Why the huge Oracle process created by just logging in?

I must be doing something wrong here.

I have a modper/DBI/Oracle8i/solaris2.7 site. When I just have 6 users login
to the site I end up with about 8 Oracle processes at about 200MB each
(viewed using top).

I'm issuing some very basic SQL with prepared statements. The server has 2GB
or RAM and it almost immediately starts swapping.

How do I control the number of Oracle server processes that get started?
Have I set up Oracle or Solaris incorrectly?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Here's my configuration

Embedded Perl version 5.00503 for Stronghold/2.4.2 Apache/1.3.6 C2NetEU/2412
(Unix) mod_perl/1.21

Apache::DBI 0.87
DBI 1.13
DBD::Oracle 1.06

Summary of my perl5 (5.0 patchlevel 5 subversion 3) configuration:
  Platform:
    osname=solaris, osvers=2.7, archname=sun4-solaris
    uname='sunos cabinet 5.7 generic_106541-05 sun4u sparc sunw,ultra-5_10 '
    hint=recommended, useposix=true, d_sigaction=define
    usethreads=undef useperlio=undef d_sfio=undef
  Compiler:
    cc='gcc', optimize='-O', gccversion=2.8.1
    cppflags='-I/usr/local/include'
    ccflags ='-I/usr/local/include'
    stdchar='char', d_stdstdio=define, usevfork=false
    intsize=4, longsize=4, ptrsize=4, doublesize=8
    d_longlong=define, longlongsize=8, d_longdbl=define, longdblsize=16
    alignbytes=8, usemymalloc=y, prototype=define
  Linker and Libraries:
    ld='gcc', ldflags =' -L/usr/local/lib'
    libpth=/usr/local/lib /lib /usr/lib /usr/ccs/lib
    libs=-lsocket -lnsl -ldl -lm -lc -lcrypt
    libc=/lib/libc.so, so=so, useshrplib=false, libperl=libperl.a
  Dynamic Linking:
    dlsrc=dl_dlopen.xs, dlext=so, d_dlsymun=undef, ccdlflags=' '
    cccdlflags='-fPIC', lddlflags='-G -L/usr/local/lib'

• Why the huge Oracle process created by just logging in? by Franco Finstad
• Re: Why the huge Oracle process created by just logging in? by Mark Vandenbroeck