Silent and Non-Interactive Installation

This appendix covers the following topics:

Silent Installation
Non-Interactive Installation
Create the Response File
Start the Installation
Postinstallation
Security Tips for Silent and Non-Interactive Installations
Deinstallation

Silent Installation

Silent installation eliminates the need to monitor the Oracle BI Publisher installation because there is no graphical output and no input by the user.

Silent installation is accomplished by supplying the Oracle Universal Installer with a response file and specifying the -silent flag on the command line. The response file is a text file containing variables and parameter values which provide answers to the installer prompts.

If this is a first time installation of Oracle BI Publisher, you must create the registry keys before starting. Registry key creation is described in Preinstallation.

Use silent installation when there are similar installations on more than one computer. Additionally, use silent install when performing the Oracle BI Publisher installation from a remote location using the command line.

Non-Interactive Installation

Non-interactive installations also use a response file to automate the installation. In non-interactive installations, there is graphical output and users may enter input.

Non-interactive installation of Oracle BI Publisher is also accomplished by supplying the Oracle Universal Installer with a response file but without specifying the -silent flag on the command line. The response file is a text file containing variables and parameter values which provide answers to the installer prompts. If you have not provided responses to all of the installer prompts, you need to enter information during the installation.

If this is a first time installation of Oracle BI Publisher, you must create the registry keys before starting. Registry key creation is described in Preinstallation.

Use non-interactive installation of Oracle BI Publisher when there are specific screens you want to observe during installation.

Create the Response File

Before doing a silent or non-interactive installation, you must provide information specific to your installation in a response file. The installer will fail if you attempt an installation using a response file that is not configured correctly. Response files are text files that you can create or edit in a text editor.

Creating Response Files from Templates

Templates for response files are available in the stage\Response directory of your install media. Response file templates are available for the following installation types:


Installation Type	File Name
Basic Installation	oracle.bi.publisher.install_type1.rsp
Advanced	oracle.bi.publisher.install_type2.rsp

See the template files for descriptions of the parameters in the file.

Note: For Boolean parameters, specify either "true" or "false".

Creating Response Files by Using the Record Mode in the Installer

You can run the installer in record mode to save your inputs to a file that you can use later as a response file. This feature is useful if you need to perform the same installation on different computers.

To run the installer in record mode:

Start up the installer with the -record and -destinationFile parameters.

E:\> setup.exe -record -destinationFile newResponseFile

Replace newResponseFile with the full path to the response file that you want the installer to create.

Example: C:\myBIPublisherResponse.rsp
Enter your values in the installer screens. The installer will write these values to the file specified in the -destinationFile parameter.

When you click the Install button, the installer automatically writes all your values to the specified file. At this point, you can complete the installation on this computer, or you can exit without performing the installation.

Secure information, such as passwords, is not written to the file, so you must modify the response file before you can use it. To set the password, modify the s_adminpwd parameter. See the generated response file for a description of the parameter.

Note: Response files created by record mode can only be used for non-interactive installations. You cannot use a response file created by record mode in a silent installation.

Example Response Files

The following sections shows example response files for the following Oracle BI Publisher installation types:

Example Response File for Basic Installation
Example Response File for Advanced Installation

Note: Be sure that you read the description of each parameter=value in the provided sample files, and edit value accordingly for your environment.

Example Response File for a Basic Installation

The following shows an example of a response file for a silent installation of Oracle BI Publisher as described in the topic: Performing a Basic Install.

RESPONSEFILE_VERSION=2.2.1.0.0
UNIX_GROUP_NAME=<Value Unspecified>
FROM_LOCATION="..\stage\products.xml"
FROM_LOCATION_CD_LABEL=<Value Unspecified>
NEXT_SESSION_RESPONSE=<Value Unspecified>
ORACLE_HOME="C:\OHOME1"
ORACLE_HOME_NAME="OHOME1"
TOPLEVEL_COMPONENT={"oracle.bi.publisher","10.1.3.2.1"}
DEINSTALL_LIST={"oracle.bi.publisher","10.1.3.2.1"}
SHOW_SPLASH_SCREEN=true
SHOW_WELCOME_PAGE=false
SHOW_COMPONENT_LOCATIONS_PAGE=false
SHOW_CUSTOM_TREE_PAGE=false
SHOW_SUMMARY_PAGE=true
SHOW_INSTALL_PROGRESS_PAGE=true
SHOW_REQUIRED_CONFIG_TOOL_PAGE=true
SHOW_CONFIG_TOOL_PAGE=true
SHOW_XML_PREREQ_PAGE=true
SHOW_RELEASE_NOTES=true
SHOW_END_OF_INSTALL_MSGS=true
SHOW_ROOTSH_CONFIRMATION=true
SHOW_END_SESSION_PAGE=true
SHOW_EXIT_CONFIRMATION=true
NEXT_SESSION=true
NEXT_SESSION_ON_FAIL=true
SHOW_DEINSTALL_CONFIRMATION=true
SHOW_DEINSTALL_PROGRESS=true
ACCEPT_LICENSE_AGREEMENT=true
RESTART_SYSTEM=<Value Unspecified>
CLUSTER_NODES=<Value Unspecified>
OUI_HOSTNAME=<Value Unspecified>
REMOVE_HOMES=<Value Unspecified>
INSTALL_TYPE="install_type_1"
s_ASHome=<Value Unspecified>
s_adminpwd="Administrator1"

Example Response File for an Advanced Installation

The following shows an example of a response file for a silent installation of Oracle BI Publisher as described in the topic: Performing an Advanced Install.

RESPONSEFILE_VERSION=2.2.1.0.0
UNIX_GROUP_NAME=<Value Unspecified>
FROM_LOCATION="..\stage\products.xml"
FROM_LOCATION_CD_LABEL=<Value Unspecified>
NEXT_SESSION_RESPONSE=<Value Unspecified>
ORACLE_HOME="C:\OHOME1"
ORACLE_HOME_NAME="OHOME1"
TOPLEVEL_COMPONENT={"oracle.bi.publisher","10.1.3.2.1"}
DEINSTALL_LIST={"oracle.bi.publisher","10.1.3.2.1"}
SHOW_SPLASH_SCREEN=true
SHOW_WELCOME_PAGE=false
SHOW_COMPONENT_LOCATIONS_PAGE=false
SHOW_CUSTOM_TREE_PAGE=false
SHOW_SUMMARY_PAGE=true
SHOW_INSTALL_PROGRESS_PAGE=true
SHOW_REQUIRED_CONFIG_TOOL_PAGE=true
SHOW_CONFIG_TOOL_PAGE=true
SHOW_XML_PREREQ_PAGE=true
SHOW_RELEASE_NOTES=true
SHOW_END_OF_INSTALL_MSGS=true
SHOW_ROOTSH_CONFIRMATION=true
SHOW_END_SESSION_PAGE=true
SHOW_EXIT_CONFIRMATION=true
NEXT_SESSION=true
NEXT_SESSION_ON_FAIL=true
SHOW_DEINSTALL_CONFIRMATION=true
SHOW_DEINSTALL_PROGRESS=true
ACCEPT_LICENSE_AGREEMENT=true
RESTART_SYSTEM=<Value Unspecified>
CLUSTER_NODES=<Value Unspecified>
OUI_HOSTNAME=myhost.mycompany.com
REMOVE_HOMES=<Value Unspecified>
INSTALL_TYPE="install_type_2"
s_ASHome="C:\product\10.1.3.1\OracleAS_1"
s_adminpwd="Administrator1"

Start the Installation

To make the installer use the response file, specify the location of the response file that you want to use as a parameter when starting the installer.

To perform a non-interactive installation:

E:\temp\BIPublisher\ > setup.exe -responseFile absolute_path_and_filename

To perform a silent installation, use the -silent parameter:

E:\temp\BIPublisher\ > setup.exe -silent -responseFile absolute_path_and_filename

Postinstallation

The success or failure of the non-interactive and silent installations is logged in the installActions<time_stamp>.log file. Additionally, the silent installation creates the silentInstall<time_stamp>.log file. The log files are created in the C:\Program Files\Oracle\Inventory\Logs directory.

The silentInstall<time_stamp>.log file contains the following line if the installation was successful:

The installation of Oracle BI Publisher <Installation Type> was successful.

The installActions<time_stamp>.log file contains specific information for each Oracle BI Publisher installation type.

Security Tips for Silent and Non-Interactive Installations

One of the pieces of information in the response file is the installation password.

To minimize security issues regarding the password in the response file, follow these guidelines:

Set the permissions on the response files so that they are readable only by the operating system user who will be performing the silent or non-interactive installation.
If possible, remove the response files from the system after the silent or non-interactive installation is completed.

Deinstallation

You can perform a silent deinstallation of Oracle BI Publisher by supplying a silent deinstallation parameter to the response file you used for installation.

Modify the following parameter in your installation response file:

REMOVE_HOMES={"<ORACLE_HOME to be removed>"}

For example:

REMOVE_HOME="C:\oracle\ora_j2ee"

To perform a silent deinstallation, use the -deinstall parameter when entering the command:

E:\> setup.exe -silent -deinstall -responseFile absolute_path_and_filename