ORA-00018: maximum number of sessions exceeded

[Sam Bootsma]

We are running Oracle 7.3.4.5.0 on an IBM/AIX RISC System/6000: Version 2.3.4.0.0.    This afternoon, our users started getting the error message “ORA-00018: maximum number of sessions exceeded.”  As time went on, the number of sessions was decreasing (as shown by the count of rows in v$session).  However, Oracle still did not allow connections.  This lasted for about 40 minutes.    The sessions parameter in the initialization parameter file showed 300.   Querying v$session showed 246 rows.   Querying v$license reported: SQL> select * from v$license;   SESSIONS_MAX SESSIONS_WARNING SESSIONS_CURRENT SESSIONS_HIGHWATER USERS_MAX ------------ ---------------- ---------------- ------------------ ---------            0                0              204                248         0   There seems to be a contradiction here:  300 sessions in init.ora; sessions_highwater at 248, and Oracle not allowing connections because the maximum has been reached.   Has anybody encountered this problem before.  Is there a “simple” reason for this erratic behavior?    Management is looking for an answer as to why this has happened.  Thanks for any input!   Sam Bootsma [EMAIL PROTECTED]