10 Part I: Critical Database Concepts
new features include “invisible” indexes, simplified table maintenance, and editioned objects. You
should evaluate your previous architecture decisions in light of the new features available.
In the next several chapters, you will see how to install Oracle Database 11g and how to
upgrade to Oracle Database 11g from prior releases. Following those chapters, you will see an
overview of application planning, followed by many chapters on the use of SQL, PL/SQL, Java,
object-oriented features, and XML to get the most out of your Oracle database. Your application
architecture may change over time as the business process changes. During those changes you
should be sure to review the latest features to determine how your application can best exploit
them for functionality and performance.
CHAPTER
2
Installing Oracle
Database 11g and
Creating a Database
11
12 Part I: Critical Database Concepts
s Oracle’s installation software becomes easier to use with each release, it is very
A tempting to open the box of CDs and start the installation right away. Although this
is fine if you’re going to experiment with some new database features, a lot more
planning is required to perform a successful installation without rework or even
reinstallation a month from now. Although the complete details of an Oracle
Database 11g installation are beyond the scope of this book, you will see the basics of an
Oracle install using the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI). In any case, a thorough review of the
installation guide for your specific platform is key to a successful Oracle database deployment.
NOTE
Although this chapter is intended for beginning database
administrators, the planning process should include end users,
application developers, and system administrators, so the workload
and space requirements will be as accurate as possible.
The following issues should be addressed or resolved before you start the installation:
■ Decide on the local database name, and which domain will contain this database.
■ For the first project to use the database, estimate the number of tables and indexes as
well as their size, to plan for disk space estimates beyond what is required for the Oracle
SYSTEM tablespace and the associated Oracle software and tools.
■ Plan the locations of the physical datafiles on the server’s disk to maximize performance
and recoverability. In general, the more physical disks, the better. If a RAID or a shared
storage area will be used for the datafiles, consider Oracle Managed Files to manage the
placement of the datafiles. You can use automatic storage management (ASM) to simplify
your storage management. See Chapter 51 for details on ASM.
■ Review and understand the basic initialization parameters.
■ Select the database character set, along with an alternate character set. Although it’s easy
to let the character sets default on install, you may need to consider where the users of
the database are located and their language requirements. Character sets can be changed
after installation only if the new character set is a superset of the existing character set.
■ Decide on the best default database block size. The default block size defined by DB_
BLOCK_SIZE cannot be changed later without reinstalling the database. Note that Oracle
can support multiple block sizes within a single database.
■ Plan to store non-SYSTEM user objects in non-SYSTEM tablespaces. Make sure that
all non-administrative users are assigned a non-SYSTEM tablespace as their default
tablespace.
■ Plan to implement Automatic Undo Management to ease administration of transaction
undo information.
■ Plan a backup and recovery strategy. Decide how the database needs to be backed up,
and how often. Plan to use more than one method to back up the database.
Chapter 2: Installing Oracle Database 11g and Creating a Database 13
Familiarity with a couple of key Web sites is a must. Oracle Technology Network (OTN), at
http://otn.oracle.com, has a wealth of information, including white papers, free tools, sample code,
and the online version of Oracle Magazine. There is no charge for using OTN, other than registering
on the site. You can download the latest version of the Oracle software from the OTN site.
Purchasing a license for Oracle database software is a good start, but an Oracle support
contract with Web support may be the key to a successful installation and deployment. Using
Oracle’s Metalink (http://metalink.oracle.com) means you might never have to leave the friendly
confines of your Web browser to keep your database up and running. Through Metalink, you can
submit a support request, search through other support requests, download patches, download
white papers, and search the bug database.
Overview of Licensing and Installation Options
A successful initial software installation is the first step. Regardless of the software and hardware
platform on which you’re installing Oracle, the types of installations you can perform are the
same. Although these may change with product releases, they generally include the following:
■ Enterprise Edition This is the most feature rich and extensible version of the Oracle
database. It includes features such as Flashback Database and allows you to add
additional pieces of licensed functionality, such as Oracle Spatial, Oracle OLAP,
Oracle Label Security, and Oracle Data Mining.
■ Standard Edition This edition provides a good subset of the features of the Enterprise
Edition, generally including the features that a small business will need.
■ Personal Edition This edition allows for development of applications that will run on
either the Standard or Enterprise Edition. This edition cannot be used in a production
environment.
Licensing for the Oracle database is only by named user or CPU, and there is no longer a
concurrent user licensing option. Therefore, the DBA should use the initialization parameter
LICENSE_MAX_USERS to specify the maximum number of users that can be created in the database.
In addition, the Oracle Management Server (the back end for an Oracle Enterprise Manager, or
OEM, client) can be installed during a server- or client-side installation. However, it is recommended
that this installation be performed after a basic database installation has been completed.
Using OUI to Install the Oracle Software
Use the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) to install and manage all Oracle components for both the
server-side and client-side components. You can also deinstall any Oracle products from the initial
OUI screens.
During the server installation, you will choose the version of Oracle Database 11g from
the list in the previous section: Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition, or one of the other options
available for your platform.
It is strongly recommended that you create a starter database when prompted during the install.
Creating the starter database is a good way to make sure the server environment is set up correctly,
as well as to review any new features of Oracle Database 11g. The starter database may also be a
good candidate as a repository for either OEM or Recovery Manager.
14 Part I: Critical Database Concepts
The exact flow of the installation process may change depending on your operating environment
and Oracle version. At the conclusion of the Oracle software installation, the Database Configuration
Assistant (DBCA) will launch and will begin the process of creating a new database for use on
your server.
NOTE
For UNIX environments, you will need to set a proper value for the
DISPLAY environment variable and enable xhost prior to starting OUI
via the runInstaller script.
When you launch the OUI, you will be asked to provide information about your configuration
choices. As shown in Figure 2-1, the first screen will ask for the base location for the Oracle software,
the home location for the database, and the type of installation. You can also choose to have a
starter database created following the successful Oracle software installation. For the database,
you will need to specify its name and a password.
FIGURE 2-1 OUI initial screen
Chapter 2: Installing Oracle Database 11g and Creating a Database 15
OUI will then
perform a series of
prerequisite checks
to make sure your
environment is
configured to support
the Oracle installation.
These checks include
basic network
configuration and
environment variable
settings, as shown in the
illustration at right.
Your database can
be configured to associate
with your Metalink
(Oracle Support)
account. In the next
section of the OUI,
shown here, you can
specify the Metalink
username and password
you use. You can use the
Test Registration option
to verify connectivity to
the Metalink site from
your computer.
16 Part I: Critical Database Concepts
At this point, the
installation is ready to
proceed, and OUI will
display a list of the
selected products to
install. As shown here,
that list will include the
core software as well
as related utilities and
scripts.
The Oracle
installation can now
begin. As shown below,
Oracle provides a
status bar to show the
installation progress.
The time to complete
the installation depends
on the processing speed
of your computer. Do
not run other processes
on your computer
during this time because they may interfere with the successful completion of the Oracle
software installation.
Chapter 2: Installing Oracle Database 11g and Creating a Database 17
After the Oracle software has been successfully installed, the Database Configuration Assistant
will be automatically launched if you selected that option. As shown in the following illustration,
the creation steps include copying the datafiles for the starter database into the targeted area on
your computer and then creating an instance. The result of this step will be a fully functional
database that you can use for the practice exercises in this book.
As shown here, multiple configuration assistants will run. The Database Configuration
Assistant (DBCA) creates the database, whereas the Oracle Net Configuration Assistant verifies
your networking configuration. Connections to your database will use Oracle Net. You can
choose not to run the configuration assistants or to retry those that fail.
18 Part I: Critical Database Concepts
With the networking configuration verified, the DBCA can now complete the database
creation, as shown next.
When the database creation completes, you will see a summary screen similar to the one shown
in the following illustration. The summary screen will list the name of the database that was created,
the location of the database parameter file, and the accounts that are unlocked. As a security
measure, most of the accounts inside a new Oracle database are locked. The password for the
unlocked accounts is the password set during the initial creation (refer to Figure 2-1).
If you chose to change the security settings, you will see the security management page,
shown next. You may choose to unlock any of the standard accounts provided with your Oracle
database. For each of the unlocked accounts, you can specify a password. By default, the only
unlocked accounts are those used to manage the database, such as SYS and SYSTEM.
Chapter 2: Installing Oracle Database 11g and Creating a Database 19
Following the password management screen, you will see a final set of summary screens
showing the success of the individual configuration assistants and the overall success of the
installation. The database you created will be fully available, with an instance running on your
local computer to access that database. You can now use tools such as SQL*Plus to access the
sample database.
As part of the Windows installation, Oracle installs an Oracle Administration Assistant (in the
Start menu structure, it is available under the Oracle configuration and migration tools menu).
Use the Administration Assistant to simplify your management of your local database. For example,
you can navigate through the Administration Assistant interface to select your database. When
you right-click the database, a series of options will become available, including Startup/Shutdown
Configuration Options. You can use this screen to specify that the database instance will be started
and shut down whenever the Windows service is started and shut down, thereby simplifying your