Setting ORACLE_HOME in Oracle RAC 11g

Question

I've got two (2) nodes in an Oracle RAC 11g in Windows Server 2008. Oracle software is installed in C:\app.

I realized that the ORACLE_HOME path has not been set.. In System Properties-> Advanced -> Environment Variables, I see that ORACLE_HOME is empty, and I need it in order to run some Oracle patch.

• Which path would be the ORACLE_HOME: C:\app\bd\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1
• Do I have to setup the same in both nodes?

Answer 1

Set the ORACLE_HOME to the directory which contains bin subdirectory with the Oracle binaries (utilities) you want to use. So in effect, e.g. sqlplus should be accessible as %ORACLE_HOME%\bin\sqlplus.exe.

Set your PATH correspondingly (include the same %ORACLE_HOME%\bin subdirectory).

It would be best to have the same ORACLE_HOME on all RAC nodes to avoid confusion, and this is the default. But it is not mandatory.

By the way, theoretically you can have a separate installation of Oracle binaries, and then you can change the ORACLE_HOME to point to them and run a separate Oracle instance using these separate binaries.

Answer 2

I added four lines to the to the four .bash_profiles on DR, now the oracle and grid environments are setup when you login.

Node 2:

[kendall3@napdclwcdb002b ~]$ sudo su - oracle
The Oracle base has been set to /opt/oracle
[oracle@napdclwcdb002b ~]$ env | grep ORA
ORACLE_SID=PWCM2
ORACLE_BASE=/opt/oracle
ORAENV_ASK=YES
ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/PWCM/11.2.0

[kendall3@napdclwcdb002b ~]$ sudo su - grid
The Oracle base has been set to /opt/oracle/grid
[grid@napdclwcdb002b ~]$ env | grep ORA
ORACLE_SID=+ASM2
ORACLE_BASE=/opt/oracle/grid
ORAENV_ASK=YES
ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/ASM/11.2.0.4

Node 1:

[kendall3@napdclwcdb001b ~]$ sudo su - oracle
The Oracle base has been set to /opt/oracle
[oracle@napdclwcdb001b ~]$ env | grep ORA
ORACLE_SID=PWCM1
ORACLE_BASE=/opt/oracle
ORAENV_ASK=YES
ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/PWCM/11.2.0

[kendall3@napdclwcdb001b ~]$ sudo su - grid
The Oracle base has been set to /opt/oracle/grid
[grid@napdclwcdb001b ~]$ env | grep ORA
ORACLE_SID=+ASM1
ORACLE_BASE=/opt/oracle/grid
ORAENV_ASK=YES
ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/ASM/11.2.0.4

[grid@napdclwcdb001b ~]$ cat .bash_profile
# .bash_profile
# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
        . ~/.bashrc
fi
# User specific environment and startup programs
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
export PATH
export ORACLE_SID=+ASM1
export ORAENV_ASK=NO
. oraenv
export ORAENV_ASK=YES