Monthly Archives: June 2012

June 5, 2012

Installing Oracle VirtualBox on Windows 7

By Rich Soule

Update from April 2014: This post has been superseded by this post: Oracle Database 12c on Oracle Linux 6

 

This is Step 1 in my 13 step process for creating an Oracle Education classroom environment using VirtualBox.

I used Oracle VirtualBox to create my classroom environment for a few reasons:

  • VirtualBox is simple to install.
  • VirtualBox allowed me to create an environment that closely matched the Oracle Education training material. I could basically ignore the physical machines that I was using.
  • Snapshots created before each lesson would allow the students to quickly move backwards or forwards should they miss a lab or make a mistake with their environment.
  • It was really easy to copy the created virtual machine to my student’s machines.

This post is mostly here for a completeness standpoint as installing VirtualBox is really straight forward. Also note that while the version below is 4.1.16 at the time this was written, you should grab whatever the current version is from the site when you complete this step.

  1. Open VirtualBox.org in a browser and click on the Downloads link in the left menu.

    VirtualBox.org Home Page

    VirtualBox.org Home Page

  2. Click the x86/amd64link next to the VirtualBox for Windows hosts bullet.

    Windows Download

    Windows Download

  3. Click Save File.

    Save File

    Save File

  4. Double click the fileyou just downloaded. I used Firefox to download the file, so I can just double click the file from the Downloads window.

    Doubleclick file in downloads window

    Double click file in downloads window

  5. Depending on your security settings, Windows may ask you what you want to do with the file. Click Run.

    Run the file

    Run the file

  6. Click Next.

    Welcome Screen, click Next

    Welcome Screen, click Next

  7. Click Next.

    Custom Setup, click Next

    Custom Setup, click Next

  8. Click Next.

    Create Shortcuts, click Next

    Create Shortcuts, click Next

  9. Click Yes.

    Network Interfaces, click Yes

    Network Interfaces, click Yes

  10. Click Install. Depending on your security settings, Windows User Account Control may ask if you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer, click Yes if it does.

    click Install

    Click Install

  11. Uncheck the Start Oracle VM VirtualBox after installation checkbox and click Finish.

    Click Finish

    Click Finish

  12. If the Program Compatibility Assistant pops up, click This program works correctly.

    Program Compatibility Assistant, click This program works correctly

    Program Compatibility Assistant, click This program works correctly

  13. Back in the browser, click on the All platforms link next to the VirtualBox Extension Pack bullet.

    Extension Pack link

    Extension Pack link

  14. Click OKto open the extension pack with VirtualBox.

    Open Extension Pack, click OK

    Open Extension Pack, click OK

  15. Click Install. (Note the image below has Upgrade instead of Install because of a previous installation).

    VBox Question, click Upgrade

    VBox Question, click Install

  16. Scroll down to the bottom of the license agreement and click I Agree. If Windows User Account Control asks you if you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer, click Yes.

    License Agreement, click I Agree

    License Agreement, click I Agree

  17. Click OK.

    Click OK

    Click OK

As I mentioned at the beginning, installing Oracle VirtualBox is pretty straight forward. You can leave VirtualBox open for now as we’ll soon be using it create our virtual machine.

But first we have to download an Oracle Linux ISO to use as our boot media. To learn how to do that, go to Step 2 of my 13 step process for creating an Oracle Education classroom environment using VirtualBox.

You can now proceed to the next step in the process, How to get the Oracle Linux ISO from Oracle’s Software Delivery Cloud.

Advertisement

2 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Code, Linux

June 5, 2012

Using Oracle VirtualBox to create an Oracle Education classroom environment

By Rich Soule

Update from April 2014: This post has been superseded by this post: Oracle Database 12c on Oracle Linux 6

 

I created this blog last year so I could write down the steps taken to create an Oracle Education classroom environment using Oracle VirtualBox. I teach Oracle Education classes for Austin Community College (ACC) and also for RFD & Associates, Inc. under a program called the Workforce Development Program. You can see my previous blog post for a description of the Workforce Development Program. Tomorrow I’m teaching a class at ACC to do all of the below with my students from the DBA I and DBA II courses plus a special guest, so I thought it was finally time to start getting this all down.

There are a number of steps to create the classroom environment. Over the next few weeks I intend to write a post for each of the steps. As each post is written, I’ll update each step in the list below to point to those posts.

Here’s the steps that I took to create the classroom environment:

  1. Download and install Oracle VirtualBox including the Extension Pack.
  2. Download the Oracle Linux ISO from edelivery.oracle.com/linux.
  3. Create a virtual machine running Oracle Linux.
  4. Create a local yum repository from the DVD content and add asmlib downloaded from linux.oracle.com.
    While you could just use an online repository instead of a local repository, the local repository allows you to install RPMs even if you are not connected to a network. I find this is nice from time to time, and we are more worried about the Oracle Database than we are about having the most up to date Linux environment.
  5. Install asmlib, asmsupport, and the oracle-validated RPMs and create the required directories including a stage directories for Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database.
    We’re also going to make the Linux User IDs and Group IDs match the training material.
  6. Install Oracle VirtualBox Guest Additions.
  7. Install rlwrap.
    Optional, but oh so nice.
  8. Create the ASM disks and then configure and start ASM.
  9. Configure the Oracle user’s environment including a really nice login.sql script.
  10. Download Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database 11g R2.
  11. Install Oracle Grid Infrastructure and create a +FRA (Fast Recovery Area) disk group in addition to the +DATA disk group.
  12. Install the Oracle Database software.
  13. Use the Database Creation Assistant to create a Database instance.

If you follow the above steps, you’ll have a training environment that matches the Oracle training material for the majority of  the Oracle Database Administrator training classes (but not all, for instance the Real Application Clusters or RAC class is obviously a bit different).

4 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Code, Linux

June 5, 2012

Delivering Oracle Education through the Workforce Development Program

By Rich Soule

I teach the Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) courses at Austin Community College (ACC). ACC offers the exact same course material as Oracle Education through an Oracle program called the Workforce Development Program (WDP). I also offer Oracle technology training through RFD & Associates, Inc. on a customized basis for your organization. RFD & Associates is also a WDP partner.

There are two main differences between the Oracle Education program and the Workforce Development Program.

The most important difference is that courses offered by a Workforce Development Program partner can only be delivered at a maximum rate of 12 hours per week. The Oracle Education program typically offers courses in a 1 week full time format (around 40 or so hours). It’s great for folks who can spend that much time away from work, but it does have some drawbacks with regards to time commitment and also with regards to cost. Also many folks find that 40 straight hours of Oracle training can be a bit like drinking from a fire hose. With the Workforce Development Program at ACC we take a much more relaxed pace with 20 classes of 3 hours each (2 per week) for a total of 60 hours per class. At RFD we can build a timeline that works for you. Would you like three 4 hour days per week? Would you like two 12 hour days? Do you want to do 12 hours on Friday and Saturday and then another 12 hours on Sunday and Monday? Basically we can put together something that works for you as long as we don’t go over 12 hours per week per class.

The other difference is that when you take a class through Oracle Education (or one of it’s partners), you are connecting directly into servers that Oracle runs internally. This is nice as they tend to be very nice servers with lots of resources. Of course set up time for the organization offering the training is very low. You ask Oracle to provision the servers for your students and they do so. Very easy! However, there are some downsides. Once the class is over, your server is gone. This means that if you want to do some extra work or practice for the certification exams, you are on your own. At ACC and RFD we use Oracle VirtualBox to create a virtual environment for the training. While the default at ACC is to use the ACC classroom computers to run the VirtualBox training environment, you are free to use your own laptop if you wish. At RFD we can either use our computers or your computers. If you use your own computer you have the flexibility to work on the exercises and practice for the exams outside of class time. The downside, of course, is that your laptop or desktop is sometimes a bit slower than the Oracle internal servers. Sometimes this means that a lab exercise will take a bit longer to run.

If you have any questions about getting Oracle Education through the Workforce Development Program either from ACC or RFD, please feel free to reach out to me.

3 Comments | posted in Code