ORA-04031 unable to allocate XXX bytes of shared memory

The error ORA-4031 on the shared pool can indicate one of two things:

– insufficient space for the shared pool
OR
– although there is enough memory, it is fragmented and no contiguous chunk can be allocated to satisfy the latest memory request.

SQL> alter system set “_enable_shared_pool_durations” = false scope=spfile;
System altered.