REP-501: Unable to connect to the specified database

Mehmet Salih Deveci May 30, 2021 Leave a comment

I got ” REP-501: Unable to connect to the specified database ” error in Oracle database.

REP-501: Unable to connect to the specified database

Details of error are as follows.

REP-501: Unable to connect to the specified database.

Cause: Reports Builder tried to but could not connect to ORACLE. The possible causes of this error 
include a case where Oracle is temporarily unavailable or your connect information was not valid.

Action: Retry the connection and check the network connectivity. Note that after three attempts 
you will be disconnected from the SQL*Reports server.

Unable to connect to the specified database.

This REP-501 error is related to the Reports Builder tried to but could not connect to ORACLE. The possible causes of this error include a case where Oracle is temporarily unavailable or your connect information was not valid.

Retry the connection and check the network connectivity. Note that after three attempts you will be disconnected from the SQL*Reports server.

Check your IP Adress, Hostname and Firewall with telnet, if there is no problem, then check your database’s listener, service name and port with TNSPING utility as follows.

telnet IP PORT

tnsping TNS_ALIAS

REP-501 Unable To Connect To Specified Database

This Master note is intended to provide an index and references to the most frequently used My Oracle Support Notes with respect to Oracle Reports REP-501 error. This

Master Note is subdivided into categories to allow for easy access and reference to notes that are applicable to your area of interest, within the Oracle Reports.

This note applies to the following versions of Oracle Reports:

Oracle Reports 6i to 12c

This includes the following troubleshooting categories based on the scenario where you get the REP-501 error:

Generic
rwclient with Secure Password Wallet
rwconverter
Reports Builder
cgicmd.dat file related
tnsnames.ora corruption
Using Externally Authorised User (OPS$)
Using AUTHID parameter
Reports Server Windows Specific version 6i
Windows Specific 11g
Only running reports request on the web
NLS_LANG environment variable related
SQL*Net Related
RDBMS related
Known issue from 9.0.4.x to 10.1.2.2 fixed in 10.1.2.3
Known issue in 11g version
Forms Related
Intermittent
Tracing
Passwords with Special Characters
Before proceeding, please perform a quick test by attempting to connect to same user and same database using SQL*Plus.
Reports 12c Example:
1. Set your environment by using sourcing reports.sh:
cd $DOMAIN_HOME/reports/bin
. ./reports.sh
2. Try to connect using sqlplus:
cd $ORACLE_HOME/bin
./sqlplus user/password@db
(where user/password@db is the same connect string used in your call to Reports)
3. If it works, then your connect string is okay. Please proceed to Actionssection below for further troubleshooting.
4. If it fails, then it is not an Oracle Reports issue. The connection must work with SQL*Plus before it can work with Oracle Reports.

Do you want to learn Oracle Database for Beginners, then read the following articles.

Oracle Tutorial | Oracle Database Tutorials for Beginners ( Junior Oracle DBA )

IT Tutorial IT Tutorial | Oracle DBA | SQL Server, Goldengate, Exadata, Big Data, Data ScienceTutorial

REP-501: Unable to connect to the specified database