This appendix describes how to install and configure Oracle products using response files. It includes information about the following topics:
You can automate the installation and configuration of Oracle software, either fully or partially, by specifying a response file when you start Oracle Universal Installer. Oracle Universal Installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all of Oracle Universal Installer prompts. It includes information about the following topics:
Typically, Oracle Universal 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 Oracle Universal Installer at a command prompt using either of the following modes:
If you include responses for all of the prompts in the response file and specify the -silent
option when starting Oracle Universal Installer, then Oracle Universal Installer runs in silent mode. During a silent mode installation, Oracle Universal Installer does not display any screens. Instead, it displays progress information in the terminal that you used to start it.
If you include responses for some or all of the prompts in the response file and omit the -silent
option, then Oracle Universal Installer runs in response file mode. During a response file mode installation, Oracle Universal 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. The advantage is that you can validate the values in the screens for which you have provided the information in the response file and continue with the installation.
You define the settings for a silent or response file installation by entering values for the variables listed in the response file. For instance, to specify the Oracle home location, you would supply the appropriate value for the ORACLE_HOME
variable, as follows:
ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1
Another way of specifying the variable settings of the response file is to pass them as command line arguments when you run Oracle Universal Installer. For example:
-silent directory_path
Where, directory_path
is the path to the database
directory on the installation media or on the hard drive.
See Also:
Oracle Universal Installer User's Guide for more information about response file formats
My Oracle Support website for more information about response files:
The following table describes several reasons why you might want to run Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode or response file mode.
Before you create a database that uses Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM), you must run the root.sh
script. For this reason, you cannot create a database using Oracle ASM as the storage option for database files during a silent-mode installation. Instead, you can complete a software-only installation using silent mode, and then run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant and Database Configuration Assistant in silent mode after you complete the software-only installation and run the root.sh
script.
Note:
This limitation applies only to databases that use Oracle ASM as the storage option for database files. You can create a database that uses the file system option during a silent mode installation.The following are the general steps to install and configure Oracle products using Oracle Universal Installer in silent or response file mode:
Note:
You must complete all required preinstallation tasks on a system before running Oracle Universal Installer in silent or response file mode.Prepare a response file.
Run Oracle Universal Installer in silent or response file mode.
Run the root scripts as prompted by Oracle Universal Installer.
If you completed a software-only installation, then run Net Configuration Assistant and Database Configuration Assistant in silent or response file mode, if required.
These steps are described in the following sections.
This section describes the following methods to prepare a response file for use during silent mode or response file mode installations:
Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type, and for each configuration tool. These files are located in the ORACLE_HOME/assistants/
directory, and the database/response
directory on the installation media.
Note:
If you copied the software to a hard disk, the response files are located in thestage_area
/database/response
directory.Table A-1 lists the response files provided with Oracle Database.
Response File | Description |
---|---|
Silent installation of Oracle Database 12c |
|
|
Silent installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure |
Silent installation of Database Configuration Assistant |
|
Silent installation of Oracle Net Configuration Assistant |
To copy and modify a response file:
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 path to the database
directory on the installation media. If you copy the software to a hard drive, then edit the file in the response
directory.
Open the response file in a text editor:
$ vi /local_dir/response_file.rsp
See Also:
Oracle Universal Installer User's Guide for information about creating response filesFollow the instructions in the file to edit it.
Note:
The installer or configuration assistants fail if you do not correctly configure the response file. See the "Silent-Mode Response File Error Handling" section for more information about troubleshooting a failed response file mode installation.Change the permissions on the file to 700:
$ chmod 700 /local_dir/response_file.rsp
Note:
A fully specified response file for an Oracle Database installation contains the passwords for database administrative accounts and for a user who is a member of the OSDBA group (required for automated backups). Ensure that only the Oracle software owner user can view or modify response files or consider deleting them after the installation succeeds.You can use Oracle Universal Installer in interactive mode to save a response file, which you can edit and then use to complete silent mode or response file mode installations.
Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), you can save all the installation steps into a response file during installation. You can click the Save Response File button on the Summary page to do this. Later, this file can be used for a silent installation.
When you save the response file, you can either complete the installation, or you can exit from Oracle Universal Installer on the Summary page, before it starts to copy the software to the system.
If you save a response file during a silent installation, then Oracle Universal Installer saves the variable values that were specified in the original source response file into the new response file.
Note:
Oracle Universal Installer does not save passwords in the response file.To save a response file:
Complete the preinstallation tasks listed in Chapter 4.
When you run Oracle Universal Installer to save a response file, it checks the system to verify that it meets the requirements to install the software. For this reason, Oracle recommends that you complete all of the required preinstallation tasks and save the response file while completing an installation.
Ensure that the Oracle software owner user has permissions to create or write to the Oracle home path that you specify when you run Oracle Universal Installer.
On each Oracle Universal Installer screen, provide the required information.
See Also:
"Running Oracle Universal Installer" for information about the installation processWhen Oracle Universal Installer displays the Summary screen, perform the following:
Click Save Response File and provide a file name and location for the response file. Then, click Save to save the values to the file.
Click Finish to continue with the installation.
Click Cancel if you do not want to continue with the installation. The installation stops, but the saved response file is retained.
Before you use the saved response file on another system, edit the file and make any required changes.
Use the instructions in the file as a guide when editing it.
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, runInstaller
, provides several options. For help information about the full set of these options, run the runInstaller
command with the -help
option, for example:
$ directory_path/runInstaller -help
The help information appears in a window after some time.
To run Oracle Universal Installer using a response file:
Complete the preinstallation tasks listed in Chapter 4.
Log in as the Oracle software owner user (typically, oracle
).
If you are completing a response file mode installation, set the DISPLAY
environment variable.
Note:
You do not have to set theDISPLAY
environment variable if you are completing a silent mode installation.To start Oracle Universal Installer in silent or response file mode, enter a command similar to the following:
$ /directory_path/runInstaller [-silent] [-noconfig] \ -responseFile responsefilename
Note:
Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, then Oracle Universal Installer fails.In this example:
directory_path
is the path of the database
directory on the DVD or on the hard drive.
-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.
Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to run the root.sh
script. Log in as the root
user and run the root.sh
script:
$ sudo sh
password:
# /oracle_home_path/root.sh
If this is the first time you are installing Oracle software on your system, then Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to run the orainstRoot.sh
script.
Log in as the root
user and run the orainstRoot.sh
script:
$ sudo sh password: # /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh
Note:
You do not have to manually create the oraInst.loc
file. Running the orainstRoot.sh
script is sufficient as it specifies the location of the Oracle Inventory directory.
During an Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation, Oracle Universal Installer provides options to automatically run the root scripts. You also have the option to manually run the root scripts. See "Determining Root Script Execution Plan" for more information.
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.resp
in the in the ORACLE_HOME/assistants/netca
directory, and the response
directory in the database
/response
directory on the DVD.
Note:
If you copied the software to a hard disk, then the response file template is located in thestage_area
/database/response
directory.To run Net Configuration Assistant using a response file:
Copy the netca.rsp
response file template from the response file directory to a directory on your system:
$ cp /directory_path/response/netca.rsp local_directory
In this example, directory_path
is the path of the database
directory on the DVD. If you copy the software to a hard drive, you can edit the file in the response
directory if you prefer.
Open the response file in a text editor:
$ vi /local_dir/netca.rsp
Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.
Note:
Net Configuration Assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.Log in as the Oracle software owner user, and set the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable to specify the correct Oracle home directory.
Enter a command similar to the following to run Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode:
$ $ORACLE_HOME/bin/netca -silent -responsefile /local_dir/netca.rsp
In this command:
The -silent
option runs Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode.
local_dir
is the full path of the directory where you copied the netca.rsp
response file template.
You can run Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode to configure and start an Oracle database on the system. To run Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode, you must copy and edit a response file template. Oracle provides a response file template named dbca.rsp
in the ORACLE_HOME/assistants/dbca
directory, and also in the database
/response
directory on the DVD.
Note:
If you copied the software to a hard disk, then the response file template is located in thestage_area
/database/response
directory.To run Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode, you must use the -responseFile
flag in combination with either the -silent
or -progressOnly
flag. You must also use a graphical display and set the DISPLAY
environment variable.
See Also:
"Creating a Database with Noninteractive/Silent DBCA" in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide
"Oracle ASM Configuration Assistant Command-Line Interface" section in Oracle Automatic Storage Management Administrator's Guide for information about running Oracle ASMCA in noninteractive mode
This section contains the following topics:
Use the -silent
flag in combination with the -responseFile
flag to set the mode to silent. In the silent mode, Database Configuration Assistant uses values that you specify, in the response file or as command-line options, to create a database. No window or user interface is displayed in the silent mode.
Use the -progressOnly
flag in combination with the -responseFile
flag, to set the mode to progress only. As it configures and starts the database, Database Configuration Assistant displays a window that contains status messages and a progress bar.
In this mode, Database Configuration Assistant uses values that you specify, in the response file or as command line options, to create a database.
To run Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode, that is, silent mode or progress only mode:
Note:
Instead of editing the response file template, you can create a database by specifying all required information as command-line options when you run Database Configuration Assistant. For information about the list of options supported, enter the following command:$ $ORACLE_HOME/bin/dbca -help
Copy the dbca.rsp
response file template from the response file directory to a directory on your system:
$ cp /directory_path/response/dbca.rsp local_directory
In this example, directory_path
is the path of the database
directory on the DVD. If you copy the software to a hard drive, you can edit the file in the response
directory if you prefer.
Open the response file in a text editor:
$ vi /local_dir/dbca.rsp
Edit the file, following the instructions in the file.
Note:
Database Configuration Assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.Log in as the Oracle software owner user, and set the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable to specify the correct Oracle home directory.
If you intend running Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode, set the DISPLAY
environment variable.
Enter a command similar to the following to run Database Configuration Assistant in response file or silent mode with a response file:
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/dbca {-progressOnly | -silent} -responseFile \
/local_dir/dbca.rsp
In this example:
The -silent
option runs Database Configuration Assistant in silent mode.
The -progressOnly
option runs Database Configuration Assistant in response file mode.
local_dir
is the full path of the directory where you copied the dbca.rsp
response file template.
Use the following sections to create and run a response file configuration after installing the Oracle software.
When you run a silent or response file installation, you provide information about your servers in a response file that you would otherwise provide manually during a graphical user interface installation. However, the response file does not contain passwords for user accounts that configuration assistants require after the software installation is complete. The configuration assistants are started with a script called configToolAllCommands
. You can run this script in response file mode by using a password response file. The script uses the passwords to run the configuration tools in succession to complete the configuration.
If you keep the password file to use for clone installations, then Oracle recommends that you store it in a secure location. In addition, if you must stop an installation to fix an error, you can run the configuration assistants using configToolAllCommands
and a password response file.
The configToolAllCommands
password response file consists of the following syntax options:
internal_component_name is the name of the component that the configuration assistant configures
variable_name is the name of the configuration file variable
value is the desired value to use for the configuration
The command syntax is as follows:
internal_component_name|variable_name=value
For example:
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=welcome
Oracle recommends that you maintain security with a password response file:
Set the permissions on the response file to 600.
The response file owner must be the installation owner user, with the group set to the central inventory (oraInventory) group.
To run configuration assistants with the configToolAllCommands
script:
Create a response file using the syntax filename.properties. For example:
$ touch cfgrsp.properties
Open the file with a text editor, and cut and paste the password template, modifying it as needed.
Example A-1 Password response file for Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a standalone server
Oracle Grid Infrastructure requires passwords for Automatic Storage Management Configuration Assistant (Oracle ASMCA) and for Intelligent Platform Management Interface Configuration Assistant (IPMICA) if you have a BMC card and you want to enable this feature. Provide the following response file:
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMMONITORPASSWORD=password
Example A-2 Password response file for Oracle Database
Oracle Database configuration requires the SYS
, SYSTEM
, and DBSNMP
passwords for use with Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA). The S_ASMSNMPPASSWORD
password is necessary only if the database is using Oracle ASM for storage. Similarly, the S_PDBADMINPASSWORD
password is necessary only if you create a multitenant container database (CDB) with one or more pluggable databases (PDBs). Also, if you selected to configure Oracle Enterprise Manager, then you must provide the password for the Oracle software installation owner for the S_EMADMINPASSWORD
password, similar to the following example:
oracle.assistants.server|S_SYSPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.server|S_SYSTEMPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.server|S_DBSNMPPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.server|S_PDBADMINPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.server|S_EMADMINPASSWORD=password oracle.assistants.server|S_ASMSNMPPASSWORD=password
If you do not want to enable Oracle Enterprise Manager or Oracle ASM, then leave those password fields blank
Change permissions to secure the file. For example:
$ ls -al cfgrsp.properties -rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Apr 30 17:30 cfgrsp.properties
Change the directory to $ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs
Run the configuration script using the following syntax:
configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=/path/name.properties
for example:
$ ./configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=/home/oracle/cfgrsp.properties