In the field of

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

, Oracle Net Services consists of sets of

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

which enable

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuable ...

applications to establish and maintain

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

sessions with

Oracle Database Oracle Database (commonly referred to as Oracle DBMS, Oracle Autonomous Database, or simply as Oracle) is a multi-model database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation. It is a database commonly used for running online t ...

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

s. Since Oracle databases operate in and across a variety of software and hardware environments,

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

supplies high-level transparent networking facilities with the intention of providing networking functionality regardless of differences in nodes and

protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

Terminology

* network service name (NSN): " simple name for a service that resolves to a connect descriptor" For example: sales.acme.co.uk

Components

Oracle Corporation defines Oracle Net Services as comprising: * Oracle net * listener * Oracle Connection Manager * Oracle Net Configuration assistant * Oracle Net Manager

Oracle Net

Oracle Net, a proprietary

networking stack The protocol stack or network stack is an implementation of a computer networking protocol suite or protocol family. Some of these terms are used interchangeably but strictly speaking, the ''suite'' is the definition of the communication protoco ...

, runs both on client devices and on Oracle

database server A database server is a server which uses a database application that provides database services to other computer programs or to computers, as defined by the client–server model. Database management systems (DBMSs) frequently provide database- ...

s in order to set up and maintain connections and

messaging A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus. A ...

between client applications and servers. Oracle Net (formerly called "SQL*Net" or "Net8") comprises two software components: # Oracle Net Foundation Layer: makes and maintains connection sessions. The Oracle Net Foundation Layer establishes and also maintains the connection between the client application and server. It must reside on both the client and server for peer-to-peer communication to occur. # Oracle Protocol Support: interfaces with underlying networking protocols such as

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...

named pipe In computing, a named pipe (also known as a FIFO for its behavior) is an extension to the traditional pipe concept on Unix and Unix-like systems, and is one of the methods of inter-process communication (IPC). The concept is also found in OS/2 and ...

s, or

Sockets Direct Protocol The Sockets Direct Protocol (SDP) is a transport-agnostic protocol to support stream sockets over remote direct memory access (RDMA) network fabrics. SDP was originally defined by the Software Working Group (SWG) of the InfiniBand Trade Associatio ...

(SDP).

The listener

The listener process(es) on a server detect incoming requests from clients for connection - by default on port 1521 - and manage network-traffic once clients have connected to an Oracle database. The listener uses a configuration-file - listener.ora - to help keep track of names, protocols, services and hosts. The listener.ora file can include three sorts of parameters: # listener-address entries # SID_LIST entries # control entries Apart from pre-defined and known statically-registered databases, a listener can also accept dynamic service

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

from a database.

Oracle Connection Manager

The Oracle Connection Manager (CMAN) acts as a lightweight router for Oracle Net packets.

Oracle Net Manager

Oracle Net Manager, a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

tool, configures Oracle Net Services for an Oracle home on a local client or server host. (Prior to Oracle 9i known as "Net8 Assistant".)

Associated software

Utilities and tools

* tnsping: determines the accessibility of an Oracle net service.

Software suites

Oracle software integrating closely with and/or depending on Oracle Net Services includes: *

Oracle Clusterware Oracle Clusterware is the cross-platform cluster software required to run the Real Application Clusters (RAC) option for Oracle Database. It provides the basic clustering services at the operating-system level that enable Oracle Database sof ...

Oracle Data Guard The software which Oracle Corporation markets as Oracle Data Guard forms an extension to the Oracle relational database management system (RDBMS). It aids in establishing and maintaining secondary standby databases as alternative/supplementary rep ...

Oracle Enterprise Manager Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) is a set of web-based tools aimed at managing software and hardware produced by Oracle Corporation as well as by some non-Oracle entities. Releases Oracle Enterprise Manager includes three releases: Oracle Enterpr ...

Oracle Internet Directory Oracle Internet Directory (OID) is a directory service produced by Oracle Corporation, which functions compatible with LDAP version 3. Functionality OID makes the following features available from within an Oracle database environment: * inte ...

Oracle RAC In database computing, Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) — an option for the Oracle Database software produced by Oracle Corporation and introduced in 2001 with Oracle9i — provides software for clustering and high availability in Oracle ...

(real application clusters) *

Oracle Streams In computing, the Oracle Streams product from Oracle Corporation encourages users of Oracle databases to propagate information within and between databases. It provides tools to capture, process ('stage') and manage database events via Advanced ...

References

* Arun Kumar, John Kanagaraj and Richard Stroupe: ''Oracle Database 10g Insider Solutions''. Sams, 2005.

External links

"Oracle Network Configuration"

Footnotes

{{reflist Oracle software