A Using Scripts or Response Files to Create Oracle RAC Databases

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

Creating an Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) database that uses Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM) for storage is a multi-step process.

1. Complete a software-only installation of Oracle RAC using silent-mode.
2. Run the root.bat script.
3. Run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant in silent mode.
4. Run Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) in silent mode.

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

1. 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.

   To install Oracle RAC, you must first have installed Oracle Grid Infrastructure on your cluster nodes. The Oracle Inventory directory was created and added to the Windows registry during the installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure. If the inst_loc key does not exist in the Windows registry, then install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster before continuing.

   Note:

   Changing the value for inst_loc in the Windows registry is not supported after the installation of Oracle software
2. Prepare a response file.
3. Run the installer in silent or response file mode.
4. If you completed a software-only installation, then run Oracle Net Configuration Assistant (NETCA) and Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) in silent or response file mode.

Oracle provides response file templates for each product and installation type and for each configuration tool.

For Oracle Database, the response file templates are located in the database\response directory on the installation media and in the Oracle_home\inventory\response directory. For Oracle Grid Infrastructure, the response file templates are located in the Grid_home\install\response directory after the software is installed.

All response file templates contain comment entries, sample formats, examples, and other useful instructions. Read the response file instructions to understand how to specify values for the response file variables, so that you can customize your installation.

The following response files are provided with this software:

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.

1. Copy the response file from the response file directory to a directory on your system.
   If you have copied the installation media to a directory on a local disk (referred to as the staging_dir directory), then you can edit the file in the staging_dir\database\response directory.
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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 Database installation contains the passwords for database 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.

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.

1. 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.
2. Log in as the Oracle Installation User. Ensure that the Oracle Installation User has permissions to create or write to the Oracle home path that you specify during installation.
3. Start the installer. On each installation screen, specify the required information.
4. 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.
5. If you do not complete the installation, then delete the Oracle home directory that the installer created using the path you specified in the Specify File Locations screen.
6. 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.

For information about all the available options for Oracle Universal Installer (OUI), run the setup.exe command with the -help option.

• If the installation software is accessed through a DVD disk drive mounted as E:, then use the following commands:

  C:\> E:
  E:\> database\setup.exe -help

• If the installation software has been extracted from a downloaded ZIP file to the directory X:\staging_dir, where X: is a drive on your system, then use the following command:

  C:\> X:
  X:\> staging_dir\database\setup.exe -help

To use the installer with a response file to install the Oracle Database software, complete these steps.

1. Complete the preinstallation tasks as for a typical installation.
2. Log in as the Oracle Installation User.
3. Start the installer in silent or response file mode by entering a command similar to the following:

   X:\staging_dir> database\setup.exe  [-silent] [-noconfig] \
    -responseFile responsefilename

   In this example:

   • X:\staging_dir is either the ___location of the installation media (for example, a DVD drive) or the path of staging directory on the local node.

   • -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 previously. See "Editing a Response File Template"

   Note:

   Do not specify a relative path to the response file. If you specify a relative path, then the installer fails. Use the full path ___location for the response 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

Oracle Database configuration assistants require the SYS, SYSTEM, and DBSNMP passwords for use with DBCA. You might need to specify the following additional passwords, depending on your system configuration:

• If the database is using Oracle ASM for storage, then you must specify a password for the S_ASMSNMPPASSWORD variable. If you are not using Oracle ASM, then leave the value for this password variable blank.

• If you selected to configure Oracle Enterprise Manager, then you must set the value of the S_HOSTUSERPASSWORD variable to the password of the Oracle software installation owner. If you do not want to enable Oracle Enterprise Manager, then the leave the value for this password variable blank.

• If you create a multitenant container database (CDB) with one or more pluggable databases (PDBs), then you must specify a password for the ORACLE.INSTALL.DB.CONFIG.STARTERDB.PASSWORD.PDBADMIN variable.

• If you specified an Oracle Home user for the Oracle Database installation, then specify a password for the oracle.assistants.server|S_WINSERVICEUSERPASSWORD variable.

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

1. Create a response file that has a name of the format filename.properties.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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

To run configuration assistants with the configToolAllCommands script in silent mode or response file mode, perform these steps.

1. Change directory to %ORACLE_HOME%\cfgtoollogs.
2. Run the configuration script using the following syntax:

   configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=\path\name.properties

C:\> cd %ORACLE_HOME%\cfgtoollogs
C:\..\cfgtoollogs> configToolAllCommands RESPONSE_FILE=C:\users\oracle\db\cfg
_db.properties

Use the -silent option in combination with the -responseFile option 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 option in combination with the -responseFile option, to set the mode to progress only.

As Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) configures and starts the database, DBCA displays a window that contains status messages and a progress bar. This window is similar to the window that is displayed when you choose to create a preconfigured database during an Enterprise Edition.

In this mode, Database Configuration Assistant uses values that you specify, in the response file or as command line options, to create a database.

You can run Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) in response file mode, either in silent mode or progress only mode, to configure and start an Oracle database on the system.

1. Oracle provides a response file template named dbca.rsp in the response directory on the installation media. Copy the dbca.rsp response file template from the response file directory to a directory on your system.
   If you have copied the software to a hard drive, then you can edit the file in the X:\staging_dir\database\response directory if you prefer.

   Note:

   As an alternative to editing the response file template, you can also create a database by specifying all required information as command-line options when you run DBCA. For information about the list of options supported, enter the following command:

   C:\> %ORACLE_HOME%\bin\dbca -help

2. Log in as the Oracle Home user. Set the %ORACLE_HOME% environment variable to the correct Oracle home directory. See "Multiple Oracle Home Directories on Windows"
3. Open the response file in a text editor.
4. Edit the file, following the instructions in the file.
   In response file mode, DBCA uses values that you specify in the response file or as command-line options, to create a database.

   Note:

   DBCA fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.
5. Open a command-line window. Change directories to the ___location of the Oracle home directory.
6. Use a command similar to the following example to run DBCA in silent or response file mode using a response file:

   C:\> %ORACLE_HOME%\bin\dbca {-progressOnly | -silent} -responseFile \
   local_dir\dbca.rsp

   In this example:

   • The -silent option runs DBCA in silent mode, suppressing user prompts.

   • The -progressOnly option runs DBCA in response file mode.

   • local_dir is the full path of the directory where the dbca.rsp response file is located.

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.

1. 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.
2. Open the response file in a text editor.
3. Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.

   Note:

   NETCA fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.
4. Log in as the Oracle Home user. Set the %ORACLE_HOME% environment variable to the correct Oracle home directory.
5. 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.