Linux – Installing Oracle XE 11gR2 on Fedora 15 – linux group permission deadlock

Some thoughts:

• First, I also have tried to get Oracle XE up and running under F15. Finally managed it, but it wasn't as simple as I would have thought it should be -- It's easier to get the silly thing configured under Ubuntu. IIRC, I just ended up installing EE instead (under F15).
• Second, your environment needs to be set up correctly in your .bash_profile (in your home directory). Make sure to export ORACLE_HOME, ORACLE_SID (=XE), and make sure $ORACLE_HOME/bin is exported in your PATH. Once done, log out and back in and you should be able run sqlplus fine. (If you don't want to log out, just run ". ~/.bash_profile", and it should also work.)
• Third, I don't know why Oracle doesn't set this up during the install process. And of all users not to have the environment set up (when XE usually has to create the user from scratch)... the oracle user should simply be set up with it from the start. But that's a rant and not really related to your question.

Hope that helps...

It looks like the hardening was a little to hard. Oracle does need some access to the server. You can revert back the chmods for ping, Oracle rdbms does not need it. /tmp/ is not required, a usable location for tmp is, mostly for scripting. The rdbms has it's own tricks and storage for sorts.

Never install Oracle as root; use the root.sh at the end of the installation to do the system tweeks required. On some platforms there is a root pre script that should run before installation. The Oracle installation scripts refuse to run using the root account and can be run using any other account.

The access to some server config files has been made a little too tight for the install user to check the prerequisites. If you know they are ok, it's ok. Proving they are ok is a little easier when support issues arise. Check the group ownership of the critical config files and add the Oracle installation user to that group to give it read access.