Setting Up An AWS 95 Server For ORACLE7 for A/UX Desktop
Victor Grigorieff
September 20, 1993 Apple A/UX 3.0.1
Revised 10/28/93 by Victor Grigorieff
This bulletin explains how to configure an Apple Workgroup Server (AWS) 95
(running A/UX 3.0.1) for use with the product "ORACLE7 Server for A/UX
version 7.0". This document contains information which details steps to
follow before installing any Oracle software.
Note: This document describes the installation process for A/UX 3.0.1.
The process will most likely be different with future versions of
A/UX.
This document does not assume that the reader has UNIX experience, but it
does assume that the reader has basic Macintosh experience.
Conventions used in this Bulletin
---------------------------------
* Directories: On the Macintosh, people are familiar with folders.
Every Macintosh (running the English language) has by
default a folder named "System Folder". A file can be
referenced by a full path description. An example path
on a Macintosh would be: "Macintosh HD:Word Processing:My
Letter". This path would refer to a file named "My
Letter", in the "Word Processing" folder of the disk
named "Macintosh HD".
Under A/UX's Macintosh environment, the hard disk is
named "/". Under A/UX, and example path would look
like: "/:Word Processing:My Letter"
On UNIX, people are familiar with directories.
All directories are inside the root directory, "/".
An example path would be "/users/oracle/dbs
/initSAMP.ora".
* Userid: A userid is an account on a UNIX computer. To log into
a UNIX computer, you must provide a user name and the
appropriate password. Once you have logged into a UNIX
computer, you have access to all of the programs and files
to which that user id has access.
The super user, "root", has access to all files and
programs. Be very careful when you are logged in as that
user.
* Processes: A process is a running image of an executable program.
On the AWS 95, you can run 300 processes at once by
default. Before you log in, A/UX already has several
processes active, performing system functions.
When you run the CommandShell application (or telnet to
the AWS 95), a shell process is started to accept the
commands you type. If you run a UNIX program, a separate
process is created for that program, and will run until
it exits or is killed.
On UNIX systems, some programs and files are accessible
only by certain users. In general, a process runs with
the same permissions as the user who created it. If you
set the setuid bit on a program, no matter who runs the
program, the process will run with the same permissions
as the owner of the program. Some Oracle programs must
run with the setuid bit set.
Sometimes processes on UNIX computers will get into a
state where they will never exit on their own, and will
need to be killed by the system administrator.
* Shell: A shell is a program that looks at the commands you type,
and performs the appropriate tasks. There are several
shells available on A/UX, each with different features.
The root user uses the Bourne shell (/bin/sh). All of
the other users use the C-shell (/bin/csh). The
different shells have different command languages, so
some commands will work in one shell and not others.
Each user has a default shell which A/UX will run when
they log in.
The shell is run each time you bring up a new window in
the CommandShell application.
* Arguments an argument is an option that you can specify at the time
you invoke a UNIX command that affects the way that
command behaves. When you read the description of a UNIX
command, it will list the various options available. If
you were interested in the -a, -b, and -c options, you
could use the command "some_command -a -b -c" or
"some_command -abc".
* Environment An environment is a set of variables and their values.
You can view the current environment with the command
'env'. From time to time, you will need to set
environment variables to have different values.
* Path A path is a list of directories where UNIX will look for
an executable program. Any command which is not a shell
command will be looked for in each of the directories in
the path. People usually add the directory which
contains the oracle programs to their path to have access
to the oracle tools.
* TextEditor On UNIX computers, you will often have the need to edit
text files. People who are familiar with UNIX tend to
prefer 'vi' which is a standard UNIX text editor. People
who are familiar with the Macintosh tend to use the
Macintosh-based "TextEditor" from the Macintosh
environment of the AWS 95. Text Editor is located in "/:
Applications" and behaves much like TeachText, except you
can edit multiple documents at a time.
You may log in to the console of the AWS 95, and simply
double-click on a text file to bring up TextEditor to
edit that file.
* Commando The term Commando refers to the way A/UX brings up a
dialog box with a Macintosh interface to common UNIX
commands. You do not need to know anything about
Commando except that it is there, and can make your life
a lot easier. You must be logged into the Macintosh
environment of the AWS 95 for this option to be
available. You can also bring up the Commando interface
from within the CommandShell by typing a command, and
hitting command-K instead of enter.
The Workgroup Server 95
-----------------------
The Apple Workgroup Server 95 (AWS 95) is a Macintosh Quadra 950 with
special hardware additions, and an enhanced version of the UNIX operating
system, A/UX 3.0.1.
The AWS 95 has a PDS (Processor Direct Slot) card on its main logic board. This
card provides faster access to the main memory by using a static RAM cache.
The PDS card also provides two extra SCSI buses which are capable of DMA
(Direct Memory Access). These two extra SCSI buses are significantly
faster than the buses on the main logic board of the computer, and should be used
for the drives that contain the database files.
A/UX 3.0.1 is a mix of System V release 2 UNIX, and the Macintosh System
Software. When the computer first boots, it reads a Macintosh Partition of
the boot disk, and loads the standard Macintosh operating system. A/UX
3.0.1 is then launched by a program called "A/UX Startup". The "A/UX
Startup" application unloads the Macintosh operating system and loads in
the UNIX operating system. This process is usually automated by placing an
alias to the "A/UX Startup" program into the "Startup Items" folder of the
System Folder on the Macintosh Partition.
Once the AWS 95 is started under A/UX, there will be a dialog box to log
in. When A/UX is first installed, you can log in with the username 'root'
with no password. Once you have logged in, the AWS will look like a normal
Macintosh. You can then run normal Macintosh applications, including
Oracle tools that can connect to the UNIX-based database.
When you are logged in to the console (actually sitting at the computer) and
using the AWS 95's Macintosh environment, the AWS is allocating UNIX memory
to run the Macintosh environment. You can adjust the amount of memory
allocated to this finder environment by adjusting the Virtual Memory size,
under the Memory Control Panel. When logged in as root, choose "Control
Panels" from the Apple menu (the picture of the apple in the upper-left
corner of the screen). Then you can double-click on the Memory icon. You
will see a setting called "After Logout" which has arrows to change the
number. By default this is set at 16 Megabytes. If you do not intend to
run large applications in the Macintosh environment of the AWS, then you can
safely set the size down to 8 Megabytes.
The AWS follows this chain of events when it starts up.
AWS 95 is powered off.
| ( User turns key to the right, or hits the
V power key on the keyboard)
AWS 95 has started up from the MacPartition,
and is running Macintosh System 7 software.
| ( User runs "A/UX Startup" program,
V or A/UX Startup aliased in Startup Items folder)
AWS 95 is running UNIX.
* Remote users can log in with telnet.
* Oracle databases may be started if configured to do so.
| ( User logs into console of the AWS 95 by entering
V UNIX userid and password - root is the superuser)
AWS 95 is running Macintosh Finder under A/UX
* User can now run Macintosh applications, like Oracle Tools.
* User can now insert and mount CD-ROM disks, allowing her/him
to run the A/UX Installer from the ORACLE7 CD Install.
* The AWS is now running like it should be for day-to-day use.
| ( User chooses Logout from the Special menu )
V
AWS 95 is still running UNIX, but memory used by the Macintosh
environment has been freed, allowing more memory to be used
by other services, like the Oracle database(s).
| ( User chooses | ( *WARNING -- this is an emergency measure:
| Shut Down from | User turns key to the left.
| Special menu) | This forces powerdown of the AWS 95.
| | If it still does not power down, try
| This is normal. | hitting button with the triangle on it.
| |
V V
AWS 95 is powered down.
Installing A/UX on the AWS 95
-----------------------------
A/UX is usually installed on the AWS 95 when it arrives from Apple. You
MUST install another option before you can successfully install the Oracle7
Server for A/UX.
To Install A/UX:
* Power down the AWS 95.
* Insert the floppy disk labelled "Apple Workgroup Server 95
Installation Boot Disk"
* Insert the CD-ROM disk labelled
"System Software Installer Database Service Environment"
* Power up the AWS 95.
An A/UX installation consists of 3 parts:
* Disk Setup
* MacPartion A/UX Startup Files
* A/UX Software Setup
You will want to do custom installs on Disk Setup and A/UX Software
Setup. You can do an Easy Install of the Macintosh System Software
Setup.
** Disk Setup
----------
You must partition each of your hard disks for use with A/UX.
There are several kinds of partitions, and each partition of a disk
must have a "Slice Number" assigned to it.
These are the types of slices, and their common uses:
* MacPartition
This is a small portion of the startup disk (4 Megabytes) that
holds a small System Folder. Don't worry about making this
partion any larger, as it only needs to be 4 MB to startup A/UX.
*** When you log into A/UX to run the Macintosh environment,
*** A different System Folder is used. If you want to use any
*** system extensions on your AWS 95's Macintosh environment,
*** you need to place them in /:mac:sys:System Folder.
* Root (Slice 0)
Has the UNIX operating system -- must be present to start A/UX.
If this file system is "dirty", A/UX will not start.
* Swap (Slice 1)
This is a partition which makes up swap space. The UNIX
kernel (name for the core of the UNIX operating system) uses
swap space to complement the physical memory on the computer.
A/UX can move processes from physical memory (RAM) to disk (swap)
to make room for other processes. NEVER try to put a filesystem on
a swap partition.
*** Note: Shared memory cannot be swapped out of main memory
The ORACLE7 SGA uses shared memory. This is discussed
in greater detail in part 2 of this bulletin.
* Usr (Slice 2)
This is a UNIX filesystem which can be mounted on a directory, and
used for UNIX files. When you create a Usr slice using the program
"Apple HD SC Setup", it automatically puts a BSD 4.2 filesystem
on the partition (which is the equivalent of running newfs).
* Free (Slice 3 or higher)
This is a partition with no filesystem on it. It cannot be mounted
unless a filesystem is built on it using newfs (BSD 4.2) or
mkfs (System V)
A/UX supports two kinds of filesystems-- BSD 4.2 and System V.
It is more convenient to use BSD 4.2 filesystems, because they
support longer filenames. BSD 4.2 filesystems are the default.
* Database Partition
This is a partition of the disk with no filesystem on it. You can
configure the A/UX kernel to allow the ORACLE7 database to write
directly to database partitions. Using raw database partitions
can provide better performance, as the rdbms can bypass the UNIX
file buffers. The drawback is that you also bypass the convenient
mechanisms for backing up these partitions. Backing up raw
partitions is more complex than backing up UNIX filesystems.
*** Warning: Raw database partitions are more difficult to back
*** up, and require familiarity with UNIX administration.
You can choose a custom partitioning scheme that best suits your
needs. On a computer with a single 1 Gigabyte hard disk, you might
choose the following partition scheme:
Note: 1 MB is 1 Megabyte, which is 1024K. If you are trying to
figure out how many megabytes are available on a partition,
remember to divide by 1024 (NOT 1000). A partition with
1,000,000 K is actually only 976 MB. This becomes important
when you are adding datafiles to the Oracle database.
Mac Driver 16 K (This is required)
MacPartition 4 MB
Swap (Slice 1) 50 MB
Root (Slice 0) 120 MB
Usr (Slice 2) 825 MB
In this scheme, the database files and executables will be placed on
the UNIX file system on slice 2. This leaves the A/UX operating
system on its own slice 0. It is a very good idea to keep the
database on a separate filesystem from the operating system. If the
Server ever crashes while the rdbms is running, having the rdbms on a
separate filesystem makes the server more likely to start up
properly.
Also note in this scheme we did not use Raw database partitions.
In the process of partitioning disks, it is a good idea to keep a
notebook where you write down all the information for every slice of
every hard disk.
The AWS 95 has 4 separate SCSI buses. For each hard disk and tape
drive, it is important to know the bus number and the SCSI ID. Below
is a listing of the scsi buses.
Bus ID
--------------------- --
Internal main logic board 1
External main logic board 2
* Internal Cache Card 3 (This is the primary bus)
* External Cache Card 4 (Good place for CD-ROM and HD's)
* Indicates that the bus is significantly faster. These buses are
connected to the cache card in the AWS 95. These buses are
capable of DMA (Direct Memory Access). The Fast external port is
the 5th slot from the bottom of the computer. The Slow bus is the
25-pin connector on the right side of the back of the computer, on
the edge.
It is important to know the bus and SCSI ID of your hard disks so you
can configure your system to use those disks. A slice of a hard disk
is referenced by a file in the /dev/dsk directory.
/dev/dsk/cX0Yd0sZ is the generic format for a slice, where:
X refers to the bus number, and
Y refers to the SCSI id, and
Z refers to the slice number.
Examples:
/dev/dsk/c300d0s2 (Usr slice 2, on SCSI id 0 of fast internal bus)
/dev/dsk/c401d0s2 (Usr slice 2, on SCSI id 1 of fast external bus)
/dev/dsk/c302d0s4 (Raw partition 4, on SCSI id 2, of fast internal)
You will need this information when you write the file /etc/fstab,
which is necessary to access more than the default root filesystem.
This information is also necessary if you intend to use raw database
partitions.
** MacPartition A/UX Startup Files
-------------------------------
The default Easy Install options for the MacPartition A/UX Startup
Files are fine.
** A/UX Software Install
---------------------
You ** MUST ** perform a CUSTOM install of A/UX to enable the options
which are REQUIRED for Oracle7 Server for A/UX
It is a good idea to install at least all of the following options:
* Core A/UX System
* More UNIX Utilities
* Networking Capability
* Network Server Capability
* Manual Pages
* Basic C Programming
* Debugging and Version
* Extended C Programming
If you like, you can install every option, and they do fit
comfortably in a partition that is 120 MB.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Installation Tasks
-----------------------
* Once the install is complete, the computer will restart, and the CD
will be ejected. The computer will boot up to a point where it prompts
you to log in.
* Log in with the userid root.
YOU MUST BE ROOT TO PERFORM THE NEXT SET OF TASKS.
* Choose "Control Panels" from the Apple Menu, and double-click on the
"General Controls" control panel. Set the date and time and close the
control panel.
*** It is important to have the date and time set properly before you
*** run Oracle databases.
* Filesystem Setup:
You need to set up your computer to mount the filesystems that were
created when you partitioned the hard disks. When an A/UX computer
boots up, it attempts to mount any filesystems that are listed in the
/etc/fstab file. Initially, the fstab file has one entry:
/dev/dsk/c300d0s0 / ignore rw 1 0
The first three columns are the ones which are important:
/dev/dsk/c300d0s0 This is the disk device file to be mounted. This
particular entry refers to Slice 0 of SCSI ID 0 of
SCSI bus 3, which is the fast internal bus.
(See the Disk Setup section above for more info.
/ This describes where to mount the filesystem. In
this case, the slice is being mounted as the root
of the filesystem. Other directories could be used
as well, like "/data, "/oracle", or "/u1".
ignore This is the type of filesystem to be mounted.
* ignore means that the device should not be mounted
ignore is used for the / partition, as the fstab
file itself is on the / partition, so the /
partition must already be mounted if the file is
being read. ignore is useful as a placeholder in
the file.
*** 4.2 means that the filesystem is the default BSD
4.2 file system created by either newfs, Apple HD
SC Setup, or the A/UX Install process.
*** The Oracle software requires 4.2 filesystems,
*** as the names of some files exceed the limits of
*** System V (5.2) filesystems.
* 5.2 means that the filesystem is a System V
filesystem. A/UX computers do not normally use
these.
* nfs means that the filesystem is actually on an NFS
server. NFS is the Network File Service, which
allows computers to mount filesystems which are on
other computers that are acting as NFS servers.
rw This specifies a readable and writable filesystem,
which is what you want.
1 0 These parameters affect the checking and backing up
of the filesystem, and generally do not need to be
changed.
You will need to add an entry for each filesystem other than '/' that
you intend to use. Before you mount a filesystem, you need to choose
a directory to mount the filesystem on.
Example of setting up a filesystem
----------------------------------
It is convenient to make directories in / which follow a consistent
naming scheme. For the first filesystem, you could call it 'u1', or
any other name you come up with. The name is not important, as long
as you use a consistent naming convention.
*** Note: DO NOT MOUNT FILESYSTEMS on the directory called " Shared
*** Data" because the Oracle database will not be able to handle
*** directories with the spaces in their names.
While logged in to the console of the AWS 95 in the Macintosh
environment, you could double-click on the '/' disk icon, and then
choose "New Folder" from the File menu. You could then type in the
name for the new directory, like 'u1'. At this point you will have
created a directory on which you can mount a filesystem.
Then you need to remember what disk file corresponds to the filesystem
you want to mount. /dev/dsk/c300d0s2 would be the Usr slice 2 of the
hard disk at SCSI ID 0 on bus 3. The filesystem is probably a BSD
4.2 filesystem (this is discussed above), so the filesystem type is
4.2.
You would then add the following line to the file and save the file.
/dev/dsk/c300d0s2 /u1 4.2 rw 1 0
You can use the A/UX command '/etc/fsentry' to automate the editing of
the fstab file. If you type the command from the UNIX prompt, it will
ask you a few questions. If you double-click on the fsentry icon, you
will be presented with a Commando dialog box with your options. In
either case, fsentry will add a line to the /etc/fstab file, and mount
the newly entered filesystem.
At the UNIX prompt, type the following command:
df -B (The -B must be a capital 'B')
You should see output like this:
Filesystem kbytes used avail %used Mounted on
/dev/dsk/c0d0s0 140519 119247 14246 89% /
This means that you have only one filesystem mounted. It is mounted on
/, and it is almost full (89%).
To mount any filesystems you added to the /etc/fstab file, use the
following command:
mount -a
If you see nothing happen that means that it completed successfully,
and that all filesystems listed in the /etc/fstab file are mounted. If
errors reported, you may have made an error identifying a slice of a
disk, or entered a mount point that is not an available directory.
Now the 'df -B' should list several filesystems.
Filesystem kbytes used avail %used Mounted on
/dev/dsk/c0d0s0 140519 119247 14246 89% /
/dev/dsk/c300d0s 637015 12 637003 1% /u1
In this case, the / filesystem is almost full, and does not have
enough room to install an Oracle database. The filesystem mounted on
/u1 has over 600 megabytes available, and would be a good place to
install the Oracle database. When you run the A/UX Installer to
install the database on the server, make sure you are installing in a
directory which is in a filesystem with enough available space. In
this case, I could make a directory called oracle in /u1, and install
the database there.
Note: The sample Oracle installation requires 60 megabytes of space.
* UNIX kernel configuration to enable networking:
If you intend to use TCP/IP, you must configure the UNIX kernel to do
so.
If you are only using SQL*Net AppleTalk (and not TCP/IP), you do not
need to reconfigure the UNIX kernel, and you could skip this section.
Before you attempt this, you need to make sure that no one else is
using the computer, and that you have the following information:
* IP address ( A series of 4 numbers, separated by periods (.) that
identifies the computer on the network. Also called
an Internet address. This unique number is assigned
by your network administrator, and must not be used
by any other computer on the network. An example
address would be 128.20.2.17. )
* Hostname ( A name for the computer on the network. This is
different from the "Macintosh Name" in the "Sharing
Setup" control panel. Hostnames cannot have
punctuation characters in them. Example hostnames
would be "squid", "aws95", or "saleserver". )
* Domain name ( On larger networks, domains may be defined. Most
universities, government agencies, and larger
companies are on the Internet. This large network
is divided into domains. Example domain names would
be "us.oracle.com" or "cs.some_college.edu". It is
useful to know this information, but it is not
required.
*** Note: This has nothing to do with AppleTalk
Zones.)
* Subnet Mask ( A series of 4 numbers, separated by periods (.) that
tells the computer how to broadcast information to
the network. Your network administrator should give
you this information, as an error in this parameter
can cause problems for your computer and others on
the network. The most common masks are 255.255.0.0
and 255.255.255.0. It is extremely rare that a
digit in the mask is anything but 255 or 0. )
* NIS Domain ( Your site may use NIS (Network Information
Services), previously known as yp (Yellow Pages).
This is not required, and will cause problems if not
properly configured. NIS allows your computer to ask
servers on the network for help resolving symbolic
names, delivering electronic mail, and other similar
tasks.
*** Warning: If you configure your computer to use
NIS and a ypserver is not present on your
network, your computer WILL NOT BOOT. If this
happens, you will have to rename /etc/ypbind to
disable yp.
Once you have this information (and have it written down in your log),
you are ready to run the following command:
newconfig bnet
newconfig will ask you several questions. You give it answers based
on the information gathered from your network administrator. In
general, when you are asked "Do you want this computer to be an NIS
client?", you will answer NO. This avoids the problem described in
the warning above.
When newconfig finishes a few minutes later, you should restart the
AWS 95 immediately.
Now the A/UX computer has a properly installed and configured operating
system, and is ready for an Oracle Installation.