DBA Tips Archive for Oracle

  

Install Oracle Database 11g R2 on Linux - (RHEL 6)

by Jeff Hunter, Sr. Database Administrator

Contents

Introduction

This article is a comprehensive guide for installing Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1) on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6) operating environment. The example database created in this guide will use the local file system for all physical database file storage (data files, control files, online redo log files, fast recovery area).

Supported Platforms

 

Update! — As of May 2012, Oracle announced support for running Oracle 11.2.0.3 or higher on Oracle Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. See Certification Information for Oracle Database on Linux x86-64 [ID 1304727.1] on the My Oracle Support (MOS) site for more information.

The requirements for installing Oracle Database 11g Release 2 on RHEL6 or OL6 64-bit (x86-64) can be found using MOS Note [ID 1441282.1].

I will provide a completely new guide that documents the full install in a future article.

 

At the time of this writing (29-Dec-2011), Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6) and Oracle Linux 6 (OL6) are not certified or supported for use with any Oracle Database version. While this guide provides instructions for successfully installing Oracle Database 11g Release 2 on the RHEL6 operating system, it should be used for experimental, training, or evaluation purposes only.

Be sure to use only certified/supported combinations of Oracle Database version and OS version for any type of mission critical system, which you can find under the Certifications tab of My Oracle Support (MOS). The Certify information on MOS is the only official source for Oracle certification.

Both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86_64) architectures are covered in this guide. Unless otherwise noted, the installation steps are the same for either. Having said that, one of the first decisions to make before continuing with this guide is which architecture you will be using. Both Oracle and Linux must be installed on the same operating system architecture. For example, 32-bit Oracle is only supported to run on 32-bit Linux OS and 64-bit Oracle is only supported to run on 64-bit Linux OS.

 

Oracle 64-bit (x86-64) for Linux is supported on AMD64/EM64T and Intel Processor Chips that adhere to the x86-64 architecture with supported Linux releases. Running Oracle 32-bit on AMD64/EM64T (64-bit OS) is not supported.

Oracle 32-bit (x86) running on AMD64/EM64T with a 32-bit OS is, however, supported.

Oracle Documentation

While this guide provides detailed instructions for successfully installing a complete Oracle Database 11g Release 2 system, it is by no means a substitute for the official Oracle documentation (see list below). In addition to this guide, users should also consult the following Oracle documents to gain a full understanding of alternative configuration options, installation, and administration with Oracle Database. Oracle's official documentation site is docs.oracle.com.

Release Notes 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux
New Features Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)
Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Windows and UNIX
Database Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux
Database Quick Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux x86
Database Quick Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux x86-64
Database Administrator's Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)
Database Concepts 11g Release 2 (11.2)
Database Examples Installation Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)

Goals for this Article

By the time you finish this article, the following will be installed and configured.

The following is a list of items NOT covered in this article:

Example Configuration

This section describes the hardware and Oracle configuration parameters that will be used in this guide.

Hardware

The machine used for this guide will consist of an AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ running CentOS Release 6.2 (x86_64). The server has 4GB of memory and contains four (4) internal hard disks that will be configured using Logical Volume Manager (LVM). Four LVM Volume Groups will be created along with separate logical volumes used to store the Linux operating system, swap, Oracle Database Software, database files, and the fast recovery area.

Oracle Server Configuration
Machine Name IP Address Processor Operation Environment Memory
testnode1.idevelopment.info 192.168.1.106 1 x AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ CentOS Release 6.2 - (64-bit) 4GB

Physical Disks
Hard Drive Partition Size - (MB) Type Usage Mount Point
  /dev/sda /dev/sda1 500 ext4 Boot Volume /boot
/dev/sda2 36,363 Physical Volume (LVM) LVM   vg_testnode1
  /dev/sdb /dev/sdb1 36,863 Physical Volume (LVM) LVM   vg_orasoftware
  /dev/sdc /dev/sdc1 36,863 Physical Volume (LVM) LVM   vg_oradata
  /dev/sdd /dev/sdd1 36,863 Physical Volume (LVM) LVM   vg_orafra

Logical Volumes
LVM Volume Group Logical Volume Size - (MB) Type Usage Mount Point
  vg_testnode1 lv_root 30,248 ext4 Linux OS /
lv_swap 6,112 swap Swap  
  vg_orasoftware lv_orasoftware 36,860 ext4 Oracle Database Software /u01
  vg_oradata lv_oradata 36,860 ext4 Database Files /u02
  vg_orafra lv_orafra 36,860 ext4 Fast Recovery Area /u03

Oracle Configuration

The following is an introduction to some of the configuration parameters and directory paths that will be used for installing the Oracle Database Software and creating a fully functional Oracle 11g database.

Oracle Software Owner
O/S User Primary Group Supplementary Groups Home Directory
oracle (501) oinstall (501) dba (502), oper (503) /home/oracle

Oracle Software Components
Software Component Version
Oracle Database Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1.0) for Linux x86-64

Oracle Database Names
Software Component Oracle SID Global Database Name
Oracle Database testdb1 testdb1.idevelopment.info

Oracle Software and Database Storage Paths
Description Directory
Oracle Base directory /u01/app/oracle
Oracle Home directory for Oracle Database /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
Oracle Data directory /u02/app/oracle/oradata
Data files for db_name1 database /u02/app/oracle/oradata/db_name1
Sub-tree for Recovery files /u03/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area
Recovery files for db_name1 database /u03/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/db_name1

This guide adheres to the latest Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) standard for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Linux.

Install the Linux Operating System

This section provides a summary of the steps used to install the Linux operating system. This guide is designed to work with CentOS 6, Oracle Linux 6, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and follows Oracle's suggestion of performing a "Basic Server" installation type to ensure all expected Linux OS packages are present for a successful Oracle Database installation.

 

Although this article is written to work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6) or Oracle Linux 6 (OL6), I will actually be using a Red Hat Linux clone named CentOS. To read more about CentOS, please visit their website at www.centos.org.

Note that CentOS is not certified or supported for use with any Oracle Database version. Installing the Oracle database on CentOS should be used for experimental, training, or evaluation purposes only. Be sure to use only certified/supported combinations of Oracle Database version and OS version for any type of mission critical system, which you can find under the Certifications tab of My Oracle Support (MOS). The Certify information on MOS is the only official source for Oracle certification.

Although I have used Red Hat Fedora in the past, I wanted to switch to a Linux environment that would guarantee all of the functionality contained with Oracle. This is where CentOS comes in. The CentOS project takes the Red Hat Enterprise Linux source RPMs and compiles them into a free clone of the Red Hat Enterprise Server product. This provides a free and stable version of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (AS/ES) operating environment that I can use for Oracle testing and development. I have moved away from Fedora as I need a stable environment that is not only free, but as close to the actual Oracle supported operating system as possible. While CentOS is not the only project performing the same functionality, I tend to stick with it as it is stable and reacts fast with regards to updates by Red Hat.

Download CentOS

Use the links below to download CentOS 6.2 for either x86 or x86_64 depending on your hardware architecture.

64-bit (x86_64) Installations

32-bit (x86) Installations

Burn Binary Image to DVD

If you are downloading the above ISO files to a MS Windows machine, there are many options for burning these images (ISO files) to a DVD. You may already be familiar with and have the proper software to burn images to DVD. If you are not familiar with this process and do not have the required software to burn images to DVD, here are just three of the many software packages that can be used.

Install CentOS

After downloading and burning the CentOS images (ISO files) to a DVD, insert CentOS Disk #1 into the server, power it on, and answer the installation screen prompts as noted below.

CentOS Basic Installation
Screen Name Response Screen Shot
Boot Screen The first screen is the CentOS 6.2 boot screen. Select the option Install or upgrade an existing system.
Media Test When asked to test the CD media, tab over to [Skip] and hit [Enter]. If there were any errors, the media burning software would have warned us. After several seconds, the installer should then detect the video card, monitor, and mouse. The installer then goes into GUI mode.
Welcome to CentOS At the welcome screen, click [Next] to continue.
Language Selection Select the appropriate language for your configuration and click [Next] to continue.
Keyboard Selection Select the appropriate keyboard for your configuration and click [Next] to continue.
Storage Options This example will use local internal disks for the OS installation and therefore only requires the "Basic Storage Devices" option. Select the appropriate storage option for your configuration and click [Next] to continue.
Storage Device Warning The installer will display a warning dialog which indicates that the storage device may contain important data or that the device may need to be re-initialized. Select the option to discard any data or to re-initialize the device.
Host Name Enter a fully qualified host name for this computer, then click the [Configure Network] button.
Select Connection The installer should have successfully detected the installed network device(s) and listed them as connections.

Highlight the relevant connection and click the [Edit] button.
Manually Configure
IP Address		 Check the "Connect automatically" check-box.

It is not recommended to use DHCP for an Oracle Database server so this guide will use the traditional method of manually assigning a static IP address. The settings you make here will, of course, depend on your network configuration.

To manually configure an IP address, click on the "IPv4 Settings" tab, set the method to "Manual", click the [Add] button and enter the appropriate network details. After verifying the network configuration, click the [Apply] and [Close] buttons to return to the host name screen, then click the [Next] button.
Time Zone Select the appropriate time zone for your environment and click [Next] to continue.
Set Root Password Select a root password and click [Next] to continue.
Partition Type Select the appropriate partition type for your configuration. In order to modify the default partitioning layout, check the "Review and modify partitioning layout" option. Click [Next] to continue.
Select System
Drive(s) — (optional)		 If the machine is configured with multiple storage devices, select which device (or devices) to include as system drives. Any selected devices will be used as system drives and will be formatted by the installer and included as the target for the OS install.

After selecting which devices will be system drives, indicate which of them will have the bootloader installed.

In this guide, only one of the devices will be used for the system drive.
Disk Partitioning The installer will present a default partitioning scheme for the current disk sizes. Modify any volumes as required. The settings you make here will, of course, depend on your storage configuration.

Click here for a preview of the disk configuration used for this guide.

Ensure enough swap space is allocated as required by Oracle (which is a multiple of the available RAM). The following is Oracle's minimum requirement for swap space:

Available RAM Swap Space Required
Between 1 GB and 2 GB 1.5 times the size of RAM
Between 2 GB and 16 GB Equal to the size of RAM
More than 16 GB 16 GB

Once you are satisfied with the disk layout, click [Next] to continue, then the [Format] and [Write changes to disk] buttons on the following warning dialogs.
Boot Loader In almost all cases, the installer will choose the correct boot loader options. Accept the boot loader settings by clicking the [Next] button to continue.
Installation Type Choose the "Basic Server" installation, check the "Customize now" option, and then click [Next] to continue.
Package Group Selection By default, CentOS installs most of the software required for a typical server. There are, however, several other packages (RPMs) that are required to successfully install the Oracle database software. By choosing the "Customize now" option in the previous screen, the installer brings up the "Package Group Selection" screen which allows you to select the required package groups and individual packages within the details section (Optional packages).

Choose the following package groups to prepare the machine for an Oracle database install as well as setting up a typical gnome desktop. Note that alternative installations may require more packages to be loaded in addition to the ones listed below. 
Applications > Emacs *
Applications > Internet Browser *
Base System > Base
Base System > Client management tools
Base System > Compatibility libraries
Base System > Console internet tools *
Base System > Console internet tools > ftp *
Base System > Hardware monitoring utilities
Base System > Large Systems Performance
Base System > Network file system client
Base System > Performance Tools
Base System > Perl Support
Base System > iSCSI Storage Client *
Desktops > Desktop
Desktops > Desktop Platform
Desktops > Fonts
Desktops > General Purpose Desktop
Desktops > Graphical Administration Tools
Desktops > Input Methods
Desktops > X Window System
Development > Additional Development
Development > Development Tools
Servers > Server Platform
Servers > System administration tools

* — Optional package

After selecting the appropriate package groups, click [Next] to continue.
Installation Process The CentOS install process will start immediately. Wait for the installation to complete.
Reboot System After all of the packages and bootloader have been installed, the installer will eject the DVD from the drive. Take out the DVD and click [Reboot] to reboot the system and complete the installation.
Post Installation Wizard
Welcome Screen		 When the system boots into CentOS Linux for the first time, it will prompt you with another welcome screen for the "Post Installation Wizard". The post installation wizard allows you to make final OS configuration settings. On the "Welcome screen", click [Forward] to continue.
License Agreement Accept the license agreement and click [Forward] to continue.
Create User Create any additional (non-oracle) operating system user accounts if desired and click [Forward] to continue.

If you chose not to define any additional operating system user accounts, click [Yes] to acknowledge the warning dialog.
Date and Time Adjust the date and time settings if necessary and click [Forward] to continue.
Kdump Accept the default setting on the Kdump screen and click [Forward] to continue.
Reboot System Enabling Kdump requires the machine to be rebooted in order to reallocate memory accordingly. Click [Yes] on the warning dialog to reboot the system.
Login Screen After the machine boots, you are presented with the login screen. Log in to the system by clicking on a user in the login screen or choose "Other..." to log in as root.
User Desktop After successfully logging in to the system, you are ready to start using the desktop.

Disable Firewall

Use the following steps to disable the firewall.

  1. Open the "Firewall Configuration" dialog (System > Administration > Firewall).

  2. Click the [Close] button on the startup dialog and type in the "root" password if requested.

  3. On the resulting dialog, click the [Disable] button, followed by the [Apply] button on the toolbar.

        

    Figure 1: Disable Firewall

  4. Click the [Yes] button on the confirmation dialog.

  5. Quit the "Firewall Configuration" dialog.

Disable SELinux

Disable SELinux by editing the "/etc/selinux/config" file, making sure the SELINUX flag is set as follows. 


SELINUX=disabled

Once the change is complete, restart the server. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# reboot

 

Alternatively, SELinux can be disabled using the GUI utility (Applications > System Settings > Security Level). Click on the SELinux tab and disable the feature. If SELinux is disabled after installation, the server will need to be rebooted for the change to take effect.

Install Required Linux Packages for Oracle

After installing the Linux OS, the next step is to verify and install all packages required for Oracle Database 11g Release 2. The Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) performs checks on the machine during installation to verify that it meets the appropriate operating system package requirements. To ensure that these checks complete successfully, verify the software requirements documented in this section before starting the Oracle install.

Although many of the required packages for Oracle were installed during the Linux installation, several will be missing either because they were considered optional within the package group or simply didn't exist in any package group.

The packages listed in this section (or later versions) are required for Oracle database 11g Release 2 running on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Oracle Linux 6, or CentOS 6 platform.

While it is possible to query each individual package to determine which ones are missing and need to be installed, an easier method is to run the rpm -Uvh PackageName command from the DVD. For packages that already exist and are up to date, the RPM command will simply ignore the install and print a warning message to the console that the package is already installed.

64-bit (x86_64) Installations

binutils-2.20.51.0.2
compat-libcap1-1.10
compat-libcap1-1.10 (32-bit)
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3 (32 bit)
elfutils-libelf-0.148
elfutils-libelf-devel-0.148
gcc-4.4.4
gcc-c++-4.4.4
glibc-2.12-1
glibc-2.12-1 (32 bit)
glibc-common-2.12
glibc-devel-2.12
glibc-devel-2.12 (32 bit)
glibc-headers-2.12
ksh-20100621
libaio-0.3.107
libaio-0.3.107 (32 bit)
libaio-devel-0.3.107
libaio-devel-0.3.107 (32 bit)
libgcc-4.4.4
libgcc-4.4.4 (32 bit)
libstdc++-4.4.4
libstdc++-4.4.4 (32 bit)
libstdc++-devel-4.4.4
libstdc++-devel-4.4.4 (32 bit)
make-3.81
numactl-devel-2.0.3
sysstat-9.0.4
unixODBC-2.2.14
unixODBC-2.2.14 (32 bit)
unixODBC-devel-2.2.14

Each of the packages listed above can be found on the CentOS 6 for x86_64 DVDs.

 

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2), all the 32-bit packages, except for gcc-32bit-4.3 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11), listed in this section are no longer required for installing a database on Linux x86-64. Only the 64-bit packages are required.

For any Oracle Database 11g release before 11.2.0.2; however, both the 32-bit and 64-bit packages listed in this section are required.

The installation described in this guide will install the 32-bit packages. Although many of these packages are unnecessary for 11.2.0.2 onwards on Linux x86-64, having them present will not cause a problem. 


# From CentOS 6.2 (x86_64) - [DVD #1]
mkdir -p /media/dvd
mount -r /dev/dvd /media/dvd
cd /media/dvd/Packages
rpm -Uvh binutils-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh compat-libcap1*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh compat-libcap1*i686*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*i686*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-0*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-0*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh gcc-4*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-4*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2*x86_64* nss-softokn-freebl-3*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2*i686* nss-softokn-freebl-3*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-common-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-headers-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh ksh-*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-4*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-4*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-4*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh make-3*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh numactl-devel-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh sysstat-9*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2*x86_64*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-devel-2*x86_64*
cd /
eject

32-bit (x86) Installations

binutils-2.20.51.0.2
compat-libcap1-1.10
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3
elfutils-libelf-0.148
elfutils-libelf-devel-0.148
elfutils-libelf-devel-static-0.148
gcc-4.4.4
gcc-c++-4.4.4
glibc-2.12-1
glibc-common-2.12
glibc-devel-2.12
glibc-headers-2.12
kernel-headers-2.6.32
ksh-20100621
libaio-0.3.107
libaio-devel-0.3.107 
libgcc-4.4.4
libgomp-4.4.4
libstdc++-4.4.4
libstdc++-devel-4.4.4
make-3.81
numactl-devel-2.0.3
sysstat-9.0.4
unixODBC-2.2.14
unixODBC-devel-2.2.14

Each of the packages listed above can be found on the CentOS 6 for x86 DVDs. 


# From CentOS 6.2 (x86) - [DVD #1]
mkdir -p /media/dvd
mount -r /dev/dvd /media/dvd
cd /media/dvd/Packages
rpm -Uvh binutils-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh compat-libcap1*i686*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*i686*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh gcc-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2*i686* nss-softokn-freebl-3*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-common-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh glibc-headers-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh kernel-headers-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh ksh-*i686*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0*i686*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh libgomp-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-4*i686*
rpm -Uvh make-3*i686*
rpm -Uvh numactl-devel-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh sysstat-9*i686*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2*i686*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-devel-2*i686*
cd /
eject


# From CentOS 6.2 (x86) - [DVD #2]
mount -r /dev/dvd /media/dvd
cd /media/dvd/Packages
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-static-0*i686*
cd /
eject

Create oracle User and Directories

This section provides instructions on how to create the operating system user and groups that will be used to install and manage the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 software. In addition to the Oracle software owner, another OS user (jhunter) will be configured with the appropriate DBA related OS groups to manage the Oracle database.

The following OS groups will be created.

Description OS Group Name OS Group ID OS Users Assigned to this Group Oracle Privilege Oracle Group Name
Oracle Inventory and Software Owner oinstall 501 oracle    
Database Administrator dba 502 oracle, jhunter SYSDBA OSDBA
Database Operator oper 503 oracle, jhunter SYSOPER OSOPER

OS Group Descriptions

 

The database being created in this guide will not make use of Automatic Storage Management (ASM) and therefore will not create or assign the ASM related OS groups like asmadmin, asmdba, and asmoper.

Create Groups and User for Oracle Database Software

Create the recommended OS groups and user for the Oracle Database software owner. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# groupadd -g 501 oinstall
[root@testnode1 ~]# groupadd -g 502 dba
[root@testnode1 ~]# groupadd -g 503 oper
[root@testnode1 ~]# useradd -m -u 501 -g oinstall -G dba,oper -d /home/oracle -s /bin/bash -c "Oracle Software Owner" oracle

[root@testnode1 ~]# id oracle
uid=501(oracle) gid=501(oinstall) groups=501(oinstall),502(dba),503(oper)

Create a new password for the oracle account. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# passwd oracle
Changing password for user oracle.
New password: xxxxxxxxxxx
Retype new password: xxxxxxxxxxx
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

Optionally, configure any other OS users with the appropriate DBA related OS groups to manage the Oracle database. Remember to use the append option (-a) to the usermod command so that the user will not be removed from groups not listed. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# usermod -a -G dba,oper jhunter

[root@testnode1 ~]# id jhunter
uid=500(jhunter) gid=500(jhunter) groups=500(jhunter),502(dba),503(oper)

Create Login Script for the oracle User Account

Log in to machine as the oracle user account and create the following login script (.bash_profile). Values marked in red should be customized for your environment. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# su - oracle


# ---------------------------------------------------
# .bash_profile
# ---------------------------------------------------
# OS User:      oracle
# Application:  Oracle Database Software Owner
# Version:      Oracle 11g Release 2
# ---------------------------------------------------

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
      . ~/.bashrc
fi

alias ls="ls -FA"

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_SID
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the Oracle system identifier (SID) for
# the Oracle instance running on this node. When
# using RAC, each node must have a unique ORACLE_SID.
# (i.e. racdb1, racdb2,...)
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_SID=testdb1; export ORACLE_SID

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_UNQNAME and ORACLE_HOSTNAME
# ---------------------------------------------------
# In previous releases of Oracle Database, you were 
# required to set environment variables for
# ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID to start, stop, and
# check the status of Enterprise Manager. With
# Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) and later, you
# need to set the environment variables ORACLE_HOME, 
# ORACLE_UNQNAME, and ORACLE_HOSTNAME to use
# Enterprise Manager. Set ORACLE_UNQNAME equal to
# the database unique name and ORACLE_HOSTNAME to
# the hostname of the machine.
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_UNQNAME=testdb1; export ORACLE_UNQNAME
ORACLE_HOSTNAME=testnode1.idevelopment.info; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME

# ---------------------------------------------------
# JAVA_HOME
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory of the Java SDK and Runtime
# Environment.
# ---------------------------------------------------
JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/java; export JAVA_HOME

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_BASE
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the base of the Oracle directory structure
# for Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) compliant
# database software installations.
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_HOME
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory containing the Oracle
# Database software.
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1; export ORACLE_HOME

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_PATH
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the search path for files used by Oracle
# applications such as SQL*Plus. If the full path to
# the file is not specified, or if the file is not
# in the current directory, the Oracle application
# uses ORACLE_PATH to locate the file.
# This variable is used by SQL*Plus, Forms and Menu.
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_PATH=/u01/app/oracle/dba_scripts/sql:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin; export ORACLE_PATH

# ---------------------------------------------------
# SQLPATH
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory or list of directories that
# SQL*Plus searches for a login.sql file.
# ---------------------------------------------------
# SQLPATH=/u01/app/oracle/dba_scripts/sql; export SQLPATH

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORACLE_TERM
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Defines a terminal definition. If not set, it
# defaults to the value of your TERM environment
# variable. Used by all character mode products. 
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM

# ---------------------------------------------------
# NLS_DATE_FORMAT
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the default date format to use with the
# TO_CHAR and TO_DATE functions. The default value of
# this parameter is determined by NLS_TERRITORY. The
# value of this parameter can be any valid date
# format mask, and the value must be surrounded by 
# double quotation marks. For example:
#
#         NLS_DATE_FORMAT = "MM/DD/YYYY"
#
# ---------------------------------------------------
NLS_DATE_FORMAT="DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI:SS"; export NLS_DATE_FORMAT

# ---------------------------------------------------
# TNS_ADMIN
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory containing the Oracle Net
# Services configuration files like listener.ora, 
# tnsnames.ora, and sqlnet.ora.
# ---------------------------------------------------
TNS_ADMIN=$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin; export TNS_ADMIN

# ---------------------------------------------------
# ORA_NLS11
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory where the language,
# territory, character set, and linguistic definition
# files are stored.
# ---------------------------------------------------
ORA_NLS11=$ORACLE_HOME/nls/data; export ORA_NLS11

# ---------------------------------------------------
# PATH
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Used by the shell to locate executable programs;
# must include the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.
# ---------------------------------------------------
PATH=.:${JAVA_HOME}/bin:$JAVA_HOME/db/bin:${PATH}:$HOME/bin:$ORACLE_HOME/bin
PATH=${PATH}:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/local/bin
PATH=${PATH}:/u01/app/oracle/dba_scripts/bin
export PATH

# ---------------------------------------------------
# LD_LIBRARY_PATH
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the list of directories that the shared
# library loader searches to locate shared object
# libraries at runtime.
# ---------------------------------------------------
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/oracm/lib
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}:/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH

# ---------------------------------------------------
# CLASSPATH
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specifies the directory or list of directories that
# contain compiled Java classes.
# ---------------------------------------------------
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/oc4j/ant/lib/ant.jar
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/oc4j/ant/lib/ant-launcher.jar
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$JAVA_HOME/db/lib/derby.jar
CLASSPATH=${CLASSPATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/network/jlib
export CLASSPATH

# ---------------------------------------------------
# THREADS_FLAG
# ---------------------------------------------------
# All the tools in the JDK use green threads as a
# default. To specify that native threads should be
# used, set the THREADS_FLAG environment variable to
# "native". You can revert to the use of green
# threads by setting THREADS_FLAG to the value
# "green".
# ---------------------------------------------------
THREADS_FLAG=native; export THREADS_FLAG

# ---------------------------------------------------
# TEMP, TMP, and TMPDIR
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Specify the default directories for temporary
# files; if set, tools that create temporary files
# create them in one of these directories.
# ---------------------------------------------------
export TEMP=/tmp
export TMPDIR=/tmp

# ---------------------------------------------------
# UMASK
# ---------------------------------------------------
# Set the default file mode creation mask
# (umask) to 022 to ensure that the user performing
# the Oracle software installation creates files
# with 644 permissions.
# ---------------------------------------------------
umask 022

Verify That the User nobody Exists

Before installing the software, complete the following procedure to verify that the user nobody exists on the system.

  1. To determine if the user exists, enter the following command. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# id nobody
uid=99(nobody) gid=99(nobody) groups=99(nobody)

    If this command displays information about the nobody user, then you do not have to create that user.

  2. If the user nobody does not exist, then enter the following command to create it. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# /usr/sbin/useradd nobody

Create the Oracle Base Directory Path

The next step is to configure an Oracle base path compliant with an Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) structure and correct permissions. The Oracle base path will be used to store the Oracle Database software. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle
[root@testnode1 ~]# chown -R oracle:oinstall /u01/app
[root@testnode1 ~]# chmod -R 775 /u01/app

Create the Data Files Directory Path

Create the directory that will be used to store the Oracle data files. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# mkdir -p /u02/app/oracle/oradata
[root@testnode1 ~]# chown -R oracle:oinstall /u02/app
[root@testnode1 ~]# chmod -R 775 /u02/app

Create the Fast Recovery Area Directory Path

Create the directory that will be used to store the Oracle recovery files. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# mkdir -p /u03/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area
[root@testnode1 ~]# chown -R oracle:oinstall /u03/app
[root@testnode1 ~]# chmod -R 775 /u03/app

At the end of this section, you should have the following user, groups, and directory path configuration.

Set Resource Limits for the Oracle Software Installation Users

To improve the performance of the software on Linux systems, you must increase the following resource limits for the Oracle software owner (oracle).

Resource Shell Limit Item in limits.conf Soft Limit Hard Limit
Open file descriptors nofile at least 1024 at least 65536
Number of processes available to a single user nproc at least 2047 at least 16384
Size of the stack segment of the process stack at least 10240 KB at least 10240 KB, and at most 32768 KB

Use the following to check resource limits.

  1. Log in as an Oracle installation owner.

  2. Check the soft and hard limits for the file descriptor setting. Ensure that the result is in the recommended range. For example: 


    [oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Sn
1024

[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Hn
1024

  3. Check the soft and hard limits for the number of processes available to a user. Ensure that the result is in the recommended range. For example: 


    [oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Su
1024

[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Hu
31296

  4. Check the soft limit for the stack setting. Ensure that the result is in the recommended range. For example: 


    [oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Ss
10240

[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ulimit -Hs
unlimited

  5. If necessary, update the resource limits in the /etc/security/limits.conf configuration file for the Oracle installation owner by adding the following lines. 


    oracle         soft    nproc          2047
oracle         hard    nproc          16384
oracle         soft    nofile         1024
oracle         hard    nofile         65536
oracle         soft    stack          10240

Add the following line to the /etc/pam.d/login file, if it does not already exist. 


session    required     pam_limits.so

Depending on your shell environment, make the following changes to the default shell startup file in order to change ulimit settings for the Oracle installation owner.

For the Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell, add the following lines to the /etc/profile file. 


if [ $USER = "oracle" ]; then
  if [ $SHELL = "/bin/ksh" ]; then
    ulimit -p 16384
    ulimit -n 65536
  else
    ulimit -u 16384 -n 65536
  fi
fi

For the C shell (csh or tcsh), add the following lines to the /etc/csh.login file. 


if ( $USER == "oracle" ) then 
  limit maxproc 16384
  limit descriptors 65536
endif

Configure the Linux Operating System for Oracle

This section focuses on preparing the Linux operating system for the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 installation. This includes verifying enough memory and swap space, setting shared memory and semaphores, setting the maximum number of file handles, setting the IP local port range, and how to activate all kernel parameters for the system.

The kernel parameters discussed in this section will need to persist through machine reboots. Although there are several methods used to set these parameters, I will be making all changes permanent through reboots by placing all values in the /etc/sysctl.conf file. Instructions for setting all OS kernel parameters required by Oracle in a startup script will be discussed later in this section.

Kernel Parameters

The kernel parameters presented in this section are only recommended values as documented by Oracle. For production database systems, Oracle recommends that you tune these values to optimize the performance of the system.

Verify that the kernel parameters described in this section are set to values greater than or equal to the recommended values. Also note that when setting the four semaphore values that all four values need to be entered on one line.

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 for Linux requires the kernel parameter settings shown below. The values given are minimums, so if your system uses a larger value, do not change it. 


kernel.shmmax = 4294967295
kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmni = 4096
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 9000 65500
net.core.rmem_default = 262144
net.core.rmem_max = 4194304
net.core.wmem_default = 262144
net.core.wmem_max = 1048576
fs.file-max = 6815744
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576

 

RHEL/OL/CentOS 6 already comes configured with default values defined for the following kernel parameters. 

kernel.shmmax
kernel.shmall

The default values for these two kernel parameters should be overwritten with the recommended values defined in this guide.

Add or amend the following lines in the /etc/sysctl.conf file. 


# +---------------------------------------------------------+
# | KERNEL PARAMETERS FOR ORACLE DATABASE 11g R2 ON LINUX   |
# +---------------------------------------------------------+

# +---------------------------------------------------------+
# | SHARED MEMORY                                           |
# +---------------------------------------------------------+

# Maximum size (in bytes) for a shared memory segment
kernel.shmmax = 4294967295

# Maximum amount of shared memory (in pages) that
# can be used at one time on the system and should be at
# least ceil(SHMMAX/PAGE_SIZE)
kernel.shmall = 2097152

# Maximum number of shared memory segments system wide
kernel.shmmni = 4096

# +---------------------------------------------------------+
# | SEMAPHORES                                              |
# +---------------------------------------------------------+

# SEMMSL_value  SEMMNS_value  SEMOPM_value  SEMMNI_value
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128

# +---------------------------------------------------------+
# | NETWORKING                                              |
# ----------------------------------------------------------+

# Defines the local port range that is used by TCP and UDP
# traffic to choose the local port
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 9000 65500

# Default setting in bytes of the socket "receive" buffer which
# may be set by using the SO_RCVBUF socket option
net.core.rmem_default = 262144

# Maximum setting in bytes of the socket "receive" buffer which
# may be set by using the SO_RCVBUF socket option
net.core.rmem_max = 4194304

# Default setting in bytes of the socket "send" buffer which
# may be set by using the SO_SNDBUF socket option
net.core.wmem_default = 262144

# Maximum setting in bytes of the socket "send" buffer which 
# may be set by using the SO_SNDBUF socket option
net.core.wmem_max = 1048576

# +---------------------------------------------------------+
# | FILE HANDLES                                            |
# ----------------------------------------------------------+

# Maximum number of file-handles that the Linux kernel will allocate
fs.file-max = 6815744

# Maximum number of allowable concurrent asynchronous I/O requests requests
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576

Placing the kernel parameters in the /etc/sysctl.conf startup file persists the required kernel parameters through reboots. Linux allows modification of these kernel parameters to the current system while it is up and running, so there's no need to reboot the system after making kernel parameter changes. To activate the new kernel parameter values for the currently running system, run the following as root. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# sysctl -p
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0
kernel.sysrq = 0
kernel.core_uses_pid = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 0
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 0
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-arptables = 0
kernel.msgmnb = 65536
kernel.msgmax = 65536
kernel.shmmax = 4294967295
kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmni = 4096
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 9000 65500
net.core.rmem_default = 262144
net.core.rmem_max = 4194304
net.core.wmem_default = 262144
net.core.wmem_max = 1048576
fs.file-max = 6815744
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576

Verify the new kernel parameter values by running the following. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# /sbin/sysctl -a | grep shm | sort
kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmax = 4294967295
kernel.shmmni = 4096
vm.hugetlb_shm_group = 0

[root@testnode1 ~]# /sbin/sysctl -a | grep sem
kernel.sem = 250        32000   100     128

[root@testnode1 ~]# /sbin/sysctl -a | grep ip_local_port_range
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 9000     65500

[root@testnode1 ~]# /sbin/sysctl -a | grep 'core\.[rw]mem' | sort
net.core.rmem_default = 262144
net.core.rmem_max = 4194304
net.core.wmem_default = 262144
net.core.wmem_max = 1048576

[root@testnode1 ~]# /sbin/sysctl -a | egrep 'file-max|aio-max' | sort
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576
fs.file-max = 6815744

Memory

The minimum required RAM for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 running on the Linux platform is 1 GB (although 2 GB or more of RAM is highly recommended).

Use the following command to check the amount of installed RAM on the system. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# cat /proc/meminfo | grep MemTotal
MemTotal:        4020892 kB

If the size of the installed RAM is less than the required size, then you must install more memory before continuing.

Swap Space

The following table describes the relationship between installed RAM and the configured swap space recommendation.

Available RAM Swap Space Required
Between 1 GB and 2 GB 1.5 times the size of RAM
Between 2 GB and 16 GB Equal to the size of RAM
More than 16 GB 16 GB

Use the following command to determine the size of the configured swap space. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo
SwapTotal:       6258680 kB

 

On Linux, the HugePages feature allocates non-swappable memory for large page tables using memory-mapped files. If you enable HugePages, then you should deduct the memory allocated to HugePages from the available RAM before calculating swap space.

If necessary, additional swap space can be configured by creating a temporary swap file and adding it to the current swap. This way you do not have to use a raw device or even more drastic, rebuild your system.

  1. As root, make a file that will act as additional swap space, let's say about 500MB. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# dd if=/dev/zero of=tempswap bs=1k count=500000

  2. Next, change the file permissions. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# chmod 600 tempswap

  3. Finally, format the "partition" as swap and add it to the swap space: 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# mke2fs tempswap
[root@testnode1 ~]# mkswap tempswap
[root@testnode1 ~]# swapon tempswap

To determine the available RAM and swap space, enter the following command. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       4020892    1209360    2811532          0      49456     925752
-/+ buffers/cache:     234152    3786740
Swap:      6258680          0    6258680

Automatic Memory Management

Starting with Oracle Database 11g, the Automatic Memory Management feature requires more shared memory (/dev/shm) and file descriptors. The shared memory should be sized to be at least the greater of MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and MEMORY_TARGET for each Oracle instance on the computer.

To determine the amount of shared memory available, enter the following command. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# df -h /dev/shm/
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                 2.0G  288K  2.0G   1% /dev/shm

 

MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and MEMORY_TARGET cannot be used when LOCK_SGA is enabled or with HugePages on Linux.

Network Configuration

During the Linux OS install, we already configured the IP address and host name for the database node. This sections contains additional network configuration steps that will prepare the machine to run the Oracle database.

Note that the Oracle database server should have a static IP address configured for the public network (eth0 for this guide). Do not use DHCP naming for the public IP address; you need a static IP address.

Confirm the Node Name is Not Listed in Loopback Address

Ensure that the node name (testnode1) is not included for the loopback address in the /etc/hosts file. If the machine name is listed in the in the loopback address entry as below: 


127.0.0.1   testnode1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4

it will need to be removed as shown below: 


127.0.0.1   localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4

Confirm Fully Qualified Name for the Server in /etc/hosts

The /etc/hosts file must contain a fully qualified name for the server. 


<IP-address>  <fully-qualified-machine-name>  <machine-name>

For example. 


127.0.0.1        localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
192.168.1.106    testnode1.idevelopment.info  testnode1

Check and turn off UDP ICMP rejections

During the Linux OS install, I indicated to disable the firewall. By default the option to configure a firewall is selected by the installer. This has burned me several times so I like to do a double-check that the firewall option is not configured and to ensure udp ICMP filtering is turned off.

  1. Check to ensure that the firewall option is turned off. If the firewall option is stopped (like it is in my example below) you do not have to proceed with the following steps. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# /etc/rc.d/init.d/iptables status
iptables: Firewall is not running.

  2. If the firewall option is operating, you will need to first manually disable UDP ICMP rejections. 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# /etc/rc.d/init.d/iptables stop
Flushing firewall rules: [ OK ]
Setting chains to policy ACCEPT: filter [ OK ]
Unloading iptables modules: [ OK ]

  3. Then, turn UDP ICMP rejections off for all subsequent server reboots (which should always be turned off). 


    [root@testnode1 ~]# chkconfig iptables off

Download Oracle Database Software

Download and extract the required Oracle software packages from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN), Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (eDelivery), or My Oracle Support (MOS) website depending on your support status.

Oracle Database

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 base release (11.2.0.1) is available through the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (eDelivery) or OTN. If you do not currently have an account with Oracle OTN or eDelivery, you will need to create one. This is a free account. Oracle offers a development and testing license free of charge. No support, however, is provided and the license does not permit production use. A full description of the license agreement is available on OTN.

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2) and (11.2.0.3) are only available through My Oracle Support (MOS) and are listed as patch sets in this section.

Access to MOS requires an Oracle Single Sign On (SSO) account (which is the same account used for OTN) and a valid Customer Support Identifier (or CSI). MOS requires a paid software license and support contract and is the only place to download critical updates and patch sets. Starting with the release of the 11.2.0.2 patch set for Oracle Database 11g Release 2, Oracle Database patch sets are full installations of the Oracle Database software (you do not need to download and install 11.2.0.1 first).

Log in as the Oracle software owner (oracle) and download the Oracle Database and Oracle Examples (optional) software to an install directory. For example /home/oracle/software/oracle.

Oracle Release 11.2.0.1

Oracle Software Component Release Location Associated Zip File(s)
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 11.2.0.1 OTN / eDelivery / MOS linux.x64_11gR2_database_1of2.zip
linux.x64_11gR2_database_2of2.zip
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Examples 11.2.0.1 OTN / eDelivery / MOS linux.x64_11gR2_examples.zip 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mkdir -p /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv linux.x64_11gR2_database_1of2.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv linux.x64_11gR2_database_2of2.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv linux.x64_11gR2_examples.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip linux.x64_11gR2_database_1of2.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip linux.x64_11gR2_database_2of2.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip linux.x64_11gR2_examples.zip

Oracle Release 11.2.0.2 Patch Set

Oracle Software Component Release MOS Patch Set Associated Zip File(s)
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 11.2.0.2 10098816 p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip
p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Examples 11.2.0.2 10098816 p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mkdir -p /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10098816_112020_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip

Oracle Release 11.2.0.3 Patch Set

Oracle Software Component Release MOS Patch Set Associated Zip File(s)
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 11.2.0.3 10404530 p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip
p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Examples 11.2.0.3 10404530 p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mkdir -p /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ mv p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /home/oracle/software/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_1of7.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_2of7.zip
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip p10404530_112030_Linux-x86-64_6of7.zip

You should now have a single directory called database and the optional examples directory containing the Oracle installation files.

Install Oracle Database

For the purpose of this example, we will forgo the "Create Database" option when installing the Oracle Database software. The database will be created later in this guide using the Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) after all installs have been completed.

Log into the node as the Oracle software owner (oracle). If you are using X emulation then set the DISPLAY environmental variable accordingly. 


DISPLAY=<machine-name>:0.0; export DISPLAY

Start the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) by issuing the following command in the database install directory. 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ id
uid=501(oracle) gid=501(oinstall) groups=501(oinstall),502(dba),503(oper)

[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /home/oracle/software/oracle/database
[oracle@testnode1 database]$ ./runInstaller

At any time during installation, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do, click the Help button on the OUI page.

The prerequisites checks will fail for the following version-dependent reasons. As mentioned at the beginning of this guide, RHEL6 and OL6 are not certified or supported for use with any Oracle Database version at the time of this writing.

Screen Name Response Screen Shot
Configure Security Updates To stay informed with the latest security issues, enter your e-mail address, preferably your My Oracle Support e-mail address or user name in the Email field. You can select the "I wish to receive security updates via My Oracle Support" check box to receive security updates. Enter your My Oracle Support password in the "My Oracle Support Password" field.

For the purpose of this example, un-check the security updates check-box and click the [Next] button to continue.

Acknowledge the warning dialog indicating you have not provided an email address by clicking the [Yes] button.
Installation Option Select "Install database software only".
Grid Options Select "Single instance database installation".
Product Languages Make the appropriate selection(s) for your environment.
Database Edition Select "Enterprise Edition".
Installation Location Specify the Oracle base and Software location (Oracle home) as follows.

   Oracle Base: /u01/app/oracle
   Software Location: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
Create Inventory Since this is the first install on the host, you will need to create the Oracle Inventory. Use the default values provided by the OUI.

   Inventory Directory: /u01/app/oraInventory
   oraInventory Group Name: oinstall
Operating System Groups Select the OS groups to be used for the SYSDBA and SYSOPER privileges.

   Database Administrator (OSDBA) Group: dba
   Database Operator (OSOPER) Group: oper
Prerequisite Checks The installer will run through a series of checks to determine if the machine and OS configuration meet the minimum requirements for installing the Oracle Database software.

Starting with 11g Release 2, if any checks fail, the installer (OUI) will create shell script programs called fixup scripts to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task that is marked "fixable", then you can easily fix the issue by generating the fixup script by clicking the [Fix & Check Again] button.

The fixup script is generated during installation. You will be prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it raises kernel values to required minimums, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks.

If all prerequisite checks pass, the OUI continues to the Summary screen. If the OUI detected any failed checks, take the appropriate action to resolve it or click the "Ignore All" check box to acknowledge it is safe to continue with the installation without resolving the issue (the "pdksh-5.2.-14" missing package, for example).
Summary Click [Finish] to start the installation.
Install Product The installer performs the Oracle Database software installation.
Execute Configuration scripts After the installation completes, you will be prompted to run the /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh and /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh scripts. Open a new console window as the root user account and execute the orainstRoot.sh script. 
[root@testnode1 ~]# /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh

Within the same console window stay logged in as the root user account and execute the root.sh script. 
[root@testnode1 ~]# /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh  [11.2.0.1.0]  
[root@testnode1 ~]# /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh  [11.2.0.2.0]  
[root@testnode1 ~]# /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh  [11.2.0.3.0]

Go back to OUI and acknowledge the "Execute Configuration scripts" dialog window.
Finish At the end of the installation, click the [Close] button to exit the OUI.

Install Oracle Database Examples

Now that the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 software is installed, you have the option to install the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Examples.

Start the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) by issuing the following command in the examples install directory as the Oracle software owner (oracle). 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /home/oracle/software/oracle/examples
[oracle@testnode1 examples]$ ./runInstaller

At any time during installation, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do, click the Help button on the OUI page.

The prerequisites checks will fail for the following version-dependent reasons. As mentioned at the beginning of this guide, RHEL6 and OL6 are not certified or supported for use with any Oracle Database version at the time of this writing.

Screen Name Response Screen Shot
Installation Location Specify the Oracle base and Software location (Oracle home) as follows.

   Oracle Base: /u01/app/oracle
   Software Location: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
Prerequisite Checks The installer will run through a series of checks to determine if the machine and OS configuration meet the minimum requirements for installing the Oracle Database Examples software.

Starting with 11g Release 2, if any checks fail, the installer (OUI) will create shell script programs called fixup scripts to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task that is marked "fixable", then you can easily fix the issue by generating the fixup script by clicking the [Fix & Check Again] button.

The fixup script is generated during installation. You will be prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it raises kernel values to required minimums, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks.

If all prerequisite checks pass, the OUI continues to the Summary screen. If the OUI detected any failed checks, take the appropriate action to resolve it or click the "Ignore All" check box to acknowledge it is safe to continue with the installation without resolving the issue (the "pdksh-5.2.-14" missing package, for example).
Summary Click [Finish] to start the installation.
Install Product The installer performs the Oracle Database Examples software installation.
Finish At the end of the installation, click the [Close] button to exit the OUI.

Configure Oracle Networking

The Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) requires the Oracle TNS Listener process to be configured and running on the machine before it can create the database.

As the Oracle software owner (oracle), start the Network Configuration Assistant (NETCA) and run through the process of creating a new TNS listener process and to also configure the node for local access. 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ netca &

At any time during the network configuration, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do, click the Help button on the configuration screen.

Screen Name Response Screen Shot
Welcome Select Listener configuration.
Listener Action Select what you want to do: Add
Oracle Net
Listener Name		 Listener name: LISTENER
Select Protocols Selected protocols: TCP
TCP/IP Protocol Select Use the standard port number of 1521
More Listeners? Would you like to configure another listener? No
Listener Configuration Done Listener configuration complete! Click [Next] to continue. You will be returned to the Welcome screen.
Welcome Select Naming Methods configuration.
Select Naming Methods Selected Naming Methods: Local Naming
Naming Methods Configuration Done Naming Methods configuration complete! Click [Next] to continue. You will be returned to the Welcome screen.
Welcome Click [Finish] to exit the NETCA.

The Oracle TNS listener process should now be running. 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ ps -ef | grep lsnr | grep -v 'grep' | awk '{print $9}'
LISTENER

[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ lsnrctl status

LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on 31-DEC-2011 22:32:27

Copyright (c) 1991, 2009, Oracle.  All rights reserved.

Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=testnode1.idevelopment.info)(PORT=1521)))
STATUS of the LISTENER
------------------------
Alias                     LISTENER
Version                   TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 11.2.0.1.0 - Production
Start Date                31-DEC-2011 22:14:25
Uptime                    0 days 0 hr. 18 min. 3 sec
Trace Level               off
Security                  ON: Local OS Authentication
SNMP                      OFF
Listener Parameter File   /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/listener.ora
Listener Log File         /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/testnode1/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening Endpoints Summary...
  (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=testnode1.idevelopment.info)(PORT=1521)))
The listener supports no services
The command completed successfully

Create the Oracle Database

Use the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) to create the database.

Before executing the DBCA, make certain that the $ORACLE_HOME and $PATH are set appropriately for the $ORACLE_BASE/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1 environment. Setting environment variables in the login script for the oracle user account was covered in the section "Create Login Script for the oracle User Account".

You should also verify that the Oracle TNS listener service is running before attempting to start the database creation process.

Create the Database

To start the database creation process, run the following as the Oracle software owner (oracle). 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ dbca &

Screen Name Response Screen Shot
Welcome Screen Click [Next] to continue.
Operations Select Create a Database.
Database Templates Select Custom Database.
Database Identification Database naming.

   Global Database Name: testdb1.idevelopment.info
   SID Prefix: testdb1

Note: I used idevelopment.info for the database domain. You may use any database domain. Keep in mind that this domain does not have to be a valid DNS domain.
Management Options From the "Enterprise Manager" tab, you can leave the default option here which is to Configure Enterprise Manager / Configure Database Control for local management.

Using the "Automatic Maintenance Tasks" tab, leave the default option which is to Enable automatic maintenance tasks.

Database Credentials I selected to Use the Same Administrative Password for All Accounts. Enter the password (twice) and make sure the password does not start with a digit number.
Database File Locations Specify storage type and locations for database files.

   Storage Type: File System
   Storage Locations: Use Oracle-Managed Files
     Database Area: /u02/app/oracle/oradata
Recovery Configuration Check the option for Specify Flash Recovery Area.

   Flash Recovery Area: /u03/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area
   Flash Recovery Area Size: Use Oracle-Managed Files

My disk group has a size of about 36GB. When defining the Fast Recovery Area size, use the entire volume minus 10% for overhead — (36-10%=32 GB). I used a Fast Recovery Area Size of 32 GB (32768 MB).
Database Content I left all of the Database Components (and destination tablespaces) set to their default value although it is perfectly OK to select the Sample Schemas. This option is available since we installed the Oracle Database 11g Examples.
Initialization Parameters Change any parameters for your environment. I left them all at their default settings for this example.
Database Storage Change any parameters for your environment. I left them all at their default settings for this example.
Creation Options Keep the default option Create Database selected. I also always select to Generate Database Creation Scripts. Click Finish to start the database creation process. After acknowledging the database creation report and script generation dialog, the database creation will start.

Click OK on the "Summary" screen.
Database Creation Process Wait for the database process to complete.
End of Database Creation At the end of the database creation, exit from the DBCA.

When the DBCA has completed, you will have a fully functional Oracle Database 11g Release 2 database running.

Test Database Connectivity

Verify that the TNS listener is running (lsnrctl status) then log in to the new instance to verify database connectivity and perform a few queries. 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ sqlplus system/*******@testdb1

SQL> SELECT user FROM dual;

USER
------------------------------
SYSTEM


SQL> SELECT systimestamp FROM dual;

SYSTIMESTAMP
-----------------------------------------
02-JAN-12 05.30.59.996107 PM -05:00


SQL> SELECT owner, COUNT(owner) AS "OBJECT_COUNT" FROM dba_objects GROUP BY owner;

OWNER                          OBJECT_COUNT
------------------------------ ------------
OWBSYS_AUDIT                             12
MDSYS                                  1509
PUBLIC                                27702
OUTLN                                     9
CTXSYS                                  366
OLAPSYS                                 719
HR                                       34
FLOWS_FILES                              12
OWBSYS                                    2
SYSTEM                                  529
ORACLE_OCM                                8
EXFSYS                                  310
APEX_030200                            2406
DBSNMP                                   65
ORDSYS                                 2532
ORDPLUGINS                               10
OE                                      127
PM                                       27
SH                                      306
SYSMAN                                 3491
APPQOSSYS                                 3
XDB                                     844
ORDDATA                                 248
IX                                       55
BI                                        8
SYS                                   30796
WMSYS                                   316
SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA                        8

28 rows selected.

Oracle Enterprise Manager

If you configured Oracle Enterprise Manager (Database Control), it can be used to view the database configuration and current status of the database.

The URL for this example is: https://testnode1.idevelopment.info:1158/em/ 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ emctl status dbconsole
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control Release 11.2.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2009 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
https://testnode1.idevelopment.info:1158/em/console/aboutApplication
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g is running.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs are generated in directory /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/testnode1.idevelopment.info_testdb1/sysman/log

    

Figure 2: Oracle Enterprise Manager - (Database Console)

Post Database Creation Tasks - (Optional)

This section offers several optional tasks that can be performed on your new Oracle 11g environment in order to enhance availability as well as database management.

Re-compile Invalid Objects

Run the utlrp.sql script to recompile all invalid PL/SQL packages now instead of when the packages are accessed for the first time. This step is optional but recommended. 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ sqlplus / as sysdba
SQL> @?/rdbms/admin/utlrp.sql

Enabling Archive Logs

Whether a single instance or clustered database, Oracle tracks and logs all changes to database blocks in online redolog files. An Oracle instance will use its group of online redologs in a circular manner. Once an online redolog fills, Oracle moves to the next one. If the database is in "Archive Log Mode", Oracle will make a copy of the online redo log before it gets reused. A thread (an Oracle instance) must contain at least two online redologs (or online redolog groups).

As already mentioned, Oracle writes to its online redolog files in a circular manner. When the current online redolog fills, Oracle will switch to the next one. To facilitate media recovery, Oracle allows the DBA to put the database into "Archive Log Mode" which makes a copy of the online redolog after it fills (and before it gets reused). This is a process known as archiving.

The Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) allows users to configure a new database to be in archive log mode within the Recovery Configuration section; however most DBA's opt to bypass this option during initial database creation. In cases like this where the database is in no archive log mode, it is a simple task to put the database into archive log mode. Note however that this will require a short database outage.

  1. Log in to the database as a user with SYSDBA privileges and shut down the instance. 


    [oracle@testnode1 ~]$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL> shutdown immediate;
Database closed.
Database dismounted.
ORACLE instance shut down.

  2. After shutting down the instance, mount the database. 


    SQL> startup mount
ORACLE instance started.

Total System Global Area 1657225216 bytes
Fixed Size                  1336904 bytes
Variable Size             973081016 bytes
Database Buffers          671088640 bytes
Redo Buffers               11718656 bytes

  3. Enable archiving. 


    SQL> alter database archivelog;

Database altered.

  4. Open the database. 


    SQL> alter database open;

Database altered.

  5. Verify Archive Log Mode is enabled. 


    SQL> archive log list
Database log mode              Archive Mode
Automatic archival             Enabled
Archive destination            USE_DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST
Oldest online log sequence     74
Next log sequence to archive   76
Current log sequence           76

Download and Install Custom Oracle Database Scripts

DBA's rely on Oracle's data dictionary views and dynamic performance views in order to support and better manage their databases. Although these views provide a simple and easy mechanism to query critical information regarding the database, it helps to have a collection of accurate and readily available SQL scripts to query these views.

In this section you will download and install a collection of Oracle DBA scripts that can be used to manage many aspects of your database including space management, performance, backups, security, and session management. The DBA Scripts Archive for Oracle can be downloaded using the following link http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_scripts/dba_scripts_archive_Oracle.zip. As the Oracle software owner (oracle), download the dba_scripts_archive_Oracle.zip archive to the $ORACLE_BASE directory. For the purpose of this example, the dba_scripts_archive_Oracle.zip archive will be copied to /u01/app/oracle. Next, unzip the archive file to the $ORACLE_BASE directory.

For example: 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cp Downloads/dba_scripts_archive_Oracle.zip /u01/app/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ cd /u01/app/oracle
[oracle@testnode1 oracle]$ unzip dba_scripts_archive_Oracle.zip

The final step is to verify (or set) the appropriate environment variable for the current UNIX shell to ensure the Oracle SQL scripts can be run from within SQL*Plus while in any directory. For UNIX, verify the following environment variable is set and included in your login shell script: 


ORACLE_PATH=$ORACLE_BASE/dba_scripts/sql:.:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin
export ORACLE_PATH

 

The ORACLE_PATH environment variable should already be set in the .bash_profile login script that was created in the section Create Login Script for the oracle User Account.

Now that the DBA Scripts Archive for Oracle has been unzipped and the UNIX environment variable ($ORACLE_PATH) has been set to the appropriate directory, you should now be able to run any of the SQL scripts in the $ORACLE_BASE/dba_scripts/sql while logged into SQL*Plus from any directory. For example, to query tablespace information while logged into the Oracle database as a DBA user: 


SQL> @dba_tablespaces

Status   Tablespace Name    TS Type      Ext. Mgt.  Seg. Mgt.    Tablespace Size    Used (in bytes) Pct. Used
-------- ------------------ ------------ ---------- --------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------
ONLINE   EXAMPLE            PERMANENT    LOCAL      AUTO             157,286,400         85,131,264        54
ONLINE   SYSAUX             PERMANENT    LOCAL      AUTO             629,145,600        487,718,912        78
ONLINE   SYSTEM             PERMANENT    LOCAL      MANUAL           734,003,200        705,953,792        96
ONLINE   TEMP               TEMPORARY    LOCAL      MANUAL            67,108,864         66,060,288        98
ONLINE   UNDOTBS1           UNDO         LOCAL      MANUAL           560,988,160        419,102,720        75
ONLINE   USERS              PERMANENT    LOCAL      AUTO               5,242,880          1,048,576        20
                                                              ------------------ ------------------ ---------
avg                                                                                                        70
sum                                                                2,153,775,104      1,765,015,552

6 rows selected.

To obtain a list of all available Oracle DBA scripts while logged into SQL*Plus, run the help.sql script. 


SQL> @help.sql

========================================
Automatic Shared Memory Management
========================================
asmm_components.sql

========================================
Automatic Storage Management
========================================
asm_alias.sql
asm_clients.sql
asm_diskgroups.sql
asm_disks.sql
asm_disks_perf.sql
asm_drop_files.sql
asm_files.sql
asm_files2.sql
asm_templates.sql

< --- SNIP --- >
 
perf_top_sql_by_buffer_gets.sql
perf_top_sql_by_disk_reads.sql

========================================
Workspace Manager
========================================
wm_create_workspace.sql
wm_disable_versioning.sql
wm_enable_versioning.sql
wm_freeze_workspace.sql
wm_get_workspace.sql
wm_goto_workspace.sql
wm_merge_workspace.sql
wm_refresh_workspace.sql
wm_remove_workspace.sql
wm_unfreeze_workspace.sql
wm_workspaces.sql

Configure Automatic Database Starting and Stopping

Oracle Restart

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2, the dbstart and dbshut scripts that were used to automate database startup and shutdown in previous Oracle versions are deprecated. Oracle now recommends to configure Oracle Database with the Oracle Restart feature to automatically restart the database, the listener, Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM), and other Oracle components after a hardware or software failure or when the database host computer restarts.

 

Oracle Restart can only manage 11.2 resources. Oracle Database releases prior to 11.2; however, can coexist on the same server but without being managed by Oracle Restart.

When using Oracle Restart, you can use Service Control Utility (SRVCTL), a command-line interface, to manage Oracle processes (database instance, listener, ASM instance). With SRVCTL, you can manage the Oracle Restart configuration, see the status of processes managed by Oracle Restart, and start or stop processes such as the Oracle Database. SRVCTL has been enhanced to support single instance databases with Oracle Restart on standalone servers and on clusters with Oracle Clusterware.

Oracle Restart is a component of Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server which is a separate install from the Oracle Database software. Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server is required in order to use Oracle Restart and must be installed in a separate home (known as Grid home) from the database Oracle home. Using the latest Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA), Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server would be installed as the Oracle software owner (oracle) and the Oracle home directory would be /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/grid. Note that you can install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server first and the database later or vice-versa. If Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server is installed first, then components like the database and TNS listener get automatically added to the Oracle Restart configuration. In the case where the database is configured first and Grid later, the components will need to be manually added to the Oracle Restart configuration.

 

If you want to use Oracle ASM or Oracle Restart, then you must install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server before you install and create the database. Otherwise, you must manually register the database with Oracle Restart.

Also note that Oracle Restart is used in single-instance (non-clustered) environments only.

Although the Oracle grid infrastructure for a Standalone Server install is fairly straightforward, I opted to forgo discussing how to use Oracle Restart to automatically start/stop the Oracle instance in this guide. I provide a separate guide on configuring Oracle Restart on a standalone server. Although now deprecated, automatic database startup and shutdown using the su command method is still available in Oracle Database 11g Release 2.

Automatic Database Startup/Shutdown using "su" Command

This section contains the recommended method defined by Oracle for automating database startup and shutdown of Oracle Database 10g and Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) instances on Linux. The method described in this section is referred to as the "su" command method. This method can be used with any RHEL or RHEL clone distribution, including Oracle Linux, up to and including RHEL 6.

Edit the /etc/oratab file and set the restart flag (the last field) to "Y" for the instance you want to automatically startup and shutdown. For the purpose of this example, the only instance defined in the /etc/oratab file is testdb1: 


...
testdb1:/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1:Y
...

Next, create a text file named /etc/init.d/dbora as the root user, containing the following. 


#!/bin/sh
# chkconfig: 345 99 10
# description: Oracle auto start-stop script.
#
# Set ORA_HOME to be equivalent to the $ORACLE_HOME
# from which you wish to execute dbstart and dbshut;
#
# Set ORA_OWNER to the user id of the owner of the 
# Oracle database in ORA_HOME.

ORA_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
ORA_OWNER=oracle

if [ ! -f $ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart ]
then
    echo "Oracle startup: cannot start"
    exit
fi

case "$1" in
    'start')
        # Start the Oracle databases:
        # The following command assumes that the oracle login 
        # will not prompt the user for any values
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart $ORA_HOME"
        ;;
    'stop')
        # Stop the Oracle databases:
        # The following command assumes that the oracle login 
        # will not prompt the user for any values
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbshut $ORA_HOME"
        ;;
esac

 

Note that the /etc/init.d/dbora script listed above may look a little different from a similar one used for Oracle9i — most notably the omission of the commands to start/stop the Oracle TNS listener process. As of Oracle Database 10g Release 2, the dbstart script includes the commands to automatically start/stop the listener.

Use the chmod command to set the privileges to 750. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# chmod 750 /etc/init.d/dbora

Associate the dbora service with the appropriate run levels and set it to auto-start using the following command. 


[root@testnode1 ~]# chkconfig --level 345 dbora on

The relevant instances should now startup/shutdown automatically at system startup/shutdown.

Final Notes

The /etc/init.d/dbora script defined in this section uses the "su -" command to run the Oracle scripts dbstart and dbshut. 


su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart $ORA_HOME"

(and...)

su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbshut $ORA_HOME"

Starting with Oracle Database 10g, Oracle switched from recommending the "su" command to the "rsh" command of which I completely disagree with. When using the rsh method, the /etc/init.d/dbora script would be defined as follows. 


#!/bin/sh
# chkconfig: 345 99 10
# description: Oracle auto start-stop script.
#
# Change the value of ORACLE_HOME to specify the correct Oracle home
# directory for your installation.

ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
#
# Change the value of ORACLE to the login name of the
# oracle owner at your site.
#
ORACLE=oracle

PATH=${PATH}:$ORACLE_HOME/bin
HOST=`hostname`
PLATFORM=`uname`
export ORACLE_HOME PATH
#
if [ ! "$2" = "ORA_DB" ] ; then
   if [ "$PLATFORM" = "HP-UX" ] ; then
      remsh $HOST -l $ORACLE -n "$0 $1 ORA_DB"
      exit
   else
      rsh $HOST -l $ORACLE  $0 $1 ORA_DB
      exit
   fi
fi
#
case $1 in
'start')
        $ORACLE_HOME/bin/dbstart $ORACLE_HOME
        ;;
'stop')
        $ORACLE_HOME/bin/dbshut $ORACLE_HOME
        ;;
*)
        echo "usage: $0 {start|stop}"
        exit
        ;;
esac
#
exit

Note that this method relies on the presence of an RSH server, which requires additional packages and configuration. The RSH server does not get installed by default on many Linux distributions (and for good reason!).

Given the RSH server (and other r* packages) do not get installed by default, the DBA would need to locate and install them before this method could be used: 


# -- Install the rhs and rsh-server packages from the OS CD/DVD --
# rpm -Uvh --force rsh-*

# -- Enable rsh and rlogin --
# chkconfig rsh on
# chkconfig rlogin on
# service xinetd reload

I completely disagree with the recommendation to use rsh and prefer to stick with using the su command method. Furthermore, using the rsh method can be problematic when attempting to use it under Fedora Core 5 and Fedora Core 6 where rsh is deprecated.

Miscellaneous Options

This final section contains several miscellaneous options that may be of use to newcomers of Oracle 11g.

Enterprise Manager - Database Console

During the database creation section, we asked for DBCA to create the Enterprise Manager Database Console application. The DBCA will automatically start the OEM Database Console application. To check for the process, type the following: 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ emctl status dbconsole
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control Release 11.2.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2009 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
https://testnode1.idevelopment.info:1158/em/console/aboutApplication
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g is running.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs are generated in directory /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/testnode1.idevelopment.info_testdb1/sysman/log

If you receive something similar to the above output, then OEM Database Console is running. If you need to manually start this application, login as the Oracle software owner (oracle) and type the following: 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ emctl start dbconsole
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control Release 11.2.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2009 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
https://testnode1.idevelopment.info:1158/em/console/aboutApplication
Starting Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control ......... started.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs are generated in directory /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/testnode1.idevelopment.info_testdb1/sysman/log

The OEM DB Console application may take several minutes to start.

Once the DB Console application is up and running, point your web browser to https://<Database_Server>:1158/em as in the following: 


https://testnode1.idevelopment.info:1158/em

Login: 

User Name: SYSTEM
Password: <The password you chose during installation>
Connect As: Normal

 

The emctl start dbconsole / emctl stop dbconsole commands can be placed in the /etc/init.d/dbora script to be started and stopped when the database server is cycled.

Changing Your Oracle Database Environment

In some cases, you may have more than one database running on your single database server. It is even possible to be using two different databases running on different releases of the Oracle Database software. (i.e. Oracle 8.1.7, Oracle 9.2.0, 10.2.0, and 11.1.0). For example, you may have two database — ora1020 (using Oracle release 10.2.0) and testdb1 (using Oracle release 11.2.0). Whatever the case may be, you need an efficient method to modify your environment variables to switch between these two databases. This requires you update environment variables like ORACLE_HOME, ORACLE_SID, PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, etc. Although this can be done manually at the command line, it can get old real quick. Instead you can use a single command line script to switch between all database environments declared in your /etc/oratab file.

If you have been following along with this article, the required scripts for switching your Oracle database environment are already included (in /usr/local/bin). From the command prompt, simply run the following: 


[oracle@testnode1 ~]$ . oraenv
ORACLE_SID = [ora1020] ? testdb1
The Oracle base for ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1 is /u01/app/oracle

Notice that in the above example, we didn't just run the oraenv script, but rather, we sourced it by using a dot followed by a space and then the script name oraenv. When sourcing the oraenv script, it will prompt you for the ORACLE_SID, (defined in your /etc/oratab file), you want to switch to. In the above example, if an entry exists for testdb1, then all Oracle related environment variables would be set to access this database.

About the Author

Jeffrey Hunter is an Oracle Certified Professional, Java Development Certified Professional, Author, and an Oracle ACE. Jeff currently works as a Senior Database Administrator for The DBA Zone, Inc. located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work includes advanced performance tuning, Java and PL/SQL programming, developing high availability solutions, capacity planning, database security, and physical / logical database design in a UNIX, Linux, and Windows server environment. Jeff's other interests include mathematical encryption theory, programming language processors (compilers and interpreters) in Java and C, LDAP, writing web-based database administration tools, and of course Linux. He has been a Sr. Database Administrator and Software Engineer for over 18 years and maintains his own website site at: http://www.iDevelopment.info. Jeff graduated from Stanislaus State University in Turlock, California, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.


Copyright (c) 1998-2013 Jeffrey M. Hunter. All rights reserved.

All articles, scripts and material located at the Internet address of http://www.idevelopment.info is the copyright of Jeffrey M. Hunter and is protected under copyright laws of the United States. This document may not be hosted on any other site without my express, prior, written permission. Application to host any of the material elsewhere can be made by contacting me at jhunter@idevelopment.info.

I have made every effort and taken great care in making sure that the material included on my web site is technically accurate, but I disclaim any and all responsibility for any loss, damage or destruction of data or any other property which may arise from relying on it. I will in no case be liable for any monetary damages arising from such loss, damage or destruction.

Last modified on
Tuesday, 26-Jun-2012 12:59:11 EDT
Page Count: 1002