B Installing and Configuring Oracle Real Application Clusters Using Response Files

B.1 Using DBCA to generate Installation Scripts for Oracle RAC

To generate scripts to create an Oracle RAC database, create a database using the generated scripts, and prepare the database for use, complete the following steps:

1. Start Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) and select your preferred options to build the Oracle RAC database.

   On the Creation Options page of your DBCA session, deselect Create Database and select Generate Database Creation Scripts before you click Finish.

   You can accept the default destination directory for the scripts, or browse for a different location. In either case, you should note the path name for use in the next step.

   See Also:

   Chapter 3, "Creating Oracle Real Application Clusters Databases with Database Configuration Assistant" for additional information about running a DBCA session

2. Navigate to the directory where DBCA created the scripts, and review the SQL scripts to ensure that they contain the statements to build a database with the characteristics you require. If they do not, then Oracle recommends that you rerun DBCA to create scripts with the desired configuration rather than editing the scripts yourself.

3. On each cluster node you identified during your DBCA session, run the script sid.bat, where sid is the SID prefix that you entered on the DBCA Database Name page.

4. Set the initialization parameter, cluster_database, to the value TRUE in your SPFILE by issuing an ALTER SYSTEM command, or by uncommenting it in your PFILE for each instance.

5. Configure Oracle Net Services to support your new database and instances as described in Chapter 7, "Understanding the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installed Configuration".

6. Set the remote_listener parameter to the SCAN (using the EZ connect syntax scanname:scanport) in your SPFILE by issuing an ALTER SYSTEM command, or by removing the comment indicator for this parameter in your PFILE for each instance.

7. Run SRVCTL to configure and start database and instance applications as described in Oracle Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment Guide.

   See Also:

   Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for Windows and UNIX for additional information about creating and using scripts to install Oracle software with OUI

B.2 Using DBCA Noninteractive (Silent) Configuration for Oracle RAC

You can perform a noninteractive, or "silent" configuration of Oracle RAC using DBCA. To perform a silent configuration, you must have completed an Oracle Clusterware installation

The following command syntax creates an Oracle RAC database on an existing Oracle ASM disk group, where the cluster nodes are node1 and node2, and where the disk group name is +ASMgrp1, and password is a place holder for a password, which can be all the same password, or different passwords each time:

%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\dbca -silent -createDatabase -templateName General_Purpose.dbc
-gdbName %DBNAME% -sid %SID% -sysPassword password -systemPassword password
-sysmanPassword password -dbsnmpPassword password -emConfiguration LOCAL
-storageType ASM -diskGroupName +ASMgrp1 -datafileJarLocation %ORACLE_HOME%\
assistants\dbca\templates -nodeinfo node1,node2 =characterset WE8MSWIN1252
-obfuscatedPasswords false -sampleSchema false -asmSysPassword password

B.3 How Response Files Work

When you start the installer, you can use a response file to automate the installation and configuration of Oracle software, either fully or partially. The installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all installation prompts.

Typically, the installer runs in interactive mode, which means that it prompts you to provide information in graphical user interface (GUI) screens. When you use response files to provide this information, you run the installer from a command prompt using either of the following modes:

• Silent mode

  If you include responses for all of the prompts in the response file and specify the -silent option when starting the installer, then it runs in silent mode. During a silent mode installation, the installer does not display any screens. Instead, it displays progress information in the terminal that you used to start it.

• Response file mode

  If you include responses for some or all of the prompts in the response file and omit the -silent option, then the installer runs in response file mode. During a response file mode installation, the installer displays all the screens, screens for which you specify information in the response file, and also screens for which you did not specify the required information in the response file.

You define the settings for a silent or response file installation by entering values for the variables listed in the response file. For example, to specify the Oracle home name, supply the appropriate value for the ORACLE_HOME variable:

ORACLE_HOME="OraDBHome1"

Another way of specifying the response file variable settings is to pass them as command line arguments when you run the installer. For example:

-silent "ORACLE_HOME=OraDBHome1" ...

This method is particularly useful if you do not want to embed sensitive information, such as passwords, in the response file. For example:

-silent "s_dlgRBOPassword=binks342" ...

Enclose the variable and its value in quotes.

B.4 Creating the inst_loc Registry Entry

If you plan to install Oracle products using the installer in silent or suppressed mode on a node which has not had Oracle software installed on it previously, then you must manually create the inst_loc Registry entry. This paramter specifies the location of the Oracle Inventory directory, which is where the installer creates the central inventory of Oracle products installed on the system.

To create the inst_loc Registry entry, follow these steps:

1. Log in as a user that is a member of the local Administrators group.

2. Create a backup of the Windows registry.

3. Invoke the registry editor, for example, by clicking Start then typing regedit from the Run.. menu .

4. Navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Oracle.

5. Add the value inst_loc as a string vaule and populate it with the location of the Oracle Inventory directory, for example:

   Name: inst_loc
   Type: REG_SZ
   Data: C:\Program Files\Oracle\Inventory
   

   See Also:

   Microsoft Support Article ID: 310516: "How to add, modify, or delete registry subkeys and values by using a registration entries (.reg) file"

B.5 Preparing a Response File

This section describes the following methods to prepare a response file for use during silent mode or response file mode installations:

• Editing a Response File Template

• Recording a Response File

B.6 Running the Installer Using a Response File

Now, you are ready to run Oracle Universal Installer at the command line, specifying the response file you created, to perform the installation. The Oracle Universal Installer executable, setup.exe, provides several options. For help information on the full set of these options, run the setup.exe command with the -help option, for example:

X:\> directory_path\setup.exe -help

In this command, directory_path is the path of the database directory on the installation media or the path of the staging directory on the hard drive.

The help information appears in your session window after some time.

To run the installer using a response file:

1. Complete the preinstallation tasks as for a normal installation

2. Log in as a user with Administrator privileges.

3. To start the installer in silent or response file mode, enter a command similar to the following:

   X:\> directory_path\setup.exe  [-silent] [-noconfig] \
    -responseFile responsefilename
   

   Note:

   Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, then the installer fails.

   In this example:

   • directory_path is the path of the database directory on the installation media or the path of staging directory on the hard drive.

   • -silent indicates that you want to run the installer in silent mode.

   • -noconfig suppresses running the configuration assistants during installation, and a software-only installation is performed instead.

   • responsefilename is the full path and file name of the installation response file that you configured.

If you use record mode during a response file mode installation, then the installer records the variable values that were specified in the original source response file into the new response file.

B.7 Running Net Configuration Assistant Using a Response File

You can run Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode to configure and start an Oracle Net listener on the system, configure naming methods, and configure Oracle Net service names. To run Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode, you must copy and edit a response file template. Oracle provides a response file template named netca.rsp in the response directory in the Oracle_home\inventory\response directory after installation or in the database\response directory on the installation media.

To run Net Configuration Assistant using a response file:

1. Copy the netca.rsp response file template from the response file directory to a directory on your system:

   If you have copied the software to a hard drive, you can edit the file in the response directory if you prefer.

2. Open the response file in a text editor:

3. Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.

   Note:

   Net Configuration Assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.

4. Log in as a user that is a member of the local Administrators group.

5. Enter a command similar to the following to run Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode:

   C:\> Oracle_home\bin\netca -silent -responsefile X:\local_dir\netca.rsp
   

   In this command:

   • The /silent option indicates that you want to run Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode.

   • X:\local_dir is the full path of the directory where you copied the netca.rsp response file template where X is the drive on which the file is located and local_dir is the folder path on that drive.

B.8 Running Configuration Assistants Using Response Files

You can run configuration assistants in response file or silent mode to configure and start Oracle software after it is installed on the system. To run configuration assistants in response file or silent mode, you must copy and edit a response file template.

This section contains the following topics:

• About the Database Configuration Assistant in Response File Mode

• Running Database Configuration Assistant in Response File or Silent Mode

B.9 Postinstallation Configuration Using a Response File

Use the following sections to create and run a response file configuration after installing Oracle software.

oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=myPassWord