ORA-15045: ASM File Name Not in Reference Form

ORA-15045: ASM File Name ‘name’ Is Not in Reference Form

Error Overview

Error Text: ORA-15045: ASM file name 'name' is not in reference form

ORA-15045 occurs when an operation requiring a fully qualified ASM file reference receives a non-reference name. ASM has strict naming rules: certain operations (such as renaming controlfiles, dropping files, or specifying existing files) require the system-generated reference form like +DG/dbname/datafile/users.265.1234567890, not just an alias or partial path.

Understanding ASM Naming Forms

ASM supports several name forms with different valid uses:

Form	Example	Use
Fully qualified	+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890	Reference existing files
Numeric	+DATA.265.1234567890	Internal reference
Alias	+DATA/PROD/users.dbf	User-friendly name
Alias with template	+DATA(DATAFILE)/users.dbf	Apply template at create time
Incomplete	+DATA	Create new file (system names it)
Incomplete with template	+DATA(template_name)	Create with specific template

Common Causes

Wrong Form for Operation

• Using alias when reference form required
• Passing incomplete name (+DATA) where existing file expected
• RMAN expecting reference form for SET NEWNAME operations

Typos and Format Errors

• Missing + prefix on diskgroup
• Wrong file_number/incarnation pair
• Mixing alias path with file_number suffix

Operation Context

• ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE requiring reference form for both old and new
• Controlfile recreation needing exact paths
• RMAN restore with explicit file naming

Diagnostic Steps

Find Correct Reference Form

# Use asmcmd to get reference name
asmcmd
ASMCMD> cd +DATA/PROD/DATAFILE
ASMCMD> ls -l
Type      Redund  Striped  Time              Sys  Name
DATAFILE  UNPROT  COARSE   JAN 15 10:00:00   Y    users.265.1234567890

# Or query ASM directly
sqlplus / as sysasm
SQL> SELECT '+' || dg.name || '/' || a.system_name AS reference_name
     FROM v$asm_alias a, v$asm_diskgroup dg
     WHERE a.group_number = dg.group_number
     AND a.name = 'USERS01.DBF';

Inspect Database File References

-- From RDBMS
SELECT file#, name FROM v$datafile;
SELECT file#, name FROM v$tempfile;
SELECT group#, member FROM v$logfile;
SELECT name FROM v$controlfile;

-- All ASM-resident files
SELECT name FROM v$datafile WHERE name LIKE '+%';

Verify Alias vs File

-- Connect to ASM
SELECT a.name AS alias_name,
       a.system_created,
       a.alias_directory,
       '+' || dg.name || '/' || a.system_name AS reference_form
FROM v$asm_alias a, v$asm_diskgroup dg
WHERE a.group_number = dg.group_number
AND a.alias_directory = 'N'
ORDER BY a.name;

Resolution Steps

1. Use Reference Form for Existing Files

-- WRONG: alias used where reference required
ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE '+DATA/users.dbf' TO '+DATA_NEW/users.dbf';

-- CORRECT: reference form
ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE
  '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890'
  TO '+DATA_NEW/PROD/DATAFILE/users.dbf';

2. RMAN with Correct Reference Form

-- Get current name from controlfile
RUN {
  SQL 'ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT="YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS"';
  REPORT SCHEMA;
}

-- Use reference form in SET NEWNAME
RUN {
  SET NEWNAME FOR DATAFILE 5 TO '+DATA_NEW';
  RESTORE DATAFILE 5;
  SWITCH DATAFILE 5;
  RECOVER DATAFILE 5;
}

3. Create Alias for Friendlier References

-- Connect as SYSASM
ALTER DISKGROUP data ADD ALIAS '+DATA/PROD/users.dbf'
  FOR '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890';

-- Now alias is usable for SELECT but reference still required for some ops

4. Drop File Using Correct Form

-- From RDBMS
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/old_file.265.999' OFFLINE DROP;

-- From ASM (if file orphaned)
asmcmd rm '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/old_file.265.999'

5. Controlfile Recreation

-- Get exact reference forms first
SELECT name FROM v$datafile;
SELECT member FROM v$logfile;

-- Then in CREATE CONTROLFILE
CREATE CONTROLFILE REUSE DATABASE "PROD" RESETLOGS
LOGFILE
  GROUP 1 ('+DATA/PROD/ONLINELOG/group_1.261.1234567890') SIZE 100M,
  GROUP 2 ('+DATA/PROD/ONLINELOG/group_2.262.1234567890') SIZE 100M
DATAFILE
  '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/system.256.1234567890',
  '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/sysaux.257.1234567890',
  '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890'
CHARACTER SET AL32UTF8;

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE

SQL> ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE '+DATA/users.dbf' TO '+DATA/users_new.dbf';
ORA-01511: error in renaming log/data files
ORA-15045: ASM file name '+DATA/users.dbf' is not in reference form

Fix: Get full reference name from v$datafile.name.

Scenario 2: RMAN Duplicate

RMAN> DUPLICATE TARGET DATABASE TO clone DB_FILE_NAME_CONVERT=('+DATA/users.dbf','+DATA/CLONE/users.dbf');
ORA-15045: ASM file name '+DATA/users.dbf' is not in reference form

Fix: Use alias creation post-duplicate, not in DB_FILE_NAME_CONVERT.

Scenario 3: Controlfile Recreation

ORA-15045: ASM file name '+DATA' is not in reference form

Fix: Provide complete reference path including /dbname/type/name.file#.incarnation.

Sample Output

SQL> ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE '+DATA/users.dbf' TO '+DATA_NEW/users.dbf';
ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE '+DATA/users.dbf' TO '+DATA_NEW/users.dbf'
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-01511: error in renaming log/data files
ORA-01516: nonexistent log file, data file, or temp file "+DATA/users.dbf"
ORA-15045: ASM file name '+DATA/users.dbf' is not in reference form

SQL> SELECT name FROM v$datafile WHERE file# = 5;
NAME
------------------------------------------------------------
+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890

-- Use full reference form for rename
SQL> ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE
  2  '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890'
  3  TO '+DATA_NEW/PROD/DATAFILE/users.dbf';

Database altered.

Prevention Strategies

Always Query Source First

-- Before any rename or move, capture exact name
SPOOL /tmp/file_names.lst
SELECT 'DATAFILE: ' || name FROM v$datafile;
SELECT 'TEMPFILE: ' || name FROM v$tempfile;
SELECT 'LOGFILE: ' || member FROM v$logfile;
SELECT 'CONTROLFILE: ' || name FROM v$controlfile;
SPOOL OFF

Use Aliases for Documentation

-- Create human-readable aliases for all important files
ALTER DISKGROUP data ADD ALIAS '+DATA/PROD/users.dbf'
  FOR '+DATA/PROD/DATAFILE/users.265.1234567890';

Standardize Naming in Scripts

#!/bin/bash
# Helper to get reference form
get_reference() {
    local datafile_id=$1
    sqlplus -s / as sysdba <<EOF
    SET PAGESIZE 0 FEEDBACK OFF HEADING OFF
    SELECT name FROM v\$datafile WHERE file# = $datafile_id;
EOF
}

REF=$(get_reference 5)
echo "Datafile 5 reference: $REF"

Related Errors

• ORA-01511: Error in renaming log/data files
• ORA-01516: Nonexistent log file, data file, or temp file
• ORA-15012: ASM file does not exist
• ORA-15032: Not all alterations performed
• ORA-15124: ASM file name contains invalid alias name

Troubleshooting Checklist

• Query v$datafile, v$tempfile, v$logfile for exact reference forms
• Use asmcmd ls -l to confirm file paths
• Use reference form (not alias) for RENAME and DROP
• Validate path includes diskgroup, dbname, type, and file_number/incarnation
• Create aliases for documentation, but use reference for operations