Setting variables for the sde OS user on Linux or UNIX

Add environment variables to the operating system sde user's .login or .profile file to allow all ArcSDE administration and utility software programs to be located without specifying absolute paths. Application programs will also be able to find the necessary program files located within the ArcSDE installation directory.

There are several environment variables to set. For the Bourne shell, add variable definitions to the .profile file. Syntax is as follows:

<VARIABLE>=<variable_value>; export <VARIABLE>

For the C shell, add variable definitions to the .cshrc file (or the SDEHOME/etc/dbinit.sde file). Syntax is as follows:

setenv <VARIABLE> <variable_value>

When an ArcSDE service is started, the giomgr process reads the variable settings in the $SDEHOME/etc/dbinit.sde file. These variable settings override the variables set by .cshrc or .profile files.

The ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID variables listed in this topic locate an Oracle database installed on the local host. However, when the TWO_TASK variable is set, ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID are not used. The TWO_TASK variable identifies the location of a remote Oracle database. The TNS_ADMIN must be set if the default location of the tnsnames.ora file is not used. You do not need to set the TWO_TASK variable if the Oracle database is on the local host.

You could use the TWO_TASK variable to specify the Net Service Name of a local Oracle database. However, this is not recommended, because it results in additional overhead when making a connection to the database. For local connections, you should use the Oracle_SID.

Steps:

1. Set the following variables for the sde user's shell, using the syntax appropriate for the shell:

   SDEHOME <location of ArcSDE installation>

   ORACLE_HOME <location of Oracle>

   ORACLE_SID <Oracle SID value>

   TNS_ADMIN <location of the tnsnames.ora file>

   PATH $PATH:$SDEHOME/bin:$ORACLE_HOME/bin

   All platforms except HP and IBM:

   LD_LIBRARY_PATH $SDEHOME/lib:/usr/lib:/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
   

   For HP only:

   SHLIB_PATH $SDEHOME/lib:/usr/lib:/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
   

   For IBM only:

   LIBPATH $SDEHOME/lib:/usr/lib:/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/lib
   

   If ArcSDE and Oracle on different servers:

   TWO_TASK <value for TWO_TASK>