2 Installing and Configuring Oracle COM Automation Feature

PL/SQL Components

The PL/SQL components for Oracle COM Automation Feature are:

• Oracle COM Automation Feature PL/SQL (orawpcomVER.dll)

• PL/SQL installation and definition script (comwrap.sql)

• Oracle COM Automation demonstration programs

• Message files (such as comus.msb)

Oracle COM Automation PL/SQL feature orawpcomVER.dll is located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin directory.

All other components are located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\com directory.

Java Components

The Java components for Oracle COM Automation Feature are:

• The JAR file, orawcom.jar

• Oracle COM Automation Feature Java (orawcomVER.dll)

• Oracle COM Automation demonstration programs

• The grant.sql script file

Oracle COM Automation Java feature orawcomVER.dll is located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin directory. All other components are located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\com\java directory.

Configuring Oracle COM Automation Feature for PL/SQL

To configure Oracle COM Automation Feature for PL/SQL:

1. Start SQL*Plus.

2. Connect to the database as SYSTEM.

   SQL> CONNECT SYSTEM@net_service_name
   Enter password: password
   

3. Grant the CREATE LIBRARY privilege to the database users who will use Oracle COM Automation Feature. For example:

   SQL> GRANT CREATE LIBRARY TO hr;
   

4. Connect to the user who will use Oracle COM Automation Feature, and run the comwrap.sql script at the SQL*Plus prompt:

   SQL> CONNECT hr;
   Enter password: password
   SQL> @ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\com\comwrap.sql
   

   In the preceding command, ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME represents the Oracle home directory where Oracle COM Automation Feature is installed.

   You will receive several ORA-04043: object XXXX does not exist messages when you run this script for the first time. These messages are usual.

Configuring Oracle COM Automation Feature for Java

Perform the following to configure Oracle COM Automation Feature for Java:

1. Connect to the database as SYSTEM using SQL*Plus. For example:

   SQL> CONNECT SYSTEM@net_service_name
   Enter password: password
   

2. Run the grant.sql script with the name of the user who will use Oracle COM Automation Feature. You may need to capitalize all letters in the user's name. For example:

   SQL> @ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\com\java\grant.sql HR
   

3. Run the loadjava tool at the command prompt as follows:

   loadjava -force -resolve -user hr         ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\com\java\orawcom.jar
   Password: password
   

   In the preceding command, hr is the user who uses Oracle COM Automation Feature.

   See Also:

   Oracle Database Java Developer's Guide for further information about the loadjava tool

Troubleshooting Listener Problems

An "ORA-28575: unable to open RPC connection to external procedure agent" error message indicates one of two possible listener problems.

Problem 1

Problem: The listener is not started.

Action: You must start the OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener service from the Control Panel or the command prompt.

To start Oracle services from the Control Panel:

1. Choose Start, Settings, and then Control Panel.

   The Control Panel window appears.

2. Double-click Services.

   The Services dialog box appears.

3. Go to OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener in the list and verify that it has a status of Started. If it does not, select it and click Start.

To start Oracle services from the command prompt:

Enter the following command:

C:\> net start service

In the preceding command, service is a specific service name, such as OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener.

Problem 2

Problem: The listener is not configured correctly.

Action: You must modify the listener.ora and tnsnames.ora files.

Configurations for the Computer Running the Database Instance

The configuration for the computer running the database instance requires setting the listener and the database service to the same domain user.

Configuring the Computer Containing the Remote Object

Configuring the computer containing the remote object requires using the dcomcnfg.exe tool provided by Microsoft to configure the computer's DCOM security settings.

This tool enables you to set the access permissions, launch permissions, and configuration permissions for a specific COM object or all COM objects on a computer.

Using the dcomcnfg.exe tool, set the following:

1. Set the DCOM security privileges so that the appropriate service (that is, listener for PL/SQL and database service for Java), operating as a domain user, has sufficient privileges to instantiate and manipulate the remote COM object.

2. Set the remote COM object to execute with the same privileges as the service.

If the COM object attempts to perform an action for which it does not have permission, DCOM denies the operation and returns a security violation to Oracle COM Automation Feature. It is essential that you configure the DCOM security properly and provide the Oracle Database with the necessary permissions.