This appendix describes how to install and configure Oracle products using response files. It includes information about the following topics:
You can automate the installation and configuration of Oracle software, either fully or partially, by specifying a response file when you start Oracle Universal Installer. Oracle Universal Installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all of Oracle Universal Installer prompts:
Typically, Oracle Universal Installer runs in interactive mode, which means that it prompts you to provide information in graphical user interface (GUI) screens. When you use response files to provide this information, you run Oracle Universal Installer at a command prompt using either of the following modes:
If you include responses for all of the prompts in the response file and specify the -silent
option when starting Oracle Universal Installer, then Oracle Universal Installer runs in silent mode. During a silent-mode installation, Oracle Universal Installer does not display any screens. Instead, it displays progress information in the terminal that you used to start it.
Noninteractive (or suppressed) mode
If you include responses for some or all of the prompts in the response file and omit the -silent
option, then Oracle Universal Installer runs in suppressed mode. During a suppressed-mode installation, Oracle Universal Installer displays only the screens for which you did not specify all required information. You can also use variables in the response file or command-line options to suppress other installer screens, such as the Welcome screen or Summary screen, that do not prompt for information.
You define the settings for a silent or noninteractive installation by entering values for the variables listed in the response file. For instance, to specify the Oracle home name, you would supply the appropriate value for the ORACLE_HOME_NAME
variable, as in the following example:
ORACLE_HOME_NAME="OraDBHome1"
Another way of specifying the response file's variable settings is to pass them as command line arguments when you run Oracle Universal Installer. For example:
-silent "ORACLE_HOME_NAME=OraDBHome1" ...
In this command, directory_path
is the path of the client
directory on the DVD or the path of the Disk1
directory on the hard drive.
This method is particularly useful if you do not want to embed sensitive information, such as passwords, in the response file. For example:
-silent "s_dlgRBOPassword=binks342" ...
Ensure that you enclose the variable and its setting in quotes.
See Also:
Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for more information about response file formats.The following table describes several reasons why you might want to run Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode or suppressed mode.
The following are the general steps to install and configure Oracle products using Oracle Universal Installer in silent or suppressed mode:
Note:
You must complete all required preinstallation tasks on a system before running Oracle Universal Installer in silent or suppressed mode.Prepare a response file.
Run Oracle Universal Installer in silent or suppressed mode.
These steps are described in the following sections.
This section describes the following methods to prepare a response file for use during silent-mode or suppressed-mode installations:
This method is most useful for the Instant Client, Administrator, or Runtime installation types.
Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type, and for each configuration tool. These files are located in the client
/response
directory on the installation media.
Note:
If you copied the software to a hard disk, the response files are located in theDisk1/response
directory.Table A-1 lists the response files provided with Oracle Client.
Response File | Description |
---|---|
Instant Client installation of Oracle Client |
|
Administrator installation of Oracle Client |
|
Runtime installation of Oracle Client |
|
Custom installation of Oracle Client |
To copy and modify a response file:
Copy the response file from the response file directory to a directory on your system:
$ cp /directory_path/response/response_file.rsp local_directory
In this example, directory_path
is the path to the client
directory on the installation media. If you have copied the software to a hard drive, then you can edit the file in the response
directory if you prefer.
Open the response file in a text editor:
$ vi /local_dir/response_file.rsp
In addition to editing settings specific to the Oracle Database installation, check that the FROM_LOCATION
path is correct and points to the products.xml
file in the stage
directory in the installation media. You may want to set this variable to point to an absolute path, for example:
FROM_LOCATION="/directory_path/stage/products.xml"
Remember that you can specify sensitive information, such as passwords, at the command line rather than within the response file. "How Response Files Work" explains this method.
See Also:
Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for detailed information on creating response files.Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.
Note:
Oracle Universal Installer or configuration assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file. Refer to the "Silent-Mode Response File Error Handling" section for more information about troubleshooting a failed silent-mode installation.You can use Oracle Universal Installer in interactive mode to record a response file, which you can edit and then use to complete silent-mode or suppressed-mode installations. This method is useful for custom or software-only installations.
When you record the response file, you can either complete the installation, or you can exit from Oracle Universal Installer on the Summary page, before it starts to copy the software to the system.
If you use record mode during a noninteractive mode installation, then Oracle Universal Installer records the variable values that were specified in the original source response file into the new response file.
Note:
You cannot use record mode to create a response file during an installation that uses the Basic installation method.To record a response file:
Complete the preinstallation tasks listed in Chapter 2.
When you run Oracle Universal Installer to record a response file, it checks the system to verify that it meets the requirements to install the software. For this reason, Oracle recommends that you complete all of the required preinstallation tasks and record the response file while completing an installation.
If you have not installed Oracle software on this system previously, create the oraInst.loc
file, as described in the previous section.
Ensure that the Oracle software owner user (typically oracle
) has permissions to create or write to the Oracle home path that you will specify when you run Oracle Universal Installer.
To record a response file, enter a command similar to the following to start Oracle Universal Installer:
Note:
Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, Oracle Universal Installer fails.$ /directory_path/runInstaller -record -destinationFile response_filename
In this command:
directory_path
is the path of the client
directory on the DVD or the path of the Disk1
directory on the hard drive
The -record
parameter specifies that you want to record the responses that you enter in a response file
response_filename
is the full path and file name of the response file that you want to record
On each Oracle Universal Installer screen, specify the required information.
When Oracle Universal Installer displays the Summary screen, perform one of the following actions:
Click Install to create the response file, then continue with the installation.
Click Cancel and then Yes to create the response file but exit from Oracle Universal Installer without installing the software.
The response file is saved in the location that you specified using the -destinationFile
option.
If you do not complete the installation, then delete the Oracle home directory that Oracle Universal Installer created using the path you specified on the Specify File Locations screen.
Before using the recorded response file on another system, edit the file and make any required changes.
Use the instructions in the file as a guide when editing it.
Now, you are ready to run Oracle Universal Installer at the command line, specifying the response file you created, to perform the installation. The Oracle Universal Installer executable, runInstaller
, provides several options. For help information on the full set of these options, run setup.exe
with the -help
option, for example:
-help
The help information appears in a window after some time.
To run Oracle Universal using a response file:
Complete the preinstallation tasks listed in Chapter 2.
Log in as the Oracle software owner user (typically oracle
).
If you are completing a suppressed-mode installation, set the DISPLAY
environment variable.
Note:
You do not have to set theDISPLAY
environment variable if you are completing a silent-mode installation.To start Oracle Universal Installer in silent or suppressed mode, enter a command similar to the following:
Note:
Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, Oracle Universal Installer fails.$ /directory_path/runInstaller [-silent] [-noconfig] -responseFile responsefilename \ [-paramFile oraparamsilent.ini]
In this example:
directory_path
is the path of the client
directory on the DVD or the path of the Disk1
directory on the hard drive.
-silent
indicates that you want to run Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode.
-noconfig
suppresses running the configuration assistants during installation, and a software-only installation is performed instead.
responsefilename
is the full path and file name of the installation response file that you configured.
The optional -paramFile
option specifies an alternative parameter file (oraparamsilent.ini
) that you can use when performing silent installations. This alternative parameter file does not include checks for CDE or X Window System software patches for Solaris.
Note:
For more information about other options for therunInstaller
command, enter the following command:
$ /directory_path/runInstaller -help
When the installation completes, log in as the root
user and run the root.sh
script:
$ su
# /oracle_home_path/root.sh