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The following installation duties require that you log on using the built-in Oracle user account. Because it is assumed that you are an administrative user with the authorization to install such a system, no password is necessary.

Setting Preliminary Environment Variables

Specifying initial values for your server environment variables helps your operating system communicate with Web Application Server. You need to place the necessary environment variable values in the startup file of the built-in Oracle account. This is advisable when possible. Of course, if you don't set them in the startup file, then specify the values in the .PROFILE or .LOGIN file of the Oracle account. You can also set variables specific to the current shell session as the shell prompt is displayed (see Table 18.3).

Table 18.3 Initial Environment Variable Values
Environment Variable Sample Value
ORACLE_HOME /u01/app/oracle/product/732
ORACLE_SID MyID
ORACLE_TERM xsun5
ORAWEB_HOME $ORACLE_HOME/ows/3.0
PATH .$ORAWEB_HOME/bin:$ORACLE_HOME
/bin: /opt/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:
/usr/ccs/bin:/GNU/bin/make
TMPDIR /var/tmp
TWO_TASK Must be undefined while installing software

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For instance, you set the ORACLE_SID value using C shell as follows:

setenv ORACLE_SID MyID
In Bourne, it would be the following:
ORACLE_SID=MyID; export ORACLE_SID

Setting Permission Codes for Creating Files

You set permission codes in the startup files. The umask variable holds the necessary permission code you need. Before changing the value of umask, look at its contents by entering the following at the prompt:

$ umask

If the value of umask is not 022, change it to this value. This value tells the server which groups or users have READ and EXECUTE permissions; the WRITE permission is not affected. To set umask to 022, do the following:

Finally, you should check the various user startup files just to be sure the umask variable is set to 022.

Updating Your Environment from a Startup File

As your environment situation changes (that is, you install new nodes and so on), you will have to upgrade your environment information. To update environment variables, load the startup file into memory or some persistent medium, as follows:

Bourne/Korn shell: $ . .profile
C shell: % source .login

Note that, if you update these variables in a nonpersistent media such as memory (at the prompt), their values are not stored after you exit your current shell session. If you store them in a persistent object such as a file, you must execute the startup file to make the values effective.

Designing the Directory Structure

Identifying your needs for a directory structure in some ways resembles the principles of object-oriented design. You must know your base objects and any derived objects descending from this base object. Implementing the wrong hierarchy can cause confusion later and lead to redundant effort. For directories, this is especially true when server software upgrades become necessary as older versions become archaic. Many domains have a policy in place for

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creating and maintaining complex directory structures. Oracle offers the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) to ease the management and maintenance duties associated with directories. Listing 18.1 shows the recommended directory structure for the primary node.

Listing 18.1 Oracle-Recommended Directory Structure
ORACLE_BASE
     product
         oracle
            7.3.2 ($ORACLE_HOME)
                 rdbms
                    ows
                      cartx
                          plsql
                             1.0
                              java
                         3.0
                              bin
 	                          lib


     admin
          MyDBName
          ows
              MySite1
                    httpd_MyMachine1
                         owl.cfg
                         admin
                            config
                             log
                        list80
                    cartx
                        plsql
                          config
                             log
                         java
                    wrb
                        config
                         log

This directory structure conforms to the Optimal Flexible Architecture directory structure. OFA separates data files from configuration files and executables so that you can run more than one version of any of Oracle's products, including Web Application Server.

Installation Notes on the Web Agent

The Web Listener invokes the Oracle Web Agent. This is the process that handles the details of making a connection to the database server. For installation and configuration purposes, you might want to keep in mind that the Oracle7x database could reside on the same node as the Web Listener and the Web Agent. It could also reside on a different node. However, Oracle requires that the Web Listener and Web Agent be on the same node.

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As an administrator, you want to properly install and configure the Web Agent and subsequently maintain it by using the Administration Utility. In addition, you need to know the following:

One of the most important installation items you need to create is the OWA.CFG file. In this file, you enter the information the Web Agent needs to connect to your database server, such as Oracle7x. The configuration file contains such vital connection information as the server name, database name, user name, and user password.

Because the Oracle Web Application Server follows Oracle's Flexible Architecture (OFA), configuration files such as the OWA.CFG file no longer have to be located in the OWS Administrative directory. The caveat is that you must have installed your Oracle database according to this OFA structure as well. If this is the case, simply choose the Install New Product option from within the installation program. By choosing this installation option, the Oracle Web Application Server generates each of the necessary configuration files for you within ${Oracle Base}/admin/ows directory, where {Oracle Base} is the base specified in the ORACLE_BASE environment variable. Oracle Web Application Server requires you to specify a meaningful value after the installation is complete.

If you did not install your Oracle database based on the OFA structure, don't worry. Instead of choosing Install New Product, choose Add, Upgrade Software. By choosing this option, Oracle Web Server's installation program creates the necessary default configuration files within the ${ORACLE_HOME}/ows/admin/ows directory. For each new directory structure, every listener has a corresponding listener directory within the following path: ${ORAWEB_ADMIN}/ows/${ORAWEB_SITE}/httpd_<machine_name>/ . The WRB-related configuration files are housed in the ${ORAWEB_ADMIN}/ows/${ORAWEB_SITE}/wrb/ directory.

The Web Agent determines which service to use by parsing the SCRIPT_NAME environment variable. Web Listener sets up this variable in accordance with the CGI 1.1 specification. The path section of the configuration file, which corresponds to the portion of the URL just before the /owa, indicates the service to use. For instance, if /ows-bin/hr/owa is the leading portion of the URL, then hr is the service to use.

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