B Installing and Configuring Oracle Grid Infrastructure Using Response Files

You can install and configure Oracle Grid Infrastructure software using response files.

About Response Files
When you start the installer, you can use a response file to automate the installation and configuration of Oracle software, either fully or partially. The installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all installation prompts.
Preparing Response Files
There are two methods you can use to prepare response files for silent mode or response file mode installations.
Running the Installer Using a Response File
To use a response file during installation, you start OUI from the command line, specifying the response file you created.
Running Oracle Net Configuration Assistant Using Response Files
You can run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant (NETCA) in silent mode to configure and start an Oracle Net listener on the system, configure naming methods, and configure Oracle Net service names.
Postinstallation Configuration Using Response Files
You can create and run a response file configuration after installing Oracle software.

B.1 About Response Files

When you start the installer, you can use a response file to automate the installation and configuration of Oracle software, either fully or partially. The installer uses the values contained in the response file to provide answers to some or all installation prompts.

Typically, the 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 the installer from a command prompt using either of the following modes:

Silent mode

If you include responses for all of the prompts in the response file and specify the -silent option when starting the installer, then it runs in silent mode. During a silent mode installation, the installer does not display any screens. Instead, it displays progress information in the terminal that you used to start it.
Response file mode

If you include responses for some or all of the prompts in the response file and omit the -silent option, then the installer runs in response file mode. During a response file mode installation, the 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.

You define the settings for a silent or response file installation by entering values for the variables listed in the response file. For example, to specify the Oracle home name, supply the appropriate value for the ORACLE_HOME variable:

ORACLE_HOME="OraCrs11g_home1"

Another way of specifying the response file variable settings is to pass them as command line arguments when you run the installer. For example:

 -silent "ORACLE_HOME=OraCrs11g_home1" ...

Ensure that you enclose the variable and its setting in double-quotes.

Deciding to Use Silent Mode or Response File Mode
There are several reasons for running the installer in silent mode or response file mode.
Using Response Files
Use these general steps for installing and configuring Oracle products using the installer in silent or response file mode.

B.1.1 Deciding to Use Silent Mode or Response File Mode

There are several reasons for running the installer in silent mode or response file mode.

Table B-1 Reasons for Using Silent Mode or Response File Mode

Mode	Reasons to Use
Silent	Use silent mode for the following installations: To complete an unattended installation, which you schedule using operating system utilities To complete several similar installations on multiple systems without user interaction Install the software on a system that cannot display the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) graphical user interface OUI displays progress information on the terminal that you used to start it, but it does not display any of the installer screens.
Response file	Use response file mode to complete similar Oracle software installations on more than one system, providing default answers to some, but not all the installer prompts. If you do not specify information required for a particular OUI screen in the response file, then the installer displays that screen. OUI suppresses screens for which you have provided all of the required information.

Mode

Reasons to Use

Silent

Use silent mode for the following installations:

To complete an unattended installation, which you schedule using operating system utilities
To complete several similar installations on multiple systems without user interaction
Install the software on a system that cannot display the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) graphical user interface

OUI displays progress information on the terminal that you used to start it, but it does not display any of the installer screens.

Response file

Use response file mode to complete similar Oracle software installations on more than one system, providing default answers to some, but not all the installer prompts.

If you do not specify information required for a particular OUI screen in the response file, then the installer displays that screen. OUI suppresses screens for which you have provided all of the required information.

B.1.2 Using Response Files

Use these general steps for installing and configuring Oracle products using the installer in silent or response file mode.

Note:

You must complete all required preinstallation tasks on a system before running the installer in silent or response file mode.

Verify the Windows Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Oracle exists and that the value for inst_loc is the ___location of the Oracle Inventory directory on the local node.

Note:
Changing the value for inst_loc in the Windows registry is not supported after the installation of Oracle software
Prepare a response file.
Run the installer in silent or response file mode.
If you completed a software-only installation, then perform the steps necessary to configure the Oracle product.

B.2 Preparing Response Files

There are two methods you can use to prepare response files for silent mode or response file mode installations.

Editing a Response File Template
Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type and for each configuration tool. You can copy and modify a response file template.
Recording Response Files
You can use the installer in interactive mode to record response files, which you can then edit and use to complete silent mode or response file mode installations.
Creating a Password Response File
Use these steps to create a password response file for use with the configuration assistants.

B.2.1 Editing a Response File Template

Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type and for each configuration tool. You can copy and modify a response file template.

Copy the response file from the response file directory to a directory on your system.
For Oracle Grid Infrastructure, the response file is located in the staging_dir\clusterware\response directory on the installation media and in the Grid_home\inventory\response directory after installation.
Open the response file in a text editor.

See Also:
Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for Windows and UNIX for detailed information about creating response files
Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.

Note:
The installer or configuration assistants fail if you do not correctly configure the response file. Also, ensure that your response file name has the .rsp suffix.
Secure the response file.
Ensure that only the user that installed the Oracle software can view or modify response files. Consider deleting the modified response file after the installation succeeds.

Note:
A fully specified response file for an Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation can contain the passwords for Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM) administrative accounts and for a user who is a member of the operating system groups ORA_DBA and Administrators. Oracle strongly recommends that database administrators or other administrators delete or secure response files when they are not in use.

B.2.2 Recording Response Files

You can use the installer in interactive mode to record response files, which you can then edit and use to complete silent mode or response file mode installations.

This method is useful for Advanced or software-only installations. You can save all the installation steps into a response file during installation by clicking Save Response File on the Summary page. You can use the generated response file for a silent installation later.

When you record the response file, you can either complete the installation, or you can exit from the installer on the Summary page, before the installer starts to copy the software to the local disk.

If you use record mode during a response file mode installation, then the installer records the variable values that were specified in the original source response file into the new response file.

Note:

You cannot save passwords while recording the response file.

Complete preinstallation tasks as for a standard installation.
When you use run the installer to record 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 record the response file while completing an installation.
Log in as the Oracle Installation User. Ensure that the Oracle Installation User has permissions to create or write to the Grid home path that you specify during installation.
Start the installer. On each installation screen, specify the required information.
When the installer displays the Summary screen, perform the following steps:
1. Click Save Response File. In the pop up window, specify a file name and ___location to save the values for the response file, then click Save.
2. Click Finish to continue with the installation.
  Click Cancel if you do not want to continue with the installation. The installation stops, but the recorded response file is retained.
  
  Note:
  Your response file name must end with the .rsp suffix.
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.

B.2.3 Creating a Password Response File

Use these steps to create a password response file for use with the configuration assistants.

Create a response file that has a name of the format filename.properties.
Open the file with a text editor, and cut and paste the sample password file contents, as shown in the example below, modifying as needed.
If the file is stored on a volume formatted for Windows New Technology File System (NTFS), then modify the security permissions to secure the file.

Example B-1 Sample Password Response File for Oracle Grid Infrastructure

This example provides a template for a password response file to use with Oracle Grid Infrastructure.

Oracle Grid Infrastructure requires passwords for Oracle Automatic Storage Management Configuration Assistant (ASMCA), and for Intelligent Platform Management Interface Configuration Assistant (IPMICA) if you have a baseboard management controller (BMC) card and you want to enable this feature. Also, if you specified an Oracle Home user for the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation, you must specify the password as the Windows Service user password.

oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=password
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMMONITORPASSWORD=password
oracle.crs|S_BMCPASSWORD=password
oracle.crs|S_WINSERVICEUSERPASSWORD=password

If you do not have a BMC card, or you do not want to enable Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), then leave the S_BMCPASSWORD input field blank.

B.3 Running the Installer Using a Response File

To use a response file during installation, you start OUI from the command line, specifying the response file you created.

The OUI executable, setup.exe, provides several options. For information about the full set of these options, run the setup.exe command with the -help option, for example:

C:\..\bin> setup.exe -help

The help information appears in your session window after a short period of time.

Complete the preinstallation tasks as for any installation.
Log in as an Administrator user.
To start the installer in silent or response file mode, enter a command similar to the following:
```
C:\> directory_path\setup.exe [-silent] [-noconfig] \
 -responseFile responsefilename
```
Note:
Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, then the installer fails.

In this example:
- directory_path is the path of the DVD or the path of the directory on the hard drive where you have copied the installation software.
- -silent runs the installer in silent mode.
- -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.
Note:
If you use record mode during a response file mode installation, then the installer records the variable values that were specified in the original source response file into the new response file.

B.4 Running Oracle Net Configuration Assistant Using Response Files

You can run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant (NETCA) in silent mode to configure and start an Oracle Net listener on the system, configure naming methods, and configure Oracle Net service names.

Oracle provides a response file template named netca.rsp in the response subdirectory of:

The Oracle_home\database\inventory\response directory after a software-only installation
The database\response directory on the installation media or staging area

To run NETCA in silent mode, you must copy and edit a response file template.

Copy the netca.rsp response file template from the response file directory to a directory on your system.
If the software is staged on a hard drive, or has already been installed, then you can edit the file in the response directory located on the local disk instead.
Open the response file in a text editor.
Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.

Note:
NETCA fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.
Log in as an Administrator user and set the %ORACLE_HOME% environment variable to specify the correct Oracle home directory.
Enter a command similar to the following to run NETCA in silent mode:
```
C:\> Oracle_home\bin\netca -silent -responsefile X:\local_dir\netca.rsp
```
In this command:
- The -silent option runs NETCA in silent mode.
- X:\local_dir is the full path of the directory where you copied the netca.rsp response file template, where X represents the drive on which the file is located, and local_dir the path on that drive.

B.5 Postinstallation Configuration Using Response Files

You can create and run a response file configuration after installing Oracle software.

About the Postinstallation Configuration File
The configuration assistants are started with a script called configToolAllCommands.
Running Postinstallation Configuration Using a Response File
You can run the postinstallation configuration assistants with the configToolAllCommands script.

B.5.1 About the Postinstallation Configuration File

The configuration assistants are started with a script called configToolAllCommands.

When you perform an installation using silent mode or response file mode, you provide information about your servers in a response file that you otherwise provide manually using a graphical user interface. However, the response file does not contain passwords for user accounts that configuration assistants require after software installation is complete. To run the configuration assistants after the installation completes in silent mode, you must run the configToolAllCommands script and provide the passwords used by the assistants in a password file.

You can run the configToolAllCommands script in silent mode by using a password response file. The script uses the passwords in the file to run the configuration tools in succession to complete the software configuration. If you keep the password file to use when cloning installations, then Oracle strongly recommends that you store the password file in a secure ___location.

You can also use the password file to restart a failed installation. If you stop an installation to fix an error, then you can rerun the configuration assistants using configToolAllCommands and a password response file.

The configToolAllCommands password response file has the following 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 configuration.

The command syntax is as follows:

internal_component_name|variable_name=value

For example, to set the password for the SYS user of Oracle ASM:

oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=myPassWord

B.5.2 Running Postinstallation Configuration Using a Response File

You can run the postinstallation configuration assistants with the configToolAllCommands script.

Create a response file using the formatfilename.properties for the file name.
Open the file with a text editor, and cut and paste the password template, modifying as needed.

Change directory to Oracle_home\cfgtoollogs, and run the configuration script using the following syntax:

configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=\path\filename.properties

For example:

C:\..\cfgtoollogs> configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=C:\users\oracle
\grid\cfgrsp.properties

Example B-2 Password response file for Oracle Grid Infrastructure Installation

oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=password
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMMONITORPASSWORD=password
oracle.crs|S_BMCPASSWORD=password
oracle.crs|S_WINSERVICEUSERPASSWORD=password

If you do not have a BMC card, or you do not want to enable Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), then leave the S_BMCPASSWORD input field blank.

Note:

If you are upgrading Oracle ASM 11g Release 1 or earlier releases, then you only need to provide the input field for oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMMONITORPASSWORD.

Example B-3 Password response file for Oracle Real Application Clusters

Oracle Database configuration requires the SYS, SYSTEM, and DBSNMP passwords for use with Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA). The S_ASMSNMPPASSWORD response 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 Cloud Control, then you must provide the password for the Oracle software installation owner for S_EMADMINPASSWORD, similar to the following example, where the phrase password represents the password string:

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
oracle.assistants.server|S_WINSERVICEUSERPASSWORD=password

If you do not want to enable Oracle Enterprise Manager for Oracle ASM, then leave those password fields blank.