A Installing Oracle Database Client Using Response Files

A.1 How Response Files Work

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:

• Reasons for Using Silent Mode or Response File Mode

• General Procedure for Using Response Files

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:

• Silent mode

  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.

• Response file mode

  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 enables you to validate 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/11.2.0/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

In this command, directory_path is the path of the database directory on the installation media or on the hard drive.

This method is particularly useful if you do not want to embed sensitive information, such as passwords, in the response file. For example:

-silent "s_dlgRBOPassword=password" ...

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

A.2 Preparing a Response File

This section describes the following methods to prepare a response file for use during silent mode or response file mode installations:

• Editing a Response File Template

• Saving a Response File

A.3 Running Oracle Universal Installer Using a Response File

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 on 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:

1. Complete the preinstallation tasks listed in Chapter 2.

2. Log in as the Oracle software owner user (typically, oracle).

3. If you are completing a response file mode installation, set the DISPLAY environment variable.

   Note:

   You do not have to set the DISPLAY environment variable if you are completing a silent-mode installation.

4. 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.

   • -silent runs Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode.

     See "Silent-Mode Response File Error Handling"

   • -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:

   For more information about other options for the runInstaller command, enter the following command:

   $ /directory_path/runInstaller -help
   

5. When the installation completes, log in as the root user and run the root.sh script:

   $ sudo sh
   password:
   # /oracle_home_path/root.sh
   

A.4 Performing an In-place Oracle Database Client Upgrade Using the Response File

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2), you can perform an in-place Oracle Database Client upgrade using the response file:

1. Edit the oracle.install.client.upgrading entry in the client_install.rsp file and set it to true. By default, the oracle.install.client.upgrading entry is set to false.

2. Run Oracle Universal Installer in silent mode as described in "Running Oracle Universal Installer Using a Response File".