JDBC getConnection timeout issue

Question

I have an application that uses connection pooling to get database connection from an Oracle9i release 9.2.0.4 database. Application is hosted in SJSAS 8.1 and the driver is ojdbc14.jar version 10.1.0.4.

The problem I'm having is datasource.getConnection() method is taking about 40 secs to throw an exception when the DB is down! This is causing the application to get overloaded during a DB outage. I tried setting LoginTimeout=8 with the datasource but it has no effect.

Please see below the datasource I'm using

<jdbc-connection-pool connection-validation-method="table" 
                      datasource-classname="oracle.jdbc.pool.OracleDataSource" 
                      fail-all-connections="true" 
                      idle-time out-in-seconds="600" 
                      is-connection-validation-required="true" 
                      is-isolation-level-guaranteed="false" 
                      max-pool-size="100" 
                      max-wait-time-in-millis="8000" 
                      name="mydb" 
                      pool-resize-quantity="80" 
                      res-type="javax.sql.DataSource" 
                      steady-pool-size="20" 
                      validation-table-name="dual">
    <property name="url" value="jdbc:oracle:thin:@server1:1521:mydb"/>
    <property name="user" value="user1"/>
    <property name="LoginTimeout" value="8"/>
    <property name="password" value="pass1"/>
</jdbc-connection-pool>

Can any one please help? I need the getConnection() method to timeout with in the timeout given.

Answer 1

Here's a few things to try:

From "Oracle® Database JDBC Developer's Guide and Reference".

Using JDBC with Firewalls

Firewall timeout for idle-connections may sever a connection. This can cause JDBC applications to hang while waiting for a connection. You can perform one or more of the following actions to avoid connections from being severed due to firewall timeout:

• If you are using connection caching or connection pooling, then always set the inactivity timeout value on the connection cache to be shorter than the firewall idle timeout value.
• Pass oracle.net.READ_TIMEOUT as connection property to enable read timeout on socket. The timeout value is in milliseconds.
• For both JDBC OCI and JDBC Thin drivers, use net descriptor to connect to the database and specify the ENABLE=BROKEN parameter in the DESCRIPTION clause in the connect descriptor. Also, set a lower value for tcp_keepalive_interval.
• Enable Oracle Net DCD by setting SQLNET.EXPIRE_TIME=1 in the sqlnet.ora file on the server-side.