Complete Step-by-Step GUI Installation
Guide
|
Version 23.26.1 |
OS Oracle Linux 9 |
Edition Free / Enterprise |
Year 2026 |
Overview
Oracle AI Database 26ai (version 23.26.1) is Oracle's latest
Long-Term Release database, replacing 23ai. It adds native VECTOR data types,
AI Vector Search with cosine/dot-product/Euclidean similarity, and hundreds of
AI-focused improvements to the SQL engine.
Key features:
•
Native VECTOR type for AI embedding storage and
similarity search
•
AI Vector Search SQL operators for hybrid queries
•
Multitenant: CDB + PDB architecture
•
FIPS 140-3 laboratory testing completed
System Requirements
|
Component |
Minimum |
Recommended |
|
OS |
Oracle Linux 8 |
Oracle Linux 9 (OL9) |
|
CPU |
2 vCPUs |
4+ vCPUs |
|
RAM |
4 GB |
8 GB or more |
|
Disk Space |
20 GB free |
50 GB or more |
|
Swap |
1× RAM (max 8 GB) |
Equal to RAM |
|
FREE LIMITS |
Free Edition: max 2 CPUs, 2
GB SGA+PGA, 12 GB user data. |
Method A: Free Edition
(RPM)
|
STEP 1 |
Install
Preinstall RPM |
Run as root or with sudo. This creates the oracle user,
groups, and sets all kernel parameters:
|
sudo dnf -y install
oracle-ai-database-preinstall-26ai # Verify log:
/var/log/oracle-database-preinstall-26ai/results/orakernel.log |
After running this command proceed to download the RPM.
|
STEP 2 |
Download
& Install the 26ai Free RPM |
Download from oracle.com/database/free then install:
|
sudo dnf -y install
./oracle-ai-database-free-26ai-<version>.el9.x86_64.rpm |
|
STEP 3 |
Configure
the Database |
The init script ships with the RPM. Run configure and follow
prompts for SYS/SYSTEM passwords and character set:
|
sudo
/etc/init.d/oracle-free-26ai configure |
|
CONFIG |
/etc/sysconfig/oracle-free-26ai.conf
stores default settings. |
|
STEP 4 |
Open
Firewall & Verify Services |
|
sudo firewall-cmd
--permanent --add-port=1521/tcp && sudo firewall-cmd --reload sudo
/etc/init.d/oracle-free-26ai status lsnrctl status |
|
STEP 5 |
Connect with
SQL*Plus |
|
sudo su - oracle -c
"sqlplus sys/<PASSWORD> as sysdba" -- Inside SQL*Plus: SHOW CON_NAME; SHOW PDBS; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE
FREEPDB1 OPEN; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE
FREEPDB1 SAVE STATE; |
Method B: Enterprise Edition — OUI GUI Installer
The Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) provides a full graphical
wizard. Below are all 8 screens with real GUI screenshots of each step.
|
STEP 1 |
Welcome
Screen — Launch OUI |
After unzipping the Oracle Home and setting environment
variables, launch the installer:
|
su - oracle cd
/u01/app/oracle/product/23.26.1/dbhome_1 ./runInstaller |
Figure: OUI Welcome Screen — Oracle AI
Database 26ai Installer
The Welcome screen confirms the version (23.26.1) and lists
OS/RAM/disk prerequisites. Click Next to continue.
|
STEP 2 |
Select
Configuration Option |
Choose how Oracle will be installed. For a full installation
with an immediately usable database, select 'Create and configure a single
instance database'.
Figure: Configuration Option — Create
single instance database selected
•
Create and configure a single instance database —
installs software AND creates CDB+PDB
•
Set Up Software Only — install software; use DBCA
separately to create the database
•
Upgrade an existing database — for upgrading from a
previous Oracle release
|
STEP 3 |
Select
Database Edition |
Choose the Oracle edition to install. Enterprise Edition is
recommended for production workloads.
Figure: Database Edition Selection —
Enterprise Edition recommended
•
Enterprise Edition (EE) — highest performance,
scalability, security — for production
•
Standard Edition 2 (SE2) — departmental use, max 2 CPU
sockets
•
Personal Edition — single-user development only, no
network clients
|
STEP 4 |
Specify
Oracle Base & Home Location |
Set the directory paths where Oracle software will be
installed. These paths must already exist with correct ownership
(oracle:oinstall).
Figure: Installation Location — Oracle
Base and ORACLE_HOME paths
|
# Create directories
first (as root): mkdir -p
/u01/app/oracle/product/23.26.1/dbhome_1 chown -R oracle:oinstall
/u01 chmod -R 775 /u01 |
|
TIP |
Oracle Base:
/u01/app/oracle | Oracle Home:
/u01/app/oracle/product/23.26.1/dbhome_1 |
|
STEP 5 |
Configure
Operating System Groups |
Assign Unix groups for each database privilege category. These
groups must exist on the OS before proceeding.
Figure: OS Group Configuration —
Privilege groups mapped to Unix groups
|
# Verify groups exist
(run as root): grep -E
'oinstall|dba|oper|backupdba|dgdba|kmdba|asmadmin' /etc/group |
|
NOTE |
The preinstall RPM from
Step 1 automatically creates all required groups. You should not need to
create them manually. |
|
STEP 6 |
Review
Installation Summary |
The Summary screen shows all selected parameters. Review
carefully — clicking Install begins the actual file copy and linking process,
which cannot be undone without a full deinstall.
Figure: Installation Summary — Review all
parameters before clicking Install
Key values to verify before clicking Install:
•
Oracle Home path is correct and has enough disk space
•
Character set is AL32UTF8 (Unicode — required for
AI/multilingual apps)
•
DB name and PDB name match your naming convention
|
STEP 7 |
Installation
Progress |
The installer copies binaries, links Oracle executables, and
runs configuration scripts. This typically takes 10–25 minutes depending on
disk speed.
Figure: Installation Progress — File
copy, linking, and root scripts
|
IMPORTANT |
When prompted, open a NEW
root terminal and run both scripts: orainstRoot.sh then root.sh. Do NOT close
the installer window. |
|
# Run in a NEW terminal
as root when prompted: /u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh /u01/app/oracle/product/23.26.1/dbhome_1/root.sh |
|
STEP 8 |
Installation
Complete |
The green success banner confirms Oracle AI Database 26ai is
installed and the database is open. Note the Enterprise Manager URL and
connection details.
Figure: Installation Complete — Oracle AI
Database 26ai ready
|
NEXT STEP |
Connect via SQL*Plus or SQL
Developer using: sqlplus
sys/<pwd>@//localhost:1521/ORCLPDB1 as sysdba |
Creating Database with
DBCA (Software-Only Install)
If you chose 'Set Up Software Only' in Step 2, create the
database with DBCA after installation:
|
dbca # In DBCA wizard: # 1. Operation: Create a database # 2. Mode: Advanced Configuration # 3. Type: General Purpose or Transaction
Processing # 4. Architecture: Multitenant (CDB + PDB) # 5. DB Name: ORCL # 6. PDB Name: ORCLPDB1 # 7. Character Set: AL32UTF8 # 8. SYS Password: <strong password> |
AI Vector Search — Quick
Verification Test
After installation, verify the AI Vector Search feature is
working:
|
-- Connect to PDB ALTER SESSION SET
CONTAINER = ORCLPDB1; -- Create a vector table CREATE TABLE
demo_vectors (id NUMBER PRIMARY KEY, label VARCHAR2(100), embedding
VECTOR(3)); -- Insert sample data INSERT INTO demo_vectors
VALUES (1, 'apple', VECTOR('[0.1, 0.2,
0.3]')); INSERT INTO demo_vectors
VALUES (2, 'banana', VECTOR('[0.4, 0.5, 0.6]')); INSERT INTO demo_vectors
VALUES (3, 'cherry', VECTOR('[0.7, 0.8, 0.9]')); COMMIT; -- Cosine similarity
search SELECT id, label FROM
demo_vectors ORDER BY
VECTOR_DISTANCE(embedding, VECTOR('[0.1, 0.2, 0.3]'), COSINE) FETCH FIRST 2 ROWS ONLY; |
|
EXPECTED |
apple returns as closest
match (distance ≈ 0.0). If VECTOR type is unavailable, check your 26ai build
version. |
Quick Reference Commands
|
Task |
Command |
|
Start DB (Free) |
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-free-26ai
start |
|
Stop DB (Free) |
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-free-26ai stop |
|
Check Status |
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-free-26ai
status |
|
Start Listener |
lsnrctl start |
|
Stop Listener |
lsnrctl stop |
|
Connect SYSDBA |
sqlplus sys/<pwd> as sysdba |
|
List PDBs |
SELECT name, open_mode FROM v$pdbs; |
|
Check DB Version |
SELECT * FROM v$version; |
|
Open All PDBs |
ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE ALL OPEN; |
|
Save PDB State |
ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE ALL SAVE
STATE; |
|
Check Alert Log |
adrci → show alert -tail 50 |
|
Enterprise Manager |
https://localhost:5500/em |
