Installing Oracle 23ai on Linux 9

 

Installing Oracle 23ai on Linux 9: A Step-by-Step Guide for Modern DBAs

Pre-requisites

 

- 20+ GB free disk space

- At least 8 GB RAM

- x86_64 architecture

- Oracle Linux 9 (preferred with UEK)

OS Requirements:

 

Before diving in, let’s get our system ready.

 

Step 1: Install Required Packages

Oracle provides a handy pre-install RPM that handles dependencies and kernel tuning.

 

Command:

[root@rd opc]# dnf install -y oracle-database-preinstall-23ai

 

This will:

- Set kernel parameters

- Create required groups and users (if not done)

- Install packages like `binutils`, `glibc`, `ksh`, etc.

Step 2: Download and Install Oracle 23ai RPM

Download the Oracle 23ai Free RPM package from Oracle’s official site.

Official link for download:- https://www.oracle.com/database/free/get-started/

OR

Using wget utility directly download the rpm into the server

[root@rd u01]# wget https://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/otn_software/db-free/oracle-database-free-23ai-1.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Install using:

[root@rd u01]# sudo dnf install -y oracle-database-free-23ai-1.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

 

 

This installs Oracle binaries in `/opt/oracle/product/23ai/dbhomeFree`.

Step 3: Configure the Database

Create and configure your Oracle 23ai database with:

 

[root@rd dbhomeFree]# sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-free-23ai configure Specify a password to be used for database accounts. Oracle recommends that the password entered should be at least 8 characters in length, contain at least 1 uppercase character, 1 lower case character and 1 digit [0-9]. Note that the same password will be used for SYS, SYSTEM and PDBADMIN accounts: Confirm the password: Configuring Oracle Listener. Listener configuration succeeded. Configuring Oracle Database FREE. Enter SYS user password:                                                                                                                                                                                     ************ Enter SYSTEM user password: ************* Enter PDBADMIN User Password: ************* Prepare for db operation 7% complete Copying database files 29% complete Creating and starting Oracle instance 30% complete 33% complete 36% complete 39% complete 43% complete Completing Database Creation 47% complete 49% complete 50% complete Creating Pluggable Databases 54% complete 71% complete Executing Post Configuration Actions 93% complete Running Custom Scripts 100% complete Database creation complete. For details check the logfiles at:  /opt/oracle/cfgtoollogs/dbca/FREE. Database Information: Global Database Name:FREE System Identifier(SID):FREE Look at the log file "/opt/oracle/cfgtoollogs/dbca/FREE/FREE.log" for further details.   Connect to Oracle Database using one of the connect strings:      Pluggable database: rd/FREEPDB1

 

 

The script will:

- Set up the Oracle listener

- Initialize the database

- Start the database service

Step 4: Test the Installation

Switch to the `oracle` user and test the environment:

 

sudo su – oracle

Environment Variables

To make life easier, set the following in `.bash_profile` for the `oracle` user:

export ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/23ai/dbhomeFree export ORACLE_SID=FREE export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH

 

Apply the changes:

source ~/.bash_profile

 

To connect root container:-

[oracle@rd ~]$ sqlplus sys@//localhost:1521/free as sysdba  Enter password: SQL*Plus: Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Production on Thu Apr 24 04:24:50 2025 Version 23.7.0.25.01   Copyright (c) 1982, 2025, Oracle.  All rights reserved.   Enter password:   Connected to: Oracle Database 23ai Free Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Develop, Learn, and Run for Free Version 23.7.0.25.01   SQL> show pdbs       CON_ID CON_NAME                       OPEN MODE  RESTRICTED ---------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------          2 PDB$SEED                       READ ONLY  NO          3 FREEPDB1                       READ WRITE NO SQL> show con_name   CON_NAME ------------------------------ CDB$ROOT SQL>

 

To connect Pluggabe database

[oracle@rd ~]$ sqlplus sys@//localhost:1521/freepdb1 as sysdba  Enter password: SQL*Plus: Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Production on Thu Apr 24 04:26:47 2025 Version 23.7.0.25.01   Copyright (c) 1982, 2025, Oracle.  All rights reserved.   Enter password:   Connected to: Oracle Database 23ai Free Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Develop, Learn, and Run for Free Version 23.7.0.25.01 SQL> show con_name   CON_NAME ------------------------------ FREEPDB1

 

Optional: Enable Auto-Start on Boot

To enable Oracle to start automatically after reboot:

[root@rd u01]# sudo systemctl enable oracle-free-23ai oracle-free-23ai.service is not a native service, redirecting to systemd-sysv-install. Executing: /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable oracle-free-23ai

 

Database service can be stopped and started using following command from root user

[root@rd opc]# /etc/init.d/oracle-free-23ai stop [root@rd opc]# /etc/init.d/oracle-free-23ai start

Final Thoughts

"23ai" = Oracle 23c: Oracle renamed the release from 23c to 23ai to reflect its built-in artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

 Free Edition: It's the lightweight version of the full Oracle Database, similar to what Oracle 21c XE was, but even easier to install and use (especially with the RPM installer).