What does the error "System call error: No such file or directory dbopen failed" signify? (4291892)

The following error relating to dbopen function can happen due to a number of reasons. In certain cases the corrective action (or no action on the part of user) can get the replication running again whereas in other cases it may require a cleanup:

08/03/06 14:39 System call error: No such file or directory dbopen failed:
file /shareplex/4.5/vardir/db/conf.72 [dumpfile(osp)/14377]
08/03/06 14:39 Error: or_open(old_db_path) failed [sp_tconf/16804]
This solution delves on various scenarios that can result in the error and how to deal with it.

General information about an error message that can be caused by different conditions.

The dbopen function comes into play when dealing with certain tasks involved with updating of files in state or data directory. Such files are typically statusdb or object cache files. The failure can result in activation errors. Some of the failures can be corrected whereas others may require a cleaning of the current replication environment by ora_cleansp and fresh activation. The following are the most common causes followed by recommendation about corrective action. Support can be contacted if the steps appear too elaborate. Some of the common causes for this error are:

Cause: The variable directory is tarred from another device and the ownership/permissions are not set appropriately after the copy. This results in above error.
Action: Shutdown Shareplex and correct the ownership/permission as appropriate for the vardir, before restarting Shareplex again. If this is not helping,

Shareplex can be re-installed if downtime is available.

Cause:  Some of the files in /vardir/data directory are owned by root and others by Oracle and Shareplex is started as Oracle.

Action: Either start Shareplex as root or correct the ownership/permission as appropriate. Refer to other Shareplex instances in your setup for reference purpose.

Cause: Can be a resource issue caused by incorrect settings of ulimit.

Action: Refer to Shareplex Installation Guide for the recommendations relating to the proper settings of ulimit.  NOTE: The settings may differ from one OS to another.