1 Oracle Explorer Data Collector Installation

The Oracle Explorer Data Collector is a collection of shell scripts and a few binary executable that gathers information and creates a detailed snapshot of a system's configuration and state.

Explorer output enables Oracle's engineers to perform assessments of the system by applying the output against knowledge-based rules engine.

Note:

The Oracle Explorer Data Collector is supported on Oracle Solaris Releases 8, 9, 10, 11 Express, and 11.

Oracle Explorer and the Oracle Service Tools Bundle

The Oracle Services Tools Bundle (STB) groups several diagnostic software packages:

• Oracle Explorer Data Collector

• Oracle Remote Diagnostic Agent (RDA)

• Oracle Serial Number in EEPROM (SNEEP)

• Oracle Autonomous Crashdump Tool (ACT)

• Oracle Lightweight Availability Data Collector Tools (LWACT)

• Service Tag packages (ST)

• XML packages

The supported way to install Oracle Explorer Data Collector is via the Oracle Services Tools Bundle because Oracle Explorer relies on the presence of the other software packages on the system.

Packages, which are installed via STB, depend on the architecture and operating system on which you install.

Localzone Installation

Beginning with Oracle Solaris 10, local zones are now supported. However, Oracle Explorer, ACT, and RDA can only be installed in the global zone. Other packages (such as LWACT and SNEEP) can be installed in localzones.

Packaging Format on Solaris 8, 9, and 10

The software packages on Solaris 8, 9, and 10 are delivered in the traditional SVR4 format. Examples are the SUNWexplo, the SUNWrda, and the SUNWsneep packages.

Solaris 11 Packaging Format

On Solaris 11 and Solaris 11 Express systems software is packaged with the Solaris Image Packaging System (IPS). On Solaris 11, two IPS packages are delivered:

• The Oracle ACT package, which contains the ACT software.

• The SNEEP package, which contains the SNEEP software.

Note:

RDA and Explorer will be delivered in SVR4 format (SUNWrda, SUNWexplo, and SUNWexplu packages).

The leading parts of the Fault Management Resource Identifier (FMRI) of both IPS packages are:

• pkg://solaris/support/act for the ACT IPS package.

• pkg://solaris/support/sneep for the SNEEP IPS package.

Download Oracle Explorer Data Collector

The Oracle Explorer Data Collector is distributed as part of the Services Tools Bundle (STB) and is made available for download as a My Oracle Support patch. Because the Oracle Explorer Data Collector uses the Remote Diagnostic Agent (RDA) tool to collect part of its information and because RDA is part of the STB, it is highly advised to install the entire STB bundle.

First, please read the "Oracle Explorer Data Collector Third-Party License Agreement", which explains the terms and conditions under which the third-party software that is included in Oracle Explorer is available for use.

To download the latest Services Tools Bundle:

1. Log in to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com).

2. Click the Patches & Updates tab.

3. In the Patch Search pane, click the Product or Family (Advanced Search) link.

4. In the Product drop-down menu, select Services Tools Bundle. Then in the Release drop-down, select the latest available version of the Services Tools Bundle.

5. Click Search.

The Patch Name will appear in a search results list with the Patch ID number for downloading the Services Tools Bundle. Click this Patch ID for a description of the patch and select the download option you prefer.

It is highly recommended that you always install the entire Services Tools Bundle. There is a possibility to extract the individual packages from the Services Tool bundle and install from the extract location. See Extracting Individual Packages for more information.

Oracle Explorer Directories

Oracle Explorer uses the following directories:

• A software directory where the Explorer software is located (which is by default /opt/SUNWexplo).

• An output directory, which Explorer uses to store its collection output. The default directory is /opt/SUNWexplo/output. The default location can be changed with the -t option.

• A lock directory for which Explorer uses (/opt/SUNWexplo/tmp by default). The location can be influenced by setting the EXP_TMP environment variable.

• Explorer uses a configuration directory for its input files and its defaults file. The default location is /etc/opt/SUNWexplo. The location of the defaults file can be influenced by the -d command line option and for many input files a similar command line option exists. Check the man pages for details..

Oracle Explorer Data Collector Installation Options

Depending on your software installation preferences, you have several options for installing the Oracle Explorer Data Collector.

Using the STB_INST_PATH Environment Variable

To install the software packages, the install_stb.sh installation script will extract the software archive. By default, it uses the /tmp/STBinstall directory. You can specify a directory by setting (as root) the STB_INST_PATH environment variable in your .cshrc file to a directory. If you use this variable, the $STB_INST_PATH/tmp/STBinstall directory will be used.

Note:

The extracted software archive will be deleted after the install_stb.sh installation script runs. If you set the environment variable STB_INST_KEEP to 1, then the extracted archive will not be deleted.

Install Through Oracle Services Tools Bundle for Sun Systems

The downloaded Services Tools Bundle is a self-extracting installer bundle by which Oracle Explorer Data Collector can be installed directly or can be extracted. To install the tool:

1. Log in as root.

2. Make sure the install script is executable:

   chmod +x install_stb.sh
   

3. Run ./install_stb.sh -verbose

You will be asked to choose between I(install), X(extract), or E(exit). Choose the I(install) option.

• For Solaris 11 systems:

  The installation script will install the SNEEP IPS (pkg://solaris/support/sneep) package and the ACT IPS packages (pkg://solaris/support/act) on your system. On top of that, RDA and Explorer will be installed as traditional SVR4 packages. The installation of the IPS packages will be done by using the file-based IPS repository in the install_stb.sh and running the pkg install <package> command. The IPS packaging system will take care to update older versions of the IPS packages on the system.

• For Solaris 8, 9, and 10 systems:

  The installation script will check the versions of the existing packages on the system. Older versions will be removed first, and then the install_stb.sh script will install the new version.

Command Line Interface Options of the Oracle STB Installer

The following command options are available to the Oracle STB installation script:

install_stb.sh -version
install_stb.sh -help
install_stb.sh -runmode manual [-force] [-trace] [-verbose]
install_stb.sh -runmode auto [-force] [-trace] [-verbose]
install_stb.sh -runmode auto -ext [architecture,version] [-trace] [-verbose]
install_stb.sh -verbose
install_stb.sh -trace

Where:

• -runmode manual runs STB in manual mode (default)

• -runmode auto installs packages in auto/non-interactive mode

• -runmode auto -ext extracts packages for the current or the specified architecture and operating system version combination (for example, Solaris 9 on SPARC or Solaris 11 on x86)

• -verbose will make the STB installer more verbose. This option is highly recommended.

• -trace will run the STB installer, which is a shell script, in trace mode. This option is mainly used for debugging puposes.

Notes:

• When installing STB, STB will install/upgrade all packages.

• When you specify the -force option, STB will uninstall the currently installed packages and install the bundled versions.

Extracting Individual Packages

To extract individual packages from the Oracle STB software bundle:

1. Log in as root.

2. Make sure the install script is executable:

   chmod +x install_stb.sh
   

3. Run ./install_stb.sh -verbose

4. Choose X(extract) and the packages specific for the architecture and the OS version.

   By default the /var/tmp/stb/extract directory will be used but you can use the STB_EXT_PATH environment variable to change this destination. In this case, the software will be extracted to the $STB_EXT_PATH/stb/extract directory.

   • For Solaris 11 systems:

     • A file-based IPS repository will be extracted, which contains the SNEEP and the ACT IPS packages.

     • The RDA and Explorer packages (SUNWrda, SUNWexplo, SUNWexplu) will be extracted as well as any other SVR4 package, needed on a Solaris 11 system.

   • For Solaris 8, 9, and 10 systems:

     SVR4 package streams will be extracted. For example, you will find /var/tmp/stb/extract/Explorer/SUNWrda.4.27.pkg (RDA is considered as part of the Explorer distribution).

When using the command-line options, it is possible to specify an alternative extraction platform. For example, you can extract the SVR4 package streams for a SPARC Solaris 10 system on a Solaris 11 system.

Install with Limited Interaction

To install Oracle Explorer Data Collector with limited interaction, modify the Oracle Explorer defaults settings on host_A and then run the explorer -g -d command to use the settings from host_A when installing on other hosts (such as host_B). If host_B has an existing defaults file, Oracle Explorer Data Collector uses the defined values whenever possible. If host_B does not have a defaults file, the tools uses the host_A defaults file settings.

This procedure updates the modification date and EXP_DEF_VERSION variable, and replaces ${EXP_HOME} with /opt/SUNWexplo in the EXP_LIB variable.

Note:

The EXP_PLATFORM_NAME_$hostid, EXP_SERIAL_$hostid, and EXP_ZONES settings are not saved in the defaults file. If you use those settings, run the Oracle Explorer Data Collector installation on each system.

To install Oracle Explorer Data Collector using limited interaction:

1. Install Oracle Explorer on host_A using the pkgadd command.

2. Run the explorer -g command on host_A to accept the license and update or create the defaults file.

3. Save the defaults file.

   The file must be located in the directory that other hosts are able to access.

4. Install the new Oracle Explorer release on another system (host_B).

5. Run the explorer -g -d command file on host_B.

   The -d file option specifies the defaults file saved in Step 3.

   The defaults file for host_B is /etc/opt/SUNWexplo/default/explorer. If there is already an Oracle Explorer defaults file on host_B, then the tool will try to use the existing values on host_B. Otherwise, the values are the same as for host_A. The values for EXP_PLATFORM_NAME_$hostid, EXP_SERIAL_$hostid, and EXP_ZONES in the defaults file are null.

Install to a Non-Default Directory

This procedure describes installing SUNWexplo into a non-default directory. The command option is pkgadd -a admin. A template of the admin file is in the Oracle Explorer Data Collector release package.

1. Extract all the packages in the STB install bundle (See Extracting Individual Packages).

2. You will find the SUNWexplo, SUNWexplu, and SUNWrda packages in the Explorer subdirectory of the extraction directory (by default in /var/tmp/stb/extract/Explorer).

3. To install the packages you need a changed admin file. You can take a copy of the admin file from one of the package streams as follows:

   cd  /var/tmp/stb/extract/Explorer
   pkgtrans SUNWexplo.6.10.pkg . SUNWexplo
   cp SUNWexplo/install/exp_admin /tmp
   

4. Change the value of basedir in the /tmp/exp_admin file to the desired installation directory.

5. To install Explorer in a non-default directory, run:

   pkgadd -a /tmp/exp_admin -d SUNWexplo.6.10.pkg SUNWexplo
   

   As a result, the Explorer software will be installed in the indicated base directory instead of in the /opt directory.

Note:

The installation of RDA in a non-default directory is similar.

Indicating the Location of RDA to Explorer

Oracle Explorer uses the packaging information to know where RDA is installed. However, if RDA is installed via another means other than normal packaging, then you have to use the RDA input file to indicate where RDA resides.

Add RDA_HOME=<location of RDA> to the rdainput.txt file in the config location.