Step by Step guide to Install Oracle 11g on Ubuntu VM

After downloading the Ubuntu VMWare image, there were few more quirks to settle.
I had to install NFS and SSH on the machine to make it accessible by ssh from Windows.

Following are the commands:
sudo apt-get install openssh-server openssh-client

sudo apt-get install nfs-kernel-server nfs-common portmap

One of the forums that helped were:
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-492772.html

Now I setup the samba share on this machine

sudo aptitude install samba

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpSamba

After installing the samba, create a directory on the FS which you want to share with Windows or other systems.
Then edit /etc/samba/smb.conf and add these lines to the end

[share_name]
        comment = Share to Linux
        path = /home/user/winshare
        guest ok = yes
        writeable = yes

You can use the following commands to restart the services if needed:
/etc/init.d/nfs-common restart
/etc/init.d/samba restart

Following is a suggested helpful link:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/create-a-samba-user-on-ubuntu/

Process to install the Oracle on Ubuntu starts

This page is particularly helpful and is worth reading every bit:
http://www.pythian.com/blogs/654/installing-oracle-11g-on-ubuntu-linux-710-gutsy-gibbon

It mentions the packages that need to be updated before Oracle Installation.

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade (This would update the packages from the internet and will take sometime)

Anyways follow step by step the instructions in the above link to complete the installation.

At some point of time, you will encounter insufficient disk space in Linux due to which you cannot install Oracle.
To add more disk space to the Linux VM, follow the link below
http://www.matttopper.com/?p=25

I allocated a 20GB SCSI HD to Linux VM and split it into 3 partitions. The FSTAB entries are:
/dev/sdb1 /u01 ext3 defaults 1 1
/dev/sdb2 /oradata ext3 defaults 1 1
/dev/sdb3 /data ext3 defaults 1 1

Also, the Oracle installer needs a GUI. So, you need an X-Server (like eXceed) to complete the installation.
Simply on command prompt, set DISPLAY

For bash- > export DISPLAY=ExceedHostIP:0.0

And then start Exceed on Windows and connect to the IP address of the VM linux. Try 3-4 times to connect as it may error out.

If you get a timeout error, ignore the message and press nothing. Continue with Installation and complete the post-installation steps in
http://www.pythian.com/blogs/654/installing-oracle-11g-on-ubuntu-linux-710-gutsy-gibbon

Good Luck

Installing APEX on Oracle 11g from Database Troubleshooting

I installed Oracle 11g on Oracle Linux from a VM Image. So I am good with Oracle Installation.

Now my interest is to use APEX on this database.

I followed the instructions on the following page:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E10513_01/doc/install.310/e10496/db_install.htm#CBHCDBAB

After the installation is complete and I tried to access
http://localhost:8080/apex/apex_admin, I kept getting username/password for xdb account.
I tried unlocking the account xdb and anonymous using
alter user xdb account unlock;
alter user anonymous account unlock;

It didnt work.

If it works for you then, you will be able to access the site. That site requires admin as username.
You will need to change the password for this user in the database by executing the following command:
sql> @apxxepwd.sql <admin123>
This command is found in $ORACLE_HOME/apex

Then I tried executing apex_epg_config script found in
/ora/db/11.1.0/apex

It asks for a parameter. This parameter should be /ora/db/11.1.0
eg.
sql> @apex_epg_config $ORACLE_HOME

It basically loads the apex images to the database. Instructions for executing this script is not well-documented.

But still the problem remains the same. I am not able to access the website.

Now I stop the listener.
$ lsnrctl stop

and then
$lsnrctl start

Copyright (c) 1991, 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Starting /ora/db/11.1.0/bin/tnslsnr: please wait...

TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 11.1.0.6.0 - Production
System parameter file is /ora/db/11.1.0/network/admin/listener.ora
Log messages written to /ora/diag/tnslsnr/oracle2go/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=oracle2go.us.oracle.com)
(PORT=1521)))
Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521)))

Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=oracle2go.us.oracle.com)
(PORT=1521)))
STATUS of the LISTENER
------------------------
Alias LISTENER
Version TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 11.1.0.6.0 - Production
Start Date 03-FEB-2009 08:26:18
Uptime 0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec
Trace Level off
Security ON: Local OS Authentication
SNMP OFF
Listener Parameter File /ora/db/11.1.0/network/admin/listener.ora
Listener Log File /ora/diag/tnslsnr/oracle2go/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening Endpoints Summary...
(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=oracle2go.us.oracle.com)(PORT=1521))
)
(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC1521)))
The listener supports no services
The command completed successfully

Then waited for 5 minutes. Somehow it didnt work for me the next instant. I think it takes some time to refresh.

Now I can access the
http://localhost:8080/apex website.

The key is to restart the listener after unlocking the xdb account.

There is another page that I hit while searching for the solutions to APEX installation:
http://www.uaex.edu/srea/Application_Express_Installation.htm

Funny Matrix Windows XP Video

I stumbled upon this hilarious Matrix and Windows XP video