. Instead, consider using directory naming or migrating an existing Oracle Names configuration to directory naming, as described in Chapter 10, "Exporting Naming Data to a Directory Server".	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring the Oracle Names Method"
Configure the host naming method.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring the Host Naming Method"
Configure external naming methods.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring External Naming Methods"
Migrating to Directory Naming
Export from tnsnames.ora files.	Oracle Net Manager	"Exporting Net Service Names from a tnsnames.ora File"
Export from Oracle Names.	Oracle Names Control Utility	"Exporting Network Objects from an Oracle Names Server"
Configuring Profiles
Prioritize naming methods.	Oracle Net Manager Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	"Prioritizing Naming Methods"
Configure a default domain that is automatically appended to any unqualified net service name.	Oracle Net Manager Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	"Configuring a Default Domain for Clients"
Route connection requests.	Oracle Net Manager Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	"Routing Connection Requests"
Configure access control.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Database Access Control"
Configure an authentication method available with Oracle Advanced Security.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Oracle Advanced Security" Choose Oracle Advanced Security > How To in the online help See Also: Oracle Advanced Security Administrator's Guide
Configure connect request timeouts.	Manual Configuration	"Configuring the Listener and the Oracle Database To Limit Resource Consumption By Unauthorized Users"
Configuring Listeners
Configure listening protocol addresses.	Oracle Net Manager Oracle Net Configuration Assistant	"Configuring Listening Protocol Addresses"
Configure dynamic service registration.	Automatic	"Configuring Service Registration"
Configure static service registration.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Static Service Information"
Configure password authentication.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Password Authentication for the Listener"
Configure connect request timeouts.	Manual Configuration	"Configuring the Listener and the Oracle Database To Limit Resource Consumption By Unauthorized Users"
Administering Listeners
Start and stop listeners.	Listener Control Utility	"Starting and Stopping the Listener"
View registered information.	Listener Control Utility	"Monitoring Runtime Behavior"
Configuring Oracle Connection Manager
Configure session multiplexing.	Manual Configuration	"Enabling Session Multiplexing"
Configure access control.	Manual Configuration	"Enabling Access Control"
Configure protocol conversion support.	Manual Configuration	"Enabling Protocol Conversion Support"
Configuring Oracle Names Servers
Configure Oracle Names LDAP proxy servers.	Oracle Names Control Utility Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Oracle Names LDAP Proxy Servers"
Create Oracle Names servers.	Oracle Names Control Utility Oracle Net Manager	"Task 3: Create an Oracle Names Server"
Create a list of preferred Oracle Names servers.	Oracle Net Manager	"Configuring Preferred Oracle Names Servers"
Register objects with Oracle Names servers.	Oracle Names Control Utility Oracle Net Manager	"Task 7: Register Data with the Oracle Names Server"
Delegate domains to delegated administrative regions.	Oracle Names Control Utility Oracle Net Manager	"Task 8: Delegate Domains to Delegated Administrative Regions"
Specify domain hints.	Manual Configuration	"Task 9: Specify Domain Hints to Forward Requests to Remote Oracle Names Servers"
Administering Oracle Names Servers
Start and stop Oracle Names servers, as well as gather statistics	Oracle Names Control Utility	Oracle9i Net Services Reference Guide
	Oracle Net Manager	Choose Oracle Names Servers > How To > Administer an Oracle Names Server in the online help
Remove an Oracle Names server.	Oracle Names Control Utility Oracle Net Manager	"Removing an Oracle Names Server"