Troubleshooting: The application encountered a problem with the standby database

Issue

The following error message appears in the Exception Viewer:

The application encountered a problem with the Standby database

Details

This message applies only when using an Oracle Data Guard configuration, with a primary and standby database. It indicates that the archive gap between the primary and standby databases exceeds 20.

Solution

Perform diagnostics such as the following.

1. To verify that the listener.ora files on both the primary and standby servers are correct, log into the primary server as the oracle user on Solaris and the AgfaService user on Windows.

   Change to the /usr/mvf (Solaris) or C:\mvf\bin (Windows) directory and type the following

   tnsping MVF

   tnsping MVF1

   tnsping MVF2

2. Ensure that the standby server is up and running.

3. Ensure that the private listener is running on the standby by typing:

   lsnrctl status

4. Look for errors in the following logs, on both the primary and standby servers:

   /usr/mvf/data/logs/oracle/bdump/alert_MVF.log and arcMVF.log (Solaris)

   C:\mvf\data\logs\oracle\bdump (Windows)

5. Ensure that Oracle is running on the standby server by typing psg ora.

6. To confirm that the redo log has been set on both the primary and standby server, execute the following command in sqlplus on the primary server, then repeat it on the standby server. Ensure that the list matches between the two servers.

   select * from v$logfile

7. Ensure that the last line of the redo log contains the standby log files; for example, /usr/mvf/data/dbase/redo/redo_stdby07.log (Solaris) or d:\data\dbase\redo\redo_stdby07.log (Windows).

8. To check that the log files are being received and applied on the standby server, in sqlplus, execute the command

   select sequence#,applied from v$archived_log order by sequence#;

9. To force a log switch on the primary server, execute the command

   alter system switch logfile;

10. Check again to ensure that the log files are being received and applied on the standby server. Execute the command

    select sequence#,applied from v$archived_log order by sequence#;

    Ensure that one additional entry appears in the list.

11. To check the configuration, on the primary server, open the Data Guard manager:

    dgmgrl sys/stayout@mvf1

    show configuration;