Edit

Create an Oracle Database in an Azure VM

  • Article

Applies to: ✔️ Linux VMs

This article describes how to use the Azure CLI to deploy an Azure virtual machine (VM) from the Oracle marketplace gallery image to create an Oracle Database 19c database. After you deploy the server, you connect the server via SSH to configure the Oracle database.

Prerequisites

  • If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin.

  • Azure Cloud Shell or the Azure CLI.

    You can run the Azure CLI commands in this quickstart interactively in Azure Cloud Shell. To run the commands in Cloud Shell, select Open Cloudshell at the upper-right corner of a code block. Select Copy to copy the code, and paste it into Cloud Shell to run it. You can also run Cloud Shell from within the Azure portal. Cloud Shell always uses the latest version of the Azure CLI.

    Alternatively, you can install Azure CLI locally to run the commands. The steps in this article require the Azure CLI version 2.0.4 or later. Run az version to see your installed version and dependent libraries, and run az upgrade to upgrade. If you use a local installation, sign in to Azure by using the az login command.

Create resource group

Create a resource group with the az group create command. An Azure resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources are deployed and managed.

The following example creates a resource group named rg-oracle in the eastus location.

az group create --name rg-oracle --location eastus

Note

This quickstart creates a Standard_DS2_v2 SKU VM in the East US region. To view the list of supported SKUs by region, use the az vm list-skus command.

Create virtual machine

Create a virtual machine (VM) with the az vm create command.

The following example creates a VM named vmoracle19c. It also creates SSH keys, if they don't already exist in a default key location. To use a specific set of keys, you can use the --ssh-key-value option with the command.

az vm create \
    --name vmoracle19c \
    --resource-group rg-oracle \
    --image Oracle:oracle-database-19-3:oracle-database-19-0904:latest \
    --size Standard_DS2_v2 \
    --admin-username azureuser \
    --generate-ssh-keys \
    --public-ip-address-allocation static \
    --public-ip-address-dns-name vmoracle19c

After you create the VM, Azure CLI displays information similar to the following example. Note the value for the publicIpAddress property. You use this IP address to access the VM.

{
  "fqdns": "",
  "id": "/subscriptions/{snip}/resourceGroups/rg-oracle/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/vmoracle19c",
  "location": "eastus",
  "macAddress": "00-0D-3A-36-2F-56",
  "powerState": "VM running",
  "privateIpAddress": "10.0.0.4",
  "publicIpAddress": "13.64.104.241",
  "resourceGroup": "rg-oracle"
}

Create disk for Oracle data files

Create and attach a new disk for Oracle data files and a fast recovery area (FRA) with the az vm disk attach command.

The following example creates a disk named oradata01.

az vm disk attach \
    --name oradata01 --new \
    --resource-group rg-oracle \
    --size-gb 64 --sku StandardSSD_LRS \
    --vm-name vmoracle19c

Open ports for connectivity

In this task, you must configure some external endpoints for the database listener to use by setting up the Azure network security group (NSG) that protects the VM.

  1. Create the NSG for the VM with the az network nsg create command. This command creates the vmoracle19cNSG NSG for rules to control access to the VM:

    az network nsg create --resource-group rg-oracle --name vmoracle19cNSG

  2. Create an NSG rule with the az network nsg rule create command. This command creates the allow-oracle NSG rule to open the endpoint for remote access to the Oracle database:

    az network nsg rule create \
    --resource-group rg-oracle \
    --nsg-name vmoracle19cNSG \
    --name allow-oracle \
    --protocol tcp \
    --priority 1001 \
    --destination-port-range 1521

  3. Create a second NSG rule to open the endpoint for remote access to Oracle. This command creates the allow-oracle-EM NSG rule:

    az network nsg rule create \
    --resource-group rg-oracle \
    --nsg-name vmoracle19cNSG \
    --name allow-oracle-EM \
    --protocol tcp \
    --priority 1002 \
    --destination-port-range 5502

  4. As needed, use the az network public-ip show command to get the public IP address of your VM:

    az network public-ip show \
    --resource-group rg-oracle \
    --name vmoracle19cPublicIP \
    --query "ipAddress" \
    --output tsv

Prepare VM environment

  1. Create an SSH session with the VM. Replace the <publicIPAddress> portion with the public IP address value for your VM, such as 10.200.300.4:

    ssh azureuser@<publicIPAddress>

  2. Switch to the root user:

    sudo su -

  3. Locate the most recently created disk device that you want to format to hold Oracle data files:

    ls -alt /dev/sd*|head -1

    The output is similar to this example:

    brw-rw----. 1 root disk 8, 16 Dec  8 22:57 /dev/sdc

  4. As the root user, use the parted command to format the device.

    1. First, create a disk label:

      parted /dev/sdc mklabel gpt

    2. Next, create a primary partition that spans the entire disk:

      parted -a optimal /dev/sdc mkpart primary 0GB 64GB

    3. Finally, check the device details by printing its metadata:

      parted /dev/sdc print

      The output is similar to this example:

      Model: Msft Virtual Disk (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 68.7GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number   Start    End      Size     File system   Name     Flags
1        1049kB   64.0GB   64.0GB   ext4          primary

  5. Create a filesystem on the device partition:

    mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdc1

    The output is similar to this example:

    mke2fs 1.42.9 (28-Dec-2013)
Discarding device blocks: done                            
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
3907584 inodes, 15624704 blocks
781235 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=2164260864
477 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8192 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
     32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
     4096000, 7962624, 11239424
 Allocating group tables: done                            
 Writing inode tables: done                            
 Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
 Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

  6. Create a mount point:

    mkdir /u02

  7. Mount the disk:

    mount /dev/sdc1 /u02

  8. Change permissions on the mount point:

    chmod 777 /u02

  9. Add the mount to the /etc/fstab file:

    echo "/dev/sdc1               /u02                    ext4    defaults        0 0" >> /etc/fstab

    Important

    This command mounts the /etc/fstab file without a specific UUID, which can prevent successful reboot of the disk. Before you attempt to reboot the disk, update the /etc/fstab entry to include a UUID for the mount point.

  10. Update the /etc/hosts file with the public IP address and address hostname. Change the <Public IP> and two <VMname> portions to reflect your actual values:

    echo "<Public IP> <VMname>.eastus.cloudapp.azure.com <VMname>" >> /etc/hosts

  11. Add the domain name of the VM to the /etc/hostname file. The following command assumes the resource group and VM are created in the eastus region:

    sed -i 's/$/\.eastus\.cloudapp\.azure\.com &/' /etc/hostname

  12. Open firewall ports.

    Because SELinux is enabled by default on the Marketplace image, we need to open the firewall to traffic for the database listening port 1521, and Enterprise Manager Express port 5502. Run the following commands as root user:

    firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=1521/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=5502/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --reload

Create the database

The Oracle software is already installed on the Marketplace image. Create a sample database as follows.

  1. Switch to the oracle user:

    sudo su - oracle

  2. Start the database listener:

    lsnrctl start

    The output is similar to the following example:

    LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 19.0.0.0.0 - Production on 20-OCT-2020 01:58:18

Copyright (c) 1991, 2019, Oracle.  All rights reserved.

Starting /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1/bin/tnslsnr: please wait...

TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 19.0.0.0.0 - Production
Log messages written to /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vmoracle19c/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vmoracle19c.eastus.cloudapp.azure.com)(PORT=1521)))

Connecting to (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=)(PORT=1521))
STATUS of the LISTENER
------------------------
Alias                     LISTENER
Version                   TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 19.0.0.0.0 - Production
Start Date                20-OCT-2020 01:58:18
Uptime                    0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec
Trace Level               off
Security                  ON: Local OS Authentication
SNMP                      OFF
Listener Log File         /u01/app/oracle/diag/tnslsnr/vmoracle19c/listener/alert/log.xml
Listening Endpoints Summary...
  (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=vmoracle19c.eastus.cloudapp.azure.com)(PORT=1521)))
The listener supports no services
The command completed successfully

  3. Create a data directory for the Oracle data files:

    mkdir /u02/oradata

  4. Run the Database Creation Assistant:

    dbca -silent \
    -createDatabase \
    -templateName General_Purpose.dbc \
    -gdbname oratest1 \
    -sid oratest1 \
    -responseFile NO_VALUE \
    -characterSet AL32UTF8 \
    -sysPassword OraPasswd1 \
    -systemPassword OraPasswd1 \
    -createAsContainerDatabase false \
    -databaseType MULTIPURPOSE \
    -automaticMemoryManagement false \
    -storageType FS \
    -datafileDestination "/u02/oradata/" \
    -ignorePreReqs

    It takes a few minutes to create the database.

    The output is similar to the following example:

         Prepare for db operation
    10% complete
    Copying database files
    40% complete
    Creating and starting Oracle instance
    42% complete
    46% complete
    50% complete
    54% complete
    60% complete
    Completing Database Creation
    66% complete
    69% complete
    70% complete
    Executing Post Configuration Actions
    100% complete
    Database creation complete. For details check the logfiles at: /u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/dbca/oratest1.
    Database Information:
    Global Database Name:oratest1
    System Identifier(SID):oratest1
    Look at the log file "/u01/app/oracle/cfgtoollogs/dbca/oratest1/oratest1.log" for further details.

  5. Set Oracle variables:

    Before you connect, you need to set the environment variable ORACLE_SID:

    export ORACLE_SID=oratest1

    You should also add the ORACLE_SID variable to the oracle users .bashrc file for future sign-ins by using the following command:

    echo "export ORACLE_SID=oratest1" >> ~oracle/.bashrc

Automate database startup and shutdown

The Oracle database by default doesn't automatically start when you restart the VM. To set up the Oracle database to start automatically, first sign in as root. Then, create and update some system files.

  1. Sign on as the root user:

    sudo su -

  2. Change the automated startup flag from N to Y in the /etc/oratab file:

    sed -i 's/:N/:Y/' /etc/oratab

  3. Create a file named /etc/init.d/dbora and add the following bash command to the file:

    #!/bin/sh
# chkconfig: 345 99 10
# Description: Oracle auto start-stop script.
#
# Set ORA_HOME to be equivalent to $ORACLE_HOME.
ORA_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1
ORA_OWNER=oracle

case "$1" in
'start')
    # Start the Oracle databases:
    # The following command assumes that the Oracle sign-in
    # will not prompt the user for any values.
    # Remove "&" if you don't want startup as a background process.
    su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbstart $ORA_HOME" &
    touch /var/lock/subsys/dbora
    ;;

'stop')
    # Stop the Oracle databases:
    # The following command assumes that the Oracle sign-in
    # will not prompt the user for any values.
    su - $ORA_OWNER -c "$ORA_HOME/bin/dbshut $ORA_HOME" &
    rm -f /var/lock/subsys/dbora
    ;;
esac

  4. Change permissions on files with the chmod command:

    chgrp dba /etc/init.d/dbora
chmod 750 /etc/init.d/dbora

  5. Create symbolic links for startup and shutdown:

    ln -s /etc/init.d/dbora /etc/rc.d/rc0.d/K01dbora
ln -s /etc/init.d/dbora /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S99dbora
ln -s /etc/init.d/dbora /etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99dbora

  6. To test your changes, restart the VM:

    reboot

Clean up resources

After you finish exploring your first Oracle database on Azure and the VM is no longer needed, you can use the az group delete command to remove the resource group, VM, and all related resources.

az group delete --name rg-oracle

Next steps