- Configuring oracle client in linux
- D.1 About Choosing the SQL*Plus Instant Client to Install
- D.1.1 Basic Instant Client
- D.1.2 Lightweight Instant Client
- D.2 About Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client by Downloading from OTN
- D.2.1 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from Linux RPM Packages
- D.2.2 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from the UNIX or Windows Zip Files
- D.2.3 List of Files Required for SQL*Plus Instant Client
- D.3 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from the 19c Client Release Media
- D.3.1 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client on UNIX or Linux
- D.3.2 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client on Windows
- D.4 About Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client
- D.4.1 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Linux (from RPMs)
- D.4.2 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Linux (from Client Media or Zip File) and UNIX
- D.4.3 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Windows
- D.5 About Connecting to a Database with SQL*Plus Instant Client
- D.6 AS SYSDBA or AS SYSOPER Connections with SQL*Plus Instant Client
- D.7 About Uninstalling Instant Client
- D.7.1 Uninstalling SQL*Plus Instant Client
- D.7.2 Uninstalling the Complete Instant Client
Configuring oracle client in linux
SQL*Plus Instant Client is a standalone product with all the functionality of SQL*Plus command-line. It connects to existing remote Oracle databases, but does not include its own database. It is easy to install and uses significantly less disk space than the full Oracle Database Client installation required to use SQL*Plus command-line.
SQL*Plus Instant Client is available on platforms that support the OCI Instant Client. See About OCI Instant Client for more information on the OCI Instant Client.
To install SQL*Plus Instant Client, you need two packages:
- SQL*Plus Instant Client package.
- Either the Basic OCI Instant Client package, or the lightweight OCI Instant Client package.
D.1 About Choosing the SQL*Plus Instant Client to Install
SQL*Plus Instant Client can be installed in two ways:
- Download the packages from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).
- Copy the same files that are in the packages from an Oracle Database 19 c Client Administrator installation.
Both the SQL*Plus and OCI packages must be from the same Oracle Database version.
D.1.1 Basic Instant Client
SQL*Plus Instant Client using the Basic OCI package works with any NLS_LANG setting supported by the Oracle Database. It supports all character sets and language settings available in the Oracle Database.
D.1.2 Lightweight Instant Client
SQL*Plus Instant Client using the lightweight OCI package displays error messages in English only and supports only specific character sets. It is significantly smaller than SQL*Plus Instant Client using the Basic OCI package.
Valid values for NLS_LANG parameters with the lightweight Instant Client are:
- language can be any valid language supported by the Oracle Database, however, error messages are only reported in English.
- territory can be any valid territory supported by the Oracle Database.
- charset is one of the following character sets:
- US7ASCII
- WE8DEC
- WE8MSWIN1252
- WE8ISO8859P1
- UTF8
- AL16UTF16
- AL32UTF8
NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8
D.1.2.1 Lightweight SQL*Plus Instant Client Error with Unsupported Character Set
Attempting to start SQL*Plus Instant Client with an unsupported character set will fail with the following error:
Error 5 initializing SQL*Plus NLS initialization error
D.2 About Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client by Downloading from OTN
The OTN downloads for Linux are RPM packages. The OTN downloads for UNIX and Windows are zip files.
The SQL*Plus Instant Client package should never be installed on an ORACLE_HOME.
D.2.1 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from Linux RPM Packages
- Download the RPM packages containing the SQL*Plus Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page. Both packages must be from the same version.
D.2.2 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from the UNIX or Windows Zip Files
- Download the zip files containing the SQL*Plus Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page. Both packages must be from the same version.
D.2.3 List of Files Required for SQL*Plus Instant Client
Tables E-1, E-2 and E-3 list the required files from each of the SQL*Plus and OCI packages. The files from only one of the OCI packages are required. Other files installed that are not listed here can be ignored, or can be removed to save disk space.
Table D-1 Instant Client Files in the SQL*Plus Package
SQL*Plus data shared library
Table D-2 Instant Client Files in the Basic OCI Package
OCI Instant Client data shared Library
OCI Instant Client data shared library
Table D-3 Instant Client Files in the Lightweight OCI Package
OCI Instant Client data shared library (English only)
D.3 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from the 19c Client Release Media
- Run the installer on the Oracle Database 19 c Client Release media and choose the Administrator option.
D.3.1 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client on UNIX or Linux
To install SQL*Plus Instant Client using the Basic OCI package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:
$ORACLE_HOME/instantclient/libociei.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libclntsh.so.19.1 $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libnnz19.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libsqlplus.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libsqlplusic.so $ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlplus
To install SQL*Plus Instant Client using the lightweight OCI package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:
$ORACLE_HOME/instantclient/light/libociicus.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libclntsh.so.19.1 $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libnnz19.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libsqlplus.so $ORACLE_HOME/lib/libsqlplusic.so $ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlplus
D.3.2 Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client on Windows
To install SQL*Plus Instant Client using the Basic OCI package on Windows, copy the following files:
ORACLE_HOME\instantclient\oraociei12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\oci.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\orannzsbb12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\orasqlplusic12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\sqlplus.exe
To install SQL*Plus Instant Client using the lightweight OCI package on Windows, copy the following files:
ORACLE_HOME\instantclient\light\oraociicus12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\oci.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\orannzsbb12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\orasqlplusic12.dll ORACLE_HOME\bin\sqlplus.exe
D.4 About Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client
The SQL*Plus Instant Client executable should only be used with the matching version of the OCI Instant Client.
Note that no ORACLE_HOME or ORACLE_SID environment variables need to be set.
D.4.1 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Linux (from RPMs)
The RPMs downloaded from OTN install into Oracle specific sub-directories in the /usr file system. The sub-directory structure enables multiple versions of Instant Client to be available.
- Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client libraries to LD_LIBRARY_PATH. Remove any other Oracle directories.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/19.1/client/lib:$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
If you install multiple versions of SQL*Plus, you may need to change the symbolic link /usr/bin/sqlplus to the version of SQL*Plus matching the libraries in LD_LIBRARY_PATH. For 19.1, /usr/bin/sqlplus is a symbolic link to the SQL*Plus binary at /usr/lib/oracle/19.1/client/bin/sqlplus .
NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8 export NLS_LANG
D.4.2 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Linux (from Client Media or Zip File) and UNIX
- Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client files to the appropriate shared library path LD_LIBRARY_PATH, LIBPATH or SHLIB_PATH. Remove any other Oracle directories.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/instantclient_19_1:$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
PATH=/home/instantclient_19_1:$ export PATH
NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8 export NLS_LANG
D.4.3 Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Windows
The environment may be configured using SET commands in a Windows command prompt or made permanent by setting Environment Variables in System Properties.
For example, to set environment variables in Windows 2000 using System Properties, open System from the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab and then click Environment Variables.
- Add the directory containing the Instant Client files to the PATH system environment variable. Remove any other Oracle directories from PATH.
If you have installed the lightweight Instant Client, see Lightweight Instant Client for information about supported NLS_LANG settings.
D.5 About Connecting to a Database with SQL*Plus Instant Client
SQL*Plus Instant Client is always ‘remote’ from any database server. To connect to a database you must specify the database using an Oracle Net connection identifier.
An example using an Easy Connection identifier to connect to the HR schema in the MYDB database running on mymachine is:
sqlplus hr/your_password@\"//mymachine.mydomain:port/MYDB\"
Alternatively you can use a Net Service Name:
sqlplus hr/your_password@MYDBNet Service Names can be stored in a number of places, including LDAP. The use of LDAP is recommended to take advantage of the new features of Oracle Database 12c. See Local Naming Parameters in the tnsnames.ora Filefor more information.
If you want to use Net Service Names configured in a local Oracle Net tnsnames.ora file, then set the environment variable TNS_ADMIN to the directory containing the tnsnames.ora file. For example, on UNIX, if your tnsnames.ora file is in /home/user1 and it defines the Net Service Name MYDB2:
TNS_ADMIN=/home/user1 export TNS_ADMIN sqlplus hr@MYDB2
If TNS_ADMIN is not set, then an operating system dependent set of directories is examined to find tnsnames.ora . This search path includes looking in the directory specified by the ORACLE_HOME environment variable for network/admin/tnsnames.ora . This is the only reason to set the ORACLE_HOME environment variable for SQL*Plus Instant Client. If ORACLE_HOME is set when running Instant Client applications, it must be set to a directory that exists.
This example assumes the ORACLE_HOME environment variable is set, and the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora or ORACLE_HOME\network\admin\tnsnames.ora file defines the Net Service Name MYDB3:
The TWO_TASK (on UNIX) or LOCAL (on Windows) environment variable can be set to a connection identifier. This removes the need to explicitly enter the connection identifier whenever a connection is made in SQL*Plus or SQL*Plus Instant Client. This UNIX example connects to the database known as MYDB4:
TNS_ADMIN=/home/user1 export TNS_ADMIN TWO_TASK=MYDB4 export TWO_TASK sqlplus hr
On Windows, TNS_ADMIN and LOCAL may be set in the System Properties. See Configuring SQL*Plus Instant Client on Windows.
D.6 AS SYSDBA or AS SYSOPER Connections with SQL*Plus Instant Client
To connect AS SYSDBA or AS SYSOPER to perform DBA tasks, you need to set up an Oracle password file on the database server using the database’s orapwd utility. Once this is configured, your SQL*Plus Instant Client connection string might look something like:
sqlplus sys@MYDB AS SYSDBA
See Using Password File Authenticationfor information on Oracle password files.
D.7 About Uninstalling Instant Client
The SQL*Plus Instant Client package can be removed separately from the OCI Instant Client. After uninstalling the SQL*Plus Instant Client package, the remaining OCI Instant Client libraries enable custom written OCI programs or third party database utilities to connect to a database.
D.7.1 Uninstalling SQL*Plus Instant Client
- For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use rpm -e only on the SQL*Plus Instant Client package
or For installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually remove the following SQL*Plus specific files:
Table D-4 Instant Client Files in the SQL*Plus Package
UNIX Windows Description sqlplus sqlplus.exe SQL*Plus executable libsqlplus.so not applicable SQL*Plus library libsqlplusic.so orasqlplusic12.dll SQL*Plus data shared library D.7.2 Uninstalling the Complete Instant Client
- For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use rpm -qa to find the SQL*Plus Instant Client and Basic OCI package names and run rpm -e to remove them
or For installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually delete the directory containing the SQL*Plus executable and Oracle libraries. See Installing SQL*Plus Instant Client from the 12c Client Release Media for a list of the files you copied to the directory.