This chapter includes the following topics:
Before installing Linux on the STA server, review the system requirements in the STA Requirements Guide.
Note:
You cannot perform an in-place upgrade of Linux 5.x to Linux 6.x. If you are installing Linux 6.x as part of an upgrade to STA 2.0.x, see Chapter 8, "Upgrading to STA 2.1.x."To install and configure Linux for STA, perform the following tasks in the following sections, in the order indicated.
Preparation
Installation
Post-installation
Before installing Linux on the STA server, perform the procedures in the following sections.
Due to the wide variety of network configuration requirements and options, refer to the following documents for help with installing and configuring the hardware, software, and network. IPv4 and IPv6 network configuration are discussed in detail in these documents.
Oracle Linux Installation Guides:
RedHat Linux Documentation:
Table 2-2 describes the recommended file system layout for the STA server. You configure the layout during Linux installation.
The following locations are user-defined, meaning you can configure the layout to meet your site requirements.
Oracle storage home—The STA installer will prompt you for this location. There is no default. See "Oracle storage home location" for details.
STA database—The STA installer will prompt you for this location. The default is /dbdata.
STA database local backup—The STA installer will prompt you for this location. The default is /dbbackup.
STA and MySQL logs—The default is /var/log/tbi. If you want to use a different location, you must create a symbolic link from your desired location to /var/log/tbi after STA has been installed. See "Relocate the STA Logs Directory (optional)" for instructions.
Oracle recommends creating all these file systems before installing STA; otherwise, STA will be installed in the root "/" and /var directories, requiring additional space allocation to these directories. While the STA installer creates directories as needed, you have greater control of file system properties if you create the files systems in advance.
Table 2-2 Recommended File System Layout
| File System | Default Mount Point | Size | Description and Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
|
root |
/ |
32 GB minimum |
If /tmp is included in this file system, a minimum of 4 GB of free space should be maintained; this space is required during STA installations and upgrades. |
|
swap |
None. Defined as memory. |
50 to 100 percent of RAM size |
Used for swap space. |
|
Oracle storage home |
/Oracle |
30 GB minimum 50 GB recommended |
Location of the STA and Oracle Middleware (WebLogic, MySQL, RDA) application files. This location is user-defined. It should be a separate file system on a separate volume. Maintain a minimum of 4 GB free space for STA installations and upgrades. Maintain an additional 5 GB free space for WebLogic log rotation. STA automatically creates the following Oracle Middleware subdirectories:
|
|
STA database location |
/dbdata |
250 GB to 2 TB |
Location of the STA database. This location is user-defined. Oracle highly recommends you place this directory on its own volume, separate from root, swap, Oracle storage home, and the STA logs location. For performance, backup, and maintainability, best practice is to use a separate set of mirrored or striped drives. Required size depends on the number of libraries, drives, media, exchanges per day, and historical years of data. Oracle recommends that you configure STA services to alert if space utilization exceeds a specified percentage. |
|
STA database local backup location |
/dbbackup |
70 to 80 percent of /dbdata size |
Location of the most recent local database backup. This location is user-defined. Oracle recommends that it be on a different volume from the STA database, and on mirrored or striped drives in case of database corruption or failure. |
|
STA logs location |
/var/log/tbi |
30 GB minimum 50 GB to 100 GB recommended |
Location of STA and MySQL logs. This location should be a separate volume at a separate mount point. The contents tend to grow and are managed through log rotation. The default location is /var/log/tbi, but you can change this location at any time after STA installation; see "Relocate the STA Logs Directory (optional)" for instructions. Note: Except for log rotation, STA does not perform space management. Caution: You must configure the STA backup utility to manage the log files in /STA_logs/db/stadb_bin.*. Otherwise, these files may require manual management (see the STA Administration Guide for details). |
Use this procedure to download the Linux installer media pack from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud website. The media pack is delivered as a compressed ISO image file, which you can extract and write to portable media of your choice (flash drive, DVD, etc.).
Before performing this task, you must obtain an Oracle Software Delivery Cloud user ID and password from your Oracle support representative.
Start a Web browser and navigate to the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud website:
Click Sign In/Register.
Enter the user ID and password provided by Oracle Support.
On the Terms & Restrictions screen, select the boxes to indicate your acceptance of the License Agreement and Export Restrictions, and then click Continue.
On the Media Pack Search screen:
In the Select a Product Pack menu, select Oracle Linux.
In the Platform menu, select x86 64 bit (STA requires 64-bit Linux).
Click Go.
Select a Linux version, and then click Continue.
For Linux version requirements, see the STA Requirements Guide.
Click Download for the 64-bit option.
Save the ISO file and write it to media.
The following procedures assume an Oracle Enterprise Linux (OEL) 6u4 DVD installation with graphical installer and setup agent. If you install a different version of Linux, use different media, or use the console mode, the steps and packages may vary.
Contact your system administrator to obtain the following information:
Hostname and IP address for the STA server
Gateway IP address and netmask for your network
DNS server IP addresses and search domains for your network
IP address of the NTP (network time protocol) servers you will be using
Network proxy information, if applicable
Use this procedure to perform the Linux installation.
Connect the installation media to the STA server.
Start the Linux installer using the instructions in the README file on the media.
Select Install or upgrade an existing system.
If you are installing from a DVD, the CD Found screen appears. You can optionally perform a test of the media. To skip the test, press Tab to highlight the Skip option, and then press Spacebar.
On the Welcome screen, click Next.
Select a language, and then click Next.
Select a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
Select Basic Storage Devices, and then click Next.
Enter a hostname for the STA server, and then click Configure Network.
Select the network adapter name, and then click Edit.
Ensure that Connect automatically and Available to all users are both selected.
In the remaining tabs, configure the adapter according to your network administrator's IPv4 or IPv6 specifications. You must specify a static IP address for the STA server, and at least one DNS server. When done, click Apply, Close, and Next.
Select the STA server's time zone, select the System clock uses UTC check box, and then click Next.
Enter and confirm a Linux root password for the server, and then click Next.
Identify a partitioning layout to use on the server:
Because STA requires a dedicated server, Oracle recommends selecting Use All Space.
Select the Review and modify partitioning layout check box, and then click Next.
Use Table 2-2 to modify the file system layout, as the default does not meet the minimum requirements for STA. Alternatively, you can use the system-config-lvm utility to modify the file system after Linux installation.
When done, click Next.
When ready, select Write changes to disk.
In the boot loader screen, leave all options as-is, and then click Next.
In the software selection screen, select Basic Server, and do not change the repository options. Then, select Customize now, and then click Next.
In the package selection screen, use Table 2-3 to configure the packages for each package category:
Select a package category.
Select the box for each package in the Select column.
If a package requires an option (indicated with a +), highlight the parent package, click the Optional packages button, select the child package in the list, and then click Close.
Deselect the box for each package in the Deselect column.
Leave other check boxes as-is.
Table 2-3 Linux Package Selection
| Package Category | Select | Deselect |
|---|---|---|
|
Base System |
|
|
|
Servers (optional) |
|
NA |
|
Web Services |
NA |
All packages |
|
Databases |
NA |
All packages |
|
System Management |
NA |
NA |
|
Virtualization |
NA |
NA |
|
Desktops (recommended)— Used to perform certain post-installation steps in a graphical environment; see "Post-Installation Tasks" for details. |
|
NA |
|
Applications (optional)— Can be used to configure and manage the STA server locally with the GUI interface. |
|
NA |
|
Development |
|
NA |
|
Languages |
NA |
NA |
Footnote 1 Optional. Can be used to configure or re-configure the file system once Linux installation is complete.
When you are finished with package selection, click Next. Installation will begin.
If you accidentally click Next before configuring all the packages, click Back after the software completes a dependency check.
When the Congratulations screen appears, remove the installation media, and then click Reboot.
A complete log of the installation can be found in /root/install.log.
The Linux Setup Agent starts automatically when you reboot the Linux server. Use this procedure to configure the system environment.
On the Welcome screen, click Forward.
Read the License Agreement, select Yes, I agree to the License Agreement, and click Forward.
On the Software Updates screen, if you'd like to register your system for updates, select Yes, I'd like to register now. Otherwise, select No, I prefer to register at a later time, and click Forward.
On the Finish Updates Setup screen, click Forward.
On the Create User screen, leave the fields blank, click Forward, and then Yes to continue. The STA server does not require a non-administrative user.
In the Date and Time screen:
Set the current date and time.
Select the Synchronize date and time over the network check box.
Add or remove the desired NTP servers (obtained from your IT administrator), and then click Forward.
Note:
To ensure that STA data and log files are correct, the date and time on the STA server must be correct. Additionally, any library connected to STA must also have the correct time.On the Kdump screen, do not select Enable kdump?. Then click Finish.
The system reboots.
After the system reboots, log in as the root user:
Click Other....
Enter username root, and then click Log In.
Enter the root password, and then click Log In again.
If a message appears about being logged in as root super user, you may ignore the message.
Confirm the Linux release and update level. This step is optional.
# cat /etc/*-release
Oracle Linux Server release 6.4
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.4 (Santiago)
Oracle Linux Server release 6.4
Perform the following tasks to ensure that the STA server is configured properly for STA installation.
Oracle recommends disabling SELinux on the STA server.
Open a terminal session on the STA server.
Open the SELinux configuration file with a text editor.
# vi /etc/sysconfig/selinux
In the file, set SELINUX to disabled:
SELINUX=disabled
Save and exit the file.
For optimal system performance, Oracle recommends disabling the firewall on the STA server. However, you may choose to enable and configure the firewall depending on your site requirements.
Use this procedure to disable the firewall.
Open a terminal session on the STA server.
Check the settings of the Linux firewall (for next boot).
# chkconfig --list |grep "ip"
If the firewall is set to be disabled on next boot, all output for both iptables and ip6tables will show as off. If this is not the case, disable the firewall.
# chkconfig iptables off # chkconfig ip6tables off
Check the current status of the Linux firewall.
# service iptables status # service ip6tables status
The command output will indicate if the firewall is currently running. If the firewall is running, stop the firewall.
# service iptables stop # service ip6tables stop
If either of the following is true, you will need to reboot the server.
You disabled SELinux in "Disable SELinux".
You disabled the Linux firewall (using chkconfig) in this section.
Access control must be disabled for certain directories.
List permissions for the Oracle storage home, STA database, STA database local backup, and STA logs locations. For example:
# ls –ld /Oracle /dbdata /dbbackup /var/log/tbi
drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 4096 Jul 30 14:48 /Oracle
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 30 14:46 /dbdata
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 29 14:13 /dbbackup
drwxrwxrwx 4 root root 4096 Jul 30 14:46 /var/log/tbi
In the output for each command, look for a dot at the end of the permissions. In the following example, note the "." after drxwr-xr-x.
# ls -ld /Oracle
drxwr-xr-x. 5 oracle oinstall 4096 Jul 30 18:27 /Oracle
If none of the directories contain a dot after the permissions statement, access control is already disabled, and you can proceed to the next task.
If access control is enabled on a directory, as the system root user, execute the following command for that directory.
# setfattr -h -x security.selinux directory_name
For example:
# setfattr -h -x security.selinux /Oracle
You can configure the STA server to connect to the network directly or through a proxy server.
From the Linux desktop System menu, select Preferences, then select Network Proxy.
In the Network Proxy Preferences dialog box, specify the proxy configuration according to your site requirements.
Click Close.
There are a variety of methods for installing the required RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) Linux software packages. Oracle recommends you use yum (Yellowdog Updater, Modified), as it greatly simplifies the package installation process. yum automatically searches RPM package repositories for the latest package versions and their dependencies. See "Install Required Linux Packages" for the required packages.
If you will be using yum, use this procedure to ensure that yum is configured correctly on the STA server.
Note:
The following command examples use the yum repository for Oracle Linux. In the commands, the "l" in "ol6" is lowercase "L".Ping the Oracle public-yum server to ensure the network connection is working.
# ping public-yum.oracle.com
Change to the yum repository directory and determine the yum repository filename.
# cd /etc/yum.repos.d # ls public-yum-ol6.repo
Remove the existing yum repository file.
# rm public-yum-ol6.repo
Download the latest yum repository file from the yum website.
# wget http://public-yum.oracle.com/public-yum-ol6.repo
Note:
Subsequent executions of this command will copy a new repository file into the yum.repos.d folder with a new extension (for example, public-yum-ol6.repo.1). However, yum always uses the repository file with no extension.Open the repository file with a text editor.
# vi public-yum-ol6.repo
In the file, locate the entry that matches your Linux version and enable it by setting enabled=1. Disable all other entries by setting enabled=0.
For example:
[Linux_Version] name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update x installation media copy ($basearch) baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/x/base/$basearch/ gpgkey=http://public-yum.oracle.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle-ol6 gpgcheck=1 enabled=1
Save and exit the file.
Additional RPM packages are required for STA installation and operation. The STA installer will check for the following packages and if they are not present, STA installation will fail.
Note:
RPM package names are case-sensitive.
|
|
|
You can use a variety of methods to install the required RPM packages. This procedure describes how to use yum.
The yum package install command checks for the most current version of the package for your Linux version, and then installs the package and any dependencies. Depending on your Linux installation, some of these packages may have already been installed. If a package is already installed and at the most current version, the system notifies you.
Open a terminal session on the STA server.
Proceed as follows:
If you can reach Oracle's public yum server (see "Ensure Proper Setup of yum (optional)"), use one of the following methods to install packages:
Install packages one at a time.The specified package will be downloaded and checked, and you must answer all prompts.
# yum install package_name
Install all packages at once with no prompting. The –y option automatically answers "yes" to all installation prompts.
# yum –y install binutils compat-libcap1 compat-libstdc++-33.i686 cronie expect gcc gcc-c++ glibc glibc-devel libaio libaio-devel libgcc libstdc++ libstdc++-devel net-snmp-utils rpm-build sysstat xorg-x11-utils
If your network firewall prohibits external network access, you can use yum to install locally available packages from the Linux media. For example:
# cd /mnt/install_media_mount_location/packages # yum install ./package_name
Use this procedure to ensure that SSH (secure shell) is set up correctly on the STA server. This will speed up transfers of STA database backups to a remote host.
Open the SSH configuration file with a text editor.
# vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Search for the AddressFamily and UseDNS entries. Modify them so they are not preceded with the comment character and their values are as follows:
AddressFamily inet UseDNS no
Save and exit the file.
Restart the sshd daemon.
# service sshd restart
Use this procedure to ensure that the STA server's IP address is mapped to its hostname.
Open the hosts file with a text editor.
# vi /etc/hosts
At the end of the file, add the STA server's IP address, followed by a tab, and then the STA server's hostname. For example:
127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4... ::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6... 192.0.2.20 sta_server
Save and exit the file. You do not need to restart the STA server for the new setting to take effect.
Name services such as LDAP can conflict with STA installation. Use this procedure to temporarily disable these services.
Open the Name Service Switch configuration file with a text editor.
# vi /etc/nsswitch.conf
Disable any name service entries. For example, to disable LDAP, comment out "ldap" from the following lines as shown:
passwd: files #ldap nis nisplus shadow: files #ldap nis nisplus group: files #ldap nis nisplus
Save and exit the file. You do not need to restart the STA server for the new setting to take effect. After you install STA, you can modify the nsswitch.conf file to re-enable the name services.
To configure and administer STA locally on the STA server, ensure you have the minimum supported browser versions and plugins installed (see the STA Requirements Guide).
Note:
Oracle does not recommend local access to the STA application due to server performance degradation.