Oracle Appl Server -Create JDBC datasource error - Test connection failed

What is the version of DB.
If it is 10g then there is a famous bug in the listener.ora.
I will say you what to do.
Please investigate the host name, SID name, port for Listener
and protocol for the Listener:

C:>lsnrctl status
C:>lsnrctl services

Normally port 1521 is used (your info points to 1522)

DB is 11g; listener is up for all other purposes, so I don't think it is that, but I coud be wrong. SID and ORACLE_SID ARE orcl (default) . All other consoles etc are wroking, but still the above jbdc error. I was wondering from which jdbc instance I should be running ( there are multiple) Port 1522 is correct and workng for the listener as per em console, not sure why it didn't use 1521, maybe its in use for something else? How can I check in linux?


The two commands you requested yielded;

STATUS of the LISTENER
------------------------
Alias                     LISTENER
Version                   TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 11.1.0.6.0 - Production
Start Date                18-NOV-2007 15:02:10
Uptime                    17 days 11 hr. 54 min. 16 sec
Trace Level               off
Security                  ON: Local OS Authentication
SNMP                      OFF
Listener Parameter File   /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/network/admin/listener.ora
Listener Log File         /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/log/diag/tnslsnr/bluesky1/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening Endpoints Summary...
  (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1522)))
  (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net)(PORT=1522)))
Services Summary...
Service "orcl" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
Service "orclXDB" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
Service "orcl_XPT" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
The command completed successfully

and..........

LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 11.1.0.6.0 - Production on 06-DEC-2007 02:57:53

Copyright (c) 1991, 2007, Oracle.  All rights reserved.

Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=IPC)(KEY=EXTPROC1522)))
Services Summary...
Service "orcl" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
    Handler(s):
      "DEDICATED" established:9681 refused:0 state:ready
         LOCAL SERVER
Service "orclXDB" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
    Handler(s):
      "D000" established:0 refused:0 current:0 max:1022 state:ready
         DISPATCHER <machine: bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net, pid: 3635>
         (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net)(PORT=42834))
Service "orcl_XPT" has 1 instance(s).
  Instance "orcl", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...
    Handler(s):
      "DEDICATED" established:9681 refused:0 state:ready
         LOCAL SERVER
The command completed successfully

may be it is too early to use 11g.
Can you try connection to 10g?

to check your ports in Linux - use 'netstat -ltnp' - will show all the TCP ports and binding processes
To verify if your listener is correct - can you 'tnsping' to the DB from the AS?
Can you SQLPlus to the DB from the AS?  If not you could turn on tracing in the sqlnet.ora file - or you could 'snoop' the interface for <much> more detail on the connection - or the lack thereof....

I am not sure what you mean by SQLplus to the DB from AS, but what I did manage to do in AS was create a jdbc connection pool and a jdbc datasource; both in the application "mapviewer" in the only oc4j instance I have up. I thought that would fix the problem, BUT when I am inside mapviewer console, not only can I not see the connection, but I can't create one either, even though I am using the same settings as I did in ASconsole, which worked??
Why is the mapviewer console not seeing the AS jdbc source, and how is it different? Are the following possible places to look at?
1. tnsnames.ora - do I need to define the datasource "mvdemo" in this file?
2. listener.ora - same question as above
3. java_home varaible?- do AS and mapviewer absolutely need to be looking at the same java home?
4. oracle_home variable - any impact possible?
5. Which port, the listener port (1522) or the AS port (7780) or another ( am using 1522 which works for the AS jdbc datasource "mvedemo"

Where should I look next given the variance between mapviewer and AS? Are there any patches for mapviewer 10131 that address any jdbc bugs?

Your comments brought up a question or two as well as suggestions:
Are the DB and the AS on the same machine?  
   If so - Definitely check to make sure your ENV variables are different for each      instance; using one ORACLE_HOME (or JAVA_HOME for that matter) will confuse issues and cause you all sorts of headaches. Your instances should be mapped out thus: ORACLE_BASE/ORACLE_HOME<for DB>
ORACLE_BASE/ORACLE_HOME<for AS>.

Check your tnsnames.ora - there should be one for the AS and one for the DB, each located in the relative path /ORACLE_HOME/network/admin.  If you have your ENV var's mixed, this could very easily be the cause of confusion.  

Looks like you listener is starting up so that seems ok.

Please correct as needed, but as I understand your description, the mapviewer, i.e. the 'mvdemo' is the application you're trying to get working on the AS side, right?    IF so - then they should both (AS & mapviwewer) be looking at the same JAVA_HOME of the app server.  
I don't understand your description of separate consoles for the app server and the application, unless you mean as you drill down on the application "mapviewer" with the starting point of the Enterprise Manager console.

What I meant by SQLplus is to - from the command line in the AS environment - type in 'sqlplus / as sysdba' or any other valid connect string and see whether you can get into SqlPlus on the DB side from the AS side using your AS env var's.  

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your comments brought up a question or two as well as suggestions:
Are the DB and the AS on the same machine?  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>Yes, they are both on a remote hosted server that I connect to via putty, however, since the consoles are all up, I now use IE on a vista machine to access the consoles for non Linux cmds.
Here is the env (on RHEL5).........

[root@bluesky1 conf]# env
HOSTNAME=bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net
TERM=xterm
SHELL=/bin/bash
HISTSIZE=1000
KDE_NO_IPV6=1
SSH_CLIENT=99.242.219.138 52133 22
OLDPWD=/u01/app/appserver/10130/j2ee/home/applications/mapviewer/web/WEB-INF
SSH_TTY=/dev/pts/1
USER=root
LS_COLORS=no=00:fi=00:di=00;34:ln=00;36:pi=40;33:so=00;35:bd=40;33;01:cd=40;33;01:or=01;05;37;41:mi=01;05;37;41:ex=00;32:*.cmd=00;32:*.exe=00;32:*.com=00;32:*.btm=00;32:*.bat=00;32:*.sh=00;32:*.csh=00;32:*.tar=00;31:*.tgz=00;31:*.arj=00;31:*.taz=00;31:*.lzh=00;31:*.zip=00;31:*.z=00;31:*.Z=00;31:*.gz=00;31:*.bz2=00;31:*.bz=00;31:*.tz=00;31:*.rpm=00;31:*.cpio=00;31:*.jpg=00;35:*.gif=00;35:*.bmp=00;35:*.xbm=00;35:*.xpm=00;35:*.png=00;35:*.tif=00;35:
ORACLE_SID=orcl
KDEDIR=/usr
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/root
PATH=/u01/app/appserver/10130/jdk/bin/:/usr/kerberos/sbin:/usr/kerberos/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/root/bin:/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/bin
INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc
PWD=/u01/app/appserver/10130/j2ee/home/applications/mapviewer/web/WEB-INF/conf
JAVA_HOME=/u01/app/appserver/10130/jdk
SID=orcl
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
KDE_IS_PRELINKED=1
SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass
SHLVL=1
HOME=/root
LOGNAME=root
CVS_RSH=ssh
SSH_CONNECTION=99.242.219.138 52133 208.69.57.112 22
LESSOPEN=|/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh %s
DISPLAY=localhost:11.0
ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1
G_BROKEN_FILENAMES=1
_=/bin/env

and the TNS file;

[root@bluesky1 admin]# cat tnsnames.ora
# tnsnames.ora Network Configuration File: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.

LISTENER_ORCL =
  (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net)(PORT = 1522))


ORCL =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net)(PORT = 1522))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = orcl)
    )
  )
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your instances should be mapped out thus: ORACLE_BASE/ORACLE_HOME<for DB>
ORACLE_BASE/ORACLE_HOME<for AS>.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I don't see a second tnsnames file for the AppServer.......(Oracle Application Server 10.1.3.0), other than the one shown as tnsnames.ora.sample below..
[root@bluesky1 db_1]# locate tnsnames.ora
/u01/app/appserver/10130/network/admin/samples/tnsnames.ora
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/hs/admin/tnsnames.ora.sample
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/inventory/Templates/hs/admin/tnsnames.ora.sample
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/network/admin/samples/tnsnames.ora
/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1/owb/network/admin/tnsnames.ora

This is where AppServer is installed.....

/u01/app/appserver/10130....
[root@bluesky1 10130]# dir
ant     bin          datadirect   install           javavm  ldap     OPatch       ord    precomp      rules    sysman       xds
Apache          cfgtoollogs  deconfig     install.platform  jdbc    lib      opatches     oui    rdbms        slax     toplink      xqs
assistants      chgip        diagnostics  inventory         jdk     mds      opmn         owm    relnotes     sqlj     uix
backup_restore  clone        dsa          j2ee              jlib    network  oracore      perl   root.sh      sqlplus  webservices
BC4J            config       iaspt        javacache         jre     nls      oraInst.loc  plsql  root.sh.old  srvm     xdk

[root@bluesky1 admin]# pwd
/u01/app/appserver/10130/network/admin
[root@bluesky1 admin]# dir
samples  shrept.lst >>>(no tnsnames file here; do I need one?)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The evolution was thus;
Installed 11g DB, then Oracle AppServer on top of it (v 10.1.3.0). Started OC4J from AppServer console
Next Installed MapViewer .ear file, and through the AppServer console, deployed it to the OC4J instance, in which it is curently the only app other than "default".
MapViewer and AppServer have two slightly different URL's for their respective consoles,
AppServer= hostname:7780/em
Mapviewer= hostname:7780/mapviewer/faces/home.jspx

I had assumed creating the jdbc via the appserver console would cause it to be visible in the mapviewer app (jdbc datasource name=mvdemo)
However, even though the Test Connections succeed from AS console, they do not appear in the MapViewer console?? Do I need to re-start or redeploy the MapViewer applicaiton?

I am confused for sure!

Somethings have jumped out at me while enjoying my morning java - ;-p
BTW - thanks for the detail - it helps!

Your search PATH has a mixed environment which proves to me what I suspected & alluded to previously; you'll need to correct this situation before any more troubleshooting as it could be your SOLE problem.

Below is an example of how we separate the environments when multiple ORACLE_HOMES exist on the same box.

Oracle user's profile: (Note that the variable ORACLE_HOME isn't set here)

export PATH=.:/usr/bin:/usr/ucb:/usr/ccs/bin:/etc:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:\
/etc:/usr/ccs/bin
export SQLPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
export BOX=`uname -n`
PS1='[ $BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID ] '
export EDITOR=vi
VISUAL=vi
FCEDIT=vi
export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/classes12.zip
export CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/nls_charset12.zip
#
. .switch

Then we have the .switch script which presents the different ORACLE_HOME options (still in /home/oracle):

echo "ORACLE_SID= [$NEWSID] - Please enter 'dev8' or 'dev10': "
read NEWSID
case "$NEWSID" in
dev8) . .817
;;
dev10) . .10
;;
esac

...which switches you to the different ENV variables being exported (.10 file shown below):

export FLASH=/flash_recovery_area/BETA10
export ORACLE_SID=beta10
export ORACLE_BASE=/ofs/app/oracle
export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/10.2.0/db_1
export DBA=$ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_SID
export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
export SQLPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/classes12.zip:\
$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/nls_charset12.zip
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib:/usr/lib:\
$ORACLE_HOME/bin:/usr/dt/lib:/usr/openwin/lib:/usr/ucblib\
$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib
export PS1='[ $BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID ] '
echo "Welcome to [$ORACLE_SID] ORACLE10g"
ENV=.ora10rc

And then you have your rc files where your aliases and - in our case we reset some of the env vars for non-login interactive shells that are spawned.  This was an important issue/solution for me when I was dealing with earlier versions of OAS (.ora10rc shown below):

export ORACLE_SID=beta10
export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/10.2.0/db_1
export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
alias os="cd /home/oracle/scripts"
alias dbrun="ps -ef|grep ora_|grep -v grep|cut -c57-62|sort|uniq"
alias bdump="cd /ofs/app/oracle/admin/$ORACLE_SID/bdump"
alias flash="cd /flash_recovery_area/`echo $ORACLE_SID | tr [a-z] [A-Z]`"
alias nt="cd /usr/openv/netbackup"
alias oh="cd $ORACLE_HOME"
alias ob="cd $ORACLE_BASE"
alias switch=". /home/oracle/.switch"
alias ll="ls -lart"
alias top="/usr/local/bin/top"

I stress this is one of the most important prerequisites to getting your OAS/RDBMS to work together on the same box - the environments must be absolutely separate or you'll always have some issues that you can't troubleshoot!

tnsnames.ora - yup, you should have on in your OAS ORACLE_HOME/network/admin which further leads me to believe that when the OAS was installed, it was done starting out with the RDBMS ENV settings.

If my above suggestions for separating the two env's doesn't provide a solution right away, I would suggest uninstalling the OAS, ensuring the separate profiles are configured and reinstall the OAS.  

It sounds to me like you're really close so don't lose hope!  It is way confusing and much simpler to put each product on its own box - if you've got the hardware.  good luck...

Re-reading my post there are some details I missed (it's saturday!)

The PATH statement started in the original profile should be appended in one of the later files, e.g. the .10 or .ora10rc thus (after you set the ORACLE_HOME):

PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$ORACLE_HOME/opmn/bin:$ORACLE_HOME/dcm/bin:$PATH

And the CLASSPATH can't really be finished until the later file when the ORACLE_HOME is declared.

sorry for the confusion.

OK....lots o java this morn for sure, this is a bit beyond my understanding, but I am going to give it a shot....
I will need your help. Let's start with the following;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Below is an example of how we separate the environments when multiple ORACLE_HOMES exist on the same box.

Oracle user's profile: (Note that the variable ORACLE_HOME isn't set here)
DO I LOGIN AS ORACLE USER TO DO THIS? I HAVE THE STD MODS MADE IN THE .bash_profile to set env variables for the oracle user as follows------
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[oracle@bluesky1 ~]$ cat .bash_profile
# .bash_profile

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
  . ~/.bashrc
fi

# User specific environment and startup programs

PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin

export PATH

#Inserted as per Oracle requirements

TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR

ORACLE_HOSTNAME=bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_SID=orcl; export ORACLE_SID
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.1.0/db_1; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH; export PATH
PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/dt/lib:/usr/openwin/lib:/usr/ccs/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib; export CLASSPATH

if [ $USER = "oracle" ]; then
  if [ $SHELL = "/bin/ksh" ]; then
    ulimit -p 16384
    ulimit -n 65536
  else
    ulimit -u 16384 -n 65536
  fi
fi


[oracle@bluesky1 ~]$
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export PATH=.:/usr/bin:/usr/ucb:/usr/ccs/bin:/etc:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:\
/etc:/usr/ccs/bin
IS THIS TO BE MY OS root user path? Am I reading correctly- you start with = . : /usr (dot,colon,slash)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
export SQLPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
SQLPATH is currently not set anywhere I can see, is this a std?
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export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
EASY ENOUGH- IS THIS TO BE A PERMANENT SETTING, SHOULD DECLARE TNS_ADMIN session only, or write to the .bash_profile files?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
export BOX=`uname -n`
PS1='[ $BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID ] '
I AM ASSIGNING A NAME TO THE BOX?(ex: cirrus)--what is the significance of PS1=[$BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID] ? use "orcl" for SID value, or the dev8 and dev10 values  you metioned below?
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export EDITOR=vi
VISUAL=vi
FCEDIT=vi
vim is what I am using- any difference?
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export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/classes12.zip
export CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/nls_charset12.zip
THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE oracle users .bash_profile setting of CLASSPATH above - and we are assigning it multiple values- how does that work? (pardon my lack of knowledge - new to this)
Will the multiple settings conflict against the bash_profile?
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#
. .switch
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As we make these changes what are our risks and should we shut-down OracleDB or OAS?
It is a lab-only server as I am sure is obvious at this point, so shut-down is OK if needed.

The following has been done......
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Modified /home/oracle/.bash_profile - Commented out previous settings for ORACLE_HOME, PATH, AND CLASSPATH....(Should I also comment out the LD_LIBRARY_PATH or any others you see???,,,)
[root@bluesky1 oracle]# cat .bash_profile
# .bash_profile

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
  . ~/.bashrc
fi

# User specific environment and startup programs

#PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin

#export PATH

#Inserted as per Oracle requirements

TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR

ORACLE_HOSTNAME=bluesky1.blueskytelematics.net; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_SID=orcl; export ORACLE_SID
#ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.1.0/db_1; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
#PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH; export PATH
#PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/dt/lib:/usr/openwin/lib:/usr/ccs/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
#CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib; export CLASSPATH

if [ $USER = "oracle" ]; then
  if [ $SHELL = "/bin/ksh" ]; then
    ulimit -p 16384
    ulimit -n 65536
  else
    ulimit -u 16384 -n 65536
  fi
fi

# The following inserted to facilitate multiple $ORACLE_HOME instances
export PATH=.:/usr/bin:/usr/ucb:/usr/ccs/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:\/etc:/usr/ccs/bin

export SQLPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin

export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin

export BOX='cirrus'

PS1='[$BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID]'

export EDITOR=vim

VISUAL=vim

FCEDIT=vim

export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/classes12.zip
export CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/nls_charset12.zip
#
..switch

# End of insertions for multiple ORACLE_HOMES
# Previous PATH and ORACLE_HOME declarations in this file are# commented out above this section
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Next, create the .switch file......

[root@bluesky1 oracle]# cat .switch
# File created to manage multiple Oracle Homes.
#Further modifications also made in /home/oracle/.bash_profile
#December 08, 2007 PM

echo "ORACLE_SID=[$NEWSID]
read NEWSID
case "$NEWSID" in
dev8)..817
..
"
dev10)..10
..
"
esac

[root@bluesky1 oracle]#
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

NOw.....where do I put the .10 and ora10rc? Please be specific about file names and directories, as I am not fully understanding exactly what we are doing, (although reading it through a few times , it is starting to sink in). Here are the instructions you gave me above....where do I put this?

...which switches you to the different ENV variables being exported (.10 file shown below):

export FLASH=/flash_recovery_area/BETA10
export ORACLE_SID=beta10
export ORACLE_BASE=/ofs/app/oracle
export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/10.2.0/db_1
export DBA=$ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_SID
export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
export SQLPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/classes12.zip:\
$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/nls_charset12.zip
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib:/usr/lib:\
$ORACLE_HOME/bin:/usr/dt/lib:/usr/openwin/lib:/usr/ucblib\
$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib
export PS1='[ $BOX $PWD $ORACLE_SID ] '
echo "Welcome to [$ORACLE_SID] ORACLE10g"
ENV=.ora10rc

And then you have your rc files where your aliases and - in our case we reset some of the env vars for non-login interactive shells that are spawned.  This was an important issue/solution for me when I was dealing with earlier versions of OAS (.ora10rc shown below):

export ORACLE_SID=beta10
export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/10.2.0/db_1
export TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
alias os="cd /home/oracle/scripts"
alias dbrun="ps -ef|grep ora_|grep -v grep|cut -c57-62|sort|uniq"
alias bdump="cd /ofs/app/oracle/admin/$ORACLE_SID/bdump"
alias flash="cd /flash_recovery_area/`echo $ORACLE_SID | tr [a-z] [A-Z]`"
alias nt="cd /usr/openv/netbackup"
alias oh="cd $ORACLE_HOME"
alias ob="cd $ORACLE_BASE"
alias switch=". /home/oracle/.switch"
alias ll="ls -lart"
alias top="/usr/local/bin/top"

Still unclear with respect to the .10 and .ora10rc files, how to create them, and where to put them. However, I have been away a bit and am not sure when I will get back at it to force feed it to my brain. So in the meantime, I would like to THANK YOU very much and accept this, as it is my own inexperience holding me back, certainly not your lack of effort or patience. So THANKS MAN!!

Maybe in a week or so, I'll drop you a note to let you know how it went.

Very thorough, and very expanatory to  a beginner. Excellent help !!