10 Pre-Installation

This chapter explains the pre-installation configuration requirements of the application.

SMS Client Specifications

This topic provides the specifications of SMS.

Network

The minimum requirements of network bandwidth for acceptable normal response times are as follows:

Table 10-1 Network Requirements

Number of Users Minimum Requirements

1-5

512 KB

6-15

1 MB

16 +

LAN connection (at least 25% available resource of 10 MB)

Memory

The Convergent Charging Controller screens are written to optimize data interaction. As a result, it is necessary to cache data in such a way as to reduce redundant data retrieval. This means that heavy usage can lead to the requirement for a large amount of memory to be available on the client machine running the screens. The recommended memory installed on the client machine is 256MB minimum with 512 MB preferred, especially with machine running Windows XP.

This table shows the minimum client resources required.

Table 10-2 Minimum Client Resources

RAM CPU

256 MB

800 MHz
This table shows the recommended client resources required.

Table 10-3 Recommended Client Resources

RAM CPU

512 MB

1.2 GHz

Response Times

This table shows typical response time.

Table 10-4 Typical Response Time

GUI Action Response Time
Startup to Login dialog 30 seconds maximum
Login to SMS main screen 20 seconds maximum
SMS main screen to ACS 5 seconds maximum
ACS main screen to CPE 15 seconds maximum

Screen

Here is the required screen specification.

Table 10-5 Screen Specification

Pixel

800 x 600 pixel resolution

Preparing the System

It is recommended that you check the kernel parameters on the system to ensure the system is optimally configured. The following parameters are described in their respective technical guides. However, they are collated here for reference.

Note:

Actual kernel parameters may be greater than those listed here.

Checking Kernel Parameters

Follow these steps to check the Kernel parameters.

  1. Log in as root.

  2. Enter cat /etc/system.

  3. Check the parameters are set to at least the minimum values.

  4. Change the parameters as required using the following command from /etc/system.

Kernel Parameters

For Oracle 19c database the minimum values are the same except for project.max-shm-memory, which depends on the amount of physical RAM in the system. If RAM is in the range 1 GB to 16 GB, you should set the minimum value for project.max-shm-memory to half the size of the physical memory. If RAM is greater than 16 GB, you should set project.max-shm-memory to a value of at least 8 GB.

  1. Determine the sum of process parameters for all database instances on the system, the overhead for Oracle background processes, the system and other application requirements.

  2. Set semmns (total semaphores system-wide) to the larger of the value in 1 or 32000.

  3. Set semmsl (semaphores per set) to 250.

  4. Set semmni (total semaphore sets) to semmns/semmsl rounded up to the nearest multiple of 1024.

  5. For Linux and Oracle 19c, set the maximum number of asynchronous I/O requests allowed in /etc/sysctl.conf as follows:
    fs.aio-max-nr = 3145728
    After changing the /etc/sysctl.conf, run the following command as root to set the values in the system:
    # /sbin/sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf

Database Timezone and Backups

Setting Oracle Timezone

To operate correctly, Oracle must be running on Greenwich mean time (GMT). To ensure that Oracle is running on GMT, check that the following line is in the Oracle user's .profile:
TZ=GMT
export TZ

Oracle Database Domain

Check that the sqlnet.ora file does not override the oracle database domain specified in the initSMF*.ora file. Overriding will cause database creation failure with an inability to resolve the required database name in tnsnames.ora.

The initSMF*.ora files are located in the /IN/service_packages/SMS/db/install/create/SMP/machine-profile directory.

Each file should contain the following line:
db_domain=basms1p.SMF
The sqlnet.ora file should contain the following line:
NAMES.DEFAULT_DOMAIN = Oracle

The sqlnet.ora file will be in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/ directory.

Note:

The specific initSMF*.ora file used in the installation is specific during the running of the smsSms installation script.

SMF Backups

The SMF can be backed up in two ways.

  • Shut down the database periodically and backup all the database data files. This is simple but will disable provisioning and service side updates for the duration of the backup.

  • Hot Backups:

    Archive logging should be enabled.

    Archive logs and table spaces must be backed up and archive logs removed periodically. This procedure must be implemented by an individual with good knowledge of Oracle databases.

Archive Logging

It is important to remember that if archive logging is enabled and the archive logs are not removed periodically then the disk will eventually fill up and the database will cease to function.

Starting Oracle Automatically on Reboot

Setting the Initialization

In an operational environment, it is desirable that Oracle automatically start on reboot. This requires the creation of various scripts in the Unix initialization directories. A script is provided to simplify this task.

Before You Begin

These tasks require that the "dbstart" script is in the default PATH for the "Oracle" user.

Procedure

For Linux, see the discussion about automating shutdown and startup in Oracle Database Administrator's Reference for Linux and UNIX-Based Operating Systems Guide.