2 Oracle Database Preinstallation Requirements

2.1.1 Software Requirements

Table 2-1 lists the software requirements for Oracle Database.

2.1.2 Hardware Requirements

The following hardware components are required for Oracle Database:

• RAM: 256 MB minimum, 512 MB recommended

• Virtual memory: double the amount of RAM

• Hard disk space: See Table 2-2

• Temp disk space: 100 MB

• Video adapter: 256 color

• Processor: 200 MHz minimum

2.1.3 Verifying Hardware Requirements

To ensure that the system meets these requirements, follow these steps:

1. Determine the physical RAM size. For a computer using Windows 2000, for example, open System in the control panel and select the General tab. If the size of the physical RAM installed in the system is less than the required size, then you must install more memory before continuing.

2. Determine the size of the configured swap space (also known as paging file size). For a computer using Windows 2000, for example, open System in the control panel, select the Advanced tab, and click Performance Options.

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

3. Determine the amount of free disk space on the system. For a computer using Windows 2000, for example, open My Computer, right-click the drive where the Oracle software is to be installed, and choose Properties.

4. Determine the amount of disk space available in the temp directory. This is equivalent to the total amount of free disk space, minus what will be needed for the Oracle software to be installed.

   If there is less than 100 MB of disk space available in the temp directory, then first delete all unnecessary files. If the temp disk space is still less than 100 MB, then set the TEMP or TMP environment variable to point to a different hard drive. For a computer using Windows 2000, for example, open the System control panel, select the Advanced tab, and click Environment Variables.

2.2.1 Web Browser Support

The following Web browsers are supported for iSQL*Plus and Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control:

• Netscape Navigator 4.78, 4.79, 7.0.1, or 7.1.0

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 with service pack 1

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with service pack 2

2.2.2 Windows XP Support

The following components are not certified on Windows XP:

• DCE Adapter Support

• Entrust PKI Support

• Generic Connectivity

• Oracle Enterprise Integration Gateways, which include the following:

  • Procedural Gateway for APPC

  • Transparent Gateway for IBM DRDA

• Oracle Messaging Gateway

• Oracle Open System Gateways, which include the following:

  • Transparent Gateway for Sybase

  • Transparent Gateway for Teradata

  • Transparent Gateway for Microsoft SQL Server

• Oracle Real Application Clusters, including Cluster File System and Server Management

• nCipher Accelerator Support

2.2.3 Telnet and Terminal Services Support

This section contains these topics:

• Windows Telnet Services Support

• Windows Terminal Services Support

2.3.1 Configuring Disk Storage for Oracle Datafiles and Recovery Files

This section describes the storage options for storing Oracle datafiles and optionally, Oracle database recovery files. After you choose the storage method that you want to use for each file type, see the following sections for information about configuring the required storage.

If you want to create a database during the installation, you must choose one of the following storage options for the datafiles:

• File system

• Automatic Storage Management

• Raw Devices

Additionally, if you want to enable automated backups during the installation, you must choose one of the following storage options for recovery files (the flash recovery area):

• File system

• Automatic Storage Management

The storage option that you choose for recovery files can be the same as or different to the option you choose for the datafiles.

For more information about these options, see the "Database Storage Options" section. For information about how to configure disk storage before you start the installation, see one of the following sections depending on your choice:

• To use a file system for database or recovery file storage, see the "Creating Directories for Oracle Datafiles or Recovery Files" section.

• To use ASM for database or recovery file storage, see the "Configuring Disks for Automatic Storage Management" section.

• To use raw devices for database file storage, see the "Configuring Raw Logical Volumes or Raw Partitions" section.

2.3.2 Creating Directories for Oracle Datafiles or Recovery Files

If you decide to place the Oracle database or recovery files on a file system, use the following guidelines when deciding where to place them.

If you choose to place the Oracle datafiles on a file system, use the following guidelines when deciding where to place them:

• You can choose either a single file system or more than one file system to store the datafiles:

  • If you want to use a single file system, choose a file system on a physical device that is dedicated to the database.

    For best performance and reliability, choose a RAID device or a logical volume on more than one physical device and implement the stripe-and-mirror-everything (SAME) methodology.

  • If you want to use more than one file system, choose file systems on separate physical devices that are dedicated to the database.

    Select this method to enable distribute physical I/O and create separate control files on different devices for increased reliability. It also enables full implement the OFA guidelines described in Appendix B, " Optimal Flexible Architecture". You must choose either the Advanced database creation option or the Custom installation type during the installation to implement this method.

• If you intend to create a preconfigured database during the installation, the file system (or file systems) that you choose must have at least 1.2 GB of free disk space.

  For production databases, you must estimate the disk space requirement depending on the use you want to make of the database.

• For optimum performance, the file systems that you choose should be on physical devices that are used only by the database.

• The default location suggested by Oracle Universal Installer for the database file directory is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. However, this default location is not recommended for production databases.

If you choose to place the Oracle recovery files on a file system, use the following guidelines when deciding where to place them:

• To prevent disk failure from making both the datafiles and the recovery files unavailable, place the recovery files in a file system on a different physical disk from the datafiles.

  
  

  Note: Alternatively use an ASM disk group with a normal or high redundancy level for either or both file types.

• The file system that you choose should have at least 2 GB of free disk space.

  The disk space requirement is the default disk quota configured for the flash recovery area (specified by the DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE initialization parameter).

  If you choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database configuration option, you can specify a different disk quota value. After you create the database, you can also use Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control or Database Control to specify a different value.

  For more information about sizing the flash recovery area, see Oracle Backup and Recovery Basics.

• The default location suggested by Oracle Universal Installer for the database file directory is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. However, this default location is not recommended for production databases.

To create directories for the Oracle database or recovery files on separate file systems to the Oracle base directory, follow these steps:

1. Use Windows Explorer to determine the free disk space on the file system.

2. From the display, identify the file systems that you want to use:

   File Type	File System Requirements
   Datafiles	Choose either: A single file system with at least 1.2 GB of free disk space. Two or more file systems with at least 1.2 GB of free disk space in total.
   Recovery files	Choose a file system with at least 2 GB of free disk space.

   If you are using the same file system for more than one type of file, add the disk space requirements for each type to determine the total disk space requirement.

3. Note the names of the directories for the file systems that you identified.

4. If you also want to use ASM or raw devices for storage, see one of the following sections:

   • Configuring Disks for Automatic Storage Management

   • Configuring Raw Logical Volumes or Raw Partitions

   Otherwise see the "Stop Existing Oracle Services" section.

2.3.3 Configuring Disks for Automatic Storage Management

This section describes how to configure disks for use with ASM. Before you configure the disks, you must determine the number of disks and the amount of free disk space that you require.

The following sections describe how to identify the requirements and configure the disks:

• Identifying Storage Requirements for ASM

• Using an Existing ASM Disk Group

• Configuring Disks for ASM

asmtool -add [-force] \Device\Harddisk1\Partition1 ORCLDISKASM0\Device\Harddisk2\Partition1 ORCLDISKASM2...

asmtool -addprefix ORCLDISKASM [-force] \Device\Harddisk1\Partition1 \Device\Harddisk2\Partition1...

asmtool -list [-force]

asmtool -delete ORCLDISKASM0 ORCLDISKASM1...

asmtool -create path_to_file size_in_megabytes

2.3.4 Configuring Raw Logical Volumes or Raw Partitions

This section contains these topics:

• Creating Partitions, Logical Drives, or Volumes

• Assigning Logical Names or Drive Letters, or Mounting Directories

• Creating Raw Logical Volumes in a New Disk Group

To create and configure raw volumes or partitions, use the disk administration tools provided by the operating system or third party vendors. The following administration tools are provided by the operating system:

• Windows NT provides Disk Administrator

  To access this tool, type windisk.exe at the command prompt or navigate to Start >Programs > Administrative Tools > Disk Administrator.

• Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 provide Disk Management snap-in

  To access this tool, type diskmgmt.msc at the command prompt or navigate to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. Then select the Disk Management node in the Storage tree.

• Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 provide a command line tool to manage disks.

  To access this tool, type diskpart.exe at the command prompt.

http://www.microsoft.com/

After creating volumes, assign logical names or drive letters, or mount them on directories for use by Oracle. Use the Windows graphical interface or the command line to create a mounted drive or assign a drive letter to the partition, logical drive or volume. Names can be assigned to partitions using setlinks or Oracle Object Link Manager.

The following example, uses the diskpart tool to create a 32 MB partition on disk 100, and assigns the drive letter B to the partition. In this example, diskpart.exe is the command line tool for managing disks.

c:\> diskpart.exe
diskpart> select disk 100
diskpart> create partition primary size=32
diskpart> assign letter=B

Optionally, mount the partition on an NTFS folder instead of assigning a drive letter:

diskpart> assign mount=C:\mnt\raw_1

To create the required raw logical volumes in a new disk group, follow these steps:

1. Choose a name for the database that you want to create.

2. Create the logical volumes listed in the following table. You must create these volumes in order to install an Oracle database.

   Number	Partition Size (MB)	Purpose and Sample Logical Volume Name
   1	500	SYSTEM tablespace: dbname_system_raw_500m
   1	500	SYSAUX tablespace: dbname_sysaux_raw_500m
   1	500	UNDOTBS1 tablespace: dbname_undotbs1_raw_500m
   1	160	EXAMPLE tablespace: dbname_example_raw_160m
   1	120	USERS tablespace: dbname_users_raw_120m
   2	120	Two online redo log files (where m is the log number, 1 or 2): dbname_redo1_m_raw_120m
   2	110	First and second control files: dbname_control[1|2]_raw_110m
   1	250	TEMP tablespace: dbname_temp_raw_250m
   1	5	Server parameter file (SPFILE): dbname_spfile_raw_5m
   1	5	Password file: dbname_pwdfile_raw_5m

3. To create the other required logical volumes, using the command-line interface, enter a command similar to the following:

   c:\> diskpart.exe
   DISKPART> select disk diskn
   DISKPART> create partition primary size=sizen
   DISKPART> assign mount=folder
   
   

   In this example:

   • diskpart.exe is the command line tool for managing disks

   • diskn is the disk number where the partitions are created

   • sizen is the size of the partition, for example 500 represents 500 Megabytes

   • folder is the absolute path to the NTFS where the partitions is mounted.

The following example shows a sample command to create 500 MB partition on disk 5 for the SYSAUX tablespace of a database named test:

c:\> diskpart.exe
DISKPART> select disk 5
DISKPART> create partition primary size=500
DISKPART> assign mount=D:\oracle\product\10.1.0\oradata\test\test_sysaux_500m 

2.3.5 Stop Existing Oracle Services

If you choose to create a database during the installation, most installation types configure and start a default Oracle Net listener using TCP/IP port 1521 and the IPC key value EXTPROC. However, if an existing Oracle Net listener process is using the same port or key value, Oracle Universal Installer can only configure the new listener; it cannot start it. To ensure that the new listener process starts during the installation, you must shut down any existing listeners before starting Oracle Universal Installer.

2.3.6 Oracle Advanced Security Requirements

Satisfy hardware and software requirements to use authentication support with Oracle components. In addition, using Oracle Advanced Security with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and public key infrastructure (PKI) requires preinstallation of a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory such as Oracle Internet Directory (provided on the installation media).

2.3.7 Oracle Enterprise Manager Requirements

All Oracle Enterprise Manager products must be of the same release. Older versions of Enterprise Manager are not supported with the new release.

2.3.8 Oracle Managed Files Requirements

If you choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database creation option, you can also choose to use the Oracle-managed files feature with the new database. If you use this feature, you need only specify the database object name instead of file names when creating or deleting database files.

Configuration procedures are required in order to enable Oracle Managed Files.

2.3.9 Oracle Real Application Clusters

To install Oracle Real Application Cluster, you must first install Oracle Cluster Ready Services (CRS).

2.3.10 Oracle Snap-Ins to the Microsoft Management Console Requirements

Oracle Database ships several Snap-Ins for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). These Snap-Ins require MMC version 1.2 or higher.

MMC is a built-in feature of Windows 2000. Windows NT requires the Windows NT 4.0 Option pack. Reapply the previously installed service pack after installing the Windows NT option pack.

Install Internet Explorer version 5.0 (IE 5.0) or later before installing Oracle Snap-Ins. If you install any Oracle Snap-Ins before installing IE 5.0, then reinstall the Oracle Snap-Ins.

The following components depend on Oracle Snap-In components:

• Oracle Administration Assistant for Windows

• Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor

Download the MMC add-on from the following Web site

http://www.microsoft.com/

2.3.11 Oracle Transparent Gateway Requirements

This section contains these topics:

• Oracle Transparent Gateway Supported Configurations

• Oracle Transparent Gateway System Requirements

Table 2-3 provides gateway configurations tested by Oracle at the time of this document release. Oracle continually updates supported gateway configurations. For the latest supported configuration information, visit the following Web site

http://metalink.oracle.com/metalink/certify/

Table 2-4 lists the system requirements for Oracle Transparent Gateways for Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase, and Teradata. Each Oracle Transparent Gateway has the same memory, networking, and disk space requirements.