Forum OpenACS Q&A: Installing Oracle without X server

I'm setting up a test environment for OACS/dotLRN on a server running Red Hat 7.3. I was following the Oracle installation document when I noticed that installing Oracle needs an X server. Is this really true, i.e. can't I install Oracle using ssh? The problem is that the server is in Finland and I'm in Switzerland, so it's not possible for me to get by the server and do console login.

I guess it would be possible to accomplish the x client stuff through ssh with my Apple PowerBook (OS X 10.2) but I've never used an X client with it so any advice on how this problem could be solved would be highly appreciated.

TIA,
Jarkko

Pretty lame, isn't it?

A few versions ago (probably 8.1.5 or 8.1.6) I tried to get around this.  Oracle's install docs mentioned an environment variable you can set to have the install print *absolutely nothing*, taking all it's answers from a text file.  This ought to work in all cases.  Unfortunately, the installer still checked for the presence of an X server, even though it wasn't going to make use of it, and would stop if one wasn't found.  I'll be very surprised if this has been fixed, but you might want to look at the official install docs and see if it's still documented.

Malte's right, VNC is the best way to do this.  At least you are running Redhat 7.3 so you should alread have the X server installed.  Until recently Redhat didn't include X in a server install because you don't need or want it on a server.  Unless you're installing Oracle!

I think that means you need to have the environment variable LD_ASSUME_KERNEL set to 2.2.5.

If you search here, there have been a few threads about this recently.

When using X over ssh there is also the danger of a broken ssh connection. I guess when you loose the connection you have to start the installation over, unless you have something like the 'screen' program that also allows to re-attach to forwarded X programs as well. So VNC is propably the best.

You might have to do "unset lang" if your language setting contains the "@" sign, as java crashes in this case.

Malte,

My language settings contained @ so I unset it:

[oracle@swissnet oracle]$ echo $LANG
fi_FI@euro
[oracle@swissnet oracle]$ unset LANG
[oracle@swissnet oracle]$ echo $LANG

[oracle@swissnet oracle]$ 

It didn't change the behaviour of the install script, though.

You can use Oracle's glibc patch instead of the compat libraries - it has always worked for me and is easier.  Tom Jackson was verifying this, not sure how far he got.  There's a thread about it here somewhere.

I had the same problem, my server is at US and I'm in Guatemala, I've installed all the rpms required for X and then followed the info that Jun give here: http://ccm.redhat.com/bboard-archive/webdb/000J3d.html

first try to open something like an xterm or emacs or netscape in from your remote server in your local machine, in that way you can see that X through SSH works.

Jon, I've done that too and it does work.  I've always been very careful to make sure that the two systems were fairly identical, though - I don't know if it would work if the systems were more than a little bit different.  Even two Redhat systems at different levels of up2date might be suspect, though I don't know for sure.

Tom, I've done it on 7.3 so I'm pretty sure it will work.  I'm  still looking forward to your results, though.

That means that you get for example an xterm working (graphically) in your OS X box? This means that it opens an new window in your local graphic X system and you can move it, etc.
if yes, I will suggest you to read Bruno's instruction on installing oracle in redhat 7.x, it needs a special configuration to get it working, check it here http://archive.greenpeace.org/~bruno/oracle.html .

if not, your are not still tunneling X through ssh.

Hi Jarko,

I had the same problem as you do but on Debian 3.0 once upon a time, and I gave up then. However I just tried again to install Oracle 8.1.7 remotely over ssh (openssh) and it works! (Well I have managed to display the Oracle Universal Installer) ... If the installation will complete entirely remains to be seen.

Before, I logged in to my remote server with "ssh -X mailto:nsadmin@myserver.com";, i.e., as user nsadmin. I then did the initial steps from there, su:ing to oracle etc. When I tried to run runInstaller from there it failed to work (DISPLAY not set, or whatever).

But this time I logged out of the remote session altogether when it was time to run runInstaller and logged in again, this time as user oracle; "ssh -X mailto:oracle@myserver.com";. That way it "just worked".

Of course, I am on Debian but it might work on OS X too..

Try to use ssh or openssh with the -X (capital X) flag if you have it on your platform.

Good luck,

Ola,

Thanks, but it didn't help either. runInstaller doesn't give any error, it just stucks after saying that "Object Monitor Status is OK"

I have to try to find a PC with x server from school, so I can test if this is because of my computer.

I tried to do the installation from scratch according to Bruno's instructions, but the end result is the same 😟

Now I'm really running out of options...

I got an Oracle tarball from Peter and after some small tweaking got it to work, or at least I'd think so. Creation of ora8 database at least went finally ok.

Other thing is that after a reboot all the PostgreSQL data seems to have disappeared, but that's another story and thread topic...