Ron, thanks for your prompt reply. Your solution suggests using NFS. This is NOT AN OPTION. NFS is considered a network SECURITY risk. It appears as though you misunderstood and thought it was a reliability problem. Michael Fontana Sr. DBA NTT/Verio ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html -----------------------------------------------------------------