Installing and Initializing an 15.0 Server

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

Use a Sufficiently Old Version of Linux

Many modern versions of linux use NPTL (Native Posix Theading Library), but Sybase 15 requires the old Linuxthreads implementation. Some versions of Linux such as Fedora Core 4 support both. But as of Fedora Core 5, Linuxthreads support was dropped. The same may hold true for other modern distro's. The Sybase 15 installer will run on a linux that doesn't support Linuxthreads, but the DB will fail to start.

Install Compatibility Packages

Sybase ASE version 12.5.2 requires libstdc++-.so.5. Modern Linux distributions have a newer version of libstdc++. You can install compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.fc4.i386.rpm for Fedora Core 4 (available at rpmfind) on most RPM-based linux distributions to provide this library.

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 ase1500_xe_linux.tgz sybase
cd sybase
tar xfz ase1500_xe_linux.tgz
Install The Server

Now, as root, run the following command:

./setup

A java-based installer should run.

When prompted What would you like to install?, check the Adaptive Server Enterprise (Express Edition) check box.
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.

When prompted for a Destination Directory, accept the default "/opt/sybase"
Click Next.

If prompted with The directory does not exist. Do you want to create it?
Click Yes.

On the screen titled: Choose the setup type that best suits your needs
Accept the default Typical radio button.
Click Next.

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

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.

On the screen titled The InstallShield Wizard has successfully installed Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise
Click Next.

Select checkbox No when prompted whether you want to configure email alerts.
Click Next.

On the screen titled Please deselect any servers that you do not want to configure now:
Accept the default checkboxes (all of them should be checked)
Click Next.

On the screen titled Please select the servers that you want to custom configure
Accept the default checkboxes (none of them should be checked)
Click Next.

A summary page will appear with values for that each server will be configured with.
Click Next.

A screen will appear titled Configure New Adaptive Server with progress messages indicating what step is currently being executed. This stage will fail at "Starting server" if shmmax wasn't configured properly.

A screen will appear titled Configure New Backup Server with progress messages indicating what step is currently being executed.

A screen will appear titled Configure New Monitor Server with progress messages indicating what step is currently being executed.

A screen will appear titled Configure New XP Server with progress messages indicating what step is currently being executed.

A screen will appear titled The installation was successful
Click Finish.

Starting the Database at Boot Time

The RPM distribution of Sybase ASE installs a script in /etc/rc.d/init.d which starts the database at boot time. For non-RPM distributions, you may 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

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.