Lesson 1

This module introduces you to the details about the configuration and management of Oracle Net on both the client and the server. We will look more closely at the parameter files that are used in configuration, and we will look at the GUI tools that Oracle Net provides to simplify the management of the parameter files. Server-side connectivity is far more complex than configuring a client for Oracle Net. This is because the TNS listener must be properly configured to handle multiple simultaneous connections to many databases on the server, with incoming connections from hundreds or even thousands of remote clients. For sophisticated multi-protocol environments, the listener.ora file can become very complicated.
We will begin with a conceptual overview of the listener, its functions and uses. We will then look at the Oracle Net assistant GUI tool before moving to the syntax of the listener configuration file (listener.ora). We will also take a close look at the TNS listener and understand how Oracle Net creates, starts, and uses it. The module concludes with a look at how to configure multiple listeners on a Oracle Net server.

After completing this module, you will be able to:

1. Identify the main server components of Oracle Net
2. Explain how the listener manages incoming connections
3. Identify the relevant listener parameters and how they affect operations
4. Interact with the Oracle Net Assistant tool
5. Explain where the password is stored and how to specify it
6. Identify the basic listener control functions
7. Find the listener command syntax
8. Start the listener and the output from the command
9. Stop the listener
10. Run three types of listeners on the same server

Oracle Net Services provides enterprise-wide connectivity solutions in distributed, heterogeneous computing environments. Oracle Net Services eases the complexities of network configuration and management, maximizes performance, and improves network diagnostic capabilities. This section introduces the basic networking concepts involved in a typical network configuration. The next lesson examines the Oracle server components for Oracle Net.

Oracle Net (which is Oracle’s network interface), was formerly known as Net8 when used in Oracle8, and SQL*Net when used with Oracle7 and previous versions of Oracle. You can use Oracle Net over a wide variety of network protocols, although TCP/IP is by far the most common protocol today. Features associated with Oracle Net, such as shared servers, are referred to as Oracle Net Services.