Installing Oracle Database Client

About Image-Based Oracle Database Client Installation

Starting with Oracle Database 19c, Oracle Database Client can be installed from an image by creating an Oracle home, extracting client_home.zip into it, and running the Setup Wizard to register and configure the product. Image-based installation supports 32-bit and 64-bit Administrator installations, follows Oracle Optimal Flexible Architecture recommendations, and provides a simplified alternative to traditional non-image archive installations.

Downloading Oracle Software

Oracle Database software can be downloaded from the Oracle website or Oracle Software Delivery Cloud, subject to the applicable license terms. Download the required archives for the target platform, ensure sufficient space for both the archives and extraction, store them in product-specific directories, verify file sizes and checksums, and extract the files. The Software Delivery Cloud process additionally requires signing in, selecting the product and platform, accepting the license agreement, downloading the files, and validating their digests.

About Character Set Selection During Installation

The database character set should be selected carefully before database creation because changing it later can require extensive export and import operations. Character sets define the encoding of SQL data, identifiers, and stored source code; Oracle Database 12c Release 2 and later generally default to Unicode AL32UTF8, which supports global languages and technologies but may require more storage and processing than legacy single-byte sets. Legacy character sets should be chosen only for specific compatibility, storage, or performance needs, and a multitenant container database should use a character set compatible with its intended pluggable databases.

Running the Installer in a Different Language

The database installer language is determined by the operating system locale. Supported languages include Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese. To use one of these languages, set the operating system session locale before launching the installer; unsupported locales cause the installer to run in English.

Installing the Oracle Database Client Software

Oracle Database Client 19c is available in both image-based and traditional archive formats and can be installed through the graphical installer or in silent mode. Run runInstaller from the Oracle home as the Oracle installation owner, not from the internal Oracle Universal Installer directory, and ensure required user, group, storage, and root-script information is available. For image installations, create a non-symbolic-link Oracle home, extract client_home.zip there, and launch the Setup Wizard from that directory; the image installation starts an Administrator-type client installation and requires responding to the configuration prompts.

Using Oracle Net Configuration Assistant

After installing Oracle Database Client, run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant in standalone mode from $ORACLE_HOME/bin using netca. Use it to configure listeners, naming methods, net service names, and directory server access, and have the database host name available while completing the configuration screens.

Relinking Oracle Database Client Binaries After Installation

Oracle Database Client binaries can be relinked with the relink as_installed option after operating system patches or upgrades. Before relinking, shut down all executables running from the target Oracle home and applications using its shared libraries. As the client owner, set ORACLE_HOME, change to $ORACLE_HOME/bin, run ./relink as_installed, and review the generated logs under $ORACLE_HOME/install.
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