4 Oracle Database Client Postinstallation Tasks

4.1.1 Downloading and Installing Patches

To download required patches, check the OracleMetalink Web site for required patches for your installation. Doing so ensures that you have the latest update of Oracle Database Client.

1. Use a Web browser to view the OracleMetalink Web site:

   https://metalink.oracle.com

2. Log in to OracleMetalink.

   Note:

   If you are not an OracleMetalink registered user, then click Register for MetaLink! and follow the registration instructions.

3. On the main OracleMetalink page, click Patches.

4. Select Simple Search.

5. Specify the following information, then click Go:

   • In the Search By field, choose Product or Family, then specify RDBMS Server

   • In the Release field, specify the current release number

   • In the Patch Type field, specify Patchset/Minipack

   • In the Platform or Language field, select your platform

6. Open the patch ReadMe file, which you can access by clicking the View ReadMe icon, and follow the installation instructions.

   Some patches install with Oracle Universal Installer; others require special procedures. Oracle recommends that you always read the ReadMe before proceeding.

7. Return to the Patch Set page, click Download, and save the file on the system.

8. Use an unzip utility to uncompress the Oracle patches that you downloaded from OracleMetaLink.

4.1.2 Updating Instant Client

To update Instant Client:

1. Download Instant Client from Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technology/index.html).

2. Place the new files directly on top of the previous files.

   If you place the files into a different directory (and remove the previous files), be sure to update your PATH environment variable setting to reflect the new location.

4.2.1 Configuring Instant Client Light

To configure Instant Client Light, you need to make it the default instead of Instant Client.

To configure Instant Client Light:

1. In the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME directory, either rename or delete the oraociei10.dll file.

   The oraociei10.dll file is the main binary for Instant Client.

2. From the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME\install\instantclient\light directory, copy the oraociicus10.dll file to the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME directory.

   The oraociicus10.dll file is the binary for Instant Client Light.

3. Make sure that the PATH environment variable points to the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME directory.

4.2.2 Connecting Oracle Database Client to an Oracle Database

After you run Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle Database Client, you need to use Net Configuration Assistant (NetCA) to configure Oracle Database Client to connect to an Oracle database. At the end of installation, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to configure the database connection. If you bypassed that option, or if you need to change the database connection later on, use the following procedure if you installed the Administrator, Runtime, or Custom installation types.

To connect Oracle Database Client to an Oracle Database:

1. From the Start menu, choose Oracle - HOME_NAME, then Configuration and Migration Tools, then Net Configuration Assistant.

2. In the Welcome window, select Local Net Service Name configuration and click Next.

3. In the Net Service Name Configuration window, select Add and click Next.

4. In the Service Name window, enter the name of the Oracle database to which you want to connect and click Next.

5. In the Select Protocols window, select the protocol you want and click Next.

6. In the Protocol window, depending on the protocol you selected, enter the appropriate information and click Next.

7. In the Net Test window, select whether you want to test the connection, and click Next.

8. In the Net Service Name window, enter a name for the net service and click Next.

9. Answer the remaining prompts, which allow you to configure another net service name, and then click Finish to complete the configuration.

   Net Configuration Assistant creates the tnsnames.ora file in the following location:

   ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\network\admin\tnsnames.ora
   

4.2.3 Connecting Instant Client or Instant Client Light to an Oracle Database

Before you can connect Instant Client or Instant Client Light to an Oracle database, make sure that the PATH environment variable specifies the directory that contains the Instant Client libraries. (By default, Oracle Universal Installer updates the PATH variable for you during the installation process, but another user may have inadvertently reset it since then.) This directory is the Oracle home directory that you specified during installation.

For example, for regular Instant Client, it is in:

C:\> oracle\products\10.2.0\client_1

For Instant Client Light, it is in:

C:\> oracle\products\10.2.0\client_1\light

After you have checked the PATH environment variable, you can use any of the following methods to specify Oracle Database connection information for client applications:

• Specifying a Connection by Using the Easy Connect Naming Method

• Specifying a Connection by Configuring a tnsnames.ora File

• Specifying a Connection by Using an Empty Connect String and the LOCAL Variable

Enter user-name: system@admin@//shobeen:1521/sales_us

4.2.4 Setting Up User Accounts

For information about setting up additional user accounts, see Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows (32-Bit).

4.2.5 Running Oracle Enterprise Manager Java Console

In addition to using Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control or Grid Control, you can use the Oracle Enterprise Manager Java Console to manage databases from this release or previous releases. You install the Java Console by using the Administrator installation type.

To start the Java Console, follow these steps:

1. From the Start menu, choose Run.

2. Enter the following command and click OK:

   oemapp console
   

4.2.6 Granting Additional Privileges to the Oracle Enterprise Manager Repository User

If you are using Oracle Enterprise Manager Java Console to manage your database, grant the following privileges to the repository user and create the repository:

CREATE CLUSTER
CREATE DATABASE LINK
CREATE SEQUENCE
ALTER SESSION
CREATE SYNONYM
CREATE TABLE
CREATE VIEW

Complete the following steps to create a repository user and grant privileges:

1. Start the standalone Java Console.

2. Double-click the database node in the navigator tree and connect to the database as a user with the NORMAL role.

3. Select Create from the Object menu.

   The Create window appears.

4. Expand the database node in the Create window and select User. Then click the Create button.

   The Create User property sheet appears.

5. On the General page, enter the name of the user and the password, and select OEM_REPOSITORY as the default tablespace and TEMP as the temporary tablespace.

6. On the Role page, grant the CONNECT and SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE roles to the repository user.

7. On the System Privileges page grant the CREATE TRIGGER, CREATE PROCEDURE, EXECUTE ANY PROCEDURE, CREATE TYPE, EXECUTE ANY TYPE, SELECT ANY TABLE, CREATE CLUSTER, CREATE DATABASE LINK, CREATE SEQUENCE, ALTER SESSION, CREATE SYNONYM, CREATE TABLE, CREATE VIEW privileges to the repository user.

8. On the Quota page, specify unlimited for OEM_REPOSITORY and TEMP.

9. On Create User property sheet, click the Create button.

4.2.7 Using Oracle9i Language and Definition Files with Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2)

You can use Oracle9i database language and territory definition files with Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2). If the computer where Oracle Database is installed has been configured to use this functionality, you need to enable this functionality on each client computer as well.

To enable this functionality:

1. Run the cr9idata.pl script, by default located in ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\nls\data\old.

   If the client installation type you chose does not include this directory, you can find the cr9idata.pl script in the same directory path in a default Oracle Database installation.

2. Set the ORA_NLS10 environment variable to point to the directory where you installed the new language and territory definition files, which by default are in ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\nls\data.

3. Restart Oracle Database.

4.2.8 Configuring Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor

Before you can use to view Oracle-specific counters, you must specify the SYSTEM password using Operfcfg.exe located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin directory.

To set the system password, enter the following:

operfcfg.exe -U SYSTEM -P password -D TNS_Alias_for_database