Install Oracle Database 11g Express Edition in Fedora Linux

During a Computer Science database course, our instructor recommended installing Oracle Database 11g Express Edition on a Windows XP or Windows 7 system, claiming it would yield better performance. However, I quickly ran into issues. My old laptop, running Ubuntu Linux in a dual-boot setup, couldn’t handle the installation of pirated Windows versions — they either crashed or were flagged by Microsoft as unauthorized.

Determined to avoid these pitfalls, I decided to explore Linux alternatives. Initially, I hoped to install Oracle Database on my Ubuntu system, but I discovered that Oracle only officially supports Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Unfortunately, the Oracle Linux ISO was a hefty 11GB download, and Red Hat required a subscription fee — both of which felt like roadblocks to my goal.

That’s when I stumbled upon Fedora Linux, an open-source project sponsored by Red Hat. It’s essentially a free, community-driven version of Red Hat Linux, and its latest ISO was a manageable 2.1GB — significantly smaller than Oracle Linux.

So, here’s how to install Oracle Database on Fedora Linux!

Installing Fedora Linux

Before we dive into setting up Oracle Database, you’ll first need to install Fedora Linux on your computer.

1. Download Fedora Workstation: Head over to the Fedora Project website and download the latest version of Fedora.
2. Create a Bootable USB: If you’re installing Fedora directly on your hardware (not using a virtual machine), you’ll need to create a bootable USB device. You can use the Fedora Media Writer, a tool similar to Rufus, for this purpose.

While this article won’t cover the detailed steps for creating a bootable USB, nor installation on virtual machines or hardware, the Fedora website provides comprehensive guides to help you through the process.

Downloading and Installing Oracle Database

After successfully setting up Fedora Linux, the next step is to download Oracle Database 11g. Since Oracle no longer provides this version, you can find it on archive.org.

1. Download the ZIP File:

• Visit the archive.org page for Oracle Database 11g.
• On the right side panel, select “ZIP.” This will display several ZIP files for different operating systems.
• Download the ZIP file for Linux x86_64.

2. Extract the Contents:

• Once the ZIP file is downloaded, you need to extract its contents. This can be done either by right-clicking the ZIP file in the file manager or using the terminal.
• If you prefer the terminal, navigate to the directory containing the ZIP file and run the following commands:

# Navigate to the directory of the ZIP file
$ cd /path/to/zip/file

# If unzip isn't installed on your system, you can check by running:
$ which unzip

# If not installed, install unzip using:
$ sudo dnf install unzip

# Extract the contents to a specific destination folder:
$ unzip oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm.zip -d /path/to/destination_folder

# Or, extract to a directory with the same name as the ZIP file in your current directory:
$ unzip oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm.zip

# taken from https://askubuntu.com/questions/86849/how-to-unzip-a-zip-file-from-the-terminal

3. Execute the RPM file:

After extracting the contents, open a terminal and navigate to the directory where the RPM package was extracted.

# Assuming you are in the directory where the files were extracted
$ cd /path/to/extracted/files

$ cd Disk1/

# Switch to superuser mode
$ sudo su

# Install the Oracle Database RPM package
$ rpm -ivh oracle-xe-11.2.0-1.0.x86_64.rpm

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4. Configure the Oracle Database Service

After installing the Oracle Database RPM package, the next step is to configure the service. Run the following command in the terminal:

$ sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure

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This command will initiate the configuration process, where you’ll be prompted to:

1. Specify the Ports:

• Set the port number for the web-based management interface. [8080]
• Set the port number for the database service itself. [1521]

2. Set the SYS or SYSTEM Password:

• Choose a password for the SYS or SYSTEM user, who will serve as the database administrator.

3. Service Startup:

• Indicate whether you want the Oracle Database service to start automatically when the system boots. [y/n]

5. Starting and Stopping the Oracle Database Service

After completing the configuration, the Oracle Database service should start automatically. If it doesn’t, or if you need to manually start the service, run the following command:

# start database
$ /etc/init.d/oracle-xe start

# stop database
$ /etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop

Installing Oracle SQL Developer

Oracle SQL Developer is a powerful tool for managing Oracle databases, offering a user-friendly interface for running SQL queries, managing database objects, and more. Here’s how to install it on Fedora Linux:

1. Download SQL Developer:

• Visit the Oracle SQL Developer download page.
• Scroll down to the bottom and choose Linux RPM file

Download Linux RPM file to install SQL Developer

2. Install Java (if not already installed):

SQL Developer requires the Java Development Kit (JDK) version 11. If it’s not already installed, you can install it using the following command:

$ sudo dnf install java-11-openjdk

By default, Fedora installs the newest version of Java. If you need to change the Java version, you can do so using the following command:

$ sudo alternatives --config java

# Simply enter a selection number to choose which java executable should be used by default.

Verify the installation by checking the Java version:

$ java -version

3. Install SQL Developer RPM

After downloading the SQL Developer RPM file, navigate to its location, an install it using the following command:

$ rpm -ivh sqldeveloper-[version].rpm
# Checkout sqldeveloper version may change

After completing these installations, everything you need will be set up on your system. You can now connect to your Oracle Database using either the SQL*Plus terminal application or the SQL Developer interface.

This guide does not cover the specifics of connecting to the database, but with the tools now installed, you’re ready to explore further on your own.