A simple name for a
service
that resolves to a
connect descriptor
.
Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password, along with a net service name in a connect string, for the service to which they want to connect:
CONNECT username@net_service_name
For instance with SQL Plus :
sqlplus user/password@net_service_name
You can connect in an other way with the easy connect method
Depending on your needs, net service names can be stored in a variety of places, including:
-
Local configuration file, tnsnames.ora, on each client
-
Directory server
-
External naming service, such as NIS
It is used to define the database service where you want to make a connection.
ref: http://gerardnico.com/wiki/database/oracle/net_service_name