2 Preinstallation Tasks

2.1 Logging In to the System as root

Before you install the Oracle software, you must complete several tasks as the root user. To log in as the root user, complete one of the following procedures:

• If you are installing the software from an X Window System workstation or X terminal, then:

  1. Start a local terminal session, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

  2. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then enter the following command to enable the remote host to display X applications on the local X server:

     $ xhost fully_qualified_remote_host_name
     
     

     For example:

     $ xhost somehost.us.acme.com
     
     

  3. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then use the ssh, rlogin, or telnet command to connect to the system where you want to install the software:

     $ telnet remote_host
     
     

  4. If you are not logged in as the root user, then enter the following command to switch user to root:

     $ su - root
     password:
     #
     
     

• If you are installing the software from a PC or other system with X server software installed, then:

  
  

  Note: If necessary, refer to your X server documentation for more information about completing this procedure. Depending on the X server software that you are using, you may need to complete the tasks in a different order.

  
  

  1. Start the X server software.

  2. Configure the security settings of the X server software to permit remote hosts to display X applications on the local system.

  3. Connect to the remote system where you want to install the software and start a terminal session on that system, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

  4. If you are not logged in as the root user on the remote system, then enter the following command to switch user to root:

     $ su - root
     password:
     #
     

2.2 Checking the Hardware Requirements

The system must meet the following minimum hardware requirements:

• 256 MB of physical RAM

• The following table gives the relationship between the available RAM and the required swap space.

  Available RAM	Swap Space Required
  Up to 256 MB	3 times the size of RAM
  Between 257 MB and 512 MB	2 times the size of RAM
  Between 513 MB and 726 MB	1.5 times the size of RAM
  More than 726 MB	0.75 times the size of RAM

  
  

• The minimum client install TEMP space required is 115 MB. The minimum disk space requirement in the /tmp directory depends on the installation type you have selected. The following table lists the minimum disk space requirements for the /tmp directory in each type of installation.

  Client Installation Type	Disk Space Required for the /tmp Directory (MB)
  Admin	835
  Runtime	470
  Custom (all components selected)	765
  Instant	120

  
  

• Between 34 MB and 820 MB of disk space for the Oracle software, depending on the installation type

To ensure that the system meets these requirements:

1. To determine the physical RAM size, enter the following command:

   # grep MemTotal /proc/meminfo
   
   

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

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

   # grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo
   
   

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

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

   # free
   

   
   

   Note: Oracle recommends that you take multiple values for the available RAM and swap space before freezing on a value. This is because the available RAM and swap space keep changing depending on the user interactions with the computer.

   
   

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

   # df -k /tmp
   
   

   If there is less than 400 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 TEMP and TMPDIR environment variables when setting the oracle user's environment (described later).

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

5. To determine the amount of free disk space on the system, enter the following command:

   # df -k
   
   

   The following table shows the approximate disk space requirements for software files for each installation type:

   Installation Type	Requirement for Software Files (MB)
   Instant Client	110
   Administrator	820
   Runtime	450
   Custom (maximum)	750

   
   
   
   

   Note: If you want to configure only the Instant Client Light component of Instant Client, you need 34 MB of disk space to store the related files. To configure Instant Client Light, refer to the "Configuring Instant Client Light" section .

   
   

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

   # grep "model name" /proc/cpuinfo
   
   

   
   

   Note: This command displays the processor type. Verify that the processor architecture matches the Oracle software release that you want to install. If you do not see the expected output, then you cannot install the software on this system.

   
   

2.3 Checking the Software Requirements

Depending on the products that you intend to install, verify that the following software is installed on the system. The procedure following the table describes how to verify whether these requirements are addressed.

make-3.79.1
gcc-3.2.3-34
glibc-2.3.2-95.20
glibc-devel-2.3.2-95.20
glibc-devel-2.3.2-95.20 (32 bit)
compat-db-4.0.14-5
compat-gcc-7.3-2.96.128
compat-gcc-c++-7.3-2.96.128
compat-libstdc++-7.3-2.96.128
compat-libstdc++-devel-7.3-2.96.128
openmotif21-2.1.30-8
setarch-1.3-1
gnome-libs-1.4.1.2.90-34.1 (32 bit)
libaio-0.3.96-3
libaio-devel-0.3.96-3

gcc-3.3.3-43
gcc-c++-3.3.3-43
glibc-2.3.3-98
libaio-0.3.98-18
libaio-devel-0.3.98-18
make-3.80
openmotif-libs-2.2.2-519.1

To ensure that the system meets these requirements:

1. To determine which distribution and version of Linux is installed, enter the following command:

   # cat /etc/issue
   
   

   
   

   Note: Only the distributions and versions listed in the previous table are supported. Do not install the software on other versions of Linux.

   
   

2. To determine whether the required kernel is installed, enter the following command:

   # uname -r
   
   

   The following is sample output obtained by running this command on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 system:

   2.4.21-15.EL
   
   

   In this example, the output shows the kernel version (2.4.21) and errata level (15.EL) on the system.

   If the kernel version does not meet the requirement specified earlier in this section, then contact your operating system vendor for information about obtaining and installing kernel updates.

3. To determine whether the required packages are installed, enter commands similar to the following:

   # rpm -q package_name
   
   

   If a package is not installed, then install it from your Linux distribution media or download the required package version from your Linux vendor's Web site.

2.4 Creating Required Operating System Group and User

Depending on whether this is the first time Oracle software is being installed on this system and on the products that you are installing, you may need to create the following operating system group and user:

• The Oracle Inventory group (oinstall)

  You must create this group the first time you install Oracle software on the system. The usual name chosen for this group is oinstall. This group owns the Oracle inventory, which is a catalog of all Oracle software installed on the system.

  
  

  Note: If Oracle software is already installed on the system, then the existing Oracle Inventory group must be the primary group of the operating system user that you use to install new Oracle software.

  
  

• The Oracle software owner user (typically, oracle)

  You must create this user the first time you install Oracle software on the system. This user owns all of the software installed during the installation. This user must have the Oracle Inventory group as its primary group.

  
  

  Note: In Oracle documentation, this user is referred to as the oracle user.

  
  

A single Oracle Inventory group is required for all installations of Oracle software on the system. After the first installation of Oracle software, you must use the same Oracle Inventory group for all subsequent Oracle software installations on that system. However, you can choose to create different Oracle software owner users for separate installations.

The following sections describe how to create the required operating system users and groups:

• Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

• Creating the Oracle Software Owner User

# more /etc/oraInst.loc

inventory_loc=/u01/app/oracle/oraInventory
inst_group=oinstall

# /usr/sbin/groupadd oinstall

# id oracle

uid=440(oracle) gid=200(oinstall) groups=201(dba),202(oper)

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

2.5 Identifying Required Software Directories

You must identify or create the following directories for the Oracle software:

• Oracle Base Directory

• Oracle Inventory Directory

• Oracle Home Directory

/mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner

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

oracle_base/oraInventory

oracle_base/product/10.2.0/client_1

2.6 Identifying or Creating an Oracle Base Directory

Before starting the installation, you must either identify an existing Oracle base directory or if required, create one. This section contains information about the following:

• Identifying an Existing Oracle Base Directory

• Creating an Oracle Base Directory

2.7 Configuring the oracle User's Environment

You run Oracle Universal Installer from the oracle account. However, before you start Oracle Universal Installer you must configure the environment of the oracle user. To configure the environment, you must:

• Set the default file mode creation mask (umask) to 022 in the shell startup file.

• Set the DISPLAY environment variable.

To set the oracle user's environment:

1. Start a new terminal session, for example, an X terminal (xterm).

2. Enter the following command to ensure that X Window applications can display on this system:

   $ xhost fully_qualified_remote_host_name
   
   

   For example:

   $ xhost somehost.us.acme.com
   
   

3. If you are not already logged in to the system where you want to install the software, then log in to that system as the oracle user.

4. If you are not logged in as the oracle user, then switch user to oracle:

   $ su - oracle
   
   

5. To determine the default shell for the oracle user, enter the following command:

   $ echo $SHELL
   
   

6. Open the oracle user's shell startup file in any text editor:

   
   

   Note: On Red Hat Linux, .bash_profile is the user startup file for the Bash shell.

   
   

   • Bourne shell (sh), Bash shell (bash), or Korn shell (ksh):

     $ vi .bash_profile
     
     

   • C shell (csh or tcsh):

     % vi .login
     
     

7. Enter or edit the following line, specifying a value of 022 for the default file mode creation mask:

   umask 022
   
   

8. If the ORACLE_SID, ORACLE_HOME, or ORACLE_BASE environment variable is set in the file, then remove the appropriate lines from the file.

9. Save the file, and exit from the editor.

10. To run the shell startup script, enter one of the following commands:

    • Bash shell on Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

      $ . ./.bash_profile
      
      

    • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

      $ . ./.profile
      
      

    • C shell:

      % source ./.login
      
      

11. If you are not installing the software on the local system, then enter a command similar to the following to direct X applications to display on the local system:

    • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

      $ DISPLAY=local_host:0.0 ; export DISPLAY
      
      

    • C shell:

      % setenv DISPLAY local_host:0.0
      
      

    In this example, local_host is the host name or IP address of the system that you want to use to display Oracle Universal Installer (your workstation or PC).

12. If you determined that the /tmp directory has less than 400 MB of free disk space, then identify a file system with at least 400 MB of free space and set the TEMP and TMPDIR environment variables to specify a temporary directory on this file system:

    1. Use the df -h command to identify a suitable file system with sufficient free space.

    2. If necessary, enter commands similar to the following to create a temporary directory on the file system that you identified, and set the appropriate permissions on the directory:

       $ su - root
       # mkdir /mount_point/tmp
       # chmod a+wr /mount_point/tmp
       # exit
       
       

    3. Enter commands similar to the following to set the TEMP and TMPDIR environment variables:

       • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

         $ TEMP=/mount_point/tmp
         $ TMPDIR=/mount_point/tmp
         $ export TEMP TMPDIR
         
         

       • C shell:

         % setenv TEMP /mount_point/tmp
         % setenv TMPDIR /mount_point/tmp
         
         

13. Enter commands similar to the following to set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable:

    • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

      $ ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle
      $ export ORACLE_BASE
      
      

    • C shell:

      % setenv ORACLE_BASE /u01/app/oracle
      
      

    In these examples, /u01/app/oracle is the Oracle base directory that you created or identified earlier.

14. Enter the following commands to ensure that the ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN environment variables are not set:

    • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

      $ unset ORACLE_HOME
      $ unset TNS_ADMIN
      
      

    • C shell:

      % unsetenv ORACLE_HOME
      % unsetenv TNS_ADMIN
      

    
    

    Note: If the ORACLE_HOME environment variable is set, then Oracle Universal Installer uses the value that it specifies as the default path for the Oracle home directory. However, if you set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable, then Oracle recommends that you unset the ORACLE_HOME environment variable and choose the default path suggested by Oracle Universal Installer.

    
    

15. To verify that the environment has been set correctly, enter the following commands:

    $ umask
    $ env | more
    
    

    Verify that the umask command displays a value of 22, 022, or 0022 and the environment variables that you set in this section have the correct values.