Initializing Sybase ASE 15.7 on Linux

To install and initialize Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise, follow these instructions.

Install Required Packages

Sybase ASE version 15.7 requires libaio, which may or may not be installed by default.

This packages is available from rpmfind or using yum.

Set Kernel Parameters

The database server requires more shared memory than the typical linux system is configured to allow by default. Run the following command (as root) prior to installation.

echo 268435456 > /proc/sys/kernel/shmmax

Extract The Distribution

The distribution comes as a tarball. Extract it as follows:


mkdir sybase
mv ase157_linuxx86-64.tgz sybase
cd sybase
tar xfz ase157_linuxx86-64.tgz

Install The Software Distribution

Now, go into the directory the sybase software distribution was extracted into and, as root, run the following command:

./setup.bin

A java-based installer should run.

On the Introduction screen, click Next.

When prompted Where Would You Like to Install?, accept the default (/opt/sybase) and click Next.

If prompted The directory /opt/sybase does not exist. Do you want to create it?, click Yes.

On the Choose Install Set screen, accept the default (Typical) and click Next.

On the Software License Type Selection screen, select Install Free Developer Edition of Sybae Adaptive Server Enterprise Suite and click Next.

When prompted for the End-user license agreement select All regions from the Please Select pulldown.
Read the license and click the I agree to the terms of the Sybase license, for the install location specified. check box.
click Next.

An installation summary page will appear, indicating what will be installed, what directory, and the total size of the installation.
Click Install.

A screen titled Installing Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise Suite. Please wait... will appear with a progress bar indicating how much of the installation has been completed. When that is finished, click Next.

On the screen titled Please deselect any servers that you do not want to configure now
Leave all checkboxes checked and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure New Adaptive Server enter a System Administartor password and confirm it, then accept all other defaults and click Next.

If you get a warning about page size, just click OK.

Another screen titled Configure New Adaptive Server should appear. Accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure New Backup Server accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure New XP Server accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure New Job Scheduler accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure Self Management accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure Self Discovery Service Adaptor accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure RMI Port accept all defaults and click Next.

On the screen titled Configure Administration Passwords enter and confirm an SCC agent password and click Next.

On the screen titled New Server Configuratin Summary click Next.

Screens will appear with progress messages indicating what step is currently being executed. One of these stages will fail at "Starting server" if shmmax wasn't configured properly.

A screen will appear titled Installation Completed
click Done.

Starting the Database at Boot Time

To start the database at boot time, you need to install a script like the following. Replace /opt/sybase with whatever directory Sybase ASE is installed in.


#!/bin/sh

export SYBASE=/opt/sybase

export PATH=$PATH:$SYBASE/ASE-15_0/bin:$SYBASE/ASE-15_0/install
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$SYBASE/ASE-15_0/lib:$SYBASE/OCS-15_0/lib3p

echo 268435456 > /proc/sys/kernel/shmmax

case "$1" in
start)
for i in `ls $SYBASE/ASE-15_0/install/RUN_*`
do
su -c "startserver -f $i" > /dev/null 2>&1;
done
;;
stop)
kill `ps -efa | grep sybase | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}'`
;;
*)
echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop}"
exit 1
esac

exit 0

Install this script and run it with the "start" option to start up the database. Running it with the "stop" option shuts the database down. To access a database, it must be running.