Versions: All released Collect and DataGarage
Problem:
Error: TNS-03505 Error Message: Failed to resolve name
Error: TNS-12154 Error Message: TNS:could not resolve the connect identifier specified.
Root cause:
Both of these error codes usually mean that the entry in tnsnames.ora file is incorrect or the tnsnames.ora file cannot be found.
Possible Resolutions:
1. Verify that the tnsnames.ora for this server entry is correct. (This seems to be the issue most of the time.)
a) The following is a basic format of a correct entry in the tnsnames.ora:
D21=
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS =
(COMMUNITY = SAP.WORLD)
(PROTOCOL = TCP)
(HOST = sap.address.com)
(PORT = 1527)
)
)
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SID = D21)
(GLOBAL_NAME = D21.WORLD)
)
)
b) Syntax to check:
- Make sure that for every left parenthesis there is a matching right parenthesis.
- There should not be a pair of parentheses around the entire entry.
- The value to the left of the very first = sign, is called the net service name (in the above example: D21). When attempting to TNSPING always use the net service name. (Example: TNSPING D21)
2. Verify that the tnsnames.ora file can be found.
a) If you attempted a TNSPING, the following information will be displayed:
TNS Ping Utility for 32-bit Windows: Version 11.1.0.6.0 - Production on 24-JUN-2015 13:51:11
Copyright (c) 1997, 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Used parameter files:
C:\Oracle\product\11.1.0\client_1\network\admin\sqlnet.ora
The Used parameter files path is also where the tnsnames.ora file should reside.
b) The tnsnames.ora file should be located in %ORACLE_HOME%\network\admin. That is assuming that the %ORACLE_HOME% environment variable has been configured.
c) If the %ORACLE_HOME% environment variable is not set up, then check the %tns_admin% environment variable. If %tns_admin% is set up, it should contain the entire path to the folder where the tnsnames.ora file is located.