Oracle 11g SOA-BPM PS3 Installation Help

Question

I'm not a super techie, so installing the latest release from Oracle was a challenge, but I encountered a number of problems and kept notes of what I did to solve it. Many of these hints came from the Forum, but nothing had all of the relevant info under one thread. So here is what I pieced together. If this is helpful to anybody, I'd love to hear it - either on this thread or at my e-mail address of [email protected]. My thanks to Linus Chow of Oracle for some help and allowing me to think I could do this!
Comments/Suggestions on Oracle 11g SOA-BPMN PS3 Installation_
Suggest downloading all files into a common directory. I stuck this folder at the root (C:) drive. At collectively just over 5 GBs, the downloading will take several hours (for me it was a full day, as did the installation). You will need an OTN account to be able to download the software. A good overview of PS3 is at the following link: http://blogs.oracle.com/bpm/2011/01/bpm_suite_11gr1_ps3_released.html.
General comment/suggestion. Be sure to name the aforementioned folder without any spaces (big problems if this is done because of how unzipped files do/don’t work with a path name with spaces in it). As the installs get started, note that an Oracle directory (under the root) with a default name for the middleware directory, named Middleware, is created as the default.
The link with the installation is actually helpful, but it is incomplete (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bpm/downloads/index.html). Some of the detail needed is in the quick installation guide (http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/install.1111/e14318/toc.htm, and I suggest downloading the PDF version), but the order conflicts with the previous information. I resolved this by using the latter for detail, but the former for the sequence. I also had to turn to several blogs/forums (the main one being: http://blogs.oracle.com/SOA/2009/08/installing_oracle_soa_suite_11.html) to get help on troubleshooting problems with the installation (see below for others).
I have a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit version, but I ended up following the path for the 32-bit install path (see the main link cited above), mostly because it was unclear to me what the 64-bit path would be. I also already had the 32-bit version of the JRE installed. The following links cover identifying the differences and what you may have installed as well as alternative versions to download: http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/index_general.xml?user_os=Windows%207; http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_win64bit.xml; and http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
Another general comment/suggestion. I found it useful to reboot after each step. It shut down services that I would otherwise have to search for and shut down manually. Some of the installations require services activated by previous steps to be turned off, so you’re better off doing something like this rather than encountering such an error in a subsequent step.
Step 1: Installing the XE database. The file is an .exe file, and will execute upon a double click. However, the instruction regarding RCU is best saved until the 3rd step, doing it just before you install the RCU. More importantly, there are some things to keep in mind about the database install. First, after installation, you should sign on to the DB, using the Go To DB Home Page option under the Express Edition (XE) folder or set of menu options (created as part of the installation), under the SYSTEM user account. During installation, you’ll have to have given a password for this account, so make sure it is one you can remember. After signing on as SYSTEM, give the SYS user account another (or same) password that you can remember. You will use the SYS account in subsequent steps. Second, there is a parameter for the database that must be changed from the default. This is covered in the links below: http://blogs.oracle.com/tridib_samanta/2010/03/rcu-6107db_init_param_prerequisite_failure_for_processes.html and http://cn.forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=1004605. To solve this, select SQL button on the DB home page, then SQL Commands button on the next page, paste/enter into the pane at the top the following command, “ALTER SYSTEM SET processes=300 SCOPE=SPFILE;” (but without the quotes), and then click on the Run button. (The parameter must be greater than or equal to 200, but I found references to setting in equal to 300 or 500.) Then you can log out and close the web page.
At times, the DB might not be started when you are expecting it to be running (e.g., after a reboot), which is covered in this link: Oracle 10g database homepage not working? (You’ll know that it is isn’t running if you try to open the Go To DB Home Page option and it won’t open, displaying an error page instead.) I found that the simplest way to fix this was to go to the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services, and then look to see if the OracleServiceXE service is started. If not, then restart by right-clicking on that service listing and choosing the appropriate option to execute.
Step 2: Installing WebLogic Server. Either before or during this process, you will need to set up an Oracle Support Account. However, you need a customer ID to be able to create a profile. I was thus not able to complete a profile, so the WLS installation defaulted to the Anonymous registration option. This still needed an e-mail address though, the same one with which you would create the Oracle Support profile, so you should have one at the ready. (It would not accept the e-mail address for my OTN account.) As far as I can tell, the consequence of this path is that I cannot automatically get patches and such. I figure this is a problem to be solved another day. The Oracle Support links are: https://support.oracle.com/CSP/ui/faq_en.html#SignIn and https://support.oracle.com/CSP/ui/flash.html.
If you go with the default, the middleware directory is just Middleware under the Oracle directory. If you select a different name or location, you will need to remember where it is and what the name is. You should also note the folder name for where the JDK was stuck, which for me was JDK160_21 under the Middleware directory.
Step 3:  Installing RCU. The trickiest of the steps. Unlike with the previous two steps, this installation first happens after the downloaded file is unzipped. You MUST unzip into a directory for which the full path name (and not just the one you create upon extraction) is without any spaces. (You can use the underscore symbol instead of a space to indicate separation.) Unzip the folder/files, and then open the Command Prompt window. Using the cd command, work your way to the full path name to where you just unzipped these files. Next, continue to work your way down to subfolders created during the extraction process. You want to end up at the rcuHome\BIN\ subfolder. THEN do the RCU-related command cited in Step 1. Type in at the prompt the following command and hit enter: set RCU_JDBC_TRIM_BLOCKS = TRUE. Then, type in rcu.bat at the prompt and hit enter, which will run the installation and configuration sequence. This is realized through a series of windows that open for you to input information and make selections. Use the document at the following link of specific guidance as to what the configuration screens should have entered on them: http://blogs.oracle.com/SOA/2009/08/installing_oracle_soa_suite_11.html. This includes things like the service name (XE) and the host name (localhost) to enter, assuming you are installing this on a laptop or PC for local use only. Some other helpful links for troubleshooting the RCU installation are located at: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12839_01/doc.1111/e14259/rcu.htm#CIHGHDBG; http://oraclebi.blogspot.com/2010/08/rcu-and-what-it-means-for-you.html ; Re: RCU 11.1.1.4 install fails on Oracle XE and http://cn.forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=2162409&tstart=0&messageID=9336791.
The RCU sets up DB schemas and the like for the BPMN and SOA stuff. The screenshots in the previously mentioned document should be followed exactly. You can also refer to pp. 5-6 of the Quick Installation Guide. You should use the SYS user account (the default, I think), so have the password handy.
I also found it more comforting to shutdown the RCU installation/configuration via the cancel option than to keep going back a screen to fix something. This may not have been necessary, but it made me feel better. Be prepared for interim screens that pop up to show that the installation/configuration is happening, which will also tell you there are errors. One such screen says that XE isn’t supported for RCU, but you can ignore that (as the supporting guidelines indicate).
Step 4:  Installing JDev. This is an executable, and you just install with all of the defaults. This process will start the WLS as part of the installation, so you must turn it off before going to the next step. Again, I just rebooted to do this.
Step 5:  Installing SOA Extensions for JDev. Instructions on the page at the main link are clear and correct. The 2 screen shots must be reviewed and adhered to completely in checking off options. The first selection defines the areas where updates are to be sought out, while the second selection is from the available option(s) from those areas. In this case, you are only installing the SOA Composite Editor, though there are several other updates/extensions from which to select (but don’t, at least for now).
Step 6: Installing BPM Extensions for JDev. Same comment as for Step 5, except that the option you want to select is not as what is indicate (the BPM Composite Editor) but the BPM Process Studio! I would advise against doing these as part of the same update sequence. In fact, I closed out JDev completely (though I did not reboot) between Step 5 and Step 6.
Step 7 and 8:  Installing SOA Suite. I suggest unzipping both of the downloaded zip files. Again, it is critical that the full path name into which files are extracted contains no spaces. Once unzipped, you should navigate to the Disk1 folder under the directory into which the first zip file was extracted, but you should do this with the Command Prompt window and the cd command. From this prompt, you should type in “setup.exe -jreLoc {location of JDK}” (without the quotes) and hit enter. The {location of JDK} is where the JDK was installed as part of the WLS installation. For me this was in folder JDK160_21 under the Middleware folder in the Oracle directory. Refer to pp. 12-15 of the Quick Installation Guide. This took me a couple of tries before I actually got the installation screen to show up correctly. Some of what this looks like is also in the following link: http://blogs.oracle.com/SOA/2009/08/installing_oracle_soa_suite_11.html.
What you may eventually figure out is that 5 installation disks are stretched across two zip files. Once the installation of disks 1 and 2 are done, a popup window will ask you to browse to the folder where each of the next 3 disks are, which is in the folder created by the extraction of files/folders from the second zip file for the SOA Suite. As with previous steps, I rebooted after all of this was done.
Step 9:  Installing the Business Process Converter. Unzip the downloaded file, and open the Installation Instructions Word file. It will instruct you to point JDev’s update sequence to another zip file extracted during the unzipping of the downloaded zip file for the converter. JDev will install this without much fuss or muss, but this installation is to the Studio and not to BPA. (For installation to BPA, you need to have installed BPA, and followed the other guidance in the instructions.) To get to JDev’s update sequence, follow the same first step as in Step 5, but check the option to browse for and upload from a local file. This local file will be the previously mentioned other zip file.
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Answer 1

Create a new user oracle and proceed with the installation
--> useradd -g oinstall oracle
If your are forwarding your GUI using xming or vnc you would need to copy the xauth of root user and set it to oracle
[server1:root] xauth list
bangvmpllE.com/unix:11 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 b23d63374fe25a3577751b6b95b2210e
[server1:root] sudo su - oracle
[server1:oracle] export DISPLAY=localhost:10.0
[server1:oracle] xauth add bangvmpllE.com/unix:11 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 b23d63374fe25a3577751b6b95b2210e