B Installing and Configuring Oracle Grid Infrastructure Using Response Files

This appendix describes how to install and configure Oracle Grid Infrastructure software using response files. It includes information about the following topics:

About Response Files
Preparing a Response File
Running the Installer Using a Response File
Running Net Configuration Assistant Using a Response File
Postinstallation Configuration Using a Response File

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.

B.1.1 Reasons for Using Silent Mode or Response File Mode

The following table provides use cases for running the installer in silent mode or response file mode.

Mode Uses

Mode	Uses
Silent	Use silent mode to do the following installations: Complete an unattended installation, which you schedule using operating system utilities such as `at`. Complete several similar installations on multiple systems without user interaction. Install the software on a system that cannot display the OUI graphical user interface. The installer 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 multiple systems, providing default answers to some, but not all of the installer prompts. In response file mode, all the installer screens are displayed, but defaults for the fields in these screens are provided by the response file. You have to provide information for the fields in screens where you have not provided values in the response file.

Silent

Use silent mode to do the following installations:

Complete an unattended installation, which you schedule using operating system utilities such as at.
Complete several similar installations on multiple systems without user interaction.
Install the software on a system that cannot display the OUI graphical user interface.

The installer 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 multiple systems, providing default answers to some, but not all of the installer prompts.

In response file mode, all the installer screens are displayed, but defaults for the fields in these screens are provided by the response file. You have to provide information for the fields in screens where you have not provided values in the response file.

B.1.2 General Procedure for Using Response Files

The following are the general steps to install and configure 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.

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.

These steps are described in the following sections.

B.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
Recording a Response File

B.2.1 Editing a Response File Template

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

Table B-1 lists the response files provided with this software:

Table B-1 Response files for Oracle Grid Infrastructure

Response File	Description
`crs_install.rsp`	Silent installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure installations

Caution:

When you modify a response file template and save a file for use, the response file may contain plain text passwords. Ownership of the response file should be given to the Oracle software installation owner only. Oracle strongly recommends that database administrators or other administrators delete or secure response files when they are not in use.

To copy and modify a response file:

Copy the response file from the response file directory to a directory on your system.
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 on creating response files
Follow the instructions in the file to edit it.

Note:
The installer or configuration assistant fails if you do not correctly configure the response file.
Secure the response file.

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 ORA_DBA group and the Administrators group. Ensure that only the Oracle software owner user can view or modify response files or consider deleting the modified response file after the installation succeeds.

B.2.2 Recording a Response File

You can use the installer in interactive mode to record a response file, which you can edit and then use to complete silent mode or response file mode installations. This method is useful for customized or software-only installations. 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.

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), 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 it starts to copy the software to the server.

Note:

Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) does not record passwords in the response file.

To record a response file:

Complete preinstallation tasks as for a normal installation.

When you 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 a user that is a member of the local Administrators group. Ensure that this user (the Oracle Grid Infrastructure software owner) 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 will stop, but the settings you have entered will be recorded in the response file.
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.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.

To run the installer using a response file:

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.

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 Net Configuration Assistant Using a Response File

You can run 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. To run NETCA in silent mode, you must copy and edit a response file template. Oracle provides a response file template named netca.rsp in the database\inventory\response directory in the Oracle home directory after installation or in the database\response directory on the installation media.

To run NETCA using a response file:

Copy the netca.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 response directory.
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 a Response File

Use the following sections to create and run a response file configuration after installing Oracle software.

B.5.1 About the Postinstallation Configuration File

When you run a silent or response file installation, 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. The configuration assistants are started with a script called configToolAllCommands. You can run this script in response file mode by creating and using a password response file. The script uses the passwords to run the configuration tools in succession to complete configuration.

If you keep the password file to use for clone installations, then Oracle strongly recommends that you store it in a secure location. In addition, if you have to stop an installation to fix an error, then you can run the configuration assistants using configToolAllCommands and a password response file.

The configToolAllCommands password response file consists of the following syntax 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:

oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=myPassWord

Oracle strongly recommends that you maintain security with a password response file.

B.5.2 Running Postinstallation Configuration Using a Response File

To run 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.
Example B-1 Password response file for Oracle Grid Infrastructure Installation

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. Provide the following response file:
```
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMPASSWORD=password
oracle.assistants.asm|S_ASMMONITORPASSWORD=password
oracle.crs|S_BMCPASSWORD=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.

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