This chapter describes the requirements for installing the products from the Oracle Database 10g Companion CD installation media. It contains the following sections:
The platform-specific hardware and software requirements included in this installation guide were current at the time this guide was published. However, because new platforms and operating system software versions may be certified after this guide is published, you must review the certification information on the OracleMetaLink Web site. This Web site provides the most up-to-date list of certified hardware platforms and operating system versions. You can visit the OracleMetaLink Web site at
If you do not have a current Oracle Support Services contract, then you can access the same information on the Oracle Technology Network Web site at
http://www.oracle.com/technology/support/metalink/content.html
The following sections describe the general requirements for installing Oracle software:
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:
Log in to the system as a user that is a member of the admin
group.
Start a local terminal session (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal
).
If you are not logged in as the root
user, enter the following command to start a shell session with root
privileges:
$ sudo sh
When prompted, enter your password.
Note:
Alternatively, if you are logged in as a user who is a member of the admin group, you can use thesudo
command to run commands as the root user, as follows:
$ sudo /usr/sbin/sysctl -a
Depending on whether this is the first time Oracle software is being installed on this system and on the products that you are installing, you may need to create several operating system groups and users.
The following operating system groups and user are required if you are installing Oracle Database:
You must create this group the first time you install Oracle Database software on the system. It identifies operating system user accounts that have database administrative privileges (the SYSDBA privilege). The default name for this group is dba
.
If you want to specify a group name other than the default dba
group, then you must choose the Custom installation type to install the software or start Oracle Universal Installer as a user that is not a member of this group. In this case, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to specify the name of this group.
This is an optional group. Create this group if you want a separate group of operating system users to have a limited set of database administrative privileges (the SYSOPER privilege). By default, members of the OSDBA group also have the SYSOPER privilege.
If you want to specify a separate OSOPER group, other than the default dba
group, then you must choose the Custom installation type to install the software or start Oracle Universal Installer as a user that is not a member of the dba
group. In this case, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to specify the name of this group. The usual name chosen for this group is oper
.
Verify that the unprivileged user nobody exists on the system. The nobody user must own the external jobs (extjob
) executable after the installation.
The following operating system group and user are required for all installations:
The Oracle Inventory group (typically, oinstall
)
You must create this group the first time you install Oracle software on the system. The usual name chosen for this group is oinstall
. This group owns the Oracle inventory, which is a catalog of all Oracle software installed on the system.
Note:
If Oracle software is already installed on the system, then the existing Oracle Inventory group must be the primary group of the operating system user that you use to install new Oracle software.The Oracle software owner user (typically, oracle
)
You must create this user the first time you install Oracle software on the system. This user owns all of the software installed during the installation. This user must have the Oracle Inventory group as its primary group. It must also have the OSDBA and OSOPER groups as secondary groups.
Note:
In Oracle documentation, this user is referred to as theoracle
user.A single Oracle Inventory group is required for all installations of Oracle software on the system. After the first installation of Oracle software, you must use the same Oracle Inventory group for all subsequent Oracle software installations on that system. However, you can choose to create different Oracle software owner users, OSDBA groups, and OSOPER groups (other than oracle
, dba
, and oper
) for separate installations. By using different groups for different installations, members of these different groups have DBA privileges only on the associated databases rather than on all databases on the system.
See Also:
Oracle Database Administrator's Reference for UNIX-Based Operating Systems and Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about the OSDBA and OSOPER groups and the SYSDBA and SYSOPER privilegesNote:
The following sections describe how to create local users and groups. As an alternative to creating local users and groups, you could create the appropriate users and groups in a directory service, for example, Network Information Services (NIS). For information about using directory services, contact your system administrator or refer to your operating system documentation.The following sections describe how to create the required operating system users and groups:
You must create the Oracle Inventory group if it does not already exist. The following subsections describe how to determine the Oracle Inventory group name, if it exists, and how to create it if necessary.
Determining Whether the Oracle Inventory Group Exists
When you install Oracle software on the system for the first time, Oracle Universal Installer creates the oraInst.loc
file. This file identifies the name of the Oracle Inventory group and the path of the Oracle Inventory directory.
To determine whether the Oracle Inventory group exists, enter the following command:
# more /var/opt/oracle/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/oracle/oraInventory inst_group=oinstall
The inst_group
parameter shows the name of the Oracle Inventory group, oinstall
.
Creating the Oracle Inventory Group
If the oraInst.loc
file does not exist, then create the Oracle Inventory group by using one of the following methods:
Use Workgroup Manager (/Applications/Server/Workgroup Manager
) to create a group called oinstall
.
Use command-line utilities to create the Oracle Inventory group:
Enter the following command to list existing groups and group IDs (GIDs):
# dscl . -list /groups gid name | more
Identify an unused GID for the new Oracle Inventory group.
Enter commands similar to the following to create the oinstall
group:
# dscl . -create /groups/oinstall # dscl . -append /groups/oinstall gid gid_number # dscl . -append /groups/oinstall passwd "*"
You must create an OSDBA group in the following circumstances:
An OSDBA group does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle Database software on the system
An OSDBA group exists, but you want to give a different group of operating system users database administrative privileges in a new Oracle installation
If the OSDBA group does not exist or if you require a new OSDBA group, then create it as follows. In the following command, use the group name dba
unless a group with that name already exists.
Use Workgroup Manager to create a group called dba
.
Use command-line utilities to create the OSDBA group:
Enter the following command to list existing groups and GIDs:
# dscl . -list /groups gid name | more
Identify an unused GID for the new OSDBA group.
Enter commands similar to the following to create the dba group:
# dscl . -create /groups/dba # dscl . -append /groups/dba gid gid_number # dscl . -append /groups/dba passwd "*"
Create an OSOPER group only if you want to identify a group of operating system users with a limited set of database administrative privileges (SYSOPER operator privileges). For most installations, it is sufficient to create only the OSDBA group. If you want to use an OSOPER group, then you must create it in the following circumstances:
If an OSOPER group does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle Database software on the system
If an OSOPER group exists, but you want to give a different group of operating system users database operator privileges in a new Oracle installation
If you require a new OSOPER group, then create it as follows. In the following command, use the group name oper
unless a group with that name already exists.
Use Workgroup Manager to create a group called oper
.
Use command-line utilities to create the OSOPER group:
Enter the following command to list existing groups and GIDs:
# dscl . -list /groups gid name | more
Identify an unused GID for the new OSOPER group.
Enter commands similar to the following to create the oper
group:
# dscl . -create /groups/oper # dscl . -append /groups/oper gid gid_number # dscl . -append /groups/oper passwd "*"
You must create an Oracle software owner user in the following circumstances:
If an Oracle software owner user does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle software on the system
If an Oracle software owner user exists, but you want to use a different operating system user
To determine whether an Oracle software owner user named oracle
exists, enter the following command:
# id oracle
If the oracle
user exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:
uid=440(oracle) gid=200(oinstall) groups=201(dba),202(oper)
If the user exists, then determine whether you want to use the existing user or create another oracle
user. If you want to use the existing user, then ensure that the user's primary group is the Oracle Inventory group. Refer to one of the following sections for more information:
Note:
If necessary, contact your system administrator before using or modifying an existing user.To modify an existing user, refer to the "Modifying an Oracle Software Owner User".
To create a user, refer to the following section.
If the Oracle software owner user does not exist or if you require a new Oracle software owner user, then create it as follows. In the following procedure, use the user name oracle
unless a user with that name already exists.
Use Workgroup Manager to create a user with the following properties:
Property | Recommended Value |
---|---|
Name | Oracle Software Owner |
Short name | oracle |
Password | Specify and verify a password for the oracle user |
Primary group | oinstall |
Default shell | Any supported shell, for example /bin/tcsh or /bin/bash |
Home directory | A home directory consistent with other user home directories, for example /Users/oracle |
Use command-line utilities to create the Oracle software owner user:
Enter the following command to list existing users and user IDs (UIDs):
# dscl . -list /users uid name | more
Identify an unused UID for the new Oracle software owner user.
Enter commands similar to the following to create the oracle user:
# dscl . -create /users/oracle # dscl . -append /users/oracle uid uid_number # dscl . -append /users/oracle gid oinstall_gid # dscl . -append /users/oracle shell /bin/bash # dscl . -append /users/oracle home /Users/oracle # dscl . -append /users/oracle realname "Oracle software owner"
Create the home directory for the oracle
user and change the owner and group on that directory:
# mkdir /Users/oracle # chown oracle:oinstall /Users/oracle
Set the password for the oracle
user:
# passwd oracle
If the oracle
user exists, but its primary group is not oinstall
, then use one of the following methods to modify it:
Use Workgroup Manager to modify the oracle
user, specifying oinstall
as the Primary group.
Use command-line utilities to modify the oracle
user:
Enter the following command to determine the GID of the oinstall
group:
# dscl . -list /groups/oinstall gid name | more
Enter the following command to change the GID of the oracle
user to the GID of the oinstall
group:
# dscl . -delete /users/oracle gid # dscl . -append /users/oracle gid oinstall_gid
This section describes the following directories, which you must identify or create for the Oracle software:
Oracle base directory
Oracle Inventory directory
Oracle home directory
The Oracle base directory acts as a top-level directory for Oracle software installations. It is analogous to the C:\Oracle
directory used for Oracle software installations on Microsoft Windows systems. On UNIX-based systems, the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines recommend that you use a path similar to the following for the Oracle base directory:
/mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner
In this example:
mount_point
is the mount point directory for the file system that will contain the Oracle software.
The examples in this guide use /u01
for the mount point directory. However, you can choose another mount point directory. For example, /oracle
or /opt/oracle
.
oracle_sw_owner
is the operating system user name of the Oracle software owner, for example oracle
.
You can use the same Oracle base directory for more than one installation or you can create separate Oracle base directories for different installations. If different operating system users install Oracle software on the same system, then each user must create a separate Oracle base directory. For example, the following Oracle base directories can exist on the same system at the same time:
/u01/app/oracle /u01/app/orauser /opt/oracle/app/oracle
Regardless of whether you create an Oracle base directory or decide to use an existing one, you must set the ORACLE_BASE
environment variable to specify the full path to this directory.
Note:
You can create an Oracle base directory even if other Oracle base directories exist on the system.Identifying an Existing Oracle Base Directory
Existing Oracle base directories may not have paths that comply with Oracle Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines. However, if you identify an existing Oracle Inventory directory or existing Oracle home directories, then you can usually identify the Oracle base directories, as follows:
Identify an existing Oracle Inventory directory
Enter the following command to view the contents of the oraInst.loc
file:
# more /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc
If the oraInst.loc
file exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:
inventory_loc=/u01/app/oracle/oraInventory inst_group=oinstall
The inventory_loc
parameter identifies the Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory
). The parent directory of the oraInventory
directory is typically an Oracle base directory. In the previous example, /u01/app/oracle
is an Oracle base directory.
Identifying existing Oracle home directories
Enter the following command to view the contents of the oratab
file:
# more /etc/oratab
If the oratab
file exists, then it contains lines similar to the following:
*:/u03/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1:N *:/opt/orauser/infra_904:N *:/oracle/9.2.0:N
The directory paths specified on each line identify Oracle home directories. Directory paths that end with the user name of the Oracle software owner that you want to use are valid choices for an Oracle base directory. If you intend to use the oracle
user to install the software, then you can choose one of the following directories from the previous example:
/u03/app/oracle /oracle
Note:
If possible, choose a directory path similar to the first (/u03/app/oracle
). This path complies with the OFA guidelines.To continue:
If an Oracle base directory exists and you want to use it, then refer to the "Configuring the oracle User's Environment" section.
When you are configuring the oracle
user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE
environment variable to specify the directory you chose.
If an Oracle base directory does not exist on the system or if you want to create an Oracle base directory, then refer to the following section.
Creating an Oracle Base Directory
To identify an appropriate file system:
Use the df -k
command to determine the free disk space on each mounted file system.
From the display, identify a file system that has sufficient free space.
Note the name of the mount point directory for the file system that you identified.
To create the Oracle base directory and specify the correct owner, group, and permissions for it:
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 for them:
# mkdir -p /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner # chown -R oracle:oinstall /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner # chmod -R 775 /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner
If the mount point you identified is /u01
and oracle
is the user name of the Oracle software owner, then the recommended Oracle base directory path is as follows:
/u01/app/oracle
When you configure the oracle
user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE
environment variable to specify this directory.
The Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory
) stores an inventory of all software installed on the system. It is required by, and shared by, all Oracle software installations on a single system. The first time you install Oracle software on a system, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to specify the path to this directory. Oracle recommends that you choose the following path:
oracle_base/oraInventory
Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory that you specify and sets the correct owner, group, and permissions on it. You do not need to create it.
Caution:
All Oracle software installations rely on this directory. Ensure that you back it up regularly.Do not delete this directory unless you have completely removed all Oracle software from the system.
The Oracle home directory is the directory in which you choose to install the software for a particular Oracle product. You must install different Oracle products, or different releases of the same Oracle product, in separate Oracle home directories. When you run Oracle Universal Installer, it prompts you to specify the path to this directory, as well as a name that identifies it. The directory that you specify must be a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. Oracle recommends that you specify a path similar to the following for the Oracle home directory:
oracle_base/product/10.2.0/companion_1
Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory path that you specify under the Oracle base directory. It also sets the correct owner, group, and permissions on it. You do not need to create this directory.
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:
To set the oracle
user's environment, follow these steps:
Start a new terminal session.
If you are not already logged in to the system on which you want to install the software, then log in to that system as the oracle
user.
If you are not logged in as the oracle
user, then switch user to oracle
:
$ su - oracle
To determine the default shell for the oracle
user, enter the following command:
$ echo $SHELL
Open the oracle
user's shell startup file in any text editor:
Bash shell:
$ . ./.bash_profile
Bourne shell (sh
), or Korn shell (ksh
):
$ vi .profile
C shell (csh
or tcsh
):
% vi .login
Enter or edit the following line, specifying a value of 022
for the default file mode creation mask:
umask 022
If the ORACLE_SID
, ORACLE_HOME
, or ORACLE_BASE
environment variable are set in the file, then remove the appropriate lines from the file.
Save the file, and exit from the editor.
To run the shell startup script, enter one of the following commands:
Bash shell:
$ . ./.bash_profile
Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$ . ./.profile
C shell:
% source ./.login
If you determined that the /tmp
directory has less than 400 MB of free disk space, then identify a file system with at least 400 MB of free space and set the TEMP
and TMPDIR
environment variables to specify a temporary directory on this file system. To do this:
Use the df -h
command to identify a suitable file system with sufficient free space.
If necessary, as a user that is a member of the admin
group, enter commands similar to the following to create a temporary directory on the file system that you identified and to set the appropriate permissions on the directory:
$ sudo mkdir /mount_point/tmp $ sudo chmod a+wr /mount_point/tmp
Enter commands similar to the following to set the TEMP
and TMPDIR
environment variables:
Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$ TMPDIR=/mount_point/tmp $ TEMP=/mount_point/tmp $ export TEMP TMPDIR
C shell:
% setenv TMPDIR /mount_point/tmp % setenv TEMP /mount_point/tmp
Enter the following command 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
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.
The requirements for the Oracle Database 10g Products installation type are as follows:
Before you install products from the Oracle Database 10g Products installation type, you must ensure that your system has access to an Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) Oracle home. If required, you must first install or upgrade to this release of Oracle Database.
See Also:
Oracle Database Installation Guide for information about installing Oracle DatabaseIdentify the Oracle home directory used by the Oracle Database installation. To do this, you can check the contents of the oratab
file by using the following command:
# more /etc/oratab
Typically, the computer on which you want to install Oracle Database is connected to the network, has local storage to contain the Oracle Database installation, has a display monitor, and has a CD-ROM or DVD drive.
This section describes how to install Oracle Database on computers that do not meet the typical scenario. It covers the following cases:
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns dynamic IP addresses on a network. Dynamic addressing enables a computer to have a different IP address each time it connects to the network. In some cases, the IP address can change while the computer is still connected. You can have a combination of static and dynamic IP addressing in a DHCP system.
In a DHCP setup, the software tracks IP addresses, which simplifies network administration. This lets you add a new computer to the network without having to manually assign that computer a unique IP address.
You can install Companion CD products on a multihomed computer. A multihomed computer is associated with multiple IP addresses. This is typically achieved by having multiple network cards on the computer. Each IP address is associated with a host name. In addition, you can set up aliases for the host name. By default, Oracle Universal Installer uses the ORACLE_HOSTNAME
environment variable setting to find the host name. If ORACLE_HOSTNAME
is not set and you are installing on a computer that has multiple network cards, then Oracle Universal Installer determines the host name by using the first entry in the /etc/hosts
file.
Clients must be able to access the computer either by using this host name or by using aliases for this host name. To verify this, ping the host name from the client computers using the short name (host name only) and the full name (host name and domain name). Both tests must be successful.
Setting the ORACLE_HOSTNAME Environment Variable
Use the following procedure to set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME
environment variable.
If, for example, the fully qualified host name is somehost.us.acme.com
, then enter one of the following commands:
Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:
$ ORACLE_HOSTNAME=somehost.us.acme.com $ export ORACLE_HOSTNAME
C shell:
% setenv ORACLE_HOSTNAME somehost.us.acme.com
A computer with multiple aliases is registered with the naming service under a single IP but with multiple aliases. The naming service resolves any of those aliases to the same computer. Before installing Oracle Database on such a computer, set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME
environment variable to the computer whose host name you want to use.