Installation Type

When you install Oracle Database during basic and advanced installations, you need answers for the questions listed in this section. OUI provides default values for every choice.

• What type of database edition installation do you want to perform?Your choices are:
  • Enterprise Edition—This installation type is the full-featured Oracle Database product that provides data management for enterprise-level applications. It is intended for mission-critical, high-security online transaction processing (OLTP) and data warehousing environments.
  • Standard Edition—This installation type is suitable for workgroup or department-level applications, and for small to medium-sized enterprises. It provides core relational database management services and options and includes an integrated set of management tools, replication, Web features, and facilities for building business-critical applications.
  • Standard One Edition—This installation type is suitable for workgroup, department, or web applications. It provides core relational database management services for single-server environments or highly distributed branch environments. Oracle Standard Edition One includes all the facilities necessary to build business-critical applications.
  • Personal Edition (Microsoft Windows operating systems only)—This installation type installs the same software as the Enterprise Edition, but supports only a single-user, development and deployment environment.
• What are your database configuration options?

Software Installation Directories

you must specify the directory in which the Oracle Database software is installed, or the location where the product binary files are copied from the installation media. You must choose a location that has enough disk space to contain the software and is accessible by the operating system user performing the installation.

You also specify the location of the Oracle base directory, which is used by all Oracle software products installed on the server. The first time you install Oracle Database software on a server, you are prompted to specify the location of the inventory directory, called oraInventory. This directory provides a centralized inventory of all Oracle software products installed on the server. You should use the same value for the Oracle inventory directory each time you perform an Oracle software installation on the server.

Database File Location

A database includes several files that store the user data, database metadata, and information required to recover from failures. As an administrator, you decide what kind of storage subsystem to use for these files. You can select from the following options:

• File System—This default option creates database files that are managed by the file system of your operating system. You can specify the directory path where database files are to be stored. Oracle Database can create and manage the actual files.If you are not certain about which option to use, then select File System (the default).
• Automatic Storage Management—This option enables you to place your data files in Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM) disk groups. If you choose Oracle ASM, then Oracle Database automatically manages database file placement and naming. For environments with a large number of disks, this option simplifies database administration and maximizes performance. Oracle ASM performs software striping and mirroring at the file level for maximum storage flexibility, performance, and availability.Oracle ASM uses an Oracle ASM instance, which is distinct from the database instance, to configure and manage disk groups. A single Oracle ASM instance can provide storage for multiple databases on the same server.