Problems with Datafile AUTOEXTEND/RESIZE on Oracle8i on NT/2000 Platforms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Change Record
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
27-Dec-01: The fix release in the Patches section of this alert was modified
from 8.1.7.2 to 8.1.7.3.
Versions Affected
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The problems described here can affect releases 8.1.6 and 8.1.7.
Platforms Affected
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The problems affect Oracle8i releases on Windows NT and Windows 2000.
Description
~~~~~~~~~~~
Releases of Oracle8i on Windows NT and Windows 2000 platforms can exhibit
serious problems when a datafile autoextends or is resized onto a 4GB
boundary (e.g. 4GB, 8GB).
When a datafile has been configured such that it will autoextend onto a
4GB boundary, any attempt to autoextend:
a. when in noarchive log mode it causes the database to crash
b. when in archive log mode the file is marked offline in V$RECOVER_FILE
When not in archive log mode, it is safe to restart the database and
continue, altering datafiles to autoextend onto different boundaries asap.
NOTE: It may be necessary to stop and restart the OracleService itself.
The only way to recover this file when in archive log mode is to restore
the whole database and roll forward to a point before the file autoextended.
Likelihood of Occurrence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is highly likely that problems will be encountered if an attempt is
made to autoextend or resize a datafile onto a 4Gb boundary.
Possible Symptoms
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The possible symptoms from this problem are:
a. The database crashes (when in noarchive log mode) and the alert file
and database writer (DBW0) trace file report:
KCF: write/open error block=0xXXXXX online=Y
file=N '......'
error=27069 txt: 'OSD-4026: Invalid parameter passed. (OS-204802)'
b. The file is marked offline in V$RECOVER_FILE and access to the database
continues. The following error appears in the alert.log:
KCF: write/open error block=0xXXXXX online=Y
file=N '......'
error=27069 txt: 'OSD-4026: Invalid parameter passed. (OS-204802)'
Automatic datafile offline due to write error on file N: '......'
Workaround
~~~~~~~~~~
The only safe workaround at present is to ensure that no file is resized or
created to autoextend onto a 4Gb boundary. This is best achieved by making
sure all datafiles have AUTOEXTEND disabled.
It is advisable to read the article below which describes potential
issues using files of 2Gb or larger in size as this may influence the
maximum datafile size you choose to use.
Patches
~~~~~~~
A fix is now available in 8.1.7.1.4 <Bug.1823173> and will be included in
8.1.7.3 <BUG.1794199>
References
~~~~~~~~~~
2Gb or not 2Gb - File limits in Oracle [NOTE:62427.1]
Base bug reporting this problem [BUG:1668488]
