2 Oracle Database Client Preinstallation Tasks

2.2.1 Memory Requirements

The following are the memory requirements for Oracle Database Client 11g Release 2 (11.2):

• At least 256 MB of RAM.

  To determine the RAM size, enter the following command:

  # /usr/sbin/prtconf | grep "Memory size"
  

  If the size of the RAM is less than the required size, then you must install more memory before you continue with the installation.

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

  Note:

  On Oracle Solaris, if you use non-swappable memory, like ISM, then you should deduct the memory allocated to this space from the available RAM before calculating swap space.

  RAM	Swap Space
  256 MB	3 times the size of RAM
  Between 256 MB and 512 MB	2 times the size of RAM
  Between 512 MB 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

  
  

To determine the size of the configured swap space, enter the following command:

# /usr/sbin/swap -s

If necessary, refer to the operating system documentation for information about how to configure additional swap space.

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

# sar -r n i

where, n is the number of seconds to delay for the next iterations and i is the number of iterations you want to test.

2.2.2 System Architecture

To determine whether the system architecture can run the software, enter the following command:

# /bin/isainfo -kv

The following is the expected output of this command:

Oracle Solaris on SPARC (64-Bit):

64-bit sparcv9 kernel modules

Oracle Solaris on x86-64 (64-Bit):

64-bit amd64 kernel modules

2.2.3 Disk Space Requirements

The following are the disk space requirements for Oracle Database Client 11g Release 2 (11.2):

• The minimum disk space requirement for a client install in the /tmp directory is 180 MB.

  To determine the amount of disk space available in the /tmp directory, enter the following command:

  On Oracle Solaris 10:

  # df -h /tmp
  

  Other Oracle Solaris Platforms:

  # df -k /tmp
  

  If there is less than 180 MB of free disk space available in the /tmp directory, then complete one of the following steps:

  • Delete unnecessary files from the /tmp directory to meet the disk space requirement.

  • Set the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables when setting the oracle user's environment.

  • Extend the file system that contains the /tmp directory. If necessary, contact the system administrator for information about extending file systems.

• To determine the amount of free disk space available, enter the following command:

  On Oracle Solaris 10:

  # df -h
  

  Other Oracle Solaris Platforms:

  # df -k 
  

• The following table describes the disk space requirements for software files for each installation type on Oracle Solaris:

  Installation Type	Requirement for Software Files
  Instant Client	240 MB
  Administrator	1.7 GB
  Runtime	1.4 GB
  Custom (maximum)	1.7 GB

  
  

2.2.4 Display Requirements

The minimum display requirement for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) is a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher.

2.3.1 Operating System Requirements

The following or later versions of the operating system are required for Oracle Database Client 11g Release 2 (11.2):

• Oracle Solaris 10 U6 (5.10-2008.10)

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.3), Oracle Database is also supported on the following operating system versions (or later):

• Oracle Solaris 11 11/11 SPARC

• Oracle Solaris 11 11/11 X86

To determine the distribution and version of Oracle Solaris installed, enter the following command:

# uname -r

5.11

In this example, the version shown is Oracle Solaris 10 (5.10). If necessary, refer to your operating system documentation for information about upgrading the operating system.

To determine the update level of Oracle Solaris installed, enter the following command:

$ cat /etc/release

2.3.2 Package Requirements

The following are the list of packages required for Oracle Database Client 11g Release 2 (11.2) on Oracle Solaris.

SUNWarc
SUNWbtool
SUNWhea
SUNWlibC
SUNWlibm
SUNWlibms
SUNWsprot
SUNWtoo
SUNWi1of
SUNWi1cs (ISO8859-1)
SUNWi15cs (ISO8859-15)
SUNWxwfnt
SUNWcsl

Verifying Packages

To determine whether the required packages are installed, enter a command similar to the following:

# pkginfo -i SUNWarc SUNWbtool SUNWhea SUNWlibC SUNWlibms SUNWsprot \

SUNWtoo SUNWi1of SUNWi1cs SUNWi15cs SUNWxwfnt

If a package is not installed, then install it. Refer to your operating system or software documentation for information about installing packages.

2.3.3 Compiler Requirements

Oracle Solaris Studio 12 (C and C++ 5.9) is supported with Pro*C/C++, Oracle Call Interface, Oracle C++ Call Interface, and Oracle XML Developer's Kit (XDK) for Oracle Database 11g Release 2.

2.3.4 Additional Software Requirements

Depending on the components you want to use, you must ensure that the following software are installed:

• Oracle JDBC/OCI Drivers

• Separate 32-Bit Client Software for 64-Bit Platforms

• Browser Requirements

• Programming Languages

2.3.5 Patch Requirements

The following, or later, patches are required for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Oracle Solaris on SPARC (64-Bit):

The following, or later, patches are required for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) for Oracle Solaris on x86-64 (64-Bit):

Verifying Operating System Patches

To determine whether an operating system patch is installed, enter a command similar to the following:

# /usr/sbin/patchadd -p | grep patch_number(without version number)

For example, to determine if any version of the 119963 patch is installed, use the following command:

# /usr/sbin/patchadd -p | grep 119963

If an operating system patch is not installed, then download it from the My Oracle Support website and install it:

https://support.oracle.com/

2.3.6 Instant Client Light Requirements

In addition to the requirements described in the preceding section, if you plan to use Instant Client Light, then the applications must use the following languages and character sets:

• Language: Any language that is supported by Oracle

• Territory: Any territory that is supported by Oracle

• Character sets:

  • Single byte

    • US7ASCII

    • WE8DEC

    • WE8MSWIN1252

    • WE8ISO8859P1

  • Unicode

    • UTF8

    • AL16UTF16

    • AL32UTF8

    Instant Client Light can connect to databases having one of the following database character sets:

    • US7ASCII

    • WE8DEC

    • WE8MSWIN1252

    • WE8ISO8859P1

    • WE8EBCDIC37C

    • WE8EBCDIC1047

    • UTF8

    • AL32UTF8

The language, territory, and character sets are determined by the NLS_LANG environment variable.

2.4.1 Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

You must create the Oracle Inventory group if it does not exist. The following sections describe how to determine the Oracle Inventory group name, if it exists, and how to create it if necessary:

• Determining Whether the Oracle Inventory Group Exists

• Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

Determining Whether the Oracle Inventory Group Exists

When you install Oracle software on the system for the first time, Oracle Universal Installer creates the oraInst.loc file. This file identifies the name of the Oracle Inventory group (typically, oinstall), and the path of the Oracle Inventory directory.

An oraInst.loc file has content similar to the following:

inventory_loc=central_inventory_location
inst_group=group

In the preceding example, central_inventory_location is the location of the Oracle Central Inventory, and group is the name of the group that has permissions to write to the central inventory.

If you have an existing Oracle Inventory, then ensure that you use the same Oracle Inventory for all Oracle software installations, and ensure that all Oracle software users you intend to use for installation have permissions to write to this directory.

To determine whether the Oracle Inventory group exists, enter the following command:

# more /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc

If the oraInst.loc file exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:

inventory_loc=/u01/app/oraInventory
inst_group=oinstall

In the previous output example:

• The inventory_loc parameter shows the location of the Oracle Inventory

• The inst_group parameter shows the name of the Oracle Inventory group (in this example, oinstall).

Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

If the oraInst.loc file does not exist, then create the Oracle Inventory group as follows:

# /usr/sbin/groupadd oinstall

2.4.2 Creating the Oracle Software Owner User

You must create an Oracle software owner user in the following circumstances:

• If an Oracle software owner user does not exist; for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle software on the system

• If an Oracle software owner user exists, but you want to use a different operating system user

# id oracle

uid=54321(oracle) gid=54321(oinstall) groups=54322(dba),54323(oper)

# /usr/sbin/usermod -g oinstall -G dba oracle

2.5.1 Oracle Base Directory

The Oracle base directory is a top-level directory for Oracle software installations. On UNIX systems, the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines recommend that you use a path similar to the following for the Oracle base directory:

/mount_point/app/software_owner

In this example:

• mount_point is the mount point directory for the file system that contains the Oracle software.

  The examples in this guide use /u01 for the mount point directory.

• software_owner is the operating system user name of the software owner installing the Oracle software, for example oracle.

You must specify the ORACLE_BASE folder that contains all Oracle products.

You can use the same Oracle base directory for multiple installations or you can create separate Oracle base directories for different installations. If different operating system users install Oracle software on the same system, then each user must create a separate Oracle base directory. The following example Oracle base directories could all exist on the same system:

/u01/app/oracle
/u01/app/orauser

The following sections describe how to identify existing Oracle base directories that may be suitable for the installation and how to create an Oracle base directory if necessary.

Regardless of whether you create an Oracle base directory or decide to use an existing one, you must set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the full path to this directory.

2.5.2 Oracle Inventory Directory

The Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory) stores an inventory of all software installed on the system. It is required, and shared by all Oracle software installations on a single system. If you have an existing Oracle Inventory path, then Oracle Universal Installer continues to use that Oracle Inventory.

The first time you install Oracle software on a system, Oracle Universal Installer provides an OFA-compliant path in the format /u[01-09]/app, such as /u01/app. The user running the installation has permissions to write to that path. If this is true, then Oracle Universal Installer creates the Oracle Inventory directory in the path /u[01-09]/app/oraInventory. For example:

/u01/app/oraInventory

If you have set ORACLE_BASE for the oracle user during installation, then Oracle Universal Installer creates the Oracle Inventory directory in the path ORACLE_BASE/../oraInventory. For example, if ORACLE_BASE is set to /u01/app/oracle/, then the Oracle Inventory directory is created in the path /u01/app/oraInventory.

If you have created neither an OFA-compliant path nor set ORACLE_BASE, then the Oracle Inventory directory is placed in the home directory of the user that is performing the installation. For example:

/home/oracle/oraInventory

Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory that you specify and sets the correct owner, group, and permissions for it. You do not have to create it.

2.5.3 Oracle Home Directory

The Oracle home directory is the directory where you choose to install the software for a particular Oracle product. You must install different Oracle products, or different releases of the same Oracle product, in separate Oracle home directories. When you run Oracle Universal Installer, it prompts you to specify the path to this directory, and a name that identifies it. In accordance with the OFA guidelines, Oracle strongly recommends that the Oracle home directory you specify is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory for the user account performing the installation. Oracle recommends that you specify a path similar to the following for the Oracle home directory:

$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.2.0/client_1

Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory path that you specify under the Oracle base directory. It also sets the correct owner, group, and permissions on it. You do not have to create this directory.

2.6.1 Identifying an Existing Oracle Base Directory

Existing Oracle base directories may not have paths that follow OFA guidelines. However, if you identify an existing Oracle Inventory directory or existing Oracle home directories, then you can usually identify the Oracle base directories, as follows:

• Identifying an existing Oracle Inventory directory

  Enter the following command to view the contents of the oraInst.loc file:

  # more /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc
  

  If the oraInst.loc file exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:

  inventory_loc=/u01/app/oraInventory
  inst_group=oinstall
  

  The inventory_loc parameter identifies the Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory). The parent directory of the oraInventory directory is typically an Oracle base directory. In the previous example, /u01/app/oracle is an Oracle base directory.

• Identifying existing Oracle home directories

  Enter the following command to view the contents of the oratab file:

  # more /var/opt/oracle/oratab
  

  If the oratab file exists, then it contains lines similar to the following:

  *:/u03/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1:N
  *:/opt/orauser/infra_904:N
  *:/oracle/9.2.0:N
  

  The directory paths specified on each line identify Oracle home directories. Directory paths that end with the user name of the Oracle software owner to use are valid choices for an Oracle base directory. If you intend to use the oracle user to install the software, then you could choose one of the following directories from the previous example:

  /u03/app/oracle
  /oracle
  

  Note:

  If possible, choose a directory path similar to the first (/u03/app/oracle). This path complies with the OFA guidelines.

• Identifying existing Oracle base directories

  After you have located the Oracle home directory, run a similar command to confirm the location of Oracle base:

  cat /u01/app/oraInventory/ContentsXML/inventory.xml
  

To continue:

• If an Oracle base directory exists and you want to use it, then refer to the "Configuring Oracle Software Owner Environment" section.

  When you configure the oracle user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the directory you chose.

• If an Oracle base directory does not exist on the system or to create an Oracle base directory, refer to the following section.

2.6.2 Creating an Oracle Base Directory

Before you create an Oracle base directory, you must identify an appropriate file system with disk space.

To identify an appropriate file system:

1. To determine the free disk space on each mounted file system use the following command:

   # df -k
   

2. From the display, identify a file system that has appropriate free space.

3. Note the name of the mount point directory for the file system that you identified.

To create the Oracle base directory and specify the correct owner, group, and permissions for it:

1. Enter commands similar to the following to create the recommended subdirectories in the mount point directory that you identified and set the appropriate owner, group, and permissions on them:

   # mkdir -p /mount_point/app
   # chown -R oracle:oinstall /mount_point/app
   # chmod -R 775 /mount_point/app/
   

   For example:

   # mkdir -p /u01/app
   # chown -R oracle:oinstall /u01/app
   # chmod -R 775 /u01/app/
   

2. When you configure the oracle user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the Oracle base directory that you have created.