How to Install Oracle 12c Client & ODBC Driver

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The Oracle 12c Client and ODBC Driver

The University Data Warehouse “EDW” is comprised of Oracle databases. Most clients,

who access data in the data warehouse, do so through the Business Objects suite of

reporting tools (Web Intelligence or “WEBI”).

The tools found in Web Intelligence simplify report creation and access to the data

warehouse by providing a semantic “middle layer” that hides the complexity of the

underlying Oracle database. This middle layer is called a Universe. A Universe handles

the table linking and presents easy to understand field names. Without it, a client directly

accessing the Oracle database would need to link numerous database tables and decipher

technical database field names. Therefore, when possible, we encourage the use of the

Web Intelligence software. If you need help starting with Web Intelligence, please visit

Getting Started

.

Sometimes the complexity of a report or data access operation might be better handled in

another reporting or data access tool. At times clients may just prefer to use a data

access tool in which they already possess extensive experience. In these cases, direct

access the data warehouse is needed without the help of a Universe.

To directly access the data warehouse database, the client will need to install either the

Oracle 12c client or the Oracle 12c ODBC Driver (or both). Some report writing tools,

such as SAS or Crystal Reports, can use either the Oracle client to access the database

directly in its own language, or use the Oracle 12c ODBC Driver to access the database

indirectly using ODBC as a type of middle-layer “translator”. For example, Microsoft

Access connects to Oracle using ODBC.

Below we will show how to install both pieces. Once installed, you are likely to find that

using the Oracle 12c Client is more efficient than using ODBC, but with some software,

ODBC will be your only option.

Important: As per the support matrix 'Client / Server Interoperability Support Matrix for Different

Oracle Versions Note 207303.1

' client version 11.1.0.7 is not supported with Database version 12.2.0.1.

All AITS hosted Oracle databases are currently version 12.2.0.1.

At the University, installing the Oracle client and ODBC driver is basically a four or five

step process:

1. Download the Oracle installation file.

2. Decompress (i.e., unzip) the Oracle installation file.

3. Optional: Run the Oracle Universal Installer to “uninstall” an earlier version of

the Oracle client.

4. Run the Oracle Universal Installer to install the Oracle client and ODBC.

5. Add “SQLNET.ORA” and “LDAP.ORA” files to Your Workstation

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Windows ODBC Data Connections: 64 bit vs 32 bit

Many Windows applications are 32-bit architecture. If you use these applications on a

system with 64-bit Windows, you will need to create 32-bit ODBC dataset connections.

Microsoft Windows has independent utilities and drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC

connections. You will find the 32-bit ODBC Administration utility at

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe. Confirm with your application whether the 32-bit or

the 64-bit Oracle client is required.

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Downloading and Installing the Oracle Client and ODBC Driver

The files to install the Oracle client and ODBC driver are located on the U of I Box online file sharing

service.

1. To download the Oracle Client files, click on one of the following links (or copy the

URL into your browser):

• 32-bit Oracle 12c client:

https://uofi.box.com/s/uq7ot6guyc8wey7nbvfxgt0eeixjbwv5

• 64-bit Oracle 12c client:

https://uofi.box.com/s/93svfdpnh6lzmxq8atuohi9levyhuw0k

2. Click on the Download button

3. A File Download dialog box will appear (your image may vary depending upon

which internet browser you are using).

4. Select “Save”.

5. The download will start. The file is large, so it may require some time to complete.

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When the download completes, the Zip file should appear in the designated download

directory:

Decompress or Unzip the Installation File

Note: The following description of unzipping the Oracle client zipped file is based on

the software utility named “Windows Explorer”. The screens you see and the actions

you must take to unzip a file may differ from the process described below because

differences exist between all unzip utilities. The general process, though, will likely

resemble the following “unzipping” description.

The downloaded file is compressed (or “zipped”). It is a file that actually contains many

files. These files are compressed in order to speed up and simplify the download process

over the network.

The downloaded file is in the form of a zipped file, which will need to be unzipped

(i.e., a compressed file needs to be restored to its normal decompressed format).

Zipped files are represented by an icon displaying a Zipper on the folder. By clicking

the zipped file, the program specified by the Windows operating system for unzipping

or decompressing files will probably begin.

Click the zipped

installation file to

highlight the folder.

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1. Double-click the downloaded .zip file and then click the “Extract all Files”

option to begin decompressing the file.

2. The Extraction Wizard begins and asks you to select where to place the

decompressed files by entering a location in the “Files will be extracted to this

folder:” text entry box. You may use the “Browse” button to select a folder

location or create a new folder location for the extracted files to be placed. This can

be any folder. (The Extraction Wizard will supply a default location in the same

folder where the zipped folder resides – “Oracle_install” in our example.) Using the

default location is fine if that is what you choose.

NOTE: The location where the resulting Oracle client will reside can be different from

the location where you extract the files. You will be prompted for a separate file

location for the Oracle client during the actual Oracle client installation routine.

Click the “Extract

all files” option for

the installation file.

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3. When the “Extract” button is clicked, the extraction process will begin,

as demonstrated below.

4. After the extraction process is complete, the files will be viewable in the folder

previously specified (“Oracle_install\win32_11gR2_client\” in our example). Open

that folder if you did not select the “Show extracted files when complete” checkbox

earlier. (If the checkbox was selected, the folder is automatically displayed.)

Enter the destination folder

location of the extract files

or select an existing /new

folder location using the

browse button.

Click “Extract”

The extraction process

is decompressing the

zipped installation file.

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This concludes the unzipping (i.e., decompressing) process.

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Installing Oracle Version 12c

Once the installation files have been unzipped, you can proceed with installing Oracle

Version 12c.

1. Go to “\location_of_installfiles\win32_12201_client\client32” and double-

click on the “setup.exe” file located there.

(In our example, the location is “C:\Install\win32_12201_client\client32”. If you

downloaded the 64-bit version the folder name after the Install folder will start with

winx64 instead of win32.)

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Once launched, the following screen will appear. Please wait.

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Then the Oracle 12c Client Installer screen will appear.

1. S

elect the Runtime (not InstantClient) install and click Next.

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2. Se

lect Use Windows Built-in Account.

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3. Change the Oracle Base to C:\Oracle and the Software Location will

automatically change. We recommend renaming the Software Location so the

folder name is client_32 or client_64, depending upon if you are installing the

32-bit or 64-bit client. Click Next.

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4. Wait as the installer performs prerequisite checks.

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5. Click Install in the Summary window.

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The following screen will be displayed.

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As the installation proceeds, you may see the following window:

6. Make sure both Domain and Private networks are checked, then click Allow access.

7. Click Close.

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8. Add “SQLNET.ORA” and “LDAP.ORA” files to your workstation.

After you have installed the Oracle client, you will need to add two additional

files: “SQLNET.ORA” and “LDAP.ORA”. These files help Oracle locate the

database server and directory information.

a. Download these files at:

i. SQLNET.ORA

ii. LDAP.ORA

b. Place the files in the “c:\oracle\product\12.2.0\client\network\admin”

directory location (the “\client\” portion of the path may differ

slightly).

9. Test Oracle:

a. Opening a command prompt.

b. Type sqlplus <username>@dsprod01 and replace <username> with your

username. Then hit Enter.

c. A connection should be established.

d. Type “exit” at the prompt to quit.

10. To verify you can connect to the university data warehouse:

a. Opening a command prompt

b. Type tnsping dsprod01 and hit Enter. You should see a response similar to this:

This completes the Oracle 12c installation instructions.