Oracle Database Express Edition (XE)

h1. Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition on Linux Ubuntu 11.10 howto

Author: Dude
Version: D
Last modified: 14-Jan-2012
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h2. Purpose

This document outlines instructions how to install Oracle XE under Ubuntu 11.10.

Ubuntu or Debian based Linux is not on the list of supported operation systems according to the Oracle documentation at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17781_01/install.112/e18802/toc.htm. You may want to consider virtualization software like Oracle Virtualbox and install Oracle Enterprise Linux as a free and professional alternative to installing XE under Ubuntu. You can also download pre-build virtual machines that include Oracle XE. You can browse http://otn.oracle.com/community/developer-vm for more information.



h2. Topics
h4. 1) Install Linux Ubuntu
h4. 2) Remote Terminal
h4. 3) Install Additional Software
h4. 4) Managing Swap Space
h4. 5) Modify Kernel Parameters
h4. 6) Oracle Home Directory
...a) Resize the Root Partition
...b) Setup External Storage
h4. 7) ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET
h4. 8) Installing Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition
h4. 9) Post-Installation
h4. 10) Tips and Troubleshooting
...a) Port 1521 appears to be in use by another application
...b) cannot touch `/var/lock/subsys/listener': No such file or directory
...c) ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET
...d) Apex ADMIN password
...e) SYS and SYSTEM password
...f) Uninstall Oracle 11g XE
...g) Reconfigure Oracle 11g XE
...h) Gnome Classic desktop
...i) Unix vi cursor keys
...j) Backup Database
h4. 11) History
h4. 12) References


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h2. 1) Install Linux Ubuntu

The following assumes you have installed Ubuntu 11.10 Desktop Edition for AMD 64-bit, or upgraded from a previous version. Keep in mind that Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition is only available for 64-bit architecture. It is not necessarily a requirement, but I would not bother to install Oracle 11gR2 XE on a system with less than 2 GB of RAM installed. You can download Ubuntu for free at: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu and install it using the default settings provided.

You can apply the latest OS patch-sets by clicking the power button icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen and selecting "Updates available..."

h2. 2) Remote Terminal

You will need command line access to perform the installation tasks. Select the top "Dash Home" button of the Unity toolbar and enter the word "terminal", or use CTRL-ALT-t. If you prefer to open a remote terminal session use SSH. Ubuntu does not come with a secure shell login by default. To install it, use the following command:

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

You cannot login as root unless you set a root password using the "sudo passwd root" command. However, you can get root user access using the "sudo" command, which requires only to re-enter the password of your personal account. Access to "sudo" is controlled by the /etc/sudoers file.

The best way to establish a remote command line session as root is to login with your personal account, e.g.: ssh dude@example.com, and then type "sudo su -" to become root, or use "sudo <command>" to execute individual commands. If your account does not have "sudo" access you can login as root using "su - root", but will need to know the root password.

h2. 3) Install Additional Software

Oracle 11g Express Edition requires additional software that is not installed by default:

sudo apt-get install alien libaio1 unixodbc

h2. 4) Managing Swap Space

Oracle demands that the minimum swap space for Oracle Database XE is 2 GB (2095100 KB) or twice the size of RAM, whichever is lesser. Enter the following shell command to verify your swap space:

cat /proc/meminfo | grep -i swap

SwapCached:            0 kB
SwapTotal:       2095100 kB
SwapFree:        2095100 kB

You can increase available swap space by using a swap file as long as disk space permits. The advantage of a swap file versus a swap partition is flexible space management because you can add or delete swap space on demand as necessary. The following will create and enable an additional 1 GB swap file at system startup, located in the /home directory:

Login as root:

sudo su -

Enter the following commands:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/home/swapfile bs=1024 count=1048576
mkswap /home/swapfile
swapon /home/swapfile
swapon -a

Create a backup of the original "fstab" file and add the new swap file:

cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.backup_`date +%N`
echo '/home/swapfile swap swap defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab

Exit from root and verify the new swap space:

exit
swapon -s

Filename				Type		Size	Used	Priority
/dev/sda5                               partition	2095100	0	-1
/home/swapfile                          file		1048572	0	-2

Swap space is not a substitute for installed RAM. Swap space is a safeguard that allows the system to move idle processes to disk before the OOM killer will begin to terminate processes in order to free up enough real memory to keep the system operational. The general rule for sizing the swap space depends on the size of installed RAM. If your system has less then 4 GB of RAM the swap space should usually be at least twice this size. If you have more than 8 GB of RAM installed you may consider to use an equal size as swap space. The more RAM you have installed, the less likely you are going to run into memory starvation, and the less likely you are going to need swap space, unless you have a bad process.


h2. 5) Modify Kernel Parameters

Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition requires the following Kernel parameters. Enter the commands exactly as shown:

Login as root:

sudo su -

Cut & paste the following directly into a command shell (not a text editor):

cat > /etc/sysctl.d/60-oracle.conf <<-EOF
# Oracle 11g XE kernel parameters
fs.file-max=6815744
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range=9000 65500
kernel.sem=250 32000 100 128
# kernel.shmmax=429496729
kernel.shmmax=107374183
EOF

Load and verify the new kernel parameters:

service procps start
sudo sysctl -q fs.file-max
sudo sysctl -q kernel.shmmax
sudo sysctl -q net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range
sudo sysctl -q kernel.sem 

The SHMMAX kernel parameter defines the upper memory limit of a process. It is a safeguard to stop a bad process from using all memory and causing RAM starvation. The Linux default is 32 MB. The official Oracle XE installation documentation suggests a value of 4 GB -1 bytes (429496729). Since Oracle 11g XE has a 1 GB memory limit, a smaller footprint will be a better safeguard for the complete system. Setting the SHMMAX parameter to 107374183 will be sufficient.

h2. 6) Oracle Home Directory

At the time of this writing, Enterprise Linux 6 is not supported for Oracle database yet. It is therefore not possible to confirm Oracle ext4 filesystem compatibility, which is default in Ubuntu 11. According to various information, ext4 may cause a performance problem for Oracle 11g database. The following will show you how to add a ext3 partition to your existing setup.

h3. 6.a) Resize the Root Partition

Provided you have sufficient free disk space, you should be able to resize the root partition to create an extra ext3 filesystem. Considering the 11 GB user datafile limit of the Express Edition, 18 GB should be more than enough.

You can use the free Gparted Live CD to shrink your startup volume. Gparted downloads are available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/gparted/files/gparted-live-stable. When burning the CD, pay attention to burn the raw .iso image and not the possibly "mounted" image. If you are using a virtual machine like Oracle Virtualbox, you can mount the .iso image directly. There are going to be a few prompts when the system starts from the CD, but you can press Return to accept the defaults.

When the Gparted window appears:

- Select your ext4 root partition, usually /dev/sda1
- Select the "Resize/Move" button from the toolbar. 
- Enter 18000 into the "Free space following" field and press the Return key.
  Be careful not not change the start of the partition! 
- Click the "Resize/Move" of the dialog and then then the "Apply" toolbar button.
  The process may take several minutes - do not abandon it!
- Select the new unallocated free space of ~ 18 GB and push the "New" button. 
- Set the file system to "ext3" and label it "oraclexe" and click the "Add" button. 
  Be sure to label it oraclexe, otherwise the follow-up instructions will fail.
- Finally select "Apply from the toolbar to apply the changes. 
- Quit "Gparted", select "Exit" from the desktop and choose "Reboot" to restart the system.
{code}
After the system has restarted, open a terminal command shell.

Login as root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Backup "fstab" and add the UUID of the partition. The "tr" command remove the quotes:
{code}
cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab_`date +%N`
uuid=`blkid | grep oraclexe | awk '{print $3}'`
uuid=`echo $uuid | tr -d '\042'`
echo $uuid
echo "$uuid  /u01  ext3  errors=remount-ro 0 1" >> /etc/fstab
{code}
The UUID is a unique number and should look similar to:
{code}
UUID=d1db753e-b5dd-4a4c-a61e-259c69867b58
{code}
Restart the system:
{code}
reboot
{code}
Verify the success:
{code}
df -h /u01
{code}

h3. 6.b) Setup External Storage

If you prefer to setup an external drive to install Oracle XE, beware that it can be a fatal mistake to make an entry in /etc/fstab to automount your external storage device.  An unavailable device in /etc/fstab will prevent a system startup and prompt for appropriate actions at the console.

The following is an example of how to prepare an external storage device to be used for Oracle 11g, including a script to automatically mount an external drive at system startup without the disadvantages of /etc/fstab. The script will also take into consideration that a device name might shift if you attach additional devices.

To find out which USB devices are connected:
{code}
sudo parted -l
{code}
Look for the device that matches your USB storage. For example: /dev/sdb1
{code}
Model: USB 2.0 Flash Disk (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 2064MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name     Flags
 1      20.5kB  1929MB  1929MB  hfs+         mystick
{code}
Initialize the device using ext3 filesystem - this will erase all data. The "-c" option will check for bad blocks (read-only), "-L" is the volume label:
{code}
sudo umount /dev/sdb1
sudo mkfs.ext3 -c -L oraclexe /dev/sdb1
{code}
Install the pmount distribution package:
{code}
sudo apt-get install pmount
{code}
Login as root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Cut & paste the following into the command prompt (not a text editor):
{code}
cat > /etc/init.d/oracle-mount <<-EOF
#! /bin/sh
# /etc/init.d/oracle-mount
#
VOL_UUID=alphanumeric
VOL_LABEL=oraclexe
VOL_SYMLINK=/u01
mount=/usr/bin/pmount
#
uuid2dev() {
   VOL_DEVICE="\`blkid | grep \$VOL_UUID | awk '{print \$1}'\`" 
   VOL_DEVICE="\`echo \$VOL_DEVICE | tr -d ':'\`"
   echo \$VOL_DEVICE
}
case "\$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting script /etc/init.d/oracle-mount"
    uuid2dev
    \$mount \$VOL_DEVICE \$VOL_LABEL
    if [ -d /media/\$VOL_LABEL ]; then
       echo "Mount \$VOL_DEVICE success"
       ln -sf /media/\$VOL_LABEL \$VOL_SYMLINK
    else
       echo "Error mouting \$VOL_DEVICE"
    fi
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping script /etc/init.d/oracle-mount"
    uuid2dev
    /bin/umount \$VOL_DEVICE 2>/dev/null
    if [ "\`/usr/bin/pmount | /bin/grep \$VOL_DEVICE\`" ]; then
       echo "Error unmounting \$VOL_DEVICE"
    else
       rm -f \$VOL_SYMLINK
    fi
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/oracle-u01 {start|stop}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac
#
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          oracle-mount
# Required-Start:    \$remote_fs \$syslog
# Required-Stop:     \$remote_fs \$syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Start daemon at boot time
# Description:       Mount hotplug-usb drive and create symlink
### END INIT INFO
EOF
{code}
Install the oracle-mount init script:
{code}
chmod 755 /etc/init.d/oracle-mount
update-rc.d oracle-mount defaults 01 99
{code}
Get the UUID of the volume "oraclexe" and update the VOL_UUID in the init script accordingly:
{code}
uuid=`blkid | grep oraclexe | awk '{print $3}'`
echo $uuid
sed -i "s/^VOL_UUID=.*/VOL_$uuid/g" /etc/init.d/oracle-mount
{code}
The UUID of your device will be a unique number, but should be similar to:
{code}
UUID="3f5e9963-b328-49f3-b3e8-a3561ae34106" 
{code}
Logout of root and test the init script:
{code}
exit
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-mount stop
ls /u01
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-mount start
ls /u01
{code}
Your output should look like:
{code}
Stopping script /etc/init.d/oracle-mount
/dev/sdb1

ls: cannot access /u01: No such file or directory

Starting script /etc/init.d/oracle-mount
/dev/sdb1
Mount /dev/sdb1 success

lost+found
{code}

h2. 7) ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET

Oracle 11gR2 XE under Ubuntu 11.10 will result in "ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET not support on this system" either at Oracle database startup or during the initial installation. Ubuntu 11.10 uses a new version of the "systemd" system and session manager and has migrated away from /dev/shm and other common directories in favor of /run.

There are several ways how to address the problem. You can either enable /dev/shm shared memory, or change the default memory management of Oracle 11g from AMM (Automatic Memory Management) to ASMM (Automatic Shared Memory Management) as it was in used the previous 10g version. Since AMM is one of the new features of 11g, the following will show you how to make to make AMM work.

Login as root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Cut & paste the following into the command prompt (not a text editor):
{code}
cat > /etc/init.d/oracle-shm <<-EOF
#! /bin/sh
# /etc/init.d/oracle-shm
#
#
case "\$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting script /etc/init.d/oracle-shm"
    # Run only once at system startup
    if [ -e /dev/shm/.oracle-shm ]; then
      echo "/dev/shm is already mounted, nothing to do"
    else
      rm -f /dev/shm
      mkdir /dev/shm
      mount -B /run/shm /dev/shm
      touch /dev/shm/.oracle-shm
    fi
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping script /etc/init.d/oracle-shm"
    echo "Nothing to do"
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/oracle-shm {start|stop}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac
#
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          oracle-shm
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $remote_fs $syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6 
# Short-Description: Bind /run/shm to /dev/shm at system startup.
# Description:       Fix to allow Oracle 11g use AMM.
### END INIT INFO
EOF
{code}
Install the oracle-shm init script:
{code}
chmod 755 /etc/init.d/oracle-shm
update-rc.d oracle-shm defaults 01 99
{code}
Restart the system:
{code}
reboot
{code}
Verify the success:
{code}
sudo cat /etc/mtab | grep shm
{code}
{code}
none /run/shm tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev 0 0
/run/shm /dev/shm none rw,bind 0 0
{code}

The upper limit of shared memory under Linux is set to 50 % of the installed RAM by default. If your system has less than 2 GB of RAM installed, there is still a chance to run into ORA-00845 error if your shared memory is used by other software. 

The verify available shared memory, type the following commands:
{code}
sudo df -h /run/shm
{code}

h2. 8) Installing Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition

The final release version of Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition can be downloaded for free at http://otn.oracle.com/database/express-edition/downloads. The software should automatically downloaded into the "Downloads" folder of your home directory. 

Enter the following commands to unpack the installer:
{code}
cd ~/Downloads
unzip oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm.zip
rm oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm.zip
{code}
The Debian Linux based package management of Ubuntu is not compatible with the Red Hat package manager. The Oracle installer needs to be converted using the following commands:
{code}
cd ~/Downloads/Disk1
sudo alien --to-deb --scripts oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm
(This may take a few minutes)
rm oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm
{code}
The following needs to be set for compatibility:
{code}
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/awk /bin/awk
sudo mkdir /var/lock/subsys
{code}
Ubuntu uses different tools to manage services and system startup scripts. The "chkconfig" tool required by the Oracle installer is not available in Ubuntu. The following will create a file to simulate the "chkconfig" tool. 

Login as root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Copy & paste the following *directly* into the command prompt to create a file:
{code}
cat > /sbin/chkconfig <<-EOF
#!/bin/bash
# Oracle 11gR2 XE installer chkconfig hack for Debian based Linux (by dude)
# Only run once.
echo "Simulating /sbin/chkconfig..."
if [[ ! \`tail -n1 /etc/init.d/oracle-xe | grep INIT\` ]]; then
cat >> /etc/init.d/oracle-xe <<-EOM
#
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:                  OracleXE
# Required-Start:        \\\$remote_fs \\\$syslog
# Required-Stop:        \\\$remote_fs \\\$syslog
# Default-Start:            2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:            0 1 6
# Short-Description:   Oracle 11g Express Edition
### END INIT INFO
EOM
fi
update-rc.d oracle-xe defaults 80 01
EOF
{code}
Exit root:
{code}
exit
{code}
Set execute privileges:
{code}
sudo chmod 755 /sbin/chkconfig
{code}
Install Oracle 11gR2 Express Edition entering the following commands:
{code}
cd ~/Downloads/Disk1
sudo dpkg --install ./oracle-xe_11.2.0-2_amd64.deb
(This may take a couple of minutes)
{code}
Run the configuration script to create (clone) the database and follow the screen. Accept the default answers, including "y" to startup the database automatically, or modify as required. 
{code}
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure
(This can take a few minutes - the installation completed successfully.)
{code}
To verify success, the procedure should end showing:
{code}
Starting Oracle Net Listener...Done
Configuring database...Done
Starting Oracle Database 11g Express Edition instance...Done
Installation completed successfully.
{code}
Set a password for the Oracle account:
{code}
sudo passwd oracle
{code}

h2. 9) Post-Installation
    
In order to use sqlplus and other tools, the Oracle account requires specific environment variables. The following will set these variables automatically at every Oracle login:

Login as the Oracle user:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Copy the default account skeleton files and add the Oracle env script to .profile:
{code}
cp /etc/skel/.bash_logout ./
cp /etc/skel/.bashrc ./
cp /etc/skel/.profile ./
echo "" >>./.profile
echo '. /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/xe/bin/oracle_env.sh' >>./.profile
{code}

By default, the Oracle Database XE graphical user interface is only available at the local server, but not remotely. The following will enable remote logins:
Login as the Oracle user:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Login as SYSDBA and execute the following:
{code}
sqlplus / as sysdba
SQL> EXEC DBMS_XDB.SETLISTENERLOCALACCESS(FALSE);
exit
{code}

See http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17781_01/admin.112/e18585/toc.htm for more information.

h3. a) Unity desktop configurations

The Oracle XE menu under the previous Gnome Classic desktop shows several useful scripts to backup the database, start and stop the database, etc. Under the Unity based desktop this menu is not available. You can either switch to the Gnome Classic desktop as outlined in chapter 2, or perform the following steps to modify and copy the scripts as outlined below. The start and stop database scripts will also be modified to perform a progress feedback.

Login as user root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Convert desktop files:
{code}
cd /usr/share/applications
sed -i 's/Categories.*/Categories=Database;Office;Development;/g' oraclexe*
sed -i 's/MultipleArgs/X-MultipleArgs/g' oraclexe*
sed -i 's/MimeType.*/MimeType=application\/x-database/g' oraclexe*
sed -i 's/.png//g' oraclexe*
sed -i 's/Terminal=false/Terminal=true/g' oraclexe-startdb.desktop
sed -i 's/Terminal=false/Terminal=true/g' oraclexe-stopdb.desktop
{code}
Exit root:
{code}
exit
{code}
Login as user Oracle:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Modify database start and stop scripts:
{code}
cd /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/xe/config/scripts
cp startdb.sh start.sh_orig
cp stopdb.sh stopdb.sh_orig
sed -i 's/>.*//g' startdb.sh
sed -i 's/>.*//g' stopdb.sh
{code}

You will need SYSDBA privileges and set Oracle environment variables in order to use your regular user account. 

Login to your regular user account:
{code}
su - dude
{code}
Enter the folowing command:
{code}
sudo usermod -a -G dba dude
{code}
Then update your profile to automatically set the necessary Oracle environment variables:
{code}
echo "" >>./.profile
echo '. /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/xe/bin/oracle_env.sh' >>./.profile
{code}
Update your Desktop folder to contain useful Oracle XE scripts:
{code}
cp /usr/share/applications/oraclexe* ~/Desktop
chmod 750 ~/Desktop/oraclexe*
{code}
To verify success re-login and try "sqlplus":
{code}
su - oracle
sqlplus / as sysdba
{code}

h2. 10) Tips and Troubleshooting

h3. 10. a) Port 1521 appears to be in use by another application
Error: Port 1521 appears to be in use by another application. Specify a different port.
This error happens after a previously unsuccessful configuration attempt using /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure script. The script was able to start the Listener process, but most likely failed to continue  to clone the database, e.g. ORA-00845. The following should correct the problem:

Determine the oracle listener process that is already running:
{code}
$ ps -ef | grep oracle
{code}
Your output should be similar to:
{code}
oracle   19789     1  0 19:46 ?        00:00:00 /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/xe/bin/tnslsnr
{code}
Then kill the process, using the appropriate process id, for instance:
{code}
$ sudo kill -9 19789
{code}

h3. 10.b) cannot touch `/var/lock/subsys/listener': No such file or directory
Starting Oracle Net Listener...touch: cannot touch `/var/lock/subsys/listener': No such file or directory
This error occurs when you run /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure, but failed the preinstallation step to create the /var//lock/subsys directory as outlined in chapter 8.

h3. 10.c) ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET
ORA-00845: MEMORY_TARGET not supported on this system 
See chapter 7 to enable /dev/shm and verify free space available in /run/shm

h3. 10.d) Apex ADMIN password

According to the Oracle documentation, the password for the INTERNAL and ADMIN Oracle Application Express user accounts is initially the same as the SYS and SYSTEM administrative user accounts. Well, I tried several times without success. To reset the Apex Admin password:

Login as user oracle:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Login as SYSDBA and type the following:
{code}
sqlplus / as sysdba
{code}
At the SQL prompt, type the following to be prompted to change the password:
{code}
SQL> @?/apex/apxxepwd.sql
exit
{code}

When done, open your browser and go to http://127.0.0.1:8080/apex
Workspace: Internal
Username: ADMIN
Password: password you set with apxxepwd.sql

I will prompt you to reset the password:
old password: password you set with apxxepwd.sql
new password: final_password

You can also login as the Apex Admin using http://127.0.0.1:8080/apex/apex_admin

h3. 10.e) SYS and SYSTEM password

Use the following commands to reset the SYS and SYSTEM passwords if necessary:

Login as the Oracle user:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Login as SYSDBA and type the following at the SQL prompt:
{code}
sqlplus / as sysdba
SQL> alter user sys identified by "password" account unlock;
SQL> alter user system identified by "password" account unlock;
SQL> exit
{code}

h3. 10.f) Uninstall Oracle 11g XE
The following will completely uninstall and remove Oracle 11g XE:
Open a terminal seesion and login as user root:
{code}
sudo su -
{code}
Enter the following:
{code}
/etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop
dpkg --purge oracle-xe
rm -r /u01/app
rm /etc/default/oracle-xe
update-rc.d -f oracle-xe remove
update-rc.d -f oracle-mount remove
update-rc.d -f oracle-shm remove
{code}

h3. 10.g) Reconfigure Oracle 11g XE
Type the following commands in a terminal window:
{code}
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop
sudo rm /etc/default/oracle-xe
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure
{code}

h3. 10.h) Gnome Classic desktop
Ubuntu 11 moved from the Gnome Classic desktop to Unity and removed the "Ubuntu Classic" login option. Unity was designed to make more efficient use of space given a limited screen size and touch screens. If you prefer to use the Gnome Classic desktop, enter the following into a terminal window:
{code}
sudo apt-get install gnome-panel
{code}
To log into the Gnome Classic desktop, select the "Gearwheel" at the login screen and select "Gnome Classic".

h3. 10.i) Unix vi cursor keys
The instructions in this tutorial do not require the use of any text editor. However, if you would like use the backspace and cursor keys in the "vi-editor", the following needs to be installed:
{code}
sudo apt-get install vim
{code}

h3. 10.j) Backup Database
In order to perform an online database backup using the supplied "Backup Database" script, the database needs to run in Archive-Log mode. This can be setup using the following commands:

Login as the Oracle user:
{code}
su - oracle
{code}
Login as SYSDBA and type the following:
{code}
sqlplus / as sysdba
SQL> shutdown immediate
SQL> startup mount
SQL> alter database archivelog;
SQL> alter database open;
SQL> exit
{code}



h2. 11) History

Version: A, 24-Oct-2011
- first release
Version: B, 25-Oct-2011
- reduced instructions.
- corrected errors in 6a and 8.
- new strategy addressing ORA-00845 error.
- rework of chapter 10.
Version: C, 30-Nov-2011
- corrected typo in 6a
- new procedures in 9a.
- added progress feedback to database scripts.
Version D, 14-Jan-2012
- corrected presentation errors.
- reorganized instructions.

h3. 12) References

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17781_01/install.112/e18802/toc.htm
http://askubuntu.com/questions/57297/why-has-var-run-been-migrated-to-run
http://lwn.net/Articles/436012/
https://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=2300750&tstart=0




Kind regards and best of luck!

Dude.