ORA-24408: could not generate unique server group name

Question

system:

Linux web 2.6.27.21-0.1-pae #1 SMP 2009-03-31 14:50:44 +0200 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

PHP Version 5.3.8
Apache Version  Apache/2.2.21 (Linux/SUSE)
         


        

Answer 1

In my situation, the OracleDB server I was trying to connect to was a remote one, not a local one, so the above 127.0.0.1 localhost trick didn't work.

Previously, I had temporarily fixed a DNS problem by adding an entry for my Oracle DB server into my hosts file. This IP in my hosts file was still correct - it still pointed to the correct OracleDB server IP.

By removing the entry from my hosts file, the problem went away.

I have no idea why this is a problem for OracleDB, or why the error message is so obtuse, but I hope this helps someone else.

(This was using InstantClient v12.1.0.2 on MacOS v10.11.5)