Q: My WebObjects 4.5 application is running on a Solaris server; my database is running on a separate system. If the database shuts down, zombie processes are created on the WebObjects server machine. How can I prevent this?

A: Add this line to the sqlnet.ora file on the Oracle client system:

BEQUEATH_DETACH=yes

The oracle executable will now catch the child signal from the SQLNet connection, preventing the creation of zombie processes. This value is set when the Oracle server is installed, which is why this issue does not occur if the WebObjects application and the Oracle database are installed on the same system.