1. How Net8 Works

   1. Chapter 1 Oracle's Network Architecture and Products

      1. Goals of Net8
      2. Net8 Components
      3. Stack Communications
      4. Management Utilities

   2. Chapter 2 Name Resolution

      1. Local Naming
      2. Directory Naming
      3. Centralized Naming
      4. Host Naming
      5. External Name Resolution
      6. Choosing the Method to Use

2. Net8 Configuration

   1. Chapter 3 Client Configuration

      1. The Overall Process
      2. Installing the Net8 Client Software
      3. Configuring Your Profile
      4. Defining Net Service Names
      5. Using LDAP
      6. Using Oracle Names
      7. Using External Naming Methods
      8. Testing Client Connectivity

   2. Chapter 4 Basic Server Configuration

      1. The Overall Process
      2. Software to Install
      3. Configuring a Listener
      4. The Listener Control Utility
      5. Securing a Listener
      6. Modifying and Deleting a Listener
      7. Detecting Dead Connections

   3. Chapter 5 Multi-Threaded Server

      1. Understanding MTS
      2. Planning for MTS
      3. Database Initialization File Changes
      4. Forcing a Dedicated Server Connection
      5. Viewing MTS Status
      6. Online MTS Modifications

   4. Chapter 6 Net8 and LDAP

      1. What Is LDAP?
      2. Client Configuration for LDAP
      3. Defining Net Service Names in an LDAP Directory

   5. Chapter 7 Oracle Names

      1. Configuring a Names Server
      2. Managing a Names Server
      3. Discovery and Client Configuration
      4. Domains and Regions

   6. Chapter 8 Net8 Failover and Load Balancing

      1. Failover
      2. Load Balancing

   7. Chapter 9 Connection Manager

      1. Connection Manager Benefits
      2. Connection Manager Architecture
      3. Configuring Connection Manager
      4. Configuring a Client
      5. Managing Connection Manager

3. Net8 Troubleshooting

   1. Chapter 10 Net8 Troubleshooting Techniques

      1. Testing Connectivity to the Server
      2. Looking at Net8 Log Files
      3. Generating Net8 Trace Files

   2. Chapter 11 Solutions to Common Problems

      1. Net8 General Problems
      2. Connection Manager Problems
      3. Multi-Threaded Server Problems
      4. Oracle Names Problems

4. Appendixes

   1. Appendix A The sqlnet.ora File

   2. Appendix B The tnsnames.ora File

      1. Net Service Name Definitions
      2. The Parameters

   3. Appendix C The listener.ora File

      1. Listener Addresses
      2. Static Services
      3. Control Parameters

   4. Appendix D The names.ora File

   5. Appendix E Environment and Registry Variables

      1. Net8 Environment Variables
      2. Net8 Variables and Windows NT

   6. Appendix F MTS Initialization Parameters

   7. Appendix G MTS Performance Views

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The insects on the cover of Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting are silk moths (Bombyx mori). Once wild throughout eastern Asia, silk moths now exist only for sericulture—silk manufacturing for human use. However, by the time a silk moth is an actual moth, it no longer produces silk, does not eat, and has only a couple of weeks to live. Silk factories breed the moths for their larvae, silkworm caterpillars, which spin silk cocoons to enshroud and protect themselves during their development into moths. One cocoon yields nearly a half-mile of strong fiber, which can be woven into the silk thread and fabric used for clothing and other textiles.

A silk moth pupa's metamorphosis involves histolysis-self-digestion that makes room for the development of a dramatically different body. No longer a worm, the pupa emerges from its silk cocoon a winged moth. Darren Kelly was the production editor, Catherine Morris was the copyeditor, and Ellie Cutler was the proofreader for Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting. Linley Dolby, Sarah Jane Shangraw, Madeleine Newell, and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Joe Wizda wrote the index. Interior composition was done by Deborah Smith, Matthew Hutchinson, and Rachel Wheeler.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Johnson's Natural History: The Animal Kingdom Illustrated. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1, using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Melanie Wang and David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the code font is Constant Willison. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Sarah Jane Shangraw.