4 Installing Oracle Ultra Search

Hardware Requirements for Oracle Ultra Search

Oracle Ultra Search hardware requirements are based on the amount of data that you plan to process using Oracle Ultra Search. Oracle Ultra Search uses Oracle Text as its indexing engine and the Oracle Database as its repository.

Sufficient RAM Along with the resource requirements for the database and the Text indexing engine, also consider the memory requirements of the Oracle Ultra Search crawler. The Oracle Ultra Search crawler is a pure Java program. When the crawler is launched, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is configured to start with 25MB and grow to 256MB. When crawling very large amounts of data, these values might need to be adjusted.

The Oracle Ultra Search administration tool is a J2EE 1.2 standard Web application. It can be installed and run on a separate host from the Oracle Ultra Search backend. You can install and run this on the same host as the Oracle Ultra Search backend. You need to allocate enough memory for the J2EE engine. Oracle recommends using the Oracle HTTP Server with the Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE (OC4J). Allocate enough memory for the HTTP Server as well as for the Java Development Kit (JDK) that runs the J2EE engine.

Sufficient Disk Space As customer requirements vary widely, Oracle cannot recommend a specific amount of disk space. As a general guideline, the minimum requirements are as follows:

• 3GB of disk space is required for the Oracle Application Server Infrastructure or database and the Oracle Ultra Search backend.

• 15MB of disk space for the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier on top of the Web server's disk requirements.

• For each remote crawler host, 3GB of disk space is required.

• Disk space for a large TEMPORARY tablespace depends upon the amount of RAM on the host.

• Disk space for the Oracle Ultra Search instance user's tablespace.

  • The Oracle Ultra Search instance user is a database user that you must create. All data that is collected and processed as part of crawling and indexing is stored in this user's schema.

  • You should create the tablespace as large as the total amount of data that you want to index. For example, if you estimate that the total amount of data to be crawled and indexed is 10GB, then create a tablespace that is at least 10GB for the Oracle Ultra Search instance user. Make sure to assign that tablespace as the default tablespace of the Oracle Ultra Search instance user.

Software Requirements for Oracle Ultra Search

The Oracle Ultra Search middle tier components are Web applications and they require a Web server to run. It is recommended to use Oracle Application Server.

Installing the Middle Tier with the Oracle Database

The Oracle Ultra Search middle tier is installed as part of the Oracle Database 11g Products installation.

Unlock WKSYS and WK_TEST

The Oracle Ultra Search installer creates a default Oracle Ultra Search instance based on the Oracle Ultra Search test user. You can test Oracle Ultra Search functionality based on the default instance after installation.

The default instance name is WK_INST. It is created based on the database user WK_TEST, and the default user password is wk_test. The password expires after the installation. For security purposes, WK_TEST is locked after installation.

Unlock the Oracle Ultra Search schema and user:

1. Log in to the database as a DBA user (for example, as SYS).

2. If necessary, unlock the Oracle Ultra Search schema, WKSYS, and set its password:

   ALTER USER wksys account unlock identified by password
   
   

3. Unlock the Oracle Ultra Search WK_TEST schema. Its password is wk_test.

   ALTER USER wk_test account unlock identified by password
   
   

   If the password is changed to anything other than wk_test, then you must also update the cached schema password. To do this, use the administration tool in the Edit Instance page after you change the password in the database.

The default instance is also used by the Oracle Ultra Search query application. Make sure to update the data-sources.xml file.

Enable the Oracle Ultra Search Query Applications

Add the following to the data-sources.xml file. The file is present in the $ORACLE_HOME/oc4j/j2ee/OC4J_SEARCH/config directory.

<connection-pool 
      name="UltraSearchCPool" 
      max-connections="100" 
      used-connection-wait-timeout="60" 
      inactivity-timeout="600" 
      property-check-interval="60"> 
      <connection-factory factory-class="oracle.jdbc.pool.OracleDataSource" 
         user="{username}" 
         password="{password}" 
         url="jdbc:oracle:thin:@{hostname}:{listener_port}:{database_SID}"/> 
   </connection-pool> 
   <managed-data-source name="UltraSearchDS" 
      connection-pool-name="UltraSearchCPool" 
      jndi-name="jdbc/UltraSearchPooledDS"/>

In the syntax,

• username and password are the Oracle Ultra Search instance owner's database user name and password.

• hostname is the host name of the back end database computer.

• listener_port is the port to the user's Oracle Database.

• database_sid is the SID of the user's Oracle Database.

Start the Oracle Ultra Search Middle Tier

Use the following command to start the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier. You must run this command manually to start the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier after installation.

$ORACLE_HOME/bin/searchctl start

Use the Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (OPMN) to start the OC4J_Portal instance. For example:

$ORACLE_HOME/opmn/bin/opmnctl startproc instancename=OC4J_Portal

Restart the Oracle Ultra Search Middle Tier

Restart the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier, in the Database release. For example:

$ORACLE_HOME/bin/searchctl stop
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/searchctl start

For the Oracle Application Server release, use Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (OPMN) to start the OC4J_Portal instance. For example:

$ORACLE_HOME/opmn/bin/opmnctl startproc instancename=OC4J_Portal

Reconfigure the Oracle Ultra Search Backend for the Database Character Set

If the database character set is changed after installation, you must reconfigure the Oracle Ultra Search backend to adapt to the new character set.

Two SQL scripts (wk0prefcheck.sql and wk0idxcheck.sql), located in $ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/admin/, are used for reconfiguration:

• wk0prefcheck.sql is run by the wksys user to reconfigure default cache character set and index preferences.

• wk0idxcheck.sql is needed for reconfiguring instances created before the database character set change (for example, the default instance). This script must be run by the instance owner, and wk0prefcheck.sql must be run first because it depends on reconfigured default settings generated by wk0prefcheck.sql.

  Running wk0idxcheck.sql also drops and recreates the Oracle Text index used by Oracle Ultra Search. If there are already data sources indexed, then you must force a recrawl of all of the data sources.

  wk0idxcheck.sql must be run once for each instance. For example, if there are two instances, inst1 and inst2, owned by owner1 and owner2, respectively, then wk0idxcheck.sql should be run twice, once by owner1 and once by owner2.

Testing the Oracle Ultra Search Administration Tool

If you log on to the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool successfully, then you have completed the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool configuration process. Do the following to check the Oracle Ultra Search Administration Tool:

1. Check whether the Web Server is running.

2. Attempt to log on to the administration tool:

   1. Visit the following URL

      http://host.domain:port/ultrasearch/admin/index.jsp

      In the preceding URL, host.domain is the full name of the host where you have installed the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier, and port is the default Web server port.

   2. Log on to the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool by entering the Oracle Ultra Search instance owner's database user name and password.During the installation of the Oracle Ultra Search backend, a new Oracle Ultra Search instance owner, WK_TEST is created.

   The first time any JSP page is accessed, it takes a few seconds to compile. Subsequent accesses are much faster.

Testing the Oracle Ultra Search Query Applications

After you verify that the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool is working, you should be able to run the Oracle Ultra Search query applications.

To test the Oracle Ultra Search query applications, do one of the following:

• Visit the following URL:

  http://host.domain:port/ultrasearch/query/search.jsp

• Follow the links in the Oracle Ultra Search welcome page: http://host.domain:port/ultrasearch/index.html

Locations for query applications are listed in the following section. Access the query source code by going to the directories list. You can also see a working demonstration of each query JSP page with the URL root, and you can append the correct JSP file name at the end of the URL root.

The query application is shipped as $ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/ultrasearch_query.ear.

Portlet is shipped as $ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/webapp/ultrasearch_portlet.ear.

Turning the Debug Mode On

Debug mode is useful for troubleshooting in Oracle Ultra Search. To turn on the debug mode, update the ultrasearch.properties file by setting the value debug=true, and restart Oracle Ultra Search middle tier. This file is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/webapp/config directory.

Query finds no results

See "Reconfigure the Oracle Ultra Search Backend for the Database Character Set".

Error when processing binary files

The Oracle Ultra Search crawler uses the Oracle Text AUTO_FILTER, ctxhx, for processing of binary files. These are non-text, non-HTML files such as PDF files, Microsoft Word files, and so on. For Oracle Ultra Search to use the AUTO_FILTER, the shared library path environment variable must contain the $ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib path.

During installation, the Oracle Universal Installer automatically sets the variable to include $ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib. If you restart the database after the installation, then you must manually set your shared library path environment variable to include $ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib before starting the Oracle process. You must restart the database to pick up the new value for filtering to work.

• On UNIX set the $LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to include $ORACLE_HOME/ctx/lib.

• On Windows set the $PATH environment variable to include $ORACLE_HOME\bin.

Error when crawling a file data source

If the globalization setting for an environment that starts the Oracle Database is not compatible with the target files' locale, then a file not found error occurs or files or directories with names containing the CJK character. This error occurs in a multibyte language environment like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. This is because the crawler relies on the correct locale setting to read operating system files.

To correct this, set the correct locale, restart the Oracle Database and make Oracle Ultra Search to re-crawl the data source. For example:

1. Shutdown the Oracle Database instance:

   SQL> shutdown immediate
   
   

2. Set the locale to 'ja' with the following:

   > setenv LANG ja
   > setenv LC_ALL ja
   
   

3. Restart the Oracle Database instance:

   SQL> startup
   
   

4. Restart the Oracle Ultra Search schedule with a forced re-crawl.

Cannot log on to the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool

The ultrasearch.properties file contains configuration information used by Oracle Ultra Search middle tier. The file is automatically configured by the Oracle Universal Installer.

With a software or an advanced database installation, you must manually configure the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool by editing it. You must replace %THIN_JDBC_CONN_STR% with a JDBC string to the database, and replace %DOMAIN% with the domain name.

Here is an example of the ultrasearch.properties file:

connection.driver=oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver 
#If set, The JDBC connection URL specified here will override the dynamically #acquired one from Oracle Internet Directory. 
#This setting is also used by the query sample (gsearch.jsp) 
#Example: connection.url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@<host>:<port>:<sid> 
connection.url=%JDBC_CONN_STR% 
oracle.net.encryption_client=REQUESTED 
oracle.net.encryption_types_client=(RC4_56,DES56C,RC4_40,DES40C) 
oracle.net.crypto_checksum_client=REQUESTED 
oracle.net.crypto_checksum_types_client=(MD5) 
oid.app_entity_cn=m16bi.sgtcnsun03.cn.oracle.com 
domain=us.oracle.com 

In the preceding example, the following variables were used:

• connection.driver specifies the JDBC driver you are using.

• connection.url specifies the database to which the middle tier connects. Oracle Ultra Search supports following formats:

  • host:port:SID (where host is the full host name of the Oracle Database instance running Oracle Ultra Search, port is the listener port number for the Oracle Database instance, and SID is the Oracle Database instance ID)

  • HA-aware string (for example, TNS keyword-value syntax)

• oracle.net.encryption_client, oracle.net.encryption_types_client, oracle.net.crypto_checksum_client, and oracle.net.crypto_checksum_types_client control the properties of the secure JDBC connection made to the database. Refer to Oracle Database JDBC Developer's Guide and Reference for more information.

• oid.app_entity_cn specifies the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier application entity name.

• domain specifies the common domain for the Identity Management computer and the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier computer. This enables delegated administrative service (DAS) list of values to work with Internet Explorer. For example, if the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier in us.oracle.com and the Identity Management computer is uk.oracle.com, then the common domain is oracle.com.

Installing the Backend on Remote Crawler Hosts

The Oracle Ultra Search remote crawler is part of the Oracle Ultra Search backend. The crawler installation procedure is similar to the Oracle Ultra Search backend installation.

On each remote crawler host, the Oracle Ultra Search backend is installed under a common directory known as ORACLE_HOME. The remote ORACLE_HOME directory is referred to as $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME.

If you have not installed the Oracle HTTP Server during the Oracle Application Server installation, then you must perform the following steps manually for remote crawling:

• Locate the file that defines the environment.

  • On UNIX: $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/tools/remotecrawler/scripts/unix/define_env

  • On Windows: $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME\ultrasearch\tools\remotecrawler\ scripts\winnt\define_env.bat

• Replace %ORACLE_HOME% with the value of the REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME environment variable.

• Replace %s_jreLocation% with the directory path of a Java runtime environment (JRE) version 1.2.2 and higher. You should specify the root directory of the JRE.

• Replace %s_jreJDBCclassfile% with the full path and file name of the Oracle JDBC Thin driver version 12.

Configuring the Remote Crawler

The remote crawler requires a communication channel between the backend database and the remote crawler host.

The mechanisms of communication are RMI and JDBC. Configuration of the remote crawler differs depending on which mechanism you use. The JDBC-based mechanism requires you to provide a database user (or role) during the registration process.

The registration process is done by running a SQL script on the Oracle Ultra Search remote crawler host. The SQL script connects over SQL*Plus to the Oracle backend database and registers the remote crawler host.

1. Locate the correct Oracle home.

   The Oracle Ultra Search middle tier is installed under a common directory known as ORACLE_HOME. If you have installed other Oracle products prior to the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier, then you may have multiple ORACLE_HOME directories on your host. The registration script requires that you enter the ORACLE_HOME directory in which the Oracle Ultra Search middle tier is installed.

2. Locate the WKSYS super-user password.

   You must run the registration script as the WKSYS super-user or as a database user who has been granted super-user privileges.

3. Start SQL*Plus.

   Be sure to run the correct version of SQL*Plus, because multiple versions can reside on the same host if you have installed some other Oracle products. On UNIX platforms, make sure that the correct values for PATH, ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN variables are set. On Windows, choose the correct menu item from the Start menu.

   After you have identified how to run the correct SQL*Plus client, you must log on to the Oracle Ultra Search database. To do this, you might need to configure an Oracle Net service setting for the Oracle Ultra Search database.

4. After SQL*Plus is running, log on to the database using the schema and password that you located in Step 2.

5. Run the registration script.

   Start up SQL*Plus as the WKSYS super-user and enter the following:

   @full_path_of_registration_script
   

   • The registration script for RMI-based remote crawling is the following:

     $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/tools/remotecrawler/scripts/<platform>/register.sql
     
     

     For example, if the value for $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME on a UNIX host is /home/oracle11g, then enter the following at the SQL*Plus prompt to register an RMI-based remote crawler:

     @/home/oracle11g/ultrasearch/tools/remotecrawler/scripts/unix/register.sql
     
     

     The RMI-based registration script prompts you for three variables:

     • RMI_HOSTNAME: The remote host name. This is where the RMI registry/daemon will run.

     • RMI_REGISTRY_PORT: The port that the RMI registry is listening on.

     • ORACLE_HOME: The Oracle home located in Step 1.

       For example, /u01/oracle11g on a UNIX host or d:\u01\oracle11g on a Windows host. Remember to use forward slashes for Windows hosts.

   • The registration script for JDBC-based remote crawling is the following:

     $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME/ultrasearch/tools/remotecrawler/scripts/<platform>/register_jdbc.sql
     
     

     For example, if you are running SQL*Plus on Windows, and $REMOTE_ORACLE_HOME is in d:\Oracle\Oracle11g, then enter the following at the SQL*Plus prompt to register a JDBC-based remote crawler:

     @d:\Oracle\Oracle11g\ultrasearch\tools\remotecrawler\scripts\winnt\register_jdbc.sql
     
     

     The JDBC-based registration script prompts for three variables:

     • LAUNCHER_NAME: An arbitrary string used to identify a JDBC-based remote crawler launcher, which is needed when you start up the JDBC-based remote crawler launcher.

     • CONNECTUSER: The database user (or role) that the JDBC-based remote crawler launcher will use to establish a database connection and listen for launch events.

     • ORACLE_HOME: The Oracle home located in Step 1.

   The registration script invokes the wk_crw.register_remote_crawler PL/SQL API. The REMOTE_CRAWLER_HOSTNAME and ORACLE_HOME variables are used to compose arguments for the wk_crw.register_remote_crawler API. You may optionally choose to call this API, especially if you need to register multiple remote crawlers programatically.

6. Verify and complete the remote crawler profile configuration. Be sure to enter the correct values for both variables. To verify that the registration has completed correctly, do the following:

   1. Log on to the Oracle Ultra Search administration tool.

   2. Click the Remote Crawler Profiles tab in the Crawler tab. You should see the remote crawler launcher you registered in the remote crawler profile list.

      • For RMI-based remote crawlers, you will see the host:port combination that uniquely identifies the RMI-subsystem.

      • For JDBC-based remote crawlers, you will see the Launcher name.

   3. Click Edit to complete the configuration process for the remote crawler profile.

Unregistering a Remote Crawler

If you enter wrong values for the register.sql script, then you need to unregister the remote crawler using the unregister.sql script. Run the unregister script the same way you ran the registration script. The unregister.sql script calls the wk_crw.unregister_remote_crawler PL/SQL API. After you have successfully unregistered the remote crawler, you can rerun the register.sql script.