Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) Installation On Enterprise Linux 4.5 and 5.0

This article describes the installation of Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) on Enterprise Linux 4.5 and 5.0, but these instructions work perfectly for the original Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 distributions, or any other clones such as CentOS 4 and 5. The article is based on a server installation with a minimum of 2G swap, secure Linux disabled. Oracle recommend a default server installation, but for these installations the following package groups installed:

Oracle Enterprise Linux 4.5:

• X Window System
• GNOME Desktop Environment
• Editors
• Graphical Internet
• Server Configuration Tools
• Development Tools
• Administration Tools
• System Tools

Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.0:

• GNOME Desktop Environment
• Editors
• Graphical Internet
• Text-based Internet
• Development Libraries
• Development Tools
• Server Configuration Tools
• Administration Tools
• Base
• System Tools
• X Window System

An example of these types of Linux installations can be seen in the following locations:

• OEL 4.5
• OEL 5

Alternative installations may require more packages to be loaded, in addition to the ones listed below.

• Download Software
• Unpack Files
• Hosts File
• Set Kernel Parameters
• Setup
• Installation
• Post Installation

Download Software

Download the following software:

• Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) Software

Unpack Files

Unzip the files:

unzip linux_11gR1_database.zip

You should now have a single directory called "database" containing installation files.

Hosts File

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

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

Set Kernel Parameters

Oracle recommend the following minimum parameter settings:

kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmax = 2147483648 # Smallest of -> (Half the size of the physical memory) or (4GB - 1 byte)
kernel.shmmni = 4096
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
fs.file-max = 65536 # 512 * PROCESSES
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65000
net.core.rmem_default=4194304
net.core.rmem_max=4194304
net.core.wmem_default=262144
net.core.wmem_max=262144

The current values can be tested using the following command:

/sbin/sysctl -a | grep <param-name>

For Enterprise Linux 4.5, the following lines should be appended to the "/etc/sysctl.conf" file.

kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmax = 2147483648 # Smallest of -> (Half the size of the physical memory) or (4GB - 1 byte)
kernel.shmmni = 4096
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65000
net.core.rmem_default=4194304
net.core.rmem_max=4194304
net.core.wmem_default=262144
net.core.wmem_max=262144

For Enterprise Linux 5.0, the following lines should be appended to the "/etc/sysctl.conf" file.

kernel.shmmni = 4096
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65000
net.core.rmem_default=4194304
net.core.rmem_max=4194304
net.core.wmem_default=262144
net.core.wmem_max=262144

Run the following command to change the current kernel parameters:

/sbin/sysctl -p

Add the following lines to the /etc/security/limits.conf file:

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

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

session    required     pam_limits.so

Disable secure linux by editing the /etc/selinux/config file, making sure the SELINUX flag is set as follows:

SELINUX=disabled

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

Setup

Install the following packages for Enterprise Linux 4.5:

# From Enterprise Linux 4 Disk 1
cd /media/cdrom/Enterprise/RPMS
rpm -Uvh binutils-2.*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-0.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-common-2.*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-3.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-3.*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*
rpm -Uvh make-3.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2.*
cd /
eject

# From Enterprise Linux 4 Disk 2
cd /media/cdrom/Enterprise/RPMS
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2.*
rpm -Uvh gcc-3.*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-3.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-3.*
cd /
eject

# From Enterprise Linux 4 Disk 3
cd /media/cdrom/Enterprise/RPMS
rpm -Uvh libaio-0.*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0.*
rpm -Uvh sysstat-5.*
cd /
eject

# From Enterprise Linux 4 Disk 4
cd /media/cdrom/Enterprise/RPMS
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-0.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-devel-2.*
cd /
eject

Install the following packages for Enterprise Linux 5.0:

# From Enterprise Linux 5 Disk 1
cd /media/cdrom/Server
rpm -Uvh binutils-2.*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-0.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-common-2.*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0.*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-4.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-4.*
rpm -Uvh make-3.*
cd /
eject

# From Enterprise Linux 5 Disk 2
cd /media/cdrom/Server
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-0.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2.*
rpm -Uvh gcc-4.*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-4.*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-4.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-devel-2.*
cd /
eject

# From Enterprise Linux 5 Disk 3
cd /media/cdrom/Server
rpm -Uvh sysstat-7.*
cd /
eject

Create the new groups and users:

groupadd oinstall
groupadd dba
groupadd oper
groupadd asmadmin

useradd -g oinstall -G dba,oper,asmadmin oracle
passwd oracle

Note. We are not going to use the "asmadmin" group, since this installation will not use ASM.

Create the directories in which the Oracle software will be installed:

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1
chown -R oracle:oinstall /u01
chmod -R 775 /u01

Login as root and issue the following command:

xhost +<machine-name>

Login as the oracle user and add the following lines at the end of the .bash_profile file:

# Oracle Settings
TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR

ORACLE_HOSTNAME=oel45.localdomain; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.1.0/db_1; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_SID=DB11G; export ORACLE_SID
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH; export PATH
PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib; export CLASSPATH

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

Installation

Log into the oracle user. If you are using X emulation then set the DISPLAY environmental variable:

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

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

./runInstaller

This is a 16 step Oracle 11g installation guide that covers a typical installation scenario with screenshots.

1. Select installation method

Following two installation methods are available:

• Basic Installation – Choose this to perform the full Oracle Database 11g installation with standard configuration options. You can use only filesystem for storage in this option.
• Advanced Installation – This gives your full control over the installation, including the ability to choose Automatic Storage Management. Select this option as shown below.

Fig - Select Installation Method

2. Specify Inventory directory and credentials

Enter the following information:

• Enter the inventory directory: /u01/app/oraInventory
• Specify operating system group name: oinstall

Fig - Specify Inventory directory and credentials

3. Select Installation Type

Following three installation types are available:

• Enterprise Edition – Select this option.
• Standard Edition
• Custom

Fig - Select Installation Type

4. Specify Install Location

Enter the following information:

• Oracle Base: /u01/app/oracle
• Name: Oracle_Home
• Path: /u01/app/oarcle/product/11.1.0

Fig - Select Install Location

5. Product-Specific Prerequisite Checks

In this screen, the Installer verifies that your environment meets all of the minimum requirements for installing and configuring the products that you have chosen to install. You must manually verify and confirm the items that are flagged with warnings and items that require manual checks.

6. Select Configuration Option

Following three configuration options are available:

• Create a Database – Select this option.
• Configure Automatic Storage Management (ASM)
• Install Software Only

Fig - Select Configuration Option

7. Select a Database Configuration

Following three database configuration options are available.

• General Purpose/Transaction Processing – Select this option.
• Data Warehouse
• Advanced

Fig - Select Database Configuration

8. Specify Database Configuration

Enter the following information:

• Global Database Name: devdb.example.com . An Oracle database is uniquely identified by a Global Database Name, typically of the form “name.domain”
• SID: devdb

9. Specify Database Configuration Details

There are four different tabs in this screen as shown below:

• Memory Tab
  • Select the check-box to Enable Automatic Memory Management
  • Drag the bar to allocate the memory. This will automatically allocate memory size for SGA and PGA depending on the total database memory allocated.
• Character Sets Tab. Following three character set options are given in this tab.
  • Use the default
  • Use Unicode (AL32UTF8)
  • Choose from the list of character sets.  Select Database Character Set as Unicode standard UTF-8AL32UTF8 – Select this option.
• Security Tab – Just leave the defaults in this tab.
• Sample Schema Tab – Just leave the defaults in this tab.

Fig - Select Database Config Details with Memory Tab

10. Select Database Management Option

Following two management options are available:

• Use Grid Control for Database Management
  • Management Service: Choose an agent.
• Use Database Control for Database Management- Select this option.
  • Select the check-box to Enable Email Notifications
  • Outgoing mail (SMTP) Server:
  • Email Address:

Fig - Select Database Management Option

11. Specify Database Storage Option

Following two storage options are available:

• File System – Select this option.
  • Specify Database File location: /u01/app/oracle/oradata/
• Automatic Storage Management. ASM simplifies database storage administration and optimizes database layout for I/O performance.

12. Specify Backup and Recovery Option

Enable automated backup as shown below. If you’ve configured ASM, you can choose to store the automated backups on ASM. If not, select File System option.

Fig - Specify Backup and Recovery Options

13. Specify database schema password

Enter the password for sys, system, sysman, dbsnmp schemas. You have the option of either using the same passwords or different password for all the accounts in this screen.

14. Privileged Operating System Groups

Enter the following information in this screen:

• Database Administrator (OSDBA) Group: dba
• Database Operator (OSOPER) Group: dba
• ASM administrator (OSASM) Group: dba

15. Oracle Configuration Manager Registration

You can associate your configration information with your metalink account as shown below.

Fig - Oracle Configuration Manager Registration

16. Final Summary Screen

This will display a summary of all the installation option you’ve selected so far. Click on Install to complete the installation.

Post Installation

Edit the /etc/oratab file setting the restart flag for each instance to 'Y':

DB11G:/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1:Y

For more information see:

• Oracle Database Installation Guide 11g Release 1 (11.1) for Linux
• Automating Database Startup and Shutdown on Linux