Oracle® Database

1 Reviewing Information About This Guide

This guide describes how to complete a default installation of Oracle Database Client on a system that does not have any Oracle software installed on it. It describes how to install one of the following installation types:

• Administrator: Enables applications to connect to an Oracle Database instance on the local system or on a remote system. It also provides tools that enable you to administer Oracle Database.

• Runtime: Enables applications to connect to an Oracle Database instance on the local system or on a remote system.

• Instant Client: Enables you to install only the shared libraries required by Oracle Call Interface (OCI), Oracle C++ Call Interface (OCCI), Pro*C, or Java database connectivity (JDBC) OCI applications. This installation type requires much less disk space as compared to the other Oracle Database Client installation types.

This guide does not describe how to install the Custom installation type.

Where to Get Additional Installation Information

For more detailed information about installing Oracle Database Client, refer to Oracle Database Client Installation Guide for Linux.

This guide is available on the product disc. To access it, use a Web browser to open the welcome.htm file located in the top-level directory of the installation media, and then select the Documentation tab.

2 Logging In to the System as root

Before you install the Oracle software, you must complete several tasks as the root user. To log in as the root user, complete one of the following procedures:

• Following are the steps for installing the software from an X Window System workstation or X terminal:

  1. Start a local terminal session, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

  2. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then enter the following command to enable the remote host to display X applications on the local X server:

     $ xhost fully_qualified_remote_host_name
     

     For example:

     $ xhost somehost.us.example.com
     

  3. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then use the ssh, rlogin, or telnet command to connect to the system where you want to install the software:

     $ telnet fully_qualified_remote_host_name
     

  4. If you are not logged in as the root user, then enter the following command to switch user to root:

     $ sudo sh
     password:
     #
     

• Following are the steps for installing the software from a PC or other system with X server software:

  Note:

  If necessary, refer to your X server documentation for more information about completing this procedure. Depending on the X server software that you are using, you may need to complete the tasks in a different order.

  1. Start the X server software.

  2. Configure the security settings of the X server software to permit remote hosts to display X applications on the local system.

  3. Connect to the remote system where you want to install the software and start a terminal session on that system, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

  4. If you are not logged in as the root user on the remote system, then enter the following command to switch user to root:

     $ sudo sh
     password:
     #
     

3 Checking the Hardware Requirements

The system must meet the following minimum hardware requirements:

• Memory Requirements

• System Architecture

• Disk Space Requirements

# grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo

# free

# uname -m

4 Checking the Software Requirements

Depending on the products that you intend to install, verify that the following software are installed on the system.

• Operating System Requirements

• Kernel Requirements

• Package Requirements

• Compiler Requirements

• Additional Software Requirements

# uname -r

2.6.9-34.0.1.0.11.ELsmp

# rpm -q package_name

5 Creating Required Operating System Groups and Users

The following local operating system groups and users are required if you are installing Oracle Database:

• The Oracle Inventory group (typically, oinstall)

• The Oracle software owner (typically, oracle)

To determine whether these groups and users already exist, and if necessary, to create them, follow these steps:

1. To determine whether the oinstall group exists, enter the following command:

   # more /etc/oraInst.loc
   

   If the output of this command shows the oinstall group name, then the group already exists.

   If the oraInst.loc file exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:

   inventory_loc=/u01/app/oraInventory
   inst_group=oinstall
   

   The inst_group parameter shows the name of the Oracle Inventory group, oinstall.

2. If necessary, enter the following commands to create the oinstall group:

   # /usr/sbin/groupadd oinstall
   

3. To determine whether the oracle user exists and belongs to the correct groups, enter the following command:

   # id oracle
   

   If the oracle user exists, then this command displays information about the groups to which the user belongs. The output should be similar to the following, indicating that oinstall is the primary group and dba is a secondary group:

   uid=440(oracle) gid=200(oinstall) groups=201(dba),202(oper)
   

4. If necessary, complete one of the following actions:

   • If the oracle user exists, but its primary group is not oinstall or it is not a member of the dba group, then enter the following command:

     # /usr/sbin/usermod -g oinstall -G dba oracle
     

   • If the oracle user does not exist, enter the following command to create it:

     # /usr/sbin/useradd -g oinstall -G dba oracle
     

     This command creates the oracle user and specifies oinstall as the primary group and dba as the secondary group.

5. Enter the following command to set the password of the oracle user:

   # passwd oracle
   

6 Creating Required Directories

To create the Oracle base directory:

1. Enter the following command to display information about all mounted file systems:

   # df -h
   

   This command displays information about all the file systems mounted on the system, including:

   • The physical device name

   • The total amount, used amount, and available amount of disk space

   • The mount point directory for that file system

2. From the display, identify either one or two file systems that meet the disk space requirements mentioned earlier in this section.

3. Note the name of the mount point directory for each file system that you identified.

4. Enter commands similar to the following to create the recommended subdirectories in the mount point directory that you identified and set the appropriate owner, group, and permissions on them:

   # mkdir -p /mount_point/app/
   # chown -R oracle:oinstall /mount_point/app/
   # chmod -R 775 /mount_point/app/
   

   For example:

   # mkdir -p /u01/app/
   # chown -R oracle:oinstall /u01/app/
   # chmod -R 775 /u01/app/
   

7 Configuring the oracle User's Environment

You run Oracle Universal Installer from the oracle account. However, before you start Oracle Universal Installer, you must configure the environment of the oracle user. To configure the environment, you must:

• Set the default file mode creation mask (umask) to 022 in the shell startup file.

• Set the DISPLAY environment variable.

To set the oracle user's environment:

1. Start a new terminal session, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

2. Enter the following command to ensure that X Window applications can display on this system:

   $ xhost fully_qualified_remote_host_name
   

   For example:

   $ xhost somehost.us.example.com
   

3. Complete one of the following steps:

   • If the terminal session is not connected to the system where you want to install the software, then log in to that system as the oracle user.

   • If the terminal session is connected to the system where you want to install the software, then switch user to oracle:

     $ su - oracle
     

4. To determine the default shell for the oracle user, enter the following command:

   $ echo $SHELL
   

5. Open the oracle user's shell startup file in any text editor:

   • Bash shell (bash) on SUSE:

     $ vi .profile
     

   • Bourne shell (sh), Bash shell on Red Hat (bash), or Korn shell (ksh):

     $ vi .bash_profile
     

   • C shell (csh or tcsh):

     % vi .login
     

6. Enter or edit the following line in the shell startup file, specifying a value of 022 for the default file mode creation mask:

   umask 022
   

7. If the ORACLE_SID, ORACLE_HOME, or ORACLE_BASE environment variable is set in the file, then remove the corresponding lines from the file.

8. Save the file and exit from the editor.

9. To run the shell startup script, enter the following command:

   • Bash shell on Red Hat:

     $ . ./.bash_profile
     

   • Bourne shell, Bash shell on SUSE, or Korn shell:

     $ . ./.profile
     

   • C shell:

     % source ./.login
     

10. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then enter a command similar to the following to direct X applications to display on the local system:

    • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

      $ DISPLAY=local_host:0.0 ; export DISPLAY
      

    • C shell:

      % setenv DISPLAY local_host:0.0
      

    In this example, local_host is the host name or IP address of the system that you want to use to display Oracle Universal Installer (your workstation or PC).

11. If you determined that the /tmp directory had insufficient free disk space when checking the hardware requirements, then identify a file system with the required amount of free space and set the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables as follows:

    1. Use the df -k command to identify a suitable file system with sufficient free space.

    2. If necessary, enter commands similar to the following to create a temporary directory on the file system that you identified, and set the appropriate permissions on the directory:

       # sudo mkdir /mount_point/tmp
       # sudo chmod a+wr /mount_point/tmp
       # exit
       

    3. Enter commands similar to the following to set the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables:

       Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

       $ TMP=/mount_point/tmp
       $ TMPDIR=/mount_point/tmp
       $ export TMP TMPDIR
       

       C shell:

       % setenv TMP /mount_point/tmp
       % setenv TMPDIR /mount_point/tmp
       

12. Enter the following commands to ensure that the ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN environment variables are not set:

    Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

    $ unset ORACLE_HOME
    $ unset TNS_ADMIN
    

    C shell:

    % unsetenv ORACLE_HOME
    % unsetenv TNS_ADMIN
    

13. To verify that the environment has been set correctly, enter the following commands:

    $ umask
    $ env | more
    

    Verify that the umask command displays a value of 22, 022, or 0022 and the environment variables that you set in this section have the correct values.

8 Mounting the Product Disc

On most Linux systems, the product disc mounts automatically when you insert it into the drive. If the disc does not mount automatically, then follow these steps to mount it:

1. Enter a command similar to the following to eject the currently mounted disc, then remove it from the drive:

   • Asianux, Oracle Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

     $ sudo eject /mnt/dvd
     

   • SUSE:

     # eject /media/dvd
     

   In these examples, /mnt/dvd and /media/dvd are the mount point directories for the disc drive.

2. Insert the DVD into the disc drive.

3. To verify that the disc mounted automatically, enter a command similar to the following:

   • Asianux, Oracle Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

     # ls /mnt/dvd
     

   • SUSE:

     # ls /media/dvd
     

4. If this command fails to display the contents of the disc, then enter a command similar to the following:

   • Asianux, Oracle Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

     # mount -t iso9660 /dev/dvd /mnt/dvd
     

   • SUSE:

     # mount -t iso9660 /dev/dvd /media/dvd
     

   In these examples, /mnt/dvd and /media/dvd are the mount point directories for the disc drive.

9 Installing Oracle Database Client

After configuring the oracle user's environment, start Oracle Universal Installer and install Oracle Database as follows:

• To start Oracle Universal Installer, enter the following command:

  $ /mount_point/db/runInstaller
  

  If Oracle Universal Installer does not start, then refer to Oracle Database Installation Guide for Linux for information about how to troubleshoot X Window display problems.

• The following table describes the recommended action for each Oracle Universal Installer screen. Use the following guidelines to complete the installation:

  • If you need more assistance, or if you want to choose an option that is not a default, then click Help for additional information.

  • If you encounter errors while installing or linking the software, then refer to Oracle Database Installation Guide for Linux for information about troubleshooting.

  Note:

  If you have completed the tasks listed previously, then you can complete the installation by choosing the default values on most screens.

  1. In the Select Installation Type screen, select the type of installation that you want: Instant Client, Administrator, or Runtime and click Next.

  2. The Select Product Languages screen enables you to select the language in which you want to run the product.

     Select the product language from the Available Languages list, transfer it to the Selected Languages list. Click Next.

     This screen is not displayed if you select Instant Client as the type of installation in Step 1.

  3. In the Specify Install Location screen, enter the following details:

     Oracle Base: This path appears by default. You can change the path based on your requirement. The Oracle Base section is not displayed if you select Instant Client as the type of installation in Step 1.

     In the Software Location section, accept the default values or enter the Oracle home name and directory path in which you want to install Oracle components. The directory path should not contain spaces. Click Next

  4. In the Create Inventory screen, you are prompted by the installer to specify the directory path for central inventory the first time you install Oracle Database on your computer. Enter the Inventory Directory path, and click Next.

     Note:

     By default, the Oracle Inventory directory is not installed under the Oracle Base directory. This is because all Oracle software installations share a common Oracle Inventory, so there is only one Oracle Inventory for all users, whereas there is a separate Oracle Base for each user.

  5. The Perform Prerequisite Checks screen verifies if your computer meets the minimum system requirements to install the desired product. Click Next.

  6. Review the information displayed in the Summary screen, and click Finish.

     Note:

     Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), you can save all the installation steps into a response file by clicking Save Response File in the Summary screen. Later, this file can be used for a silent installation.

  7. The Install Product screen states the progress of a client installation. After Oracle Database Client is installed, you are prompted to execute the root configuration script for new inventory as a root user. Execute the root.sh script as a root user to complete the installation, and click OK.

  8. In the Finish screen, click Close to exit from Oracle Universal Installer.

10 What to Do Next?

After you have successfully installed Oracle Database Client, refer to Oracle Database Client Installation Guide for Linux for information about required and optional postinstallation steps.

11 Documentation Accessibility

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