Where is the Oracle alert_protect.log?

Products

• Data Loss Prevention Enforce
• Data Loss Prevention Oracle Standard Edition 2

Issue/Introduction

The Alert log is used by Oracle to record issues in the database operation. It is useful to troubleshoot issues.

So where to find the Alert Log (normally named alert_protect.log) to troubleshoot database issues?

 

Resolution

For all Oracle versions, the default log location is: 

For Windows:

C:\oracle\diag\rdbms\protect\protect\trace\alert_protect.log

or

C:\app\Administrator\diag\rdbms\protect\protect\trace\alert_protect.log

For Linux:

/opt/oracle/diag/rdbms/protect/protect/trace/alert_protect.log

The alert.log is always located in the trace directory. The location of the trace directory may be changed by a DBA. If the alert log is not located in the listed directory, log into SQLPlus as sysdba, and type the following:

show parameter background_dump_dest

Note: The filename is alert_<SID>.log. If you are using a SID other than protect, the filename will be changed accordingly. Likewise, on Windows, if Oracle is installed on a drive other than C: (recommended for production installations), then you should look on that drive for the alert log.

The log can also be found with a file search for alert_<SID>.log.