Re: Upgrading from V6 to V7

I apologize for sounding cynical, that was not my intention. The point I was trying to make was the documentation and Orainst are improved and hopefully are helpful to people installing our products and for most circumstance you do not have to pay to have someone to do your installations. To have someone doing your installs is not the goal of Oracle, or so that is what I have been told and every morning I pass by a very large poster that has one of the goals is to improve documentation and to improve installation procedures over what they currently are.

My frustration was toward the person represented Oracle who stated it would be best to have somone form Oracle do the installation. My intention was to challenge that person from Oracle, because it is not what we practice in World Wide Support.

I hope this clarifies what my orginal intent was.

Robert J. McCallister

Oracle71 (oracle71_at_aol.com) wrote:
:*In article <30nem1$d5a_at_crl2.crl.com>, rjmac_at_crl.com (Robert J.
:*McCallister) writes:
 

:*.....
:*>To answer the question about how complicated it is to install Oralce 7,
:*>if you can read and have a minor knowledge of software installation you
:*>can install Oracle 7. The docs are very comprehensive and if you have a
:*>registered copy you also have support for a limited time, don't know what
 

:*>the time frame is it is dependent on platforsm, and any problems you run
:*>into while installing or converting your Oracle 6 database you can call
:*>415.506.1500.
:*---------------------
:*Robert, I don't mean to sound down on Oracle or on WWS. You folks have
:*saved my life many times. I've consistently found Oracle to be a sound
:*choice for a high-performance RDBMS from both business and technical
:*perspectives, and have worked closely with our local account team /
:*support organization for years in helping support work I've done at AT&T.
 

:*Perhaps I sounded a little too cynical, but I think it's a misstatement
:*in the other direction to make the claim that "if you can read, and have a
:*minor knowlege of software installation..." are the key enablers for
:*Oracle7 Server installation.
 

:*In my experience, and I've been installing Oracle on UNIX platforms,
:*administering it from a DBA and DA perspective, often administering UNIX
:*and network services on the same platforms, and writing the occasional
:*application, Oracle installs and upgrades have become routine.
 

:*I don't think it's a no-brainer for someone without experience in dealing
:*with Oracle installs before on the platform type he's using. WWS is there
:*for you, of course, but if you've not had a fair bit of experience with
:*software installs, and Oracle's in particular, I think you'll spend a lot
:*of time on the phone.
 

:*The introduction of the ORAINST installer process makes it much easier for
:*novices to set up a working system, and a great deal more difficult for
:*those who know exactly what they need and want to control the installation
:*process more closely. The screen interface twitchyness I experienced with
:*both Orainst and SQLDBA wasn't fun, and figuring out Orainst was looking
:*in the wrong place for terminal information files (copy them down one
:*level deeper into a subdirectory of the same name is the fix) isn't
:*something that would occur very quickly to a lot of people.
 

:*I've TARred these issues, and you're more than welcome to look them up in
:*the system.
 

:*I'm probably one of the more vigorous supporters of Oracle products in our
:*organization, and I restate that I would recommend Oracle to anyone with a
:*need for a world-class RDBMS. I just don't think it's appropriate to make
:*something sound really easy, and then create a possibly embittered
:*former-customer as a result. I recall reading of the problems a user had
:*in installing V7, figuring out he was in my building (!), and calling him
:*up and offering to help. This man was an experienced systems manager, UNIX
:*administrator & programmer, and had installed software for years,
:*including Informix. But he had never before installed Oracle, and was hung
:*up in one of those "Oh, yeah I had that same problem with Orainst starting
:*a listener and hanging the install...' type things. A further phone call
:*later helping him out with Raw I/O and a fudge factor that I've found to
:*work, and he's been set.
:*----------------------------------------------------------
:*R. Scott Hunter shunter_at_cfotax.attmail.com
:*Database Administrator
:*AT&T Tax Services Company, Financial Services Organization
:*AT&T Corporation
:*----------------------------------------------------------
Received on Sat Jul 23 1994 - 17:03:59 CEST