To understand this, it helps to visualize how a GoldenGate trail file is structured. Each trail file is a sequence of data records. Every one of these records has a fixed 4-byte header that precedes the actual data. The official Oracle documentation provides the exact cause: "The actual length of the trail record is different from the length field" . In simpler terms, when GoldenGate went to read the header of the next record to determine what kind of data was coming and how large it would be, it reached the end of the file and found nothing.
: If operating on network storage, always enforce rw,bg,hard,nointr,rsize=32768,wsize=32768,tcp,noac configuration parameters to guarantee atomic write serialization across cluster nodes.
The core problem stems from a length mismatch: the GoldenGate internal headers indicate that a trail file should contain further transactional details, but the file system encounters an early end-of-file (EOF) marker.
to regenerate and transfer a clean copy of the trail file: GGSCI> start ext_pump Use code with caution. Method 2: Skip the Corrupted Record Block (For Replicats)
If the file is partially recoverable, use logdump to write a clean trail: ogg-01184 expected 4 bytes but got 0 bytes in trail
Expected 3,number,0 bytes, but got 4,number,0 bytes, in trail 0, seqno 1,number,0, reading record trailer token at RBA {2, Oracle Help Center Extract & Pump Abends — oracle-mosc
If the source database, server hosting GoldenGate, or network drops frames mid-write, a trail file might be left incomplete. The next time the process initiates, it encounters a truncated tail.
The OGG-01184 Expected 4 bytes, but got 0 bytes, in trail error is a clear and urgent signal of data corruption within your Oracle GoldenGate replication stream. As the official Oracle documentation advises, contacting Oracle Support is a necessary step for persistent cases.
OGG-01184 Oracle GoldenGate Capture for Oracle: Expected 4 bytes but got 0 bytes in trail file ./dirdat/et000000000. To understand this, it helps to visualize how
logdump Logdump 1 > open ./dirdat/et000012 Logdump 2 > position end Logdump 3 > count Use code with caution. Note down the last successfully written valid record RBA.
Maya stared at the hex dump. The stream was pristine — checksums matched, no corruption markers. But at the very end, where four bytes of trailing metadata should have been, there was nothing. Not zeros. Not nulls. Absence.
If Logdump cannot read the record or shows an early EOF (End of File), the trail is confirmed as corrupted. Oracle Forums 2. Automatic Trail Recovery
Delete the corrupted trail file and any subsequent files in that sequence on the target. Restart the Extract Pump The official Oracle documentation provides the exact cause:
If the Extract was terminated unexpectedly, it is highly likely that the last record written was not flushed properly to disk. Step 3: Handle the Corrupted Trail File
The filesystem filled up, the network storage (NFS/ACFS) became temporarily unavailable, or disk write errors occurred.
Are your trail files stored on a or shared network storage (NFS/ACFS) ?
We cannot simply restart the process. The EXT_PROD extract is smart; it checks data integrity. If we restart it, it will re-read the trail, hit the same spot, and crash again with the same error. The trail file is physically corrupt or logically incomplete.