Help please! SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE hangs the machine!!

Hi,

I tried SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE on Oracle NT but it hangs after working several times. I knows this sounds a bit strange but this is really happening.

The situation is I'm testing the backup script which is supposed to set in scheduler and run automatically. The script run smoothly the first time, the second ..... But after I tried the backup script for a couple of times (no more than 5 times). The script hangs in the SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE command. I tried to reboot the NT Server and test the backup script again. It worked again at the time but after a couple of times, the cycle repeats and the machine hangs up again!!!

The environment is Oracle 8.1.5 under NT Server. And the backup script is a simple physical OS backup, including shutdown database, create the archive directory, copy the datafiles and control files and then open the database.

Please Please for any advise. I really don't know what's wrong and what can I do with it now.

Thanks,
Nancy

Hi,
Okay SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE will take some time depending on the users connnected to the database.SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE will take sometime to rollback the users transactions and if there are long running transactions it will take some time.Okay no probs it takes some time but while opening ur database ur database is in consistsent state and no recovery is reqd.
In case of any help please be free to ask me at [email protected]

Regards,
Rohit Nirkhe,Oracle DBA,OCP 8i
[email protected]

Hi rohit,

But shouldn't be. The machine I'm using is a NT Server dedicated for testing. So NO transactions could be running ......

That's why I'm confused how come the SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE work like this.

Thanks,
nngk

One possible source is NT itself. I have been told that NT is not 100% efficient in returning resources from dead processes. Therefore, you may not have as much of the machine resources as you think after running the backup script twice, but all of the resources after a reboot.

Good luck.

Dear Nancy,
hi!
This is Amit Ahuja, working as a Oracle professional in India. Could you please send me the script which you have created to Shutdown Oracle, take the backup, create the archive directory, copy the datafiles and control files and then open the database?

Regards,
Amit

hi dknight,

Oh no....... I can understand what you mean, but if that's true, that means NT have to be rebooted at least twice a week ??!! It would really be unreasonable to reboot a server that frequently.

Is this a bug? I tried to look into technet.oracle.com but not much helpful....

nngk :(

Hi Amit,

Here you are (3 files).

Regards,
nngk

bkwhole.cmd
-----------------
rem---Shutdown database
svrmgr @closedb.sql

rem---Create archive directory
md f:\backup_ora_whole\archive

rem---Backup datafiles
copy c:\oracle\oradata\users01.dbf
copy c:\oracle\oradata\indx01.dbf
....etc

rem---Backup control files
copy c:\oracle\oradata\control01.ctl
copy c:\oracle\oradata\control02.ctl

rem---Open database
svrmgr @opendb.sql


closedb.sql
----------------
connect internal/password
shutdown immediate


opendb.sql
-------------
connect internal/password
startup

Have you run any perfomance reports to give you an idea about what's happening in DB? Do you have an NT expert who can tell you what NT is reporting?
You may be consuming too many resources to shut down quickly. Can you display the active process prior to your shutdown? What kind of activity are they doing?

The possibilty is Your Service might have been corrupted. Don't ask me why ? I don't have an answer. Sometimes it behaves Crazy. I did have have crazy experiences and I have seen others having that type of experiences with NT.

You can try removing the service and recreating the service using oracle oradim utility

Hi Nancy,

Try to be on the latest NT Service Pack because Microsoft keeps updating their service packs that might help you.
If you are allready on the latest service pack ignore my message

Regards

Hi Nancy,

I too don't completely support for NT..but my organisation too uses NT boxes for their server purposes and i am too facing some problem r the other once in a while...

As the NT process does not have an hanbit of returning the dead process , there r chances that its taking time for u to get the db shut down...

Also, these NT servers quite often get their bugs rectified (to some extend) and comes in the form of service pack...

If possible try to install these latest services which i guess can to an extend solve ur problem....

Ur script and ur description shows some validity in ur thoughts but as of now, its the OS in which the server isbeing kept thats bugging me...

Searched the World Wide Web to get some input for ur problem and nothing seems to fit in to a satisfying solution...

Let me know if u get any work around for the same

[email protected]

Nancy,
Is there a reason why you shut the db down for the backup? A hot backup whilst putting the tablespaces in backup mode etc. will allow you to do what you want AND keep the db open.

I do the back-ups manually (not via a script) as I too had problems shutting down and re-opening db's on NT4. Something to do with NT services not being released.

I'm curious - the script you run: how do you kick it off?


-------------------------------------------

John