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-
-
-
-Oracle for Linux Installation HOWTO
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!!Oracle for Linux Installation HOWTO
-
-!!Stephen Darlington, <stephen@zx81.org.uk>$Revision: 1.14 $, $Date: 2000/06/19 21:07:43 $
-
-
-----
-''With this HOWTO, and a little luck, you will be able to get "Oracle 8i
-Enterprise Edition for Linux" installed, create a database and connect
-to it from a remote machine. The main focus of this guide is !RedHat
-Linux 6., although it should work more-or-less unchanged for any
-other recent distribution.''
-----
-
-
-
-
-!!1. Introduction
-
-
-*1.1 What's in here?
-
-*1.2 Who is this HOWTO for?
-
-*1.3 New versions of this document
-
-*1.4 Disclaimer
-
-*1.5 Credits and Thanks
-
-*1.6 Licence
-
-
-
-
-
-!!2. Starting off
-
-
-*2.1 Overview
-
-*2.2 Prerequisites
-
-*2.3 Linux setup
-
-*2.4 Starting off questions and answers
-
-
-
-
-
-!!3. The installer
-
-
-*3.1 How?
-
-*3.2 What do I tell the installation program?
-
-*3.3 Installing the patch
-
-*3.4 Setting up your environment
-
-*3.5 Installations questions and answers
-
-
-
-
-
-!!4. Creating a database
-
-
-*4.1 Overview
-
-*4.2 Step-by-step guide
-
-*4.3 Questions and answers
-
-
-
-
-
-!!5. Configuration
-
-
-*5.1 Overview
-
-*5.2 Connecting as another user
-
-*5.3 Connecting from another machine
-
-*5.4 Connecting to another machine
-
-*5.5 Questions and answers
-
-
-
-
-
-!!6. Final Words
-
-
-*6.1 Useful Software
-
-*6.2 Useful Books
-
-*6.3 Useful Internet resources
-
-----
-
-!!1. Introduction
-
-!!1.1 What's in here?
-
-
-
-Linux is well known for being difficult and, generally, user
-hostile. Being a bit of a Unix fan I'm not sure whether I agree with
-that or not.
-
-
-Oracle is similar I guess. Initially it's difficult to get to grips
-with, but it's difficult to work with any other RDBMS when you're used
-to it.
-
-
-Combine the two, remember that 8i is only the second production
-release, and you realise that this isn't going to be straight-forward,
-even if you're familiar with both.
-
-
-I am, but I had problems. Many problems were my own stupidity or
-hubris, but I document them for completeness.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.2 Who is this HOWTO for?
-
-
-
-First, this document is for people who want to install Oracle 8i
-version 8.1.5 on Linux. It does not cover any earlier versions,
-although it should work with similar later versions such as 8.1.6.
-
-
-If you want to install 8., I recommend you try
-Linux Journals guide, and
-if you want to install any of the previous versions you're going to
-have to use the SCO version and follow Paul Haigh's
-Oracle Database HOWTO.
-
-
-If you're trying to install the 'right' version, what level of
-background knowledge will you need?
-
-
-Perhaps the easiest way is if I explain a little of my background,
-clearly if yours is similar we're going to be on the same
-wave-length. I've used a lot of Unix and Oracle over the last few
-years. At home I've been running Linux since 1994 and I've been using
-Solaris and HP-UX on-and-off since 1992. I first came across Oracle in
-1996 and have worked with both versions 7 and 8. I'm mainly a
-developer, but I have done DBA and sysadmin-type work.
-
-
-In summary, I can find my way around a Unix box and I know much of the
-Oracle terminology. You'll need both to brave the rest of this
-document. But don't worry if you have a different background, follow
-this guide closely and keep asking questions. The Linux community are
-a helpful bunch, just don't expect an answer if you haven't at least
-made an effort to solve the problem yourself.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.3 New versions of this document
-
-
-
-Things move quickly in the world of Linux and Oracle, meaning that
-this document can quickly get out of date. If this document is more
-than a month or two old, I suggest you take a look at
-my web site
-for an update.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.4 Disclaimer
-
-
-
-You get what you pay for. I offer no warranty of any kind, implied or
-otherwise. I'll help you where I can but legally you're on your own.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.5 Credits and Thanks
-
-
-
-This HOWTO has been written by Stephen Darlington. It couldn't have
-been created without the constant stream of questions and answers on
-Oracle Technet and the Usenet news-groups. So thanks to the people
-that keep posting and sorry that I can't credit you all individually!
-
-
-Thanks to the following people, in no particular order, for their
-contributions to this document: Ton Haver, Guy Cole, Iain Frerichs,
-Albert Braun, Steve Morando, Krill Kokoshka, Brain Slesinsky, Galen G
-Burk and Bill Gathen.
-
-
-I welcome any constructive feedback on this HOWTO and any general
-Linux or Oracle issues. Email me at
-stephen@zx81.org.uk.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.6 Licence
-
-
-
-This document is copyright 2000 Stephen Darlington. You may use,
-disseminate and reproduce it freely, provided you:
-
-
-
-
-
-*Do not omit or alter this copyright notice.
-*
-
-*Do not omit or alter the version number and date.
-*
-
-*Do not omit or alter the document's pointer to the current WWW
-version.
-*
-
-*Clearly mark any condensed, altered or versions as such.
-*
-
-
-
-These restrictions are intended to protect potential readers from
-stale or mangled versions. If you think you have a good case for an
-exception, ask me.
-
-
-(This copyright notice has been lifted from Eric Raymond's Distribution
-HOWTO.)
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!2. Starting off
-
-!!2.1 Overview
-
-
-
-In this section, we'll set up Linux so that you're in a position to
-get Oracle 8i from the CD that they sent you into your hard-disk.
-
-
-The Oracle installation process begins when you've built your PC,
-installed Linux, configured it and connected it to your network.
-
-
-
-
-!!2.2 Prerequisites
-
-
-!Hardware
-
-
-I think that the most important part of the prerequisites is not to
-underestimate them. Oracle is a very big and complex application and
-you won't get the best out of it if you skimp too much on the
-hardware.
-
-
-My biggest mistake was to assume that Oracle were joking when they
-said that you need 128Mb of RAM. I've installed Oracle a couple of
-times on Sun servers with that much, why would I need more on a CISC
-machine?
-
-
-Believe Oracle not my gut. My machine with 32Mb of Ram ground on for
-less than half an hour before I realised that it was hopeless.
-
-
-I was trying to use the bare minimum of hardware, and that's generally
-a bad idea. If you can't afford the hardware you certainly won't be
-able to afford the licences!
-
-
-Things to look for on a production server are many disks, possibly
-RAIDed, and fast CPU's. Database access is relatively easy to break
-down into smaller parallel phases so having a number of processors
-really does help.
-
-
-On the other hand, any machine that can run Linux and that has enough
-memory should be in with a chance. My other machine, the one I used
-for the rest of this document, is fine as a development machine. It is
-a Celeron 466Mhz with 128Mb of memory, an 8Gb hard disk, an Intel
-graphics card and a DM9102 network card.
-
-
-
-
-!!2.3 Linux setup
-
-
-!Choice of distribution
-
-
-Oracle seem to have done most of their development on !RedHat Linux
-6.. For a fuss-free installation, do the same. I've heard horror
-stories about trying to get it installed on other distributions.
-
-
-However, anything ''like'' !RedHat should also do the trick. A recent
-version of Mandrake or SuSE should be fine (SuSE, in fact, are fairly
-active in supporting Oracle), and newer versions of RH pose no
-problems either.
-
-
-
-
-!Distribution Setup
-
-
-Now that you've decided on which !RedHat-like distribution you're going
-to use, you'll need to work out which options to set and which of the
-vast number of packages need to be installed to make Oracle work.
-
-
-Firstly you need two to three times the amount of memory you have for
-your swap space. (You'll need around 200Mb of memory, real or virtual,
-just to run the installer!) Note that contrary to popular opinion,
-Linux swap partitions can be larger than 128Mb.
-
-
-The arrangements of your other partitions can also be important. Make
-sure that the Oracle software is on a different partition to your
-operating system, and make sure that the Oracle datafiles are on yet
-another partition. The idea here is to make sure that your datafiles
-do not get fragmented. (In a live environment, you're likely to have a
-number of disk with Oracle spread across them. There are a number of
-good books that you consult for more information on this.)
-
-
-As for the software, I took the easy option and installed just about
-everything. You certainly need all the 'base' packages, X Windows (the
-installation routine is a Java GUI) and the development tools
-regardless of whether you intend doing any coding or not. Compared to
-the size of Oracle and your databases a Linux distribution is tiny,
-probably less than a gigabyte. It's worth installing it all for an
-easy life!
-
-
-
-
-!Kernel parameters
-
-
-The documentation suggests that you make changes to the Linux kernel
-so you can get more shared memory. Since this is so difficult in Linux
-(unlike most commercial Unix's you have to recompile the kernel), the
-approach I took was to go ahead with the installation anyway. The
-default !RedHat Linux settings worked, although you may have to change
-them for a larger development or production system.
-
-
-Note that some people have had to recompile the kernel to get Oracle
-to work at all. I guess it must depend on the other software that
-you're running on the same machine.
-
-
-Follow the instructions in the Oracle documentation (on the
-installation CD in HTML format) and the
-Linux Kernel HOWTO to build your
-new kernel.
-
-
-
-
-!Users and groups
-
-
-Using !LinuxConf (or whatever other method you feel comfortable with),
-you need to add a new group called "dba" and a new user called
-"oracle", which should belong to your newly created "dba" group.
-
-
-You can make any other user a DBA by putting them in the DBA group. If
-you have several DBA's this is probably a good idea for auditing
-purposes.
-
-
-
-
-!Installing the right Java Virtual Machine
-
-
-If you check the official documentation, you'll find that Oracle
-recommend the Blackdown Java Runtime Environment version 1.1.6v5.
-That's what they mean. Don't think 'newer versions will be less buggy'
-as the installer probably won't work. And don't think, 'I'll be
-developing software so I'll just get the JDK,' as that won't work
-either.
-
-
-There is one caveat to using this version of the JRE: the Oracle
-installer seems to be hard-coded to expect the JRE executable to be at
-/usr/local/jre/bin/jre. While this is inconvenient, it does
-not mean that you have to install it there.
-
-
-I performed the following steps to get a working copy of the JRE:
-
-
-
-
-
-#Download the Java Runtime Environment from the
-Blackdown website
-
-#
-
-#Move to where you want to install the JRE:
-
-cd /usr/local
-
-
-#
-
-#Uncompress the archive:
-
-bzip2 -d -c jre-1.1.6-v5-glibc-x86.tar.bz2 | tar xvf -
-
-
-#
-
-#Create a symbolic link between where Oracle thinks it is and
-where it actually is:
-
-ln -s jre116_v5 jre
-
-
-#
-
-
-
-
-
-!!2.4 Starting off questions and answers
-
-
-!Do I really need 128Mb RAM?
-
-
-I would recommend that you do use 128Mb of RAM or more. I think it
-would be difficult to get any serious work done with less.
-
-
-However, if you disable the Java option and set all the shared memory
-settings to be relatively small, there's no reason why it shouldn't
-work. I've heard success stories with 64Mb. You're probably not going
-to get away with 32Mb, though.
-
-
-There is a caveat. You may only need half of what Oracle recommends to
-run the thing, but to install it their number starts to make
-sense. I've heard reports of the installer using 150Mb of memory and
-I've seen it well over 120Mb myself. If you have 64Mb or less of
-memory, make sure you have lots of swap space and patience.
-
-
-An alternative if you absolutely can't add more memory: install Oracle
-on another, bigger machine and copy across the $ORACLE_HOME
-directory. You'll need to make sure that you have all the same users
-and groups (preferably with the same numeric codes) and take special
-care with SUID executables like $ORACLE_HOME/bin/oracle/.
-
-
-
-
-!Does it work with !RedHat 6.1 or above?
-
-
-I'm still running 6.0 myself, so all I can say is that a number of
-people have claimed success with this configuration.
-
-
-At the time of writing, Oracle 8i has been certified with !RedHat 6.
-and "Certification for other distributions is currently in progress"
-(Oracle 8i Patch FAQ).
-
-
-
-
-!Does it work with Debian/SuSE/Mandrake/some other distribution?
-
-
-Oracle specify the Linux kernel version 2.2 or above and GLIBC version
-2.1 with any window manager. In theory, any distribution that meets
-these requirements should work.
-
-
-In practice, Oracle may not support it and you may have more problems
-trying to complete the installation. Unless you have a very good
-reason to do otherwise I suggest you stick to !RedHat 6.0 with all the
-patches you can get hold of.
-
-
-
-
-!Does it work with development kernels?
-
-
-There's no obvious reason why it shouldn't work -- I used 2.3.19 for a
-while because it supported my network card and the stable kernel at
-the time didn't -- but unless there's a pressing need it's certainly
-safest to stay well clear. I switched back to the stable series as
-soon as the driver was included.
-
-
-
-
-!Where do I get Oracle from?
-
-
-Firstly, if you're brave, have a very fast Internet connection or
-inexhaustible patience (and unmetered access) you can download it from
-Oracle Technet. Beware:
-it's nearly 200Mb, and 8.1.6 is even bigger.
-
-
-A better option is to get the CD. Oracle sometimes offer to send you a
-free development CD when you join Technet. It's certainly worth
-spending some time looking round their web site for
-that. Alternatively, you can buy them from the Oracle Store for around
-$40. It includes lots of other software too and comes on 15 discs.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!3. The installer
-
-!!3.1 How?
-
-
-
-Generally, following the documentation is a good idea. It's not that
-bad and you'll get much better support from Oracle if you have. (I
-ended up breaking things -- and knowing it would -- by following the
-documentation for Oracle Applications. It was the only way to get
-decent support.)
-
-
-This document is going to give an overview, but you should still have
-their documentation available.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.2 What do I tell the installation program?
-
-
-
-As part of the installation Oracle will ask a number of
-questions. Generally they're not too difficult but let's see what I
-entered and why.
-
-
-
-
-
-#Many people make the mistake of following Oracle's documentation
-and, therefore, fail at the first hurdle. Don't execute
-runInstaller as it almost always fails. Instead move to
-install/linux on the CD and run runIns.sh while logged
-in as 'oracle'.
-
-#
-
-#It should show a title screen. Click 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#It should ask you to enter the source directory of the
-installation files ('jar' file) and your Oracle installation
-directory. You should be able to leave the former alone. The Oracle
-home directory is where you want to install the software. According to
-the installation documentation is should be somewhere on
-/u01, but I ignored that and put it in
-/home/oracle. Oracles advice, in this respect, is usually
-worth following. Click 'Next' when you've entered the details.
-
-#
-
-#Now it should ask you for the DBA group. This is the Unix group
-you created in the last section and is probably 'dba'. Enter the
-details and click 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#This time it wants you to log in as 'root' and run
-/tmp/!OraInstall/orainstRoot.sh. Do as it says. (You may have
-to run pdksh or bash in the 'Bourne compatibility mode' to
-get it to complete successfully.) When you're done click 'Retry.'
-
-#
-
-#You're now given the option of what to install. Your best bet
-here is 'Oracle Enterprise Edition,' as this includes just about
-everything (table 3.1 in the Oracle documentation tells you exactly
-what it installs). Make sure the right radio button is selected and
-click 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#It should now allow you to choose what you install with much
-finer granularity. Unless you're particularly constrained by disk
-space or know exactly what you need, I'd recommend leaving it exactly
-as it is and clicking 'Next.' The Universal Installer won't let you
-make any silly choices so don't worry too much if you unselect
-something. You can always add it back in later.
-
-#
-
-#For any products that you've asked it to install, the installer
-will allow you to change where it puts them. Again, only if you have a
-good reason to should you change it. Click 'Next' when you're done.
-
-#
-
-#It now goes away and installs all the pieces of software you
-asked it to. This will probably take quite a while and will use far
-more memory than is reasonable.
-
-#
-
-#It should ask you if you want to create a database. Select
-'no'. There are two reasons for this: it often doesn't work and, even
-when it does, it's very slow (it seems to fire up another JVM, leaving
-X, the Oracle back-end and ''two'' virtual machines in memory; not
-good with 128Mb of memory).
-
-#
-
-#The installer should now ask you about the network protocols
-that you want Oracle to support. The boxes all came up blank for me. I
-don't know what's supposed to be in there, but I clicked 'Next' and
-found that everything worked.
-
-#
-
-#All the hard stuff is complete now. All the products you want
-should be installed and are ready to go. Congratulations.
-#
-
-
-
-
-
-!!3.3 Installing the patch
-
-
-
-Unfortunately, the CD that Oracle sent you was probably version
-8.1.5... As with almost all first releases there are problems with
-that version (problems include empty files, so they're quite serious)
-and a patch, to version 8.1.5..2 is essential. You'll certainly need
-it to progress to the "Configuration" section of this HOWTO. The patch
-described here is a cumulative patch, i.e., it includes all the files
-required to move from version 8.1.5..0 to 8.1.5..2.
-
-
-The file you need is on
-the Oracle web site
-and is relatively easy to install.
-
-
-
-
-
-#This is probably the first of many patches, so create a
-directory called "patches" somewhere convenient (mine is in
-$ORACLE_HOME).
-
-#
-
-#Download the file into it.
-
-#
-
-#Create somewhere to put the files:
-
-mkdir /tmp/orapatch
-cd /tmp/orapatch
-
-
-#
-
-#Uncompress the file:
-
-tar zvxf $ORACLE_HOME/patches/linux815patches.tgz
-
-
-#
-
-#Run the shell script that's now in the current directory:
-
-./linux_815patches.sh
-
-
-#
-
-
-
-Note that it's important not to uncompress the file in the current
-directory. The patch installer checks that the correct number of files
-are present and fails if there are not the right number. Of course, if
-it finds the patch archive it finds too many files!
-
-
-
-
-!!3.4 Setting up your environment
-
-
-
-Add the following lines to your ".profile" (or whatever the equivalent
-is for your shell):
-
-
-
-
-. oraenv
-export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
-
-
-
-Quite why the Oracle installer doesn't do this I have no idea.
-
-
-If you see "
[[: integer expression expected before -lt" the next
-time you log in, it's because 'oraenv' is expecting your ULIMIT to be
-an integer rather than the default 'unlimited.' I've seen no ill
-effects by ignoring the error, but you can fix it by setting the
-ULIMIT to something finite.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.5 Installations questions and answers
-
-
-!The installation program exits with 'CreateOUIProcess()'
-
-
-Firstly, make sure that you're running the right version of the JVM. I
-don't know what Oracle do with their software, but it's very dependent
-on the version you use.
-
-
-Secondly, it might help if, instead of running runInstaller from
-the root of the CD, you move into install/linux and run the
-runInst.sh shell script instead.
-
-
-This problem seems more common on !RedHat 6.1 than 6.0 and could be
-something to do with a newer C library.
-
-
-I've also heard reports that if you have the wrong version of Gnome's
-usual window manager, Enlightenment, you might get this
-problem. Upgrade or switch to another environment such as KDE or
-Fvwm2.
-
-
-
-
-!The installer just flashes on the screen and then vanishes
-
-
-This is not an uncommon occurrence. Usually it means that you're
-running an old version of Enlightenment. Upgrading or switching to
-another environment should fix the problem.
-
-
-A similar problem is the installation program vanishing at some later
-point in the process, often around 80% of the way through. The
-consensus seems to be that Oracle ran out of memory. You should
-increase the amount of swap space your machine has, anything over
-200Mb should be sufficient.
-
-
-
-
-!Strange Java errors when I start the installation program?
-
-
-Which version of the Java Virtual Machine are you using? People have
-claimed success with other versions, but most of the problems that I
-had disappeared when I downgraded to JRE 1.1.6v5, the one that Oracle
-recommends in their documentation.
-
-
-Two other things that are worth mentioning: make sure you use the JRE
-and not the JDK and, secondly, you should be using "green"
-threads. Unless you've set THREADS_FLAG to 'native' you almost
-certainly have the correct setting.
-
-
-
-
-!The installation program 'Segmentation Fault's
-
-
-You do have GLIBC 2.1 don't you?
-
-
-
-
-!Problems loading shared libraries
-
-
-The error message that I'm talking about looks a bit like this:
-
-
-
-
-error in loading shared libraries: libclntsh.so.8.: cannot open
-shared object file: No such file or directory
-
-
-
-This is the same as NT complaining that it can't find a DLL. It's very
-easy to fix. Simply add the following line to the end of your
-".profile" if you're using a Bourne-like shell (ask a local guru if
-you don't know):
-
-
-
-
-export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
-
-
-
-Or use the following line if you're using a CSH-like shell:
-
-
-
-
-setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH "$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-$ORACLE_HOME/lib"
-
-
-
-I don't use the C-Shell, so independent verification of this command
-would be appreciated.
-
-
-
-
-!Pro*C doesn't work
-
-
-The answer to this took quite a bit of tracking down, although the
-answer ''is'' on the Oracle web site if you look hard enough.
-
-
-The default configuration of Pro*C doesn't know where to find all its
-libraries, so you need to tell it. After installation
-$ORACLE_HOME/precomp/admin/pcscfg.cfg is empty, but it needs
-to contain the following:
-
-
-
-
-sys_include=(/home/oracle/precomp/public, /usr/include,
-/usr/lib/gcc-lib/i386-redhat-linux/egcs-2.91.66/include/,
-/usr/include, /usr/lib/gcc-lib/i386-redhat-linux/egcs-2.91.66/include,
-/usr/include)
-include=(/home/oracle/precomp/public)
-include=(/home/oracle/rdbms/demo)
-include=(/home/oracle/network/public)
-include=(/home/oracle/plsql/public)
-ltype=short
-
-
-
-(The first four lines above, from sys_include to include)
-should all be on the same line in the file.)
-
-
-The Oracle documentation doesn't mention this, but you also need to
-edit $ORACLE_HOME/precomp/lib/env_precomp.mk. On the line
-that defines CCPSYSINCLUDE, put the following:
-
-
-
-
-CCPSYSINCLUDE=sys_include='($(ORACLE_HOME)/precomp/public,
-/usr/lib/gcc-lib/i386-redhat-linux/egcs-2.91.66/include,
-/usr/include/g++-2, /usr/include)'
-
-
-
-This works for !RedHat 6., but may need tweaking for other
-distributions or later versions of RH.
-
-
-
-
-!I installed the patch but it made things worse!
-
-
-This is tricky, barely documented by Oracle and common across all
-their products and installation programs. It's about time they did
-something about it!
-
-
-Often what happens is as follows: you install Oracle Enterprise
-Edition and, as Oracle tells you, you dash off and install all the
-available patches. Then you decide you need the pre-compilers and
-install Oracle Programmer from the same CD.
-
-
-Before you installed Pro*C your database worked, and now it doesn't.
-
-
-The problem is that the versions of the pre-compilers that you
-installed were not patched and some of the Oracle server code relies
-on the fixes; Oracle's installer is so stupid that it will overwrite
-newer version of the same code.
-
-
-The solution is not pretty. Since you can't extract an individual file
-from the CD you need to install the whole thing again, this time
-adding Oracle Programmer before the patch.
-
-
-
-
-!Oracle thinks I don't have enough disk space
-
-
-There's something wrong with the installation program. Assuming you
-''do'' have enough space it will install okay.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!4. Creating a database
-
-!!4.1 Overview
-
-
-
-Hopefully you followed the advice from the previous section and didn't
-create a database.
-
-
-For most people, I can probably outline the process in a couple of
-words: "Run 'dbassist'." Unless this is the first time you've ever run
-Oracle, none of the questions should really phase you.
-
-
-For completeness, I'll document what I did but I'd best say what I was
-aiming for first. Bottom line: this is neither a production system nor
-a 'serious' (i.e., several people, full time) development box. I
-installed 8i to play around and see what was new or different from 8
-and older versions.
-
-
-This means that when 'dbassist' offered an easy option I took it. And
-when it suggested using a different disk, or at least a different
-partition, I declined. My $ORACLE_HOME is
-/home/oracle. All the data files and software are in there,
-all on one partition.
-
-
-
-
-!!4.2 Step-by-step guide
-
-
-
-
-
-
-#Bring up a command prompt and type:
-
-dbassist
-
-
-#
-
-#My machine tells me that "JNLS Exception:
-oracle.ntpg.jnls.JNLSException. Unable to find any National Character
-Sets." According to Oracles 8i Patch FAQ, this is a known problem
-(884001) and can safely be ignored.
-
-#
-
-#Select the "Create a database" radio button and press "Next"
-
-#
-
-#There are two options: Typical and Custom. If you knew exactly
-what you were doing you probably wouldn't be reading this and could
-comfortably select Custom. I'm not going to cover that. Instead I'll
-assume you select "Typical" and press "Next"
-
-#
-
-#Next it asks whether you want to copy the database from your CD
-or to create the data files. Whenever I tried the first option, Oracle
-couldn't find my CD player (you just installed from it!). So I
-recommend choosing the second option. It's not difficult, it probably
-just takes longer
-
-#
-
-#It's probably safe to select 'Hybrid' when it asks you what
-environment the database will operate in
-
-#
-
-#Now it asks you how many users will be using your database at
-any given time. I put five.
-
-#
-
-#Next it asks you what products you want to install in your new
-database. Again, you know what you want better than me!
-
-#
-
-#Oracle needs a "Global Database Name" and a "SID" now. The
-database name is like a fully qualified domain name (but
-different). If you're the Oracle guru you'll know what to put, if not
-your organisation might have some conventions. I called mine 'dev1'
-(both the SID and database name).
-
-#
-
-#Now, do you want to create the database 'now' or should you let
-it save the information to a shell script? With 128Mb of RAM I found
-the former option painful.
-I created the shell script, quit out of X and anything else using a
-lot of memory and then ran the script. Much more snappy.
-
-#
-
-#I didn't notice this in any of the documentation, but your
-database won't work properly without it! The database that 'dbassist'
-creates is fine, but by default the user rollback segments are left
-off-line. (Read: non-system users can't perform any operation that
-requires transactions.)
-Type:
-
-cd $ORACLE_HOME/dbs
-
-You now need to edit a file called "init<SID>.ora"
-("initdev1.ora" in my case).
-About half-way down the file is a commented out line looking something
-like this:
-
-# rollback_segments = (r01, r02, r03, r04)
-
-Uncomment this line (remove the hash), save the file and you're done.
-
-#
-
-#This is a kind of meta-step. You have a database and you should
-be able to start it up, but you probably don't know what any of the
-system passwords are!
-There are two that you need to know. The first is the SYSTEM
-password. This defaults to 'MANAGER'. (It seems to be
-conventional to put Oracle passwords in uppercase. In fact passwords
-are not case sensitive.) I recommend you change it straight away by
-typing password at the SQL*Plus prompt. (For people expecting an
-ALTER USER command, this is new to the version of SQL*Plus
-supplied with 8i.)
-The other password that you need to know is the one for SYS. It
-defaults to 'CHANGE_ON_INSTALL' and you should do exactly what it
-says!
-
-#
-
-#Final step. This one gets rid of the annoying 'no profile'
-warnings you get when you log into SQL*Plus.
-Log into SQL*Plus as user 'system' (sqlplus
-system/<password>). Then type:
-
-@?/sqlplus/admin/pupbld.sql
-
-The question-mark is an alias for the $ORACLE_HOME directory.
-
-#
-
-#This is an optional step used to define the default editor for
-SQL*Plus (it defaults to ed so you do!). Open
-$ORACLE_HOME/sqlplus/admin/glogin.sql in your favourite
-editor and add define_editor=<editor name> to the end.
-
-#
-
-
-
-And that's it. You should now have an operational database that you
-can log into using SQL*Plus.
-
-
-
-
-!!4.3 Questions and answers
-
-
-!Is it really that easy?
-
-
-Yes and no. If you're just playing around, building a database for
-yourself to learn the new features of 8i, then 'yes.' The database the
-above instructions will build is complete and will work fine.
-
-
-However, if you know anything about Oracle, you will quickly realise
-that the default configuration is appallingly bad. If you're making a
-serious, production system I recommend you use the "Custom" option.
-
-
-Even for my toy system I did some tweaking. I increased the sizes of
-most of the table-spaces and changed them so that they didn't grow
-automatically (I hate software when it tries to be too clever).
-
-
-
-
-!Is it really necessary to put all the files on different disks?
-
-
-No and it will work fine if you don't, but I don't recommend putting
-all your files on the same disk nevertheless.
-
-
-Spreading the files over a number of disks, even it's just the data
-files on one and the rollback segments on another, will have a
-significant performance advantage. Read an Oracle DBA book if you need
-further information.
-
-
-
-
-!I can't start dbassist
-
-
-Caused by several zero-length files in the initial
-installation. Following the patch procedure will fix this problem.
-
-
-
-
-!I get "ORA-01034: ORACLE not available"
-
-
-To cut a long story short, your $ORACLE_SID is probably set
-incorrectly or not at all. Make sure it's set to the same value you
-gave 'dbassist' and that it's value is exported (i.e., export
-ORACLE_SID in any Bourne compatible shell).
-
-
-
-
-!I get "ORA-01012: Not logged in"
-
-
-This is a very common error, and there are a number of different
-things that cause it.
-
-
-Firstly you'll want to make sure that you're not creating a Shared
-Server configuration (sometimes known as MTS). Create a database using
-Dedicated Server and convert it later.
-
-
-If that's not it, check your NLS_LANG environment variable. The
-easiest option is to unset it. If you really want to use it, make sure
-that you have it exactly right. Make sure you don't transpose any '1's
-(one's) for 'l's (the twelfth letter of the alphabet)!
-
-
-
-
-!Can datafiles only be 1Gb in size?
-
-
-'dbassist' won't let you create a datafile bigger than 1Gb. I believe
-this to be a bug as Linux has no problem with files up to 2Gb.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!5. Configuration
-
-!!5.1 Overview
-
-
-
-Congratulations, you have Oracle running on your Linux box. You have
-created a database and can connect to it using SQL*Plus.
-
-
-Of course, this is not the end of it. Ideally, you'd be able to
-connect to it as another Unix user or from a completely different
-machine. That is what this section is for.
-
-
-
-
-!!5.2 Connecting as another user
-
-
-
-Some of the details in this section are a little sketchy as this is
-not a configuration that I personally use. However, performing one of
-the following steps should work:
-
-
-
-
-
-*
-
-. oraenv
-
-if you run a Bourne-like shell (like Bash
-or pdksh)
-*
-
-*
-
-source coraenv
-
-if you prefer the C-Shell
-*
-
-
-
-When running "oraenv" I get an error if I use 'bash', the default
-Linux shell. It seems not to cause any problems so don't worry. You
-can always use 'pdksh' if it ''does'' worry you.
-
-
-
-
-!!5.3 Connecting from another machine
-
-
-
-I remember this being very complex with earlier versions of Oracle,
-but just seemed to work
here. I'm sure that must mean that I did
-something wrong, forgot something I did or that there's a massive
-security hole.
-
-
-This is what I remember doing:
-
-
-
-
-
-#Logging into Linux as user 'oracle'
-#
-
-#Make sure that "oraenv" has been executed (i.e., your
-$ORACLE_HOME is set correctly)
-#
-
-#Type:
-
-lsnrctl start
-
-
-#
-
-
-
-On your client machine all you need to do now is point it at the right
-machine and database instance.
-
-
-If you want more control over the process, the "Net8 Configuration
-Assistant" ('netec') should be able to help.
-
-
-
-
-!!5.4 Connecting to another machine
-
-
-
-This used to be very difficult in many earlier version of Oracle,
-involving editing many text files, most of which had an fantastically
-complex syntax.
-
-
-But in 8i, if you've got your JVM working, then all you need is the
-"Net8 Easy Config" program. Follow these steps to allow your machine
-to connect to a database on another machine:
-
-
-
-
-
-#Start "Net8 Easy Config" by typing netec at the command
-prompt while logged in as 'oracle.'
-
-#
-
-#After a short delay while Java gets its act together, the
-welcome screen appears. It should be asking what you want to do. Leave
-the radio buttons on the left alone (the default is 'create') and
-enter the name of the database in the text box. Click 'Next' when
-you're done.
-
-#
-
-#Select one of the protocols it offers. Unless you know
-differently, this should probably be 'TCP/IP' which is the
-default. Press 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#Enter the hostname (or IP address) of the remote machine. The
-port number probably doesn't need changing. Press 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#Select the type of database (8i or other) using the radio
-buttons and enter the name in the appropriate text box. Press 'Next.'
-
-#
-
-#You can now test that the information you've enter makes sense
-to Oracle. I found that 'netec' has a tendency to crash if some of the
-details are wrong. Press 'Next' when you're sure that it all
-works. You can keep pressing the 'Back' button to go back and correct
-any information.
-
-#
-
-#If you're happy with all the information you've entered, you can
-press the 'Finish' button and that's it!
-
-#
-
-
-
-If you want more control over the process, you may need to use the
-"Net8 Assistant" -- a big window with many confusing options -- which
-can be started with the netasst command.
-
-
-
-
-!!5.5 Questions and answers
-
-
-!I can't start 'netasst'
-
-
-The problem is with a couple of zero-length files. Installing the
-patch should fix this problem.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!6. Final Words
-
-!!6.1 Useful Software
-
-
-
-Now that you've managed to get Oracle installed, you'll want to try
-and use it. Although it's possible to do everything from your server
-PC, it's generally best to user the client-server facilities and use
-another machine to access your database.
-
-
-Naturally Oracle have a large collection of, largely, pretty good
-client software, however there's not much for Linux at this time. Of
-the Oracle software, I recommend getting hold of the following:
-
-
-
-
-
-*Oracle Enterprise Manager. It's much easier not to have to
-remember all those obscure ALTER USER and ALTER SYSTEM commands.
-
-*
-
-*Oracle WebDB. It can be quite difficult to install, but it can
-allow people to build impressive web-sites without knowing any HTML.
-
-*
-
-
-
-But most of the best software comes from other places...
-
-
-
-
-
-*Tool for Oracle Application Development (T.O.A.D.). This used to
-be free but is now owned by
-Quest Software. You can download a free version (if you're
-prepared to do it every couple of months) or you can pay for it. It's
-significantly more expensive than free but is not bad value.
-
-*
-
-*SQLNavigator. Also by
-Quest Software. I've not really used it but it's been highly
-recommended by all who have.
-
-*
-
-*
-Orac. Another
-that I've not used much, but has been described as a nice,
-configurable DBA-tool by a number of people.
-
-*
-
-
-
-
-
-!!6.2 Useful Books
-
-
-
-I seem to get most of my Oracle information from colleagues and
-books. I'm not able to give away my colleagues, but the books I
-recommend are as follows:
-
-
-
-
-
-*
-Oracle Performance Tuning,
-Mark Gurry and Peter Corrigan,
-O'Reilly and Associates, ISBN 1-56592-237-9.
-
-*
-
-*
-Oracle Design,
-Dave Ensor and Ian Stevenson, O'Reilly and
-Associates, ISBN 1-56592-268-9.
-
-*
-
-*
-PL/SQL Programming,
-Steven Feuerstein, O'Reilly and
-Associates, ISBN 1-56592-335-9.
-
-*
-
-*
-PL/SQL Built-in Packages,
-Steven Feuerstein, O'Reilly and
-Associates, ISBN 1-56592-375-8.
-
-*
-
-
-
-You'll note a bit of an
-O'Reilly
-theme there. I've not found a bad O'Reilly book yet. Similarly, I've
-never found a ''good'' Oracle Press book.
-
-
-
-
-!!6.3 Useful Internet resources
-
-
-
-There's a lot of useful stuff on the web.
-
-
-
-
-
-*
-Oracle Technet. This is Oracle's public and free
-support website. Lot's of very useful information there.
-
-*
-
-*
-Oracle Metalink. Oracle's private (you need a support
-contract) support website. Only slightly more useful than Technet!
-
-*
-
-*
-Oracle Fans. Editorials and support forums. No
-official connection to Oracle (so the information there is less
-biased!).
-
-*
-
-*
-!OraFaq. A site full of
-questions and answers regarding Oracle on all platforms.
-
-*
-
-*Oracle Linux mailing list (Send a mail to
-!ListGuru@fatcity.com with
-the words 'SUBSCRIBE ORACLE-LINUX-L' in the body.
-
-*
-
-*And don't forget
-my website!
-
-*
-
-
-
-
-----
+Describe
[HowToOracle8HOWTO]
here.
