Tim,

Thanks, I will check into the global_name deal. And what is different about the syntax for the link compared to mine? Just can't see it right off the bat. An yup, checked (and rechecked <g>) the tsnames.ora. Everything is fine there.

>A common problem is that if your global_names init.ora parameter is true.
>This means all link names should have the same name as the database you
>are linking to. Either change the parameter or change the link name.
>
>I.E.
>
>
>ALTER sesion set global_name = false;
>But you should change it in your init.ora file...
>
>or just do
>CREATE DATABASE LINK aafnbdbo CONNECT TO aafnbdbo IDENTIFIED BY
> xxx USING 'aaprod';
>
>Not sure if that's the probolme in this case but its a common one...
>
>You should ensure the new service name is in the tnsnames.ora on
> the server but you said you checked that rigth?