Installing Oracle Report Builder

Installing Oracle Report Builder
This section describes installing Reports Developer where a previous version does not exist. The Reports Developer has both design-time and runtime components. You will want to install both sets of components on your development machine. 

This allows you to both create new reports and test them. You may need to install the runtime environment on the machines which will run the finished reports. The runtime environment can also be installed to run from a web site.

2.1 Installing the Design-Time Components
Perform the following steps to install the design-time components of Reports Developer.

2.1.1 Step 1: Determining the Reports Server Parameters
A limited license version of the Oracle Reports Server is provided with the Oracle Reports Developer. This license allows the developer to test the reports being developed. The Reports Server parameters are requested by the installer part way through the process.

Determine the Reports Server TNS Service Name. The server will be installed on the development system and should be unique. The installer will provide a default name.

Determine the port number. The port number must not be in use by another process. The demo reports for this release use port number 1949.

Caution: Do NOT use the same port number used by your installation of the Web DB Listener.

2.1.2 Step 2: Start the Oracle Installer
2.1.2.1 The autorun feature
The Oracle Installer for Windows has an autorun feature that executes setup.exe and automatically launches the Oracle Installer when you insert the CD-ROM. Most users prefer to install using this automatic feature.

Note: Some older CD-ROM drives do not support the autorun feature. If the Oracle Installer does not start automatically, follow the steps in section 2.1.1.2 Starting the Oracle Installer without Autorun beginning with step 2.

2.1.2.2 Starting the Oracle Installer without autorun
To start the Oracle Installer without autorun:

  • Disable the autorun feature by holding down a shift key while inserting the CD.
  • Shut down any active Windows applications.
  • Choose Start->Run to display the Run dialog.
  • In the Run dialog box, type the following: x:\SETUP.EXE 
  • where x is the letter used to map your CD-ROM drive.
  • Click OK to start the Oracle Installer. The Oracle Installation Settings dialog box is displayed.

 2.1.3 Step 3: Choose Installation Settings
Once the Oracle Installation Settings dialog box is displayed, use the following steps to select installation settings:

Enter your company name.

The ORACLE_HOME has been preset to DEFAULT_HOME. Keep this default setting.

In the Language dialog, select the language in which you wish to run Oracle Reports Developer.

2.1.4 Step 4: Choose the Application
This installation manual assists in installing the Oracle Reports Developer. If you need to install additional products you will need to run the installation more than once. Installing the Oracle Forms Developer and the Oracle Forms Server is covered in Oracle Forms Developer Getting Started, A73154-01. 

The general installation of the Oracle Reports Server is the same as the Reports Developer. After the software is installed it must be setup.

Choose Oracle Reports Developer.

2.1.5 Step 5: Choose an Install Method
The Oracle Installer offers you two choices for setting up the design-time environment:
  • Typical Installation
  • Custom Installation

2.1.5.1 Typical Installation
Selecting this option installs both the design-time components and the runtime components. This allows your designers to test the applications they build.

Use the following steps:
  • Select Typical Installation on this screen and click OK.
  • In the Test Reports Server Installation Option dialog, click Yes.
  • In the Process Startup dialog, unless you are using Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM), click Yes to create and start required services now.
  • Read the text in the General Information dialog and click OK.
  • In the System Support Files dialog, click OK to upgrade your Windows files. These are standard Microsoft Windows files and will not be removed if you deinstall Reports Developer.
  • In the Reports Server parameters dialog, enter the Reports Server TNS Name and the Port number determined in Section 2.1.1, "Step 1: Determining the Reports Server Parameters".
  • When the Configuration Instructions for Forms and Report Server dialog appears, write down the complete path of the configuration file. Click Later.
  • The installer will display a message stating that the installation is finished.
  • Open the configuration file and follow the instructions.

2.1.5.2 Custom installation
A Custom Installation is more complex and requires a good understand of how products and components relate to each other.

When you select a custom installation, the Software Asset Manager dialog is displayed.

The products that are available for installation are listed under Products Available. The plus sign (+) to the left of a product's name indicates that this is the name of a software package, which consists of a main application and its supporting software. You can select the entire package by clicking the line with the plus icon, or you can double-click that line to display the pieces of the package, which can be selected individually.

The products that are already installed on your machine are listed under Products Installed. Some of these may also be software packages, and they behave as described in the previous paragraph.

The disk space required for your selection and the disk space currently available on your machine are displayed in the Space Required area below the product lists.

In the Software Asset Manager dialog, use the following steps to Custom Install:

Select the product or products you want to install in the Products Available list.

As with other Windows-based applications, you can Shift+click to select a series of products from the list, or you can Ctrl+click to select multiple, discontinuous products.

Click Install.

The installation begins. We recommend that you accept the default product locations.

When installation is complete, each product you have installed is listed in the Products Installed list.

Exit the Oracle Installer and restart your system.

The Software Asset Manager dialog box also contains the following buttons:

Button  Description 
Exit
 Closes the Software Asset Manager and exits the Oracle Installer.

Options . . .
 Allows you to do the following:

Request confirmations before removing or installing products

Receive detailed messages and prompts during various phases of the Oracle Installer's function

Record the Oracle Installer's actions in a log file

 
View Log . . .
 Displays the Event Log. The Event Log displays installation and configuration events in the Description Level you choose: Summary, Brief, and Detail. You can store and retrieve logs and save them to files.

By default, log files are stored in %ORACLE_HOME%\ORAINST\ORAINST.LOG. If a log file from a previous installation exists, it is renamed to ORAINST.OLG.

If you want to keep more than two log files (.LOG and .OLG), rename the .OLG file so that it is not overwritten.

Restore Icons
 Restores Oracle product icons and short cuts that were deleted.

Help
 Displays the Installer's online Help system.

  
2.2 Installing the Runtime Components
If you are setting up a runtime environment that will operate on the web (or any 3-tier environment), then you need to also install the Reports Server component. Instructions for doing so are in the manual Oracle Reports Server: Publishing Reports, A73071.

On the other hand, if you will be running your applications on client machines in a client/server setup, follow the instructions below:

Start the Oracle Installer in the same way as in Section 2.1.2, "Step 2: Start the Oracle Installer".

When the Installer gives you the choice between Typical and Custom, choose Custom.

After you select Custom, the Installer will list all the available components. Choose the Runtime component.

The Installer will then use the Software Asset Manager to install the Reports Developer runtime components.

When installation is complete, exit the Oracle Installer.

Shut down and restart Windows.

2.3 Connecting to the Oracle Server
Connect to the Oracle Server requires that the server exists and the TNS listener must be up and running from the Oracle Server ORACLE_HOME.

After completing this section you can connect from Reports Developer to the local database instance of the server using the connections string, NEW. For example, you can connect as scott/tiger@NEW.

2.3.1 Step One: Install the Server
To test reports generated with the Reports Developer, you have to be able to access a database. If you do not have access to one, you will need to install one. Oracle8 or Oracle8i can be installed using the Installation Guide for your platform.

Caution: Oracle8 or Oracle8i can be installed on the same physical machine as Reports Developer in a Windows NT environment; however, it must be in a separate ORACLE_HOME. For example, you might specify:

ORACLE_HOME = ora8i

Full Path = D:\orant\ora8i

2.3.2 Step Two: Specify the TNS Names
The TNS connection settings provide information that allows Oracle Reports Developer to connect to a database. The information is stored in the tnsnames.ora file, which can be updated using Oracle Net8 Easy Config or manually using a text editor.

Before proceeding, you will need to obtain the following database information:

  Installation Defaults 
Host Name
 ora8i.us.oracle.com

Database Port Number
 1521 and 1526 are the numbers most often used in Oracle installations. Your installation may be different. Ask you database administrator for the correct port number.

Database System Identifier (SID)
 ORA8I

User ID/Password
 sys/change_on_install

 system/manager


2.3.2.1 Using Oracle Net8 Easy Config
After obtaining the database information, use the following steps to include your database connection information in your tnsnames.ora file:

To start the Oracle Net8 Easy Config, choose Start->Programs->Oracle for Windows->.

  • Select Add New Service and type a New Service Name. Click Next.
  • The service name will be used to identify this connection when you connect in the Reports Developer.
  • Select the networking protocol used on your system and click Next.
  • Enter the Host Name and the Port Number and click Next.
  • The host name can be the IP address or the name of the machine on which the database resides.
  • Enter the Database SIS and click Next.
  • Click Test Service. The Test Connection dialog appears.
  • Enter the User ID and Password and click Test.
  • If the test is successful, click Done.
  • If the test is not successful, click Done and use the Back button to review your entries. After making changes, repeat steps 7 and 8.
  • Click Next and then Finish.


2.3.2.2 Editing manually
To create a TNSNAMES entry manually, use the following steps:

Locate the file in: ORACLE_HOME\net80\admin\tnsnames.ora

where ORACLE_HOME is the installation directory.

Open the file in any text editor.

Add the following entry:

ServiceName.world
(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = )
(PROTOCOL = )
(HOST = hostName)
(PORT = portNumber)
(CONNECT_DATA = (SID =db_name) )

)

where ServiceName is the alias used to identify the connection, hostName is the name used by the network to identify the machine on which the database resides, portNumber is the database port number, and db_name is the system identifier.

For example, if you installed on a machine with a HOSTNAME of TEST, a SID containing ORA8I, on TCP/IP with port 1521, and an alias of NEW, then you would create the following entry:

NEW.world =
(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = )
(PROTOCOL = TCP)
(Host = TEST)
(Port = 1521)
(CONNECT_DATA = (SID = ORA8I) )

)
  
Note: If the host name can not be resolved, use the host's IP address. The IP address can be determined by opening an MS-DOS window and typing ping.

Save and close the tnsnames.ora file
at 10:57:00 PM
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