At the moment, I am exploring the Oracle Database to support my GIS works. I have done this in the past but now Oracle Database has grown so fast. In this article, I will install Oracle Instant Client on Windows 11. And then, I will connect my Windows 11 PC to my Oracle Autonomous Database in the Cloud. By following this guide, you will be able to connect to your Oracle Autonomous Database from most GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro and QGIS. Let’s get started.
Steps to Install Oracle Instant Client on Windows 11
Step 1. Download Oracle Instant Client for Windows
Go to the link below and download the latest version of Oracle Instant Client.
https://www.oracle.com/id/database/technologies/instant-client/downloads.html
Choose the matching architecture. In this example, I am installing the Oracle Instant Client version 23.7. The file name that I got is: instantclient-basic-windows.x64-23.7.0.25.01.zip.
Step 2. Extract the Package
Now extract the zip package we’ve downloaded in step 1. Now I have a folder called: instantclient-basic-windows.x64-23.7.0.25.01.
Next, I moved the folder to C:\ORACLE. You can put it anywhere basically but for make it easier, I put inside ORACLE folder that I created inside C drive. And also I renamed the folder instantclient-basic-windows.x64-23.7.0.25.01 to just instantclient_23_7. I just don’t like that long folder name.
Step 3. Download Oracle Database Wallet
If you are running Oracle Autonomous Database in the Oracle Cloud platform like I do, you may need to download your wallet. Go to your Oracle account and then go to your Autonomous Database page and then Database Connection
Click Download wallet. Now extract the zipped wallet to the network/admin folder. In my case, it would be:
C:\ORACLE\instantclient\instantclient_23_7\network\admin
Step 3. Configure Windows System PATH
Now we need to tell Windows where our instant client is. So, we need to edit/add the Windows PATH. Go to Windows Settings | About.
Click Advanced system settings
Now click Environment Variables. And then, double-click Path under the System Variables.
And then click New, to create a new path. And then copy and paste the Oracle instant client path. In my case it would be: C:\ORACLE\instantclient\instantclient_23_7
Click Ok to save it.
Next, under system variable, click New. Enter the variable name: TNS_ADMIN and then variable value: C:\ORACLE\instantclient\instantclient_23_7
Click OK to save it.
At this point, we have successfully installed Oracle Instant Client on Windows 11. In the next tutorial, we will continue with how to connect to the Oracle Database.