IBM Support

Informix fails to start: -25572 Error.

Troubleshooting


Problem

Troubleshooting the cause of a -25572 when starting or initializing Informix servers.

Symptom

When the Informix instance is starting the following error message is printed into the online message log (sometimes the instance may fail to initialize as well):

    13:00:00 listener-thread: err = -25572: oserr = 98: errstr = : Network
    driver cannot bind a name to the port. System error = 98.
    13:00:00 sql_listener: ASF_LISTEN failed
    13:00:00 Attempting to bring listener thread down.

The error -25572 is usually accompanied by an OS error giving more details about the underlying problem. This error may vary on the basis of the operating system used and its explanation can be found in /usr/include/errno.h file (on unix-like systems) or in Windows documentation.

Some examples:
  • On systems based on GNU Linux kernel:

  • err = -25572: oserr = 98
    (in errno.h: #define EADDRINUSE 98 /* Address already in use */)
  • On AIX:

  • err = -25572: oserr = 67
    (in errno.h: #define EADDRINUSE 67 /* Address already in use */)
  • On Solaris

  • err = -25572: oserr = 0

Also, following OS errors were seen when the sqlhosts/DBSERVERNAME/DBSERVERALIASES configuration was incorrect:

    err = -25572: oserr = 2
    err = -25572: oserr = 227

Cause

General:

  • Port is in use by another database server (instance) or application
  • Port is held because the database server was not brought down gracefully
  • There are more sqlhosts entries using the same hostname/servicename combination defined for the same instance
  • The hostname used in the third column of the sqlhosts file is incorrect
  • Hostname is not being resolved to the correct IP address
  • Invalid entries in /etc/resolv.conf file.
  • DNS server problem, reverse DNS problem, bad switch, and so on
  • IC83886 only Solaris 11.70.FC5 using TLI and IP address in the sqlhosts 25572/8

Windows specific:

This problem is often caused by a missing SQLHOSTS registry key.

Diagnosing The Problem

  • Use the 'nestat' command to check if the port you want to use is already occupied and by which program/PID:

    • on GNU Linux based systems use 'netstat -anp'
    • on Windows systems use 'netstat -ano'
    • on IBM AIX use 'nestat -Aan' to get the PCB address of the socket, then pass it to 'rmsock <pcb_addr> tcpcb' (read carefully the OS documentation before running the 'rmsock' command)
    • on other systems you may use 'netstat -a[n]' to check if the port is in use. To obtain the program/PID information you need to consult your OS documentation or support

Resolving The Problem


UNIX:

  • Use a different tcp/ip port in the /etc/services file and/or a different services name in the $INFORMIXSQLHOSTS file. Please ensure there is an entry in the /etc/services file that matches the service name in the $INFORMIXSQLHOSTS file.
  • Correct the hostname in the sqlhosts file
  • Change the hostname to the fully qualified hostname (like hostname.domain.com). If this allows the database server to start there is a problem with hostname resolution on the machine.
  • Change the hostname to the IP address. If this allows the database server to start there is a problem with hostname resolution on the machine.
  • Change an IP address to a hostname.
  • Check the /etc/resolv.conf file and fix any apparent issues
  • Restart the computer to clear the port.
  • IC83886 only Solaris 11.70.FC5 using TLI and IP address in the sqlhosts 25572/8


Windows
Please refer to IBM Informix Administrators Guide : The SQLHOSTS File and Registry Key (Windows) sub-topic:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/idshelp/v117/topic/com.ibm.admin.doc/ids_admin_0152.htm

Related Information

[{"Product":{"code":"SSGU8G","label":"Informix Servers"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"Not Applicable","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF022","label":"OS X"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"10.0;11.1;11.5;11.7","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
16 June 2018

UID

swg21322779