CHAPTER 5. Creating an Initial Oracle7 Database and Instance and Initializing Base Tables
There is nothing permanent except change.
Heraclitus
This chapter describes how to use ORACLEINS to create an initial Oracle7 database and instance. It has the following topics:
The following figure shows the ORACLEINS menu structure; the highlighted boxes indicate the steps taken in setting up the database.
Figure 5-1 Installation
Creating an Initial Instance
This section has the following topics:
Configuring the Database
1. From the Main Menu of ORACLEINS, select Option 2, "Instance Creation, Startup, and Shutdown Menu".
2. Select Option 1, "Create a New Instance and Database," from the Instance Creation, Startup, and Shutdown Menu.
You are prompted for the system identifier (SID) for the instance you are creating.
3. Enter a unique initial instance SID that has a maximum of six alphanumeric characters, the first of which must be an alphabetic character. The underscore character ("_") is also a valid character.
You are prompted for the database name.
4. Enter a unique database name of eight alphanumeric characters or less.
The Oracle7 server database configuration menu called the RDBMSDB Configuration Options Menu appears.
5. Consider each configuration option carefully and enter the value appropriate for your system.
We recommend that you put your log files on drives separate from that on which your database files reside. This increases your ability to recover from media failure, and improves database performance.
In addition, verify that your log files are large enough for the expected level or intensity of database updates and that the MAX parameters are set with future expansion in mind. For issues regarding the default character set, see the next session on "Choosing a Default Language".
Note: Do not simply select the current values. The configuration options you select will have serious consequences in the way your Oracle system works. For more information about the options, see Appendix A.
6. Enter E to exit the RDBMSDB Configuration Options menu and start database setup.
A message that lists the parameters you selected appears.
After ORACLEINS creates the database administration directory and scripts for managing the database, the following line appears:
Do you want to continue (Y/N)? [Y]
7. Enter [RETURN] to accept the default.
ORACLEINS creates and initializes a new Oracle7 database and starts the instance in exclusive mode.
Note: This operation can take a long time. The length of time depends on the size of your data files, the options you chose, and the speed of your machine.
When the initial database and instance creation is complete, what occurs next depends on whether errors are found.
- If no errors are found, the following occurs:
Looking for fatal errors in log file:
%SEARCH-I-NOMATCHES, no strings matched
Press [RETURN] to continue
Then, press [RETURN] to return to the Instance Creation, Startup, and Shutdown Menu, and enter E to return to the Main Menu.
- If a fatal error is found, look in the files ORA_DB:CREATE_<dbname>.LOG and/or ORA_DUMP:<node>_<sid>_ALERT.LOG
for additional information or errors raised that led to the fatal error.
Choosing a Default Language
Before you choose a default language for the database, you need to understand the language requirements of your users. The character set used to create the database must be able to accommodate any possible user session translations needed by your users.
For instance, if you choose the default US7ASCII (a 7-bit character set), the database will not be able to store data entered in an 8-bit or multibyte language. However, if you choose an 8-bit or multibyte language, such as one in the list below, then your users will also be able to use an 8-bit European language or multibyte for their own session.
Additional Information: The following table lists some of the supported 8-bit character sets. Refer to Appendix A in the Oracle7 for OpenVMS Server and Tools Administrator's Guide for a complete list of supported character sets.
| Some 8-Bit Character Sets Supported
| Description
|
| WE8EBCDIC37
| EBCDIC Code Page 37 8-bit West European
|
| WE8EBCDIC500
| EBCDIC Code Page 500 8-bit West European
|
| WE8ISO8859P1
| ISO 8859-1 West European
|
| WE8DEC
| DEC 8-bit West European
|
| WE8HP
| HP LaserJet 8-bit West European
|
| US8PC437
| IBM-PC Code Page 437 8-bit American
|
| WE8PC850
| IBM-PC Code Page 850 8-bit West European
|
| WE8MACROMAN8
| Mac Extended ROMAN 8 8-bit West European
|
Building Database Tables
Follow these steps to build and upgrade the database tables.
1. From the ORACLEINS Main Menu, select Option 3, "Build or Upgrade Database Tables Menu".
2. A list of Oracle products appears. Some of the products are distributed with demonstration files, online help, and system tables that are created after the product is installed.
If you want to "Build database tables for All products," enter A, unless you are performing an installation for a client machine only.
If you do not want to build database tables for all products, enter a product number for each product for which you want to create database tables.
The following message appears for each product:
Do you want to Initialize or Upgrade the system tables? [I/U]
3. Enter I to initialize system tables.
The following query appears:
Do you want to create the demo tables? [Y/N]
4. If you want to create demo tables for this product, enter Y.
5. When all desired products have been selected, enter E to exit the Build or Upgrade Database Tables menu and to build the system and demo tables.
During this process you are prompted to enter information, such as Oracle usernames and passwords. The default SYSTEM password is MANAGER. The default SYS password is CHANGE_ON_INSTALL.
At the end of this process, you are prompted to press [RETURN].
Note: During the building process, you may receive messages such as the following. These are normal messages and can be ignored.
No data to load for AROPT
No data to load for DDBEXT
ORA-942, table or view does not exist
ORA-1432, public synonym to be dropped does not exist