Slow first connection using Oracle 10g xe and Visual Studio 2008

Question

{noformat}
Good day,
I'm slightly unaccustomed to using forums, so bear with me.
My initial connection to the Oracle database takes approximately 30 seconds. It seems to be waiting for a connection before timing out and trying another connection which works, as all subsequent connections work immediately. I'm unsure how other people's responses in forums can help me due to the plethora of configurations, so here's mine. My comprehension of the oracle world is still growing, you'll have to explain the terms you're using for me, Hoping you can help.
I'm using Visual Studio 2008, set to use 32 bit debug mode, on a Windows 7 Pro platform. Also using Oracle 10g Xe, and have installed the 32 bit version of ODAC 11.2 (11.2.0.1) to aid making a connection from Visual Studio to Oracle.
I have a database set up and a user with system admin rights. This is all local for a programming project and will never see the light of day outside of my personal machine.
I am using code to connect, not the GUI. I wish to code this project completely without the aid of the GUI. so my connection string within Visual Studio C# is (pw/id hidden)...
string xe = "Data Source=xe;User Id=xxxxx;Password=xxxxx;";
OracleConnection conn = new OracleConnection(xe);
My c:\devsuitehome\network\admin\sqlnet.ora file is this:
# sqlnet.ora Network Configuration File: C:\DevSuiteHome\network\admin\sqlnet.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES= (NTS)
NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH= (LDAP, TNSNAMES, EZCONNECT, ONAMES, HOSTNAME)
And my c:\devsuitehome\network\admin\TNSNames.ora file is this:
tnsnames.ora Network Configuration File: C:\DevSuiteHome\network\admin\tnsnames.ora
Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
XE =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.1)(PORT = 1521))
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SERVICE_NAME = xe)
EXTPROC_CONNECTION_DATA =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = <machine name)(PORT = 1521))
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SERVICE_NAME = PLSExtProc)
Just for good measure, my tnsping xe shows:
"Used paramter files:<br/>
c:\devsuitehome\network\admin\sqlnet.ora<br/><br/>
Used TNSNAMES adapter to resolve the alias<br/>
Attempting to contact (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS_LIST = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.1)(PORT = 1521)))(CONNECT_DATA = (SERVICE_NAME = xe)))
OK (0 msec)"
So, how can I make that initial connection faster so I don't spend 15 years testing my application due to slow start-ups? :)
Thank you.
Kevin.
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Edited by: 832285 on Jan 29, 2011 10:08 AM
Edited by: 832285 on Jan 29, 2011 10:10 AM

Answer 1

I have formatted my hard drive since my first post. I was running window 64 bit with a higher version of the ODAC and that proved to crash my machine with faulty error messages about memory. I have reverted to a previous version of the ODAC tools and everything works very smooth now. Still the connection time is consistently 20 seconds or longer on the first attempt.
Just a little more information.. I am currently taking a college course with 15 other students, as you can tell by the impersonal machine name, where programming using visual studio 2008, and Oracle 10g xe is expected. All of us are using a 64 bit environment and we all have difficulties cutting down the load time of making the first connection to Oracle. Some people are longer making the connection, but none are shorter.
One other note. After the first connection is made, taking 20 or more seconds, and is closed, all subsequent openings of the connection are instantaneous, for all of us.
If there is ANYTHING more I can get for you, please let me know. With my environment stable as it is, I will not need to format or change any information for the foreseeable future.
Here is the information you requested
1 The connection method I am using, I have chosen the manual connection for you, however the delay exists if the connection is made through the GUI as well.
Historically, I am getting slow connection speeds through adding the connection through the GUI or by a manual connection. Here is how I am doing it manually. I have the connection being created in 20 seconds, which is the best I can get.
Imports Oracle.DataAccess.Client
Also included project reference: oracle.dataaccess / version 2.111.6.20
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Dim connString As String = "Data Source=XE;User Id=abc;Password=abc;"
        Dim con As OracleConnection = New OracleConnection()
        con.ConnectionString = connString
        Try
            con.Open()
            MessageBox.Show("Connected!")
            con.Close()
            con.Dispose()
        Catch ex As Exception
            MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
        End Try
    End SubMy current TNS Ping results
TNS Ping Utility for 32-bit Windows: Version 10.2.0.1.0 - Production on 16-FEB-2011 01:02:36
Copyright (c) 1997, 2005, Oracle.  All rights reserved.
Used parameter files:
C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server\network\admin\sqlnet.ora
Used TNSNAMES adapter to resolve the alias
Attempting to contact (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.1)(PORT = 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER = DEDICATED) (SERVICE_NAME = XE)))
OK (0 msec)2 Connection to SQL plus is instantaneous.
I fought for weeks about the ODAC version 11.2.0.1 that you see in the previous post, and that would be a whole new thread. Suffice it to say I have a reliable environment to program in with this 10.2.0.1.0 version that I am running now, and the connection time has not changed, it is still minimum 20 seconds load time, sometimes up to 25.
3 Ram usage in my typical environment
I am running this laptop with 4 gigs of ram. This is a typical environment I would be running my application in.
Physical memory
total 4090
cached 1753
available 2345
free 656
system
handles 27141
threads 911
processes 70
commit megs 2860/8179
kernel memory megs
paged 201
nonpaged 52
4 I formatted my machine and reinstalled the Windows 7 professional operating system as of a few nights ago. The Oracle software on my machine is
Oracle Database 10g express edition
ODAC 11.1.0
I amm not sure what filename you would need in addition to the product names that I have installed.
5 The information from the SET command is
ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\ProgramData
APPDATA=C:\Users\stepheke\AppData\Roaming
CommonProgramFiles=C:\Program Files\Common Files
CommonProgramFiles(x86)=C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
CommonProgramW6432=C:\Program Files\Common Files
COMPUTERNAME=STEKEV0908
ComSpec=C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe
FP_NO_HOST_CHECK=NO
HOMEDRIVE=C:
HOMEPATH=\Users\stepheke
LOCALAPPDATA=C:\Users\stepheke\AppData\Local
LOGONSERVER=\\STEKEV0908
NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=2
oracle_sid=xe
OS=Windows_NT
Path=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Oracleapp\stepheke\product\11.1.0\client_1;C:\Oracleapp\stepheke\product\11.1.0\client_1\bin;C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared
PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC
PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE=AMD64
PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER=Intel64 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10, GenuineIntel
PROCESSOR_LEVEL=6
PROCESSOR_REVISION=170a
ProgramData=C:\ProgramData
ProgramFiles=C:\Program Files
ProgramFiles(x86)=C:\Program Files (x86)
ProgramW6432=C:\Program Files
PROMPT=$P$G
PSModulePath=C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\
PUBLIC=C:\Users\Public
SystemDrive=C:
SystemRoot=C:\Windows
TEMP=C:\Users\stepheke\AppData\Local\Temp
TMP=C:\Users\stepheke\AppData\Local\Temp
USERDOMAIN=stekev0908
USERNAME=stepheke
USERPROFILE=C:\Users\stepheke
VS90COMNTOOLS=c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Tools\
windir=C:\Windows