DISCLAIMER: I, Jonah H. Harris, am an independent developer. While I have spoken about Oracle Database at many conferences, including Oracle OpenWorld, I have never worked for, and this specification is in no way affiliated with, Oracle Corporation.
All information provided here is based on personal research; it is not supported or recommended by Oracle Corporation.
- Introduction
- Wire Protocol
- Transport
- Message Syntax
- Data Type Representation
- Transparent Network Substrate (TNS)
- Packet Header
- Packet Types
- 0x01 - CoNnect (NSPTCN)
- 0x02 - ACcept (NSPTAC)
- 0x03 - AcKnowledge (NSPTAK)
- 0x04 – ReFuse/ReFute (NSPTRF)
- 0x05 - ReDirect (NSPTRD)
- 0x06 - DAta (NSPTDA)
- 0x07 - NuLl (NSPTNL)
- 0x09 - ABort (NSPTAB)
- 0x0b - ReSend (NSPTRS)
- 0x0c - MarKer (NSPTMK)
- 0x0d - ATtention (NSPTAT)
- 0x0e - ControL (NSPCNL)
- 0x0f - Data Descriptor (NSPTDD)
- Two-Task Interface (TTI/TTC)
- 0x01 - PROtocol Negotiation (TTIPRO)
- 0x02 - Data TYpe Negotiation (TTIDTY)
- 0x03 - FUNction Call (TTIFUN)
- 0x04 - Oracle Error/Return (TTIOER)
- 0x05 - Access User Address Space (TTIAUA)
- 0x06 - Row Xfer Header (TTIRXH)
- 0x07 - Row Xfer Data (TTIRXD)
- 0x08 - Return PArameter (TTIRPA)
- 0x09 - Function STAtus (TTISTA)
- 0x0a - Number of OER (TTINOER)
- 0x0b - I/O Vector (for UPI) (TTIIOV)
- 0x0c - Send LonG/User Data Send (TTISLG/TTIUDS)
- 0x0d - Oracle ACcessor (TTIOAC)
- 0x0e - LOB/BFILE Data (TTILOBD)
- 0x0f - WaRNing Messages (TTIWRN)
- 0x10 - DesCriBe Info (TTIDCB)
- 0x11 - Piggyback FuNction (TTIPFN)
- 0x12 - Untrusted Callouts (TTI3GL)
- 0x13 - Flush Out Binds (TTIFOB)
- 0x15 - Bit VeCtor for Compressed Fetch (TTIBVC)
- 0x16 - End Of Bind with Bind Row Callback (TTIEOB)
- 0x17 - Server Piggyback Function (TTISPF)
- 0x1a - Function with no ret (TTIONEWAYFN)
- 0x1b - Implicit Result Set (TTIIMPLRES)
- 0xde - Secure Network Svcs (TTISNS)
- Oracle Programmatic Interface (OPI)
- 0x01 - Logon to Oracle (OLOGON)
- 0x02 - Open Cursor (OOPEN)
- 0x03 - Parse Statement (OPARSE)
- 0x04 - Execute Statement (OEXEC)
- 0x05 - Fetch Row (OFETCH)
- 0x06 - Bind by Name/Value (OBIND)
- 0x07 - Bind by Number (Position)/Value (OBINDN)
- 0x08 - Close Cursor (OCLOSE)
- 0x09 - Logoff of Oracle (OLOGOFF)
- 0x0a - Describe Select List Column (ODSCRIBE)
- 0x0b - Define Column (ODEFIN)
- 0x0c - Autocommit ON (OCOMON)
- 0x0d - Autocommit OFF (OCOMOFF)
- 0x0e - COMMIT (OCOMMIT)
- 0x0f - ROLLBACK (OROLLBACK)
- 0x10 - Set Fatal Error Options (OSFE)
- 0x11 - Resume Operation (ORESUME)
- 0x12 - Get Oracle Version & Date (OVERSN)
- 0x13 - until we get rid of OASQL (OTEMP)
- 0x14 - Cancel Current Operation (OCANCEL)
- 0x15 - Get Error Message (OGEM)
- 0x16 - Exit Oracle (OEXIT)
- 0x17 - Special Function (OSPECIAL)
- 0x18 - ABORT (OABORT)
- 0x19 - Dequeue by ROWID (ODQRID)
- 0x1a - Fetch Long Column Value (OLNGF6)
- 0x1b - Create Access Module (OCAM)
- 0x1c - Save Access Module Statement (OSAMS)
- 0x1d - Save Access Module (OSAM)
- 0x1e - Parse Access Module Statement (OPAMS)
- 0x1f - How Many Items (OHOWMANY)
- 0x20 - Initialize Oracle (OINIT)
- 0x21 - Change User (OCHANGEU)
- 0x22 - Bind by Reference Position (OBINDRP)
- 0x23 - Get Bind Variable (OGETBV)
- 0x24 - Get Into Variable (OGETIV)
- 0x25 - Bind by Reference (OBINDRV)
- 0x26 - Bind by Reference Numeric (OBINDRN)
- 0x27 - Parse & Execute (OPARSEX)
- 0x28 - Parse (Syntax Only) (OPARSYN)
- 0x29 - Parse for Syntax & Dictionary (OPARSDI)
- 0x2a - Continue after EOF (OCONTINUE)
- 0x2b - Describe Array (ODSCRARR)
- 0x2c - Initialize System Parameter (OLCCINI)
- 0x2d - Finalize System Parameter (OLCCFIN)
- 0x2e - Put System Parameter (OLCCPUT)
- 0x2f - Get System Parameter Info (OLCCGPI)
- 0x30 - Start Oracle (V6) (OV6STRT)
- 0x31 - Stop Oracle (V6) (OV6STOP)
- 0x32 - Run Independent Process (V6) (ORIP)
- 0x33 - Test RAM (V6) (OTRAM)
- 0x34 - Archive Operation (V6) (OARCHIVE)
- 0x35 - Media Recovery - Start (V6) (OMRSTART)
- 0x36 - MR - Record Tablespace (V6) (OMRRECTS)
- 0x37 - MR - Get Starting LSN (V6) (OMRGSLSQ)
- 0x38 - MR - Recover w Offline Log (V6) (OMRREC)
- 0x39 - MR - Cancel Recovery (V6) (OMRCAN)
- 0x3a - Logon to Oracle (V6) (O2LOGON)
- 0x3b - Get Version & Date (New Format) (OVERSION)
- 0x3c - Initialize Oracle (New) (OINIT2)
- 0x3d - Close All Cursors (MAC-Only) (OCLOALL)
- 0x3e - Bundled Execution Call (OALL)
- 0x3f - Transaction Execute (DOS (OTEX)
- 0x40 - Set DBA Authorization (DOS (OSDAUTH)
- 0x41 - Direct Loader Functions (OUDLFUN)
- 0x42 - Direct Loader Buffer Transfer (OUDLBUF)
- 0x43 - Distributed Transaction Manager RPC (OK2RPC)
- 0x44 - Distributed Describe Indexes (ODSCIDX)
- 0x45 - Session Operations (OSESOPN)
- 0x46 - Execute using Synchronized SCNs (OEXECSCN)
- 0x47 - Fast UPI calls to OPIAL7 (OALL7)
- 0x48 - Long Fetch (V7) (OLONGF)
- 0x49 - OPIEXE via OPIALL (OEXECA)
- 0x4a - Parse SQL (V7) (OSQL7)
- 0x4b - Please DO Not REUSE THIS CODE (OOBS)
- 0x4c - RPC via PL/SQL (ORPC)
- 0x4d - Kernel Generic Library Op (OKGL_OLD)
- 0x4e - Execute & Fetch # (OEXFEN)
- 0x4f - X/Open XA Operation (OXAOPN)
- 0x50 - Kernel Generic Library Op (New) (OKGL)
- 0x51 - Logon (Part 2) (O3LOGON)
- 0x52 - Logon (Part 1) (O3LOGA)
- 0x53 - Do Streaming Operation (OFNSTM)
- 0x54 - Open Session (V71) (O71SESOPN)
- 0x55 - X/Open XA Operation (V71) (O71XAOPN)
- 0x56 - Debugging Operation (ODEBUG)
- 0x57 - Special Debugging Operation (ODEBUGS)
- 0x58 - XA Start (OXAST)
- 0x59 - XA Switch & Commit (OXACM)
- 0x5a - XA Switch & Prepare (OXAPR)
- 0x5b - XA Direct Buffer Copy (OXDP)
- 0x5c - KOD Call (New) (OKOD)
- 0x5d - Kernel Callback (OCBK)
- 0x5e - Bundled Call (V8) (OALL8)
- 0x5f - OFNSTM (Without BEGIN) (OFNSTM2)
- 0x60 - LOB and FILE Operations (OLOBOPS)
- 0x61 - FILE Create (OFILECRT)
- 0x62 - Describe Any (ODNY)
- 0x63 - Non-blocking Attach (OCONNECT)
- 0x64 - Open Recursive Cursor (OOPENRCS)
- 0x65 - Bundled KPR Call (OKPRALL)
- 0x66 - Bundled PL/SQL Call (OPLS)
- 0x67 - Transaction Start (OTXSE)
- 0x68 - Transaction End (OTXEN)
- 0x69 - Cursor Close All (OCCA)
- 0x6a - Failover Info (OFOI)
- 0x6b - Session Switch (V8) (O80SES)
- 0x6c - Do Dummy Defines (ODDF)
- 0x6d - Initialize System Parameters (OLRMINI)
- 0x6e - Finalize System Parameters (OLRMFIN)
- 0x6f - Put System Parameter (OLRMPUT)
- 0x70 - Terminate System Parameters (OLRMTRM)
- 0x71 - Execute NO UNMAP (OPIALL0) (OEXFENA)
- 0x72 - OINIT for Untrusted Callbacks (OINIUCB)
- 0x73 - Generic Authentication (OAUTH)
- 0x74 - Failover Get Instance Info (OFGI)
- 0x75 - OTS COMMIT Remote (OOTCO)
- 0x76 - Get Session Key (OSESSKEY)
- 0x77 - Describe Any (V8) (ODSY)
- 0x78 - Cancel All (OCANA)
- 0x79 - AQ Enqueue (OAQEQ)
- 0x7a - AQ Dequeue (OAQDQ)
- 0x7b - RFS (ORFS)
- 0x7d - Kernel Prog Notification (OKPN)
- 0x7e - AQ Listen (OAQLS)
- 0x7f - OTS COMMIT Remote Sites (V813) (OOTCM)
- 0x80 - Direct Path Prepare (ODPP)
- 0x81 - Direct Path Load Stream (ODPLS)
- 0x82 - Direct Path Misc. Operations (ODPMOP)
- 0x83 - Memory Statistics (OMEMSTA)
- 0x84 - AQ Get Property Status (OAQGPS)
- 0x85 - Fast Path Execute/Fetch (OFPT)
- 0x86 - Fetch Archive Log (OFAL)
- 0x87 - Set Client ID (OSCID)
- 0x88 - DR Server Connection Process (ODRCX)
- 0x89 - Fetch (New) (OFETCH2)
- 0x8a - SPFILE Parameter Put (OSPFPPUT)
- 0x8b - Fast Connection Exchange (OKPFC)
- 0x8c - Kernel Generic Transfer (V82) (OKGT)
- 0x8d - Push Transaction on Stack (OPUSHTX)
- 0x8e - Pop Transaction off Stack (OPOPTX)
- 0x8f - KFN Operation (OKFN)
- 0x90 - Direct Path Unload Stream (ODPULS)
- 0x91 - AQ Array Enqueue/Dequeue (OAQXQ)
- 0x92 - File Transfer (OFILXFR)
- 0x93 - Ping (OPING)
- 0x94 - TSM (OTSM)
- 0x95 - ? (OOPNC)
- 0x96 - Begin TSM (OBTSM)
- 0x97 - End TSM (OETSM)
- 0x98 - Set Schema (OSCS)
- 0x99 - Fetch from suspended result-set (O?)
- 0x9a - Key/Value Pair (OKEYVAL)
- 0x9b - XS Create Session (OXSSCS)
- 0x9c - XS Session Operation (OXSSRO)
- 0x9d - XS Async (Piggyback) Operation (OXSSPO)
- 0x9e - KSRPC Execution (O?)
- 0x9f - Streams combined capture/apply (O?)
- 0xa0 - AQ replay information (O?)
- 0xa1 - SSCR (O?)
- 0xa2 - Get a Session (OSESSGET)
- 0xa3 - Release a Session (OSESSRLS)
- 0xa5 - workload replay data (O?)
- 0xa6 - replay statistic data (O?)
- 0xa7 - Query Cache Stats (O?)
- 0xa8 - Query Cache IDs (O?)
- 0xa9 - RPC Test Stream (O?)
- 0xaa - replay plsql rpc (O?)
- 0xab - XStream Out (O?)
- 0xac - Golden Gate RPC (OXSNSO)
- 0xb0 - Session State (OSESSSTATE)
- 0xb1 - Application Continuity Replay (OAPPCONTREPLAY)
- 0xb2 - ? (OXSNS)
- 0xb3 - ? (OXSCRE)
- 0xb4 - ? (OXSATT)
- 0xb5 - ? (OXSDET)
- 0xb6 - ? (OXSDES)
- 0xb7 - ? (OXSSET)
- 0xb8 - ? (OAQENQ)
- 0xb9 - ? (OAQDEQ)
- 0xba - ? (OAQEMNDEQ)
- 0xbb - Session State (OAQNFY)
- Protocol Details
- Protocol Examples
This is the first packet used to establish a TNS-level connection to Oracle Database.
- 5.x – Current
- Client to Server
- As one would expect, just as it is sent from the client to the server, this packet is also used in server-to-server communications for items such as database links.
nspcnvsn = uint16_t
nspcnlov = uint16_t
nspcnopt = uint16_t
nspcnsdu = uint16_t
nspcntdu = uint16_t
nspcnntc = uint16_t
nspcntna = uint16_t
nspcnone = uint16_t
nspcnlen = uint16_t
nspcnoff = uint16_t
nspcnmxc = uint32_t
nspcnfl0 = uint8_t
nspcnfl1 = uint8_t
nspcncf1 = uint32_t
nspcncf2 = uint32_t
nspcncid = uint8_t[8]
nspcncix = uint8_t[8]
nspcndat = ng_buffer_h[nspcnlen]
nspcnvsn
nspcnlov
nspcnopt
nspcnsdu
nspcntdu
nspcnntc
nspcntna
nspcnone
nspcnlen
nspcnoff
nspcnmxc
nspcnfl0
nspcnfl1
nspcncf1
nspcncf2
nspcncid
nspcncix
nspcndat
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| nspcnvsn | Packet Version |
| nspcnlov | Lowest Compatible Version |
| nspcnopt | Supports Global Service Options |
| nspcnsdu | Session Data Unit Size (in bytes) |
| nspcntdu | Transport Data Unit Size (in bytes) |
| nspcnntc | NT Protocol Characteristics |
| nspcntna | Line Turnaround Value |
| nspcnone | The number 1 in Host Byte Order |
| nspcnlen | Length of Connect Data (in bytes) |
| nspcnoff | Byte Offset to Connect Data |
| nspcnmxc | Maximum Connect Data |
| nspcnfl0 | Connect Flags 0 |
| nspcnfl1 | Connect Flags 1 |
| nspcncf1 | Cross Facility Item 1 |
| nspcncf2 | Cross Facility Item 2 |
| nspcncid | Unique Connection Id |
| nspcncix | Unique Connection Id |
| nspcndat | Connect Data (in Oracle NVP format) |
- NSPTRS
- NSPTRD
- NSPTRF
- NSPTAC
This packet is a no-op used to keep a connection alive.
- 5.x – Current
- Client to Server
- Server to Client?
- While this has only been seen sent from server to client, it could, theoretically, be sent in either direction.
- This packet has no data and is simply identified by the packet type in the TNS packet header.
None.
This packet is used to request retransmission of the previous TNS packet.
- 5.x – Current
- Client to Server
- Server to Client?
- While this has only been seen sent from server to client, it could, theoretically, be sent in either direction.
- This packet has no data and is simply identified by the packet type in the TNS packet header.
Previous TNS packet transmitted.