Brian, The order in which the TNS connection searches are performed can also easily be determined by using the 'truss' command on Solaris. I used this to prove my case to a PHB of a smart-aleck Developer who was side-stepping our move to an Oracle Name Service in a prior assignment.
I see what you mean - been there done that! Take care bro! John Kanagaraj Oracle Applications DBA DBSoft Inc (W): 408-970-7002 I don't know what the future holds for me, but I do know who holds my future! ** The opinions and statements above are entirely my own and not those of my employer or clients ** -----Original Message----- Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 10:14 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L A few days (or was that weeks??) ago, someone posted some problems they were having connecting to a database defined in their tnsnames.ora file. The problem was resolved when they found out that there was a 'rogue' tnsnames.ora file residing in the same directory as the binary. The binary file was resolving a database's address by using the local tnsnames.ora first. I recently had a similar issue (a long story, available on http://www.clanmcgraw.com/oracle.html for those interested) where sqlplus was resolving a database address by using a tnsnames.ora file stored in /var/opt/oracle (on Solaris 8). I thought that was because I did not have the TNS_ADMIN environment variable set properly by the oraenv file. I did some research on Metalink, and under Note 114085.1, found the following information that others might find useful: Windows NT/2000 running Oracle 9i First: The directory where the application is launched. For example, if sqlplus resides in ORACLE_HOME\bin\sqlplus but was launched from the c:\temp directory, then c:\temp is searched for a tnsnames.ora file. Second: The value of the TNS_ADMIN environment variable. Third: ORACLE_HOME\network\admin Sun Solaris running Oracle 8i or 9i First: The oracle user's home directory is searched for a hidden '.tnsnames.ora' Second: The value of the TNS_ADMIN environment variable. Third: /var/opt/oracle Fourth: $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin Some were talking about an April Fool's joke with local tnsnames.ora files. I think you'd have a lot more fun with the .tnsnames.ora file, if you're on Solaris. J Hope that information is useful to someone out there... Brian ---------------------------------------------- | Brian McGraw /* DBA */ Infinity Insurance | | mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] | ---------------------------------------------- -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: John Kanagaraj INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).