Installing Oracle Database XE on a Linux Platform

Swap File Space

Depending on the amount of RAM in your workstation, you must have additional swap file space allocated for both the installation process and for Oracle Database XE while it runs. Table 27-2 shows the memory range and the corresponding minimum swap file space requirements.

Table 27-2. Minimum Linux Swap Space Requirements  

Use thefree command to see the current amount of allocated swap file space. To allocate a new swap file using either a disk partition or a regular file, see the Linux Code Inline pages for themkswapandswaponcommands. Be sure to allocate enough swap space to accommodate the needs of the other applications you run on your workstation.

System Privileges

Finally, you must install Oracle Database XE logged in asroot. Access to therootaccount (or equivalent) is required to adjust system parameters and swap file space as well.

Downloading the Installation Files

Navigate to the Oracle Web site download area for Oracle Database XE, http://www.oracle.com/ technology/software/products/database/xe/ index.html, and follow the links to download the Linux version of Oracle Database XE. Registration for OTN is required and gives you access to many other resources onhttp://otn.oracle.com. The Linux version will run fine on the distributions mentioned earlier in this chapter. The installation may work on other Linux distributions, but proceed at your own risk.

There are two installation files available,oracle-xe-10.2.0.1-1.0.i386.rpmandoracle-xe_ 10.2.0.1-1.0_i386.deb. As you might expect, the first one works with all Linux distributions except for Debian; and the second one is specifically for the Debian package manager. (The Debian package manager is similar in many ways to the Red Hat package manager.) If you are going to access Oracle Database XE on the same computer where you installed it, you do not need to install the client files.