Question: I'm getting the "ORA-07445: exception encountered: core dump" error message and I cannot understand the meaning of the core dump file. How do you resolve the ORA-07445 error? The trace file notes:
Exception signal: 11 (SIGSEGV), code: 1 (Address not mapped to object), addr: 0x0, PC: [0x1024ef000, opidsa()+480]
*** 2015-03-29 16:15:22.349
ksedmp: internal or fatal error
ORA-07445: exception encountered: core dump [opidsa()+480] [SIGSEGV] [Address not mapped to object] [0x000000000] [] []
Current SQL statement for this session:
Select /*+ CHOOSE */ object_name ObjectName, object_type ObjectType from user_objects where object_name = :OBJNAME order by 2
Answer: The ORA-07445 is a very generic error, OS dependent, and almost always requires logging a service request (SR) with Oracle Technical support on MOSC.
See Note 153788.1 titled "Troubleshoot an ORA-600 or ORA-7445 Error Using the Error Lookup Tool" to find the details for your error.
In general, an "exception" is an un-trapped error, such as dividing a number by zero. The docs note:
Error: ORA-07445 exception encountered: core dump
Cause : An operating system exception occurred which should result in the creation of a core file. This is an internal error.
Action : Contact Oracle Customer Support.
Common precipitators of the ORA-07445 include:
- High volume user transactions
- Software bugs (i.e. Bug 4098853). See note 342443.1 on MOSC.
- Too-small RAM regions (shared_pool_size, java pool, large_pool_size), and a too-small application memory stack (e.g. PL/SQL array too small)
- Too small undo and temp segments
- Program errors (addressing outside of RAM region), e.g. S0C4.
- Improper NLS parameter settings
- Hardware errors
- Oracle block corruption
and a host of other related issues.
Oracle DBA's use alert mechanisms to send an e-mail to the DBA when ORA-07445 errors occur, e-mailing the associated core dump file. MOSC now offers an ORA-7445 search tool, as described in MOSC note Note:208922.1, and you can supply details from the Oracle trace file to see the exact cause.
Other common causes of the ORA-07445 include:
- High-volume, high RAM usage can cause ORA-07445
- The shared pool is too small to hold the fixed structures
- Improper SCSI disk configuration
In sum, the ORA-07445 has a multitude of causes and contact with Oracle technical support is always required.