1 Introduction to Oracle Universal Installer

Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) is a Java-based graphical user interface (GUI) application that enables you to install Oracle components from a CD, multiple CDs, or the Web. OUI performs component-based installations and enables different levels of integrated bundle, suite, and Web-based installations, as well as complex logic in a single package. The installation engine is easily portable across all Java-enabled platforms, and platform-specific issues can be encapsulated from the overall installation process.

OUI provides the following capabilities for addressing software management and distribution:

Component and suite installs
Implicit deinstall
Support for multiple Oracle homes
National Language Support (NLS)/globalization support
Automatic dependency resolution and complex logic handling to determine the software to be installed, reinstalled, upgrdaed, or deinstalled
Support for distributed installations
Unattended "silent" installations using response files and/or command line arguments
The ability to maintain the inventory of installed products

Note:
Although OUI can list all products previously installed with another installer (oraInst or ORCA-based), it cannot deinstall them.

Key Features

Oracle Universal Installer 10g Release 1 (10.1) offers the following features:

An XML-based centralized inventory.

The XML format allows third-party Java applications to query the inventory for information about installed software. For backward compatibility, the central inventory continues to maintain the binary versions as well.
Cloning of existing Oracle homes.

Allows you to copy an existing Oracle home to another location and "fix it up" by updating the installation configuration to be specific to the new environment. Cloning makes it easy to propagate a standard setup without having to install and configure installation after installation.
Better support for cluster environments.

OUI now replicates its inventory to all nodes that participate in a cluster-based installation. Users can invoke OUI from any node on the cluster that is part of the installation. Users can then upgrade/deinstall/patch existing software from any node.
True silent capability.

When running OUI in silent mode on a character mode console, you no longer need to specify an X-server or set the DISPLAY environment variable on UNIX. No GUI classes are instantiated, making the silent mode truly silent.
Ability to record your OUI session to a response file.

This feature makes it easy to duplicate the results of a successful installation on multiple systems. All the options you selected during the installation are saved in the resulting response file. For information about recording your OUI sessions see "Creating a Response File With Record Mode".
More accurate disk space calculations.

OUI now uses a more accurate method of calculating the disk space required by your Oracle products. This feature reduces the risk of running out of disk space during an installation.
Automatically launched software.

Some Oracle products now take advantage of a new feature that allows the software to launch automatically immediately after the installation.
Cleaner deinstallations and upgrades.

Deinstallation completely removes all software, leaving no "bits" behind. Also completely removes files associated with configuration assistants and patchsets. Oracle homes can also be removed from the inventory and registry.
Integrated Pre-Requisite Checking.

Provides a pre-requisite checking tool to diagnose the readiness of an environment for installation. The pre-requisite checks are run as part of the installation process, but can also be run as a separate application.

System Requirements

OUI system requirements are listed below:

Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Automatically installed with OUI on most platforms. Check the Release Notes or installation guide of the products you are installing for the required version.
Memory Requirements. Memory requirements vary depending on the number of components installed. Check the Release Notes for the products you are installing for details. 32 MB minimum recommended on all platforms.
Disk Space Requirements. Oracle recommends at least 32 MB for OUI files on Windows machines; 70 MB on UNIX. (UNIX requires more memory because of the difference in JRE sizes for the platforms.) Up to 1 MB may be needed for the related inventory files.