3 Oracle Database Preinstallation Tasks

This chapter describes the tasks that you must complete before you start Oracle Universal Installer.

This guide contains information required to install Oracle Database 12c. Ensure that you review information related to the platform on which you intend to install Oracle Database 12c.

Note:

This chapter includes information about the following topics:

3.1 Oracle Database Hardware Requirements

This section describes hardware component and hard disk space requirements.

3.1.1 Hardware Component Requirements for Windows x64

The following table lists the hardware components that are required for Oracle Database on Windows x64.

Table 3-1 Windows x64 Hardware Requirements

Requirement Value

System Architecture

Processor: AMD64 and Intel EM64T

Physical memory (RAM)

4 GB minimum

Virtual memory (swap)

  • If physical memory is between 2 GB and 16 GB, then set virtual memory to 1 times the size of the RAM

  • If physical memory is more than 16 GB, then set virtual memory to 16 GB

Disk space

  • Typical Install Type total: 10 GB

  • Advanced Install Types total: 10 GB

See Table 3-2 for details.

Video adapter

256 colors

Screen Resolution

1024 X 768 minimum

See Also:

3.1.2 Hard Disk Space Requirements

This section lists system requirements for Windows platforms that use the NT File System (NTFS). Oracle strongly recommends that you install the Oracle database home (Oracle database binaries, trace files, and so on) on Oracle ACFS or NTFS; the database files themselves must be placed on Oracle ASM if using Oracle ACFS; otherwise they can be placed on NTFS. Usage of Oracle ACFS and Oracle ASM or NTFS is recommended to ensure security of these files.

The NTFS system requirements listed in this section are more accurate than the hard disk values reported by the Oracle Universal Installer Summary window. The Summary window does not include accurate values for disk space, the space required to create a database, or the size of compressed files that are expanded on the hard drive.

The hard disk requirements for Oracle Database components include 32 MB to install Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and Oracle Universal Installer on the partition where the operating system is installed. If sufficient space is not detected, installation fails and an error message appears.

Table 3-2 lists the disk space requirements on NTFS for Windows x64. The starter database requires 720 MB of disk space.

The figures in these tables include the starter database.

Table 3-2 Windows x64 Disk Space Requirements on NTFS

Installation Type TEMP Space SYSTEM_DRIVE:\ Program Files\Oracle\Inventory Oracle Home Data Files * Total

Enterprise Edition

500 MB

4.55 MB

5.0 GB

4.19 GB **

9.19 GB **

Standard Edition

500 MB

4.55 MB

4.95 GB

4.12 GB **

9.07 GB **

Standard Edition One

500 MB

4.55 MB

4.95 GB

4.12 GB **

9.07 GB **

Standard Edition 2

500 MB

4.55 MB

4.95 GB

4.12 GB **

9.07 GB **

Personal Edition

500 MB

4.55 MB

5.0 GB

4.13 GB **

9.13 GB **

* Refers to the contents of the admin, cfgtoollogs, flash_recovery_area, and oradata directories in the ORACLE_BASE directory.

** This size can be higher depending on the installation options selected, such as languages or additional components. If you choose to install Oracle Database with customized backups enabled, include at least 2 GB extra for data file disk space.

See Also:

"Overview of NTFS File System and Windows Registry Permissions" in Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows

3.1.3 Verifying Hardware Requirements

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

  1. Determine the physical RAM size.

    For example, on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, click System and Security in the Windows Control Panel, then click System.

    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 virtual memory (also known as paging file size).

    For example, on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, click System and Security, then click System, click Advanced System Settings, click the Advanced tab on System Properties page, and then click Settings in the Performance section. Then select the Advanced tab on Performance Options page.

    The virtual memory is listed in the Virtual Memory section.

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

  3. Determine the amount of free disk space on the system.

    For example, on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, right-click My Computer and click Open.

  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 is required for the Oracle software to be installed.

    On Windows x64, if there is less than 125 MB of disk space available in the temp directory, then delete all unnecessary files. If the temp disk space is still less than 125 MB, then set the TEMP or TMP environment variable to point to a different hard drive location.

    For example, to change the environment variables on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, click System and Security, then click System, click Advanced System Settings, click the Advanced tab on System Properties page, and then click Environment Variables.

3.2 Oracle Database Software Requirements

Table 3-3 lists the software requirements for Oracle Database on Windows x64.

Table 3-3 Windows x64 Software Requirements

Requirement Value

Operating System

Oracle Database for Windows x64 is supported on the following operating systems:

  • Windows Server 2008 x64 - Standard, Enterprise, DataCenter, and Web editions

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 - Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, and Foundation editions.

  • Windows 7 x64 - Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions

  • Windows 8 x64 and Windows 8.1 x64 - Pro and Enterprise editions

  • Windows Server 2012 x64 and Windows Server 2012 R2 x64 - Standard, Datacenter, Essentials, and Foundation editions

Note:

  • Check My Oracle Support note for more information about Hyper-V support.

  • Windows Multilingual User Interface Pack is supported.

  • The Server Core option is not supported.

See Also: "Hardware and Software Certification" for information about how to access the latest system requirements

Compiler

The following components are supported with the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1, Microsoft Visual C++ 2012, Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Update 2, and Intel 12.1 C compilers:

  • Oracle Call Interface

  • External callouts

  • Pro*C/C++ (not supported with Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Update 2 at this time of release.)

  • Oracle XML Developer's Kit (XDK)

Oracle C++ Call Interface is supported with

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 - OCCI libraries are installed under ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\vc11. When developing OCCI applications with MSVC++ 2012, ensure that the OCCI libraries are correctly selected from this directory for linking and executing.

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 - OCCI libraries are installed under ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\vc12. When developing OCCI applications with MSVC++ 2013, ensure that the OCCI libraries are correctly selected from this directory for linking and executing.

  • Intel 12.1 C compilers with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 STLs

Network Protocol

The Oracle Net foundation layer uses Oracle protocol support to communicate with the following industry-standard network protocols:

  • TCP/IP

  • TCP/IP with SSL

  • Named Pipes

Oracle Database Client

If you plan to connect to Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) from a release of Oracle Database Client that is 10g Release 2 (10.2) or higher, then the following conditions apply:

  • Oracle Database Client is version 10.2 or higher.

  • If the earlier Oracle Database Client is running on the same computer as Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1), a bequeath connection cannot be used.

Oracle recommends upgrading Oracle Database Client to the latest patchset (10.2.0.5, or 11.2.0.4 or later). You can download the patchset from the Patches and Updates section of My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

3.3 Windows Certification and Web Browser Support

The following sections provide certification information:

3.3.1 Remote Desktop Services

Oracle supports installing, configuring, and running Oracle Database through Remote Desktop Services, formerly known as Terminal Services, on Windows. To install Oracle Database, Oracle recommends that you start all configuration tools from the Terminal Server console session of the server (using mstsc/console).

Platform-specific support information is as follows:

  • Windows client operating systems: The Remote Desktop is only available in Single User Mode.

  • Windows server operating systems: You can have multiple Remote Desktop sessions.

See Also:

3.3.2 Installation Requirements for Web Browsers

Web browsers are required to use Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express and Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control. Web browsers must support Java Script, and the HTML 4.0 and CSS 1.0 standards. For a list of browsers that meet these requirements, see the Oracle Enterprise Manager certification matrix on My Oracle Support:

https://support.oracle.com

See Also:

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control Basic Installation Guide for information on accessing the Oracle Enterprise Manager certification matrix

3.3.3 Default Share Configuration Requirement

The prerequisite checks during Oracle Database installation require that the system drive on your computer has default share configured on it. Use the net use command to verify, for example:

C:\> net use \\hostname\c$
The command completed successfully

Ensure that the current user, the user in the Administrator group, has all the privileges on the default share.

3.4 Reviewing Operating System Security Common Practices

Secure operating systems are an important basis for general system security. Ensure that your operating system deployment is in compliance with common security practices as described in your operating system vendor security guide.

3.5 Confirming Host Name Resolution

Typically, the computer on which you want to install Oracle Database is connected to a network. Ensure that the computer host name is resolvable through a Domain Name System (DNS), a network information service (NIS), or a centrally-maintained TCP/IP host file, such as /etc/hosts. Use the ping command to ensure that your computer host name is resolvable. For example:

ping myhostname
pinging myhostname.example.com [192.0.2.2] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.0.2.2: bytes=32 time=138ms TTL=56

If your computer host name does not resolve, then contact your system administrator.

3.6 Individual Component Requirements

This section contains these topics:

See Also:

3.6.1 Configuring Disk Storage for Oracle Data Files and Recovery Files

This section describes the storage options for storing Oracle data files and, optionally, Oracle database recovery files. After you choose the storage method to use for each file type, use the following sections to configure the required storage:

Note:

You do not have to use the same storage option for each file type.

3.6.1.1 Choosing a Storage Option for Oracle Database and Recovery Files

Oracle Database files include data files, control files, redo log files, the server parameter file, and the password file. For all installations, you must choose the storage option to use for Oracle Database files. During the database installation, you must choose the storage option to use for recovery files (the fast recovery area). You do not have to use the same storage option for each file type.

Note:

Database files and recovery files are supported on file systems and Oracle ASM.

The storage option that you choose for recovery files can be the same as or different to the option you choose for the data files. The recovery files must be placed on Oracle ASM if using Oracle ACFS; otherwise they can be placed on NTFS.

3.6.1.2 Configuring Disk Storage

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:

3.6.2 Creating Directories for Oracle Data Files 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:

3.6.2.1 Guidelines for Placing Oracle Data Files on a File System

  • You can choose either a single file system or multiple file systems to store the data files:

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

      For best performance and reliability, choose a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) device or a logical volume on multiple physical devices and implement the stripe and mirror everything (SAME) methodology.

    • If you want to use multiple file systems, then choose file systems on separate physical devices that are dedicated to the database.

      Select this method to distribute physical I/O and create separate control files on different devices for increased reliability. You must choose the Advanced database creation option during the installation to implement this method.

  • If you intend to create a preconfigured database during the installation, then the file system (or file systems) that you choose must have at least 950 MB of free disk space.

    For production databases, you must estimate the disk space requirement depending on the use 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.

3.6.2.2 Guidelines for Placing Oracle Recovery Files on a File System

Note:

You must choose a location for recovery files only if you intend to enable automated backups during the installation.

If you 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 data files and the recovery files unavailable, place the recovery files in a file system on a different physical disk from the data files.

    Note:

    Alternatively, for both data files and recovery files, use an Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group.

  • 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 fast recovery area (specified by the DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE initialization parameter).

    If you choose 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 Cloud Control or Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express to specify a different value.

    See Also:

    Oracle Database Backup and Recovery User's Guide for more information about the fast recovery area

  • 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.

3.6.2.3 Creating Required Directories

Note:

You must complete this procedure only to place the Oracle database or recovery files on a separate file system from the Oracle base directory.

To create directories for the Oracle database or recovery files on separate file systems from 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 to use:

    File Type File System Requirements
    Data files Choose either:

    • A single file system with at least 950 MB of free disk space.

    • Two or more file systems with at least 950 MB 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 multiple types of files, then 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 Oracle Automatic Storage Management, see "Configuring Storage for Oracle Automatic Storage Management" for instructions. Otherwise see the "Stopping Existing Oracle Services" section.

3.6.3 Oracle Database Security Strong Authentication Requirements

Ensure that you meet the hardware and software requirements so that you can use strong authentication (Kerberos, PKI) with Oracle Database.

3.6.4 Oracle Enterprise Manager Requirements

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

Note:

Oracle Enterprise Manager products are released on the Enterprise Manager Cloud Control installation media. Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express is built into Oracle Database without any need for special installation or management

See Also:

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control Basic Installation Guide and Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control Advanced Installation and Configuration Guide

3.6.5 Oracle-Managed Files Requirements

If you choose the Advanced database creation option, you can 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 to enable Oracle Managed Files.

See Also:

"Using Oracle-Managed Files" in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide

3.6.6 Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC)

If you plan to install Oracle RAC or a grid computing environment, then you must first install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster.

See Also:

Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide and Oracle Grid Infrastructure Installation Guide

3.6.7 Oracle Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Writer

Oracle Volume Shadow Copy Service Writer is supported on Windows Server operating systems.

See Also:

"Performing Database Backup and Recovery with VSS" in Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows