Overview of Steps Required to use Tools Instant Client

To use the Tools Instant Client, you need two packages:

• Tools Instant Client Package

• Either the Basic OCI Instant Client package, or the OCI Instant Client Light package.

The basic steps required to use the Tools Instant Client are as follows. Each of these steps is described in this appendix.

1. Choose which OCI Package (Basic or Light) you want to use, and also select the directory in which to install the Instant Client files.

2. Copy the Tools Instant Client Package, and the OCI Instant Client package of your choice, from an installed Oracle instance or download them from OTN.

3. Install (unpack) the Tools Instant Client package and the OCI package. A new directory instantclient_12_2 is created as part of the installation.

4. Configure the Instant Client.

5. Connect to a remote instance with the utility you want to run.

Both the Tools package and OCI package must be from Oracle Database version 12.2.0.0.0, or higher, and the versions for both must be the same.

See Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about the OCI Instant Client.

Basic Instant Client

The Tools Instant Client package, when used with Basic Instant Client works with any NLS_LANG setting supported by the Oracle Database. It supports all character sets and language settings available in the Oracle Database.

Instant Client Light

The Instant Client Light (English) version of Instant Client further reduces the disk space requirements of the client installation. The size of the library has been reduced by removing error message files for languages other than English and leaving only a few supported character set definitions out of around 250.

Instant Client Light is geared toward applications that use either US7ASCII, WE8DEC, WE8ISO8859P1, WE8MSWIN1252, or a Unicode character set. There is no restriction on the LANGUAGE and the TERRITORY fields of the NLS_LANG setting, so the Instant Client Light operates with any language and territory settings. Because only English error messages are provided with the Instant Client Light, error messages generated on the client side, such as Net connection errors, are always reported in English, even if NLS_LANG is set to a language other than AMERICAN. Error messages generated by the database side, such as syntax errors in SQL statements, are in the selected language provided the appropriate translated message files are installed in the Oracle home of the database instance.

Installing Instant Client from Linux RPM Packages

1. Download the RPM packages containing the Tools Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/instant-client/overview/index.html. Both packages must be version 12.2.0.0.0 or higher, and the versions of both must be the same.

2. Use rpm -i for the initial install of the RPM packages, or rpm -u to upgrade to a newer version of the packages. Install the OCI Package first.

3. Configure Instant Client. See Configuring Tools Instant Client Package.

Installing Instant Client from the UNIX or Windows Zip Files

1. Download the RPM packages containing the Tools Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/instant-client/overview/index.html. Both packages must be version 12.2.0.0.0 or higher, and the versions of both must be the same.

2. Create a new directory, for example, /home/instantclient12_2 on UNIX or c:\instantclient12_2 on Windows.

3. Unzip the two packages into the new directory. Install the OCI Package first.

4. Configure Instant Client. See Configuring Tools Instant Client Package

List of Files Required for Tools Instant Client

The following table lists the required files from the Tools Instant Client package. You also need the files from one of the OCI packages (either Basic or Light). Other files installed that are not listed here can be ignored, or can be removed to save disk space.

See the Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about required files for the OCI Instant Client.

Installing Tools Instant Client on UNIX or Linux

To install the Tools Instant Client using the Basic Instant Client package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:

$ORACLE_HOME/instantclient/libociei.so
$ORACLE_HOME/lib/libnfsodm12.so
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/exp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/imp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/expdp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/impdp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlldr

To install the Tools Instant Client using the Instant Client Light package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:

$ORACLE_HOME/instantclient/light/libociicus.so
$ORACLE_HOME/lib/libnfsodm12.so
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/exp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/imp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/expdp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/impdp
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlldr

Installing Tools Instant Client on Windows

To install the Tools Instant Client using the Basic Instant Client package on Windows, copy the following files:

%ORACLE_HOME%\instantclient\oraociei12.dll
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\exp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\imp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\expdp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\impdp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\sqlldr.exe

To install the Tools Instant Client using the Instant Client Light package on Windows, copy the following files:

ORACLE_HOME%\instantclient\light\oraociicus12.dll
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\exp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\imp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\expdp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\impdp.exe
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\sqlldr.exe

Configuring Tools Instant Client Package (from RPMS) on Linux

The RPMs downloaded from OTN install into Oracle specific sub-directories in the /usr file system. The subdirectory structure enables multiple versions of Instant Client to be available.

1. Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client libraries to LD_LIBRARY_PATH. Remove any other Oracle directories.

   For example, to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH in the Bourne or Korn shells, use the following syntax:

   LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/18.1/client/lib:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH

   Or, to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH in the C shell, use the following syntax:

   % setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/lib/oracle/18.1/client/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

2. Make sure the Tools executables installed from the RPM are the first executables found in your PATH. For example, to test this you could enter which sqlldr which should return /usr/bin/sqlldr. If it does not, then remove any other Oracle directories from PATH, or put /usr/bin before other Tools executables in PATH, or use an absolute or relative path to start Tools Instant Client.

   For example, to set PATH in the bash shell:

   PATH=/usr/bin:${PATH}
   export PATH

3. Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set.

   NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8
   export NLS_LANG

Configuring Tools Instant Client Package (from Client Media or Zip File) on Linux and UNIX

1. Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client files to the appropriate shared library path LD_LIBRARY_PATH, LIBPATH or SHLIB_PATH. Remove any other Oracle directories.

   For example on Solaris in the Bourne or Korn shells:

   LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/instantclient12_2:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH

2. Add the directory containing the Instant Client files to the PATH environment variable. If it is not set, then an absolute or relative path must be used to start the utilities provided in the Tools package. Remove any other Oracle directories from PATH. For example:

   PATH=/home/instantclient12_2:${PATH}
   export PATH

3. Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set. For example:

   NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8
   export NLS_LANG

Configuring Tools Instant Client Package on Windows

The environment may be configured using SET commands in a Windows command prompt or made permanent by setting Environment Variables in System Properties.

For example, to set environment variables in Windows 2000 using System Properties, open System from the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab and then click Environment Variables.

1. Add the directory containing the Instant Client files to the PATH system environment variable. Remove any other Oracle directories from PATH.

   For example, add c:\instantclient12_2 to the beginning of PATH.

2. Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set.

   For example, to set NLS_LANG for a Japanese environment, create a user environment variable NLS_LANG set to JAPANESE_JAPAN.JA16EUC.

Uninstalling Tools Instant Client

1. For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use rpm -e only on the Tools Instant Client package

   OR

   For installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually remove any files specific to the Tools Instant Client. The files to be deleted should be in the Instant Client directory that you specified at installation. Be sure you do not remove any Oracle home files.

   Reset environment variables and remove tnsnames.ora if necessary.

Uninstalling the Complete Instant Client

1. For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use rpm -qa to find the Tools Instant Client and Basic OCI package names and run rpm -eto remove them

   OR

   For installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually delete the directory containing the Tools executable and Oracle libraries.

2. Reset environment variables such as PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH and TNS_ADMIN.

3. Remove tnsnames.ora if necessary.