Oracle Database (SqlPlus or SQL Developer) Access Using SSH Tunneling

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To maintain a high level of security, AppsHosting does not allow direct SQL*Plus connections to the production database, if customers do not have a static IP address (which can be added to the AppsHosting firewall filters).  For customers that use dynamic IP addresses on their PCs, AppsHosting recommends using SSH tunneling to enable direct connection to the production Oracle database.
This document outlines the steps required to set up SSH tunneling to set up a connection to the Oracle database using the Putty SSH client.
If you do not have Putty installed on your PC, it can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty.

Start Putty, and from the navigation pane on the left side, go to Connection->SSH->Tunnels.

1. Type in [your database port number] (for example, 1523) in the Source port, and [your database server name]:[port number] (for example, ah1.appshosting.com:1523) in the Destination field
2. Press Add 
3. You should see [your database port and server name], (for example, L1523 ah1.appshosting.com:1523) appear in the list of Forwarded ports
4. Select Session to get back to the main configuration panel.

5. Next, enter [the server where you SSH into] (for example, ah1.appshosting.com) in the Host Name field
6. Select the SSH radio button
7. Enter [your session name so you can reuse these settings in future] (for example, ahdb07) in the Saved Sessions field
8. Press Save to save this session settings.

9. You should see [your session name] (for example, ahdb07) as a stored session.
10. Select [your session name] (for example, ahdb07), then pressing Load should reload the profile details. Check that the tunneling still exists correctly.

When you are connecting to the database through SSH tunneling, you will reference your database server as "localhost" with "127.0.0.1 IP address. For example, your "tnsnames.ora" file would have entry like the following:

ahdb07=(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS_LIST=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=127.0.0.1)(PORT=1523)))
(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=ahdb07)))

12. Test the connection using SqlPlus or SQL Navigator. Use TNSPing command to check connection
13. Please contact support@appshosting.com with any questions/Problems.

Please contact AppsHosting with any questions, comments, or suggestions; as we constantly strive for improvement in these areas.