Oracle9i (9.2.0.4.0) Installation on RedHat Advanced Server 4.1 And Centos 4.1
This article is intended as a brief guide to installing Oracle9i (9.2.0.4.0) on RedHat Advanced Server 4.1 And Centos 4.1. The article is based on a server installation with a minimum of 2G swap, secure Linux disabled and the following package groups installed:

X Window System
GNOME Desktop Environment
Editors
Graphical Internet
Server Configuration Tools
Development Tools
Administration Tools
System Tools
Alternative base installations may require additional packages to be loaded.

Download Software
Unpack Files
Hosts File
Set Kernel Parameters
Setup
Installation
Post Installation
Download Software
Download the Oracle installation files from otn.oracle.com.

Download two additional packages from Metalink Patch 4198954.

Unpack Files
First unzip the files:

gunzip ship_9204_linux_disk1.cpio.gz
gunzip ship_9204_linux_disk2.cpio.gz
gunzip ship_9204_linux_disk3.cpio.gz
Next unpack the contents of the files:

cpio -idmv < ship_9204_linux_disk1.cpio
cpio -idmv < ship_9204_linux_disk2.cpio
cpio -idmv < ship_9204_linux_disk3.cpio
unzip p4198954_21_LINUX.zip
You should now have three directories (Disk1, Disk2 and Disk3) containing installation files and a patch directory (4198954).

Hosts File
The /etc/hosts file must contain a fully qualified name for the server:

<IP-address>  <fully-qualified-machine-name>  <machine-name>
Set Kernel Parameters
Add the following lines to the /etc/sysctl.conf file:

kernel.shmmax = 2147483648
kernel.shmmni = 100
kernel.shmall = 2097152
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 100 256 100 100
fs.file-max = 327679
kernel.hostname   = Centos42.localdomain  #<--- full qualified hostname !!
kernel.domainname = localdomain           #<--- correct domain name !!
Run the following command to change the current kernel parameters:
/sbin/sysctl -p
Add the following lines to the /etc/security/limits.conf file:

oracle soft nofile 65536
oracle hard nofile 65536
oracle soft nproc 16384
oracle hard nproc 16384
Setup
Metalink Note: 303859.1 states that the following packages are required by Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4.1:

compat-db-4.1.25-9
compat-gcc-32-3.2.3-47.3
compat-gcc-32-c++-3.2.3-47.3
compat-oracle-rhel4-1.0-3
compat-libcwait-2.0-1
compat-libgcc-296-2.96-132.7.2
compat-libstdc++-296-2.96-132.7.2
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.3
gcc-3.4.3-9.EL4
gcc-c++-3.4.3-9.EL4
gnome-libs-1.4.1.2.90-44
gnome-libs-devel-1.4.1.2.90-44
libaio-devel-0.3.102-1
libaio-0.3.102-1
make-3.80-5
openmotif21-2.1.30-11
xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-devel-6.8.1-23.EL
xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6.8.1-23.EL
Depending on the update/respin version of Red Hat or CentOS, the exact package versions and locations may vary. The installation of the required packages is shown below, with the locations relevant for CentOS 4.1.

# Centos 4.1 Disk 1
cd /media/cdrom/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33-3*
rpm -Uvh xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6*
rpm -Uvh make-3*

# Centos 4.1 Disk 2
cd /media/cdrom/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh compat-db*
rpm -Uvh gcc-3*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-3*
rpm -Uvh gnome-libs-1*
rpm -Uvh freetype-devel*
rpm -Uvh fontconfig-devel*
rpm -Uvh xorg-x11-devel*
rpm -Uvh xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-devel-6*

# Centos 4.1 Disk 3
cd /media/cdrom/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh compat-gcc-32-3*
rpm -Uvh compat-gcc-32-c++-3*
rpm -Uvh compat-libgcc-296-2*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-296-2*
rpm -Uvh gnome-libs-devel-1*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0*
rpm -Uvh openmotif21-2*
Install the packages associated with Patch 4198954:

cd 4198954
rpm -Uvh compat-oracle-rhel4-1*
rpm -Uvh compat-libcwait-2*
Create the new groups and users:

groupadd oinstall
groupadd dba
groupadd oper
groupadd apache

useradd -g oinstall -G dba oracle
passwd oracle

useradd -g oinstall -G apache apache
passwd apache
Create the directories in which the Oracle software will be installed:

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/product/9.2.0
chown -R oracle.oinstall /u01
Login as the oracle user and add the following lines at the end of the .bash_profile file:

# Oracle 9i
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/9.2.0; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH
ORACLE_OWNER=oracle; export ORACLE_OWNER
ORACLE_SID=TSH1; export ORACLE_SID

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib
CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:$ORACLE_HOME/network/jlib; export CLASSPATH

LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.4.19; export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL
TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR
Save the .bash_profile file and re-login as the oracle user. Make sure the .bash_profile ran correctly by issuing the following command:

set | more
Installation
Log into the oracle user. If you are using X emulation then set the DISPLAY environmental variable:

DISPLAY=<machine-name>:0.0; export DISPLAY
Start the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) by issuing the following command in the Disk1 directory:

./runInstaller
During the installation enter the appropriate ORACLE_HOME and name then continue as normal. For a more detailed look at the installation process, click on the links below to see screen shots of each stage.

Welcome
Inventory Location
UNIX Group Name
UNIX Group Name Privileges Dialog
File Locations
Available Products
Installation Types
Database Configuration
Database Identification
Database File Location
Database Character Set
Summary
Install
Setup Privileges
Configuration Tools
Database Configuration Assistant
Database Configuration Assistant Passwords
End Of Installation
Post Installation
Once the instance is created edit the /etc/oratab file setting the restart flag for each instance to 'Y':

TSH1:/u01/app/oracle/product/9.2.0:Y
Create a file called /etc/init.d/dbora containing the following:

#!/bin/sh
# description: Oracle auto start-stop script.
# chkconfig: - 20 80
#
# Set ORA_HOME to be equivalent to the $ORACLE_HOME
# from which you wish to execute dbstart and dbshut;
#
# Set ORA_OWNER to the user id of the owner of the
# Oracle database in ORA_HOME.
ORA_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/9.2.0
ORA_OWNER=oracle
if [ ! -f $ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart ]
then
    echo "Oracle startup: cannot start"
    exit
fi
case "$1" in
    'start')
        # Start the Oracle databases:
        # The following command assumes that the oracle login
        # will not prompt the user for any values
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/lsnrctl start"
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c $ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart
        ;;
    'stop')
        # Stop the Oracle databases:
        # The following command assumes that the oracle login
        # will not prompt the user for any values
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c $ORA_HOME/bin/dbshut
        su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/lsnrctl stop"
        ;;
esac
Use chmod to set the privileges to 750:

chmod 750 /etc/init.d/dbora
Link the file into the appropriate run-level script directories:

ln -s /etc/init.d/dbora /etc/rc0.d/K10dbora
ln -s /etc/init.d/dbora /etc/rc3.d/S99dbora
Associate the dbora service with the appropriate run levels:

chkconfig --level 345 dbora on
The relevant instances should now startup/shutdown automatically at system startup/shutdown