B Non-interactive Installation and Configuration

Introduction

You can install Oracle software non-interactively by specifying a response file when you start the Oracle Universal Installer. The Installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all of the Installer prompts. If you include responses for all of the Installer prompts in the response file, then you can run a completely non-interactive installation without seeing the Installer windows.

To install and configure Oracle products non-interactively, complete the following steps:

1. Create the oraInst.loc file.

2. Prepare a response file.

3. Run the Installer non-interactively.

These steps are described in the following sections.

Create the oraInst.loc File

If you plan to install Oracle products non-interactively, you must manually create the oraInst.loc file if it does not already exist. This file specifies the location of the Oracle Inventory directory where the Installer creates the inventory of Oracle products installed on the system.

To create the oraInst.loc file, perform the following steps:

1. Switch user to root:

   $ su - root
   
   

2. On HP-UX, Solaris, and Tru64 UNIX, create the /var/opt/oracle directory if it does not exist:

   # mkdir /var/opt/oracle
   
   

3. Change directory as follows, depending on your operating system:

   • AIX and Linux:

     # cd /etc
     
     

   • HP-UX, Solaris, and Tru64 UNIX:

     # cd /var/opt/oracle
     
     

4. Use a text editor to create the oraInst.loc file, containing the following lines:

   inventory_loc=ORACLE_BASE/oraInventory
   inst_group=
   
   

   In this example, ORACLE_BASE is the path of the Oracle base directory, for example, /01/app/oracle.

5. Enter the following commands to set the appropriate owner, group, and permissions on the oraInst.loc file:

   # chown oracle:oinstall oraInst.loc
   # chmod 664 oraInst.loc
   

Prepare Response Files

Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type, and for each configuration tool. These files are located in the response directory on the CD-ROM or the db/response directory on the DVD-ROM.

Table B-1 lists the response files provided with Oracle Database.

To prepare a response file:

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

   $ cp /directory_path/response/response_file.rsp local_directory
   
   

   In this example, directory_path is the CD-ROM mount point directory or the db directory on the DVD-ROM. 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:

   $ vi /local_dir/response_file.rsp
   
   

3. Edit the file, following the instructions in the file.

   
   

   Note: The Installer or configuration assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file. See "Silent Response File Error Handling" on page F-6 for more information on troubleshooting a failed non-interactive installation.

   
   

4. Change the permissions on the file to 700:

   $ chmod 700 /local_dir/response_file.rsp
   
   

   
   

   Caution: A fully specified response file for an Oracle Database release contains the passwords for database administrative accounts and for a user that is a member of the OSDBA group (required for automated backups). Make sure that only the Oracle software owner user can view or modify response files or consider deleting them after the installation succeeds.

   
   

Run the Installer Non-interactively

To run the Oracle Universal Installer non-interactively, enter a command similar to the following:

$ /directory_path/runInstaller [-silent] -responseFile filename

In the previous example:

• directory_path is either the disc mount point directory path, or the path of the Disk1 directory on the hard drive

• The -silent parameter specifies a completely non-interactive installation

• filename is the full path and filename of the installation response file that you configured