Oracle8i Release Notes
Release 2 (8.1.6) for Windows NT


Oracle8i

Release Notes

Release 2 (8.1.6) for Windows NT

January 2000

This document provides important last minute information, and supersedes the Release Notes located in the documentation library of your Oracle8i Online Documentation CD-ROM.

Specific topics discussed are:

Important: Additional READMEs

Additional product README files are located in the product subdirectories under the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME directory or in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\RELNOTES directory.

Windows 2000 Support

Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) on Windows NT is certified on Windows 2000 with the following exceptions:

Additions to README.DOC

The following are additions to the README.DOC, Section 37.1, Oracle Database Configuration Assistant. This README is located in the \DOC directory of the product CD-ROM.

Advanced Queuing Jar Files

Currently the three Advanced Queuing (AQ) jar files are present only in the following installation types:

Clients must use one of the above two Oracle8i Client installation types if they want to use the AQ Java API. If users want to do an Application User installation of Oracle8i Client and use the AQ Java API, they must copy AQAPI.JAR, AQAPI11.JAR, and JMSCOMMON.JAR from the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\RDBMS\JLIB directory of the computer that has the Typical or Minimal installation type to the same directory on the client computer.

Enterprise Java Beans

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) oneway call messages may not be delivered reliably to the server if a client writes several oneway messages and then immediately closes the connection and exits. This is due to a Windows Sockets API bug on Windows NT 4.0 SP6 and SP6a with the Lotus security patch.

Do not exit immediately after invoking oneway calls, for example, by putting a call to Thread.sleep ( ). Additionally, the CORBA specification describes oneway call semantics as best-effort, at-most-once and does not guarantee delivery of the message. The Aurora Object Request Broker (ORB) guarantees delivery of even oneway calls, but because of this bug on Windows NT, it may not guarantee it on Windows NT.

Installation Issues

This section presents the following topics:

Oracle Universal Installer
System Requirements on FAT and NTFS Systems

Because of the difference in space allocation on FAT and NTFS systems, the system requirements will vary. On FAT file systems, the calculation of the space requirements as reported by Oracle Universal Installer for each of the available installation types is incorrect.

The following tables show the correct amount of space required for each installation type. The installations listed were done on a FAT partition, with a default block size of 32K, and an NTFS partition, with a default block size of 2K.

Oracle8i Enterprise Edition or Oracle8i:

Installation Type  RAM  Hard Disk:
FAT
 
Hard Disk: NTFS  Hard Disk: System Drive 

Typical 

96MB 

1.46 GB 

948 MB 

22 MB 

Minimal 

96MB 

1.15 GB 

766 MB 

21 MB 

Oracle8i Client:

Installation Type  RAM  Hard Disk:
FAT
 
Hard Disk: NTFS  Hard Disk: System Drive 

Administrator 

64MB 

678 MB 

236 MB 

19 MB 

Programmer 

32 MB 

164 MB 

102 MB 

16 MB 

Application User 

32 MB 

93 MB 

48 MB 

16 MB 

Oracle8i Management Infrastructure:

Installation Type  RAM  Hard Disk:
FAT
 
Hard Disk: NTFS  Hard Disk: System Drive 

Oracle Management Server 

64 MB 

1.12 GB 

266 MB 

14 MB 

Oracle Internet Directory 

96 MB 

974 MB 

904 MB 

17 MB 

Web-based Installations with Oracle Universal Installer

Oracle Universal Installer supports Web-based installations of Oracle components with one limitation: the configuration tools normally launched at the end of a Typical, Minimal, or Custom installation do not automatically start. Instead, perform the following steps:

  1. Exit Oracle Universal Installer at the end of installation.

  2. Run Oracle Database Configuration Assistant and Net8 Configuration Assistant separately.

This limitation will be fixed in future releases.

Silent Installation and Net8 Configuration Assistant

If you perform a Minimal installation type of Oracle8i in silent mode, Net8 Configuration Assistant fails to configure your system at the end of the installation. After installation, complete Net8 configuration by running Net8 Configuration Assistant from the Oracle home directory.


Note:

You can start Net8 Configuration Assistant after installation by choosing Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Network Administration > Net8 Configuration Assistant. Start Net8 Assistant by choosing Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Network Administration > Net8 Assistant. See Net8 Administrator's Guide for more information on configuring Net8.  


Deinstallation

You cannot deinstall Oracle JServer separately from other products installed with Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6).

Deinstalling Oracle JServer causes Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle8i and other products dependent on Oracle JServer from your system.

Deinstalling Oracle Advanced Security

You need to shut down all relevant Oracle Services before deinstalling Oracle Advanced Security (ASO). Relevant services are those Oracle services which are running out of the same home as the installed ASO. If any of these services are running at the time of deinstall, encryption will not be properly deinstalled.

Oracle Internet Directory and NLS_LANG Parameter Requirement

The NLS_LANG parameter setting requirement for Oracle Internet Directory described in section "Mandatory Individual Component Requirements" on page 3-8 of the Oracle8i Installation Guide for Windows NT no longer needs to be performed. Installation proceeds correctly without manually setting this parameter. However, to start or stop the Oracle Internet Directory server after installation, perform the following tasks:

To use the Oracle Internet Directory command line tools after server startup, you must reset NLS_LANG in an MS-DOS window to the character set that matches the code page of your MS-DOS session. (UTF8 cannot be used.) See section "NLS_LANG Settings in MS-DOS Mode and Batch Mode" in Appendix C, "National Language Support" of the Oracle8i Installation Guide for Windows NT for more information on which character set to use for command line tools in an MS-DOS session.

If you are using a pre-installed 8.1.6 database with Oracle Internet Directory, the database character set must also be set to UTF8. See the Oracle8i National Language Support Guide and Appendix C of the Oracle8i Installation Guide for Windows NT for more information.


Warning:

Do not change the NLS_LANG parameter value in the registry. 


Oracle Internet Directory Installation

Oracle Corporation recommends that you install Oracle Internet Directory on a system that does not already have an Oracle8i database. Unless it detects an existing database in the Oracle home where it will install Oracle Internet Directory, Oracle Universal Installer automatically installs the necessary software and creates the datafiles for a release 2 (8.1.6) database. This database should only be used to store Oracle Internet Directory information.

Microsoft Management Console Snap-Ins

Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) ships several Snap-Ins for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). The Microsoft Management Console is a built-in feature of Windows 2000, but requires the Microsoft Management Console add-on to be installed to function correctly in Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, or Windows 98.

The add-on can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/MANAGEMENT/MMC/download.htm

The Snap-In components that ship with Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) require this add-on to be installed before they will run. In addition, these Snap-Ins require Internet Explorer version 5 (IE5) or later to be installed before they can be configured for use on the system. If you have installed any of these Snap-Ins before installing IE5, please install IE5, then reinstall the Snap-In from the Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6) distribution media to configure it correctly.

The Oracle Snap-In components which have this dependency are:

Net8

Configuring Oracle Names Server with Net8 Assistant

When configuring Oracle Names servers with Net8 Assistant, consider the following:

  1. In addition to deleting an Oracle Names server from the Oracle Names Servers folder, you must manually delete Oracle Names server entries in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\ADMIN\NAMES.ORA and ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\NETWORK\NAMES\CKP*.ORA files.

  2. Creation of Oracle Names servers on Windows 95 and Windows 98 is not supported, but the functionality is not disabled from Net8 Assistant. Net8 Assistant allows you to create Oracle Names servers, but you cannot start, stop, or configure them.

Net8 Configuration Assistant

When using the Create or Update Schema option after the schema has been successfully created, the Directory Access, Done page is incorrectly displayed. The Next button does not function. Click Cancel and exit the Assistant. The schema will still have been successfully created.

OiD Configuration Assistant and Oracle Enterprise Manager Configuration Assistant

Problem:

On some systems, during installation through the Oracle8i Management Infrastructure top-level component, the EM Configuration Assistant and OiD Configuration Assistant may fail to spawn during post-installation. These failures manifest themselves in the form of memory overwrite errors in CMD.EXE and may occur on systems where the system path is greater than 260 characters.

Workaround:

Run ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\LDAP\POSTCFG\OIDCA.BAT manually after the installation session. To invoke EM Configuration Assistant manually, launch it from the Start Menu from the Program group Enterprise Manager under the top-level "Oracle - <Home Name>" program group.

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++ release 8.1.6 is compatible with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 only. AppWizard will not work with VC++ 5.0. An 8.1.6 version that works with VC++5.0 will be available soon on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site (technet.oracle.com).

Oracle AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++ release 8.1.6 can be installed through the Custom installation type of Oracle8i Enterprise Edition, Oracle8i, or Oracle8i Client.

Oracle Distributed Access Manager

Oracle Distributed Access Manager is not available with Enterprise Manager Release 2.1 for Windows NT, Windows 98 and Windows 95. Disregard any references to integrating this application in the documentation.

Oracle Internet Directory

Several products included with Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) are now directory-enabled and can take advantage of an LDAP version 3 directory server such as Oracle Internet Directory. Purchase of Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) includes a restricted use version of Oracle Internet Directory release 2.0.6 for Windows NT that may only be used in conjunction with Oracle's directory-enabled components and products such as Net8, Oracle Advanced Security, Oracle8i, and all future directory-enabled Oracle products.

See Also:

Oracle Internet Directory Release Notes for more information on Oracle Internet Directory. 

Oracle Migration Workbench

Linked Tables in MS Access

Oracle Migration Workbench only supports one level of linked tables. You may experience problems when attempting to migrate multiple levels of linked tables. Also, if your MS Access databases contain linked tables, you must ensure that the names of the tables to which you are linking are not the same as any table names in the database from which you are linking.

Microsoft Access ODBC

When modifying your MS Access front end, ensure that the name of your Oracle ODBC data source is the same as the service name of the destination Oracle database specified in the TNSNAMES.ORA file.

NONCLUSTERED Primary Keys in Sybase

Please disregard this problem that is mentioned in the "Known Problems and Workarounds" section of the Oracle Migration Workbench Release Notes as this is no longer an issue.

Microsoft Access Plugin for the Oracle Migration Workbench

The Microsoft Access Plugin for Oracle Migration Workbench requires both Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Release 2.1.2.4202.3 (available from http://www.microsoft.com) and Microsoft Access 97, installed on the same machine as the Oracle Migration Workbench. Microsoft Access 97 is required to ensure that Microsoft Data Access Objects (DAO) Release 3.5 is installed on the system.

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Plugin

The Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Plugin for Oracle Migration Workbench requires either SQL Server 7.0 Client or Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Release 2.1.2.4202.3 (available from http://www.microsoft.com) installed on the same computer as Oracle Migration Workbench. This ensures that the correct version of SQL Server ODBC driver is installed. The version should be 3.70.06.23 or later, and can be checked from the ODBC Administrator Program in the Control Panel.

Oracle Parallel Server

OracleCMService and OracleServiceSID

When Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (ODBCA) creates Parallel Server databases, the Windows NT service, OracleServiceSID, is created. This service must be started after the OracleCMService. However, the OracleServiceSID is not created by Oracle Database Configuration Assistant with a dependency on the OracleCMService. Thus, when the node is rebooted, the OracleServiceSID fails to start up because the OracleCMService has not started. In this case, the Windows NT Event Log will contain Application Log entries such as the following:

    error 203; LoadOpsOsd
    2, OPS: Startup routine failed: 0 2 3

To start OracleServiceSID after OracleCMService starts, a dependency must be added. Enter the following command:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceSID /d OracleCMService

For example, if ODBCA creates a parallel server named OP with two instances named OP1 and OP2, on the node where OP1 runs, enter the following:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceOP1 /d OracleCMService

On the node where OP2 runs, enter:

C:\> CreatDep /s OracleServiceOP2 /d OracleCMService

This adds the dependencies on OracleCMService to each of the OracleServiceSID services, ensuring the correct service startup order.

Net8 Configuration Assistant Does Not Create Windows NT Listener Service On Remote Cluster Nodes (Bug 1192549)

When running the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant to create an Oracle Parallel Server database as part of the installation process, the LISTENER.ORA and TNSNAMES.ORA files will not be updated with the appropriate information for the newly-created database. This is because Net8 Configuration Assistant did not create a Windows NT service for the listener on the remote nodes.

To avoid this problem, after the Oracle Universal Installer has run the Net8 Configuration Assistant, but before the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant completes, open an MS-DOS command prompt window on each remote node and enter:

C:\> LSNRCTL START

If installing in Custom mode, and the listener created using Net8 Configuration Assistant was not named LISTENER, instead enter:

C:\> LSNRCTL START LISTENER-NAME

The LSNRCTL command will create the NT service and start the listener.

If the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant fails to update the network configuration, the following configuration items will be missing:

For details on creating these missing configuration items, see Chapter 3, "Installing and Creating an Oracle Parallel Server Database," of the Oracle Parallel Server Setup and Configuration Guide.

Raw Devices File Sizes

The raw device sizes listed for the SYSTEM, DRSYS, and TEMP tablespaces are incorrect in the Oracle Parallel Server Setup and Configuration Guide (part #A76934), Chapter 2 "Setting up Raw Devices":

Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT

Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT is not installed in the Typical installation option. If you install Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT using the Custom installation option, you must disable the OracleHOME_NAMEDataGatherer service in the Windows NT Services dialog box. Oracle Performance Monitor for Windows NT cannot co-exist with Oracle Data Gatherer (a component of Oracle Intelligent Agent) on the same computer.

Oracle Service for MTS Resource DLLs

Certain Chinese language versions of the Oracle Service for MTS resource DLLs are not consistent with Oracle8i release 8.1.6. These include ORAMTSZHS.DLL, ORAMMCMTS8ZHS.DLL, ORAPSMSGZHS.DLL, and ORAPSEVNTZHS.DLL. To obtain the latest releases of these files, contact Oracle Support Services.

Oracle Trace

(Bug 1187624) Performing two or more simultaneous Oracle Trace collections for an Oracle8 for Windows NT database may cause the database to crash. Oracle Trace database collections must be limited to only a single active collection at any time, until a patch is available or this has been corrected in a future release.

This restriction does not apply to multiple simultaneous Oracle Trace collections for different products, for example, where only a single collection is active per instrumented product, such as the Oracle database, at any time.

ORADIM

To delete an instance using ORADIM, use the following commands:

ORADIM -DELETE -SID SIDA, SIDB, SIDC, ... 
ORADIM -DELETE -SVRC SVRCA, SVRCB, SVRC, ... 

where:

Pro*COBOL Precompiler for Windows

Pro*COBOL Precompiler for Windows release 1.8.51 is now automatically installed with the Programmer installation type of the Oracle8i Client top-level component. You do not need to use the Custom installation type of the Oracle8i Client top-level component.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) on Windows NT

To enable SSL when connecting to an Oracle database, do not use the default user account in the Windows NT Services dialog box when starting the Oracle service and the listener service. Start these services in the same user account as the wallet created in Oracle Wallet Manager. If the Oracle service and the listener service are started in the default user accounts, SSL will not work and the listener will not start.

TCP/IP Support on Windows 95

Oracle TCP/IP support for Windows 95/98 uses Windows Sockets 2 interfaces. Therefore, you must install Windows Socket 2 Update for Windows 95 before installing Oracle8i release 2 (8.1.6.). It can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads

Windows Socket 2 Update for Windows 95 can also be installed by double-clicking on the file WS2SETUP.EXE located in the \WINSOCK2 directory at the root of your distribution media.

Upgrading

Upgrading from Oracle8i Release 8.1.5 to 8.1.6 in the Same Oracle Home

The following Release 8.1.5 components may remain in Oracle Universal Installer inventory after a successful upgrade from Oracle8i Release 8.1.5 to Release 2 (8.1.6) in the same Oracle Home:

Existence of these 8.1.5 entries in the OUI inventory does not interfere with proper functioning of the 8.1.6 versions of these products. Do not try to deinstall the 8.1.5 components after upgrading to Release 8.1.6. Doing so will trigger deinstallation of other Release 8.1.6 dependent products.

Oracle Data Migration Assistant

(Bug 1199401) Upgrading an Oracle8i database to Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6) is not supported using Oracle Data Migration Assistant, if Oracle8i Release 2 is installed in the same ORACLE HOME as the previously installed Oracle8i release. However, upgrading is supported if:

Details are provided in Oracle8i Migration on your Oracle8i Online Documentation CD-ROM.

Redistributable System Files

Oracle8i installation may attempt to install several redistributable system files that are required for Oracle software to function correctly. These files are shared by other applications and most likely are in use on the computer.

If the version of a given system file is less than the version required by Oracle, Oracle Universal Installer will attempt to upgrade it. Errors may occur during upgrade in the following situations:

In both these cases, Oracle Universal Installer will indicate that it encountered difficulties in copying the appropriate file to the system. If such an error occurs, check to see if the system file in question is writable or if a similar file of the name <systemfile>.OLD exists on the computer.

If the system file that Oracle Universal Installer is trying to replace is read-only, change its attribute so that the file is writable, and click "Retry" in the Installer window to upgrade the system file. If a file of the name <systemfile>.OLD exists, rename or delete this file, then click "Retry" in the Installer window to upgrade the system file.

Viewing PDF Documentation Without a Browser

It is possible to view the PDF documentation without using a Web browser. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Open Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange.

  2. Choose the File > Open menu option.

  3. In the resulting dialog navigate to the \DOC\INDEX.PDF file on the Oracle8i Online Documentation CD-ROM, or the top-level INDEX.PDF file in your installed documentation. From this index file you can navigate to all of the PDF documentation on the CD-ROM.

Each of the PDF files also contains a "PDF Directory" bookmark at the top of the bookmark list. Clicking on this bookmark takes you up one level in the PDF index hierarchy. The documentation in the PDF index files is divided into the same categories as the HTML documentation.

You can also open an individual PDF file directly without browsing through the PDF index pages. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Open Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange.

  2. Choose the File > Open menu option.

  3. In the resulting dialog navigate to the file you want to view, select it, and click the Open button. PDF files are named for the part number of the manual (for example, A12345.PDF).

Windows 2000 Users

DNS Domain Name

If a Windows 2000 computer is not identified with a DNS domain name, you will receive the following error message:

Calling query w32RegQueries1.7.0.17.0  RegGetValue
Key = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SubKey = SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Value = Domain

Query Exception: GetValueKeyNotFoundException
Query Exception Class: class oracle.sysman.oii.oiil.OiilQueryException
...

Perform the following steps:

  1. Go to Control Panel > System > Network Identification > More > Primary DNS.

  2. Enter a domain name, for example, US.ORACLE.COM.

Windows 98 Users

Registration of Oracle Objects for OLE Data Control in Windows 95

On some Windows 95 systems, the Data Control for Oracle Objects for OLE is not registered properly with the operating system. This occurs on systems where an older version of the MFC Runtime Module (MFC42.DLL) is installed. While this module is upgraded by Oracle Universal Installer, if the module is in use, it is not upgraded until after rebooting.

If an older version of the MFC Runtime Module than the one required by Oracle Objects for OLE (required version is 6.00.8447.0) is installed, register the Oracle Objects for OLE Data Control with the operating system after rebooting, using the upgraded MFC Runtime Module.

To do this, at the MS-DOS command prompt, enter the following:

REGSVR32 ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\BIN\ORADC.OCX 

where ORACLE_BASE is the Oracle base directory and ORACLE_HOME is the Oracle home directory specified when Oracle Objects for OLE was installed.

Icon Creation on Windows 98 Systems

On Windows 98 systems that have been configured for use for multiple users, the icons used to launch Oracle programs from the Windows 98 Start Menu are not displayed correctly by the operating system.

To correct this problem, copy the Oracle Program Group folders located on the hard drive in the directory:

WindowsDirectory\Start Menu\Programs

and place them in the directory:

WindowsDirectory\profiles\username\Start Menu\Programs

The actual location on the hard drive where the Oracle Program Group folders need to be placed may vary from system to system but can be determined by right-clicking on the "Start" button located on the Taskbar, then clicking "Explore" or "Open". A window will open indicating the location of the "Programs" directory in which the Oracle Program Group folders need to be copied.

Windows Native Authentication

Current user database links are not supported with Windows Native Authentication.

Windows Terminal Server

This release is not certified with Windows Terminal Server.