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Abhilash Kumar Bhattaram for Nabhaas Cloud Consulting

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Oracle Linux on ARM - Whats the harm ?

{ Abhilash Kumar Bhattaram : Follow on LinkedIn }

Build Applications for the future

ARM is getting much ahead in terms of computing is leveraring much ahead of Intel x86_64 , it's just a matter of time where developers would start shifting to ARM based environments for hosting the applications.

Access made easy

Access to ARM Linux is not hard , it's available at https://yum.oracle.com/oracle-linux-isos.html , you just need the required hardware to set it up. For starters Apple Mac / iMac enviuronments have ARM hardware and running a Virtualbox with OEL 9 Linux would be a good starting point. Windows 11 on ARM is also available and certified.

Oracle Linux for ARM

OCI - Support

  • Easy Deployment: Oracle Linux for Arm images can be deployed directly from the OCI console on AmpereOne and Ampere Altra Arm-based compute services.
  • Frequent Updates: The images are regularly updated to ensure users have access to the latest software.
  • Preinstalled OCI Utilities: These utilities simplify and accelerate deployment and configuration.
  • Optimized Performance: The Oracle Linux yum server is mirrored inside OCI regions, enabling faster downloads of Oracle software, bug fixes, and security updates.
  • No Additional Costs: Since all traffic remains within OCI, there’s no internet bandwidth consumption and no extra network charges for updates.

This ensures a secure, efficient, and cost-effective experience for OCI users running Oracle Linux on Arm-based compute services.

Oracle Database Support for ARM

Oracle Linux serves as the core development and runtime platform at Oracle and is the foundation for Oracle Database in production environments.

Below is the download link for Oracle Database on ARM

https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/oracle19c-linux-arm64-downloads.html

Image description

  • Optimized for Oracle Database: Oracle Linux is engineered to support and run Oracle Database efficiently.
  • Certified for Arm Architecture: Oracle Database on Arm, powered by Oracle Linux, is fully certified for both cloud and on-premises deployments.
  • Consistent Performance & Scalability: Enables businesses to build and run complex applications with predictable performance and seamless scalability.

This ensures a robust, high-performance, and future-ready infrastructure for enterprises leveraging Oracle technologies.

Ksplice Zero Downtime patching

Oracle Ksplice enables zero-downtime security updates by applying patches to the kernel and key user-space libraries (such as glibc and OpenSSL) without requiring a reboot or stopping applications.

  • Seamless Updates: Ensures continuous system operation while applying critical security patches.
  • Available on Arm: Supported on the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) for Oracle Linux on Arm-based platforms.
  • Included with Oracle Linux Premier Support: Available at no additional cost for OCI subscribers.

This makes Ksplice an essential tool for organizations requiring high availability, security, and minimal downtime in their Oracle Cloud or on-premises environments.

OS management made easy with OS Management Hub

Oracle OS Management Hub is a managed service in OCI that streamlines the management and monitoring of updates and patches for Oracle Linux systems across private data centers, OCI, and supported third-party clouds.

  • Centralized Management: A single intuitive console for managing updates and patches across distributed environments.
  • Flexible Patching: Execute updates immediately or automate patching policies with scheduled rollouts based on best practices.
  • Enhanced Security: Integrated with Oracle Ksplice for zero-downtime security updates.
  • Lifecycle Management: Supports staged rollouts of security errata and other updates, ensuring controlled deployments.
  • No Additional Cost: Available with Oracle Linux Support (Basic and Premier) and OCI Compute subscriptions at no extra charge.

This makes OS Management Hub an essential tool for enterprises seeking efficient, automated, and secure Linux system management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Arm developer toolset

Oracle Linux for Arm provides a comprehensive developer toolset, including the GCC compiler, to build and optimize code for 64-bit Arm platforms.

  • Application Streams:
  • Available in Oracle Linux 9 and 8, allowing multiple versions of user-space components to be updated independently of the core OS.
  • Developers can safely use the latest versions of Python, PHP, Node.js, nginx, and more without disrupting existing applications.
  • Security & Compliance:
  • Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) are built and digitally signed by Oracle, ensuring trusted and secure software distribution.

With Oracle Linux for Arm, developers can leverage a modern, secure, and flexible environment to build and deploy applications efficiently on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and beyond.

How do you know you are running on ARM

uname -m would show as aarch64

[root@ab8lab1 ~]# uname -m
aarch64

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Would yum repo work on ARM

Yes for sure , you could see yum repo list with .aarch64 which is showing you that these are ARM processor packages

[root@ab8lab1 ~]# yum list all | grep oracle
oracle-backgrounds.noarch                                                                90.2-1.0.4.el9                              @anaconda                  
oracle-epel-release-el9.aarch64                                                          1.0-1.el9                                   @ol9_baseos_latest         
oracle-indexhtml.noarch                                                                  9-4.0.1.el9_2                               @anaconda                  
oracle-logos.aarch64                                                                     90.2-1.0.4.el9                              @anaconda                  
oraclelinux-release.aarch64                                                              9:9.5-1.0.5.el9                             @anaconda                  
oraclelinux-release-el9.aarch64                                                          1.0-18.el9                                  @anaconda                  
NetworkManager-config-connectivity-oracle.noarch                                         1:1.48.10-5.0.1.el9_5                       ol9_baseos_latest          
mono-data-oracle.aarch64                                                                 6.12.0-5.el9                                ol9_developer_EPEL         
nagios-plugins-oracle.aarch64                                                            2.4.9-1.el9                                 ol9_developer_EPEL         
oracle-bookmarks.noarch                                                                  28-22.0.1.el9                               ol9_distro_builder         
oracle-bookmarks.src                                                                     28-22.0.1.el9                               ol9_distro_builder         
oracle-epel-release-el9.src                                                              1.0-1.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-indexhtml.src                                                                     9-4.0.1.el9_2                               ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-indexhtml.src                                                                     9-4.0.1.el9_2                               ol9_u2_baseos_base         
oracle-indexhtml.src                                                                     9-4.0.1.el9_2                               ol9_u3_baseos_base         
oracle-indexhtml.src                                                                     9-4.0.1.el9_2                               ol9_u4_baseos_base         
oracle-indexhtml.src                                                                     9-4.0.1.el9_2                               ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el9.noarch                                           1.0-2.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el9.src                                              1.0-2.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-logos.src                                                                         90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-logos.src                                                                         90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u3_baseos_base         
oracle-logos.src                                                                         90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u4_baseos_base         
oracle-logos.src                                                                         90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-httpd.noarch                                                                90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-logos-httpd.noarch                                                                90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u3_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-httpd.noarch                                                                90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u4_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-httpd.noarch                                                                90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-ipa.noarch                                                                  90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-logos-ipa.noarch                                                                  90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u3_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-ipa.noarch                                                                  90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u4_baseos_base         
oracle-logos-ipa.noarch                                                                  90.2-1.0.4.el9                              ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oracle-ocne-release-el9.aarch64                                                          1.0-5.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-ocne-release-el9.src                                                              1.0-5.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-olcne-release-el9.aarch64                                                         1.0-4.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracle-olcne-release-el9.src                                                             1.0-4.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oracleasm-support.aarch64                                                                3.0.0-7.el9                                 ol9_addons                 
oracleasm-support.src                                                                    3.0.0-7.el9                                 ol9_addons                 
oraclelinux-developer-release-el9.aarch64                                                1.0-2.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oraclelinux-developer-release-el9.src                                                    1.0-2.el9                                   ol9_baseos_latest          
oraclelinux-release.src                                                                  9:9.5-1.0.5.el9                             ol9_baseos_latest          
oraclelinux-release.src                                                                  9:9.5-1.0.5.el9                             ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oraclelinux-release.src                                                                  9:9.5-1.0.5.el9                             ol9_codeready_builder      
oraclelinux-release-el9.src                                                              1.0-18.el9                                  ol9_baseos_latest          
oraclelinux-release-el9.src                                                              1.0-18.el9                                  ol9_u5_baseos_base         
oraclelinux-sb-certs.noarch                                                              9:9.5-1.0.5.el9                             ol9_codeready_builder      
pcp-oracle-conf.aarch64                                                                  1-6.0.3.el9                                 ol9_addons                 
pcp-oracle-conf.src                                                                      1-6.0.3.el9                                 ol9_addons                 
pcp-pmda-oracle.aarch64                                                                  6.2.2-7.el9_5                               ol9_appstream              
python-cx-oracle.src                                                                     8.3.0-7.el9                                 ol9_developer_EPEL         
python-oracledb.src                                                                      1.2.2-1.el9                                 ol9_developer_EPEL         
python3-cx-oracle.aarch64                                                                8.3.0-7.el9                                 ol9_developer_EPEL         
python3-oracledb.aarch64                                                                 1.2.2-1.el9                                 ol9_developer_EPEL         
tuned-profiles-oracle.noarch                                                             2.24.0-2.0.1.el9_5                          ol9_appstream              
[root@ab8lab1 ~]# 

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How to install an ARM yum package

It's no different from any other Linux Install package , you can see a sample install steps below.

[root@ab8lab1 ~]# curl -o oracle-epel-release-el9.aarch64 https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL9/appstream/aarch64/getPackage/oracle-epel-release-el9.aarch64
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100    10  100    10    0     0      4      0  0:00:02  0:00:02 --:--:--     4


[root@ab8lab1 ~]# ls -l 
total 8
-rw-------. 1 root root 1510 Feb 16 15:46 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root   10 Feb 16 18:45 oracle-epel-release-el9.aarch64
[root@ab8lab1 ~]# 



[root@ab8lab1 ~]# dnf -y install oracle-epel-release-el9.aarch64
Last metadata expiration check: 0:52:32 ago on Sun 16 Feb 2025 05:56:12 PM IST.
Dependencies resolved.
====================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
 Package                                                           Architecture                                      Version                                                      Repository                                                   Size
====================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Installing:
 oracle-epel-release-el9                                           aarch64                                           1.0-1.el9                                                    ol9_baseos_latest                                            14 k
Installing dependencies:
 yum-utils                                                         noarch                                            4.3.0-16.0.1.el9                                             ol9_baseos_latest                                            53 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Install  2 Packages

Total download size: 67 k
Installed size: 41 k
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): oracle-epel-release-el9-1.0-1.el9.aarch64.rpm                                                                                                                                                                3.8 kB/s |  14 kB     00:03    
(2/2): yum-utils-4.3.0-16.0.1.el9.noarch.rpm                                                                                                                                                                         13 kB/s |  53 kB     00:04    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                                                                                                                                                                                17 kB/s |  67 kB     00:04     
Running transaction check
Transaction check succeeded.
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded.
Running transaction
  Preparing        :                                                                                                                                                                                                                            1/1 
  Installing       : yum-utils-4.3.0-16.0.1.el9.noarch                                                                                                                                                                                          1/2 
  Installing       : oracle-epel-release-el9-1.0-1.el9.aarch64                                                                                                                                                                                  2/2 
  Running scriptlet: oracle-epel-release-el9-1.0-1.el9.aarch64                                                                                                                                                                                  2/2 
  Verifying        : oracle-epel-release-el9-1.0-1.el9.aarch64                                                                                                                                                                                  1/2 
  Verifying        : yum-utils-4.3.0-16.0.1.el9.noarch                                                                                                                                                                                          2/2 

Installed:
  oracle-epel-release-el9-1.0-1.el9.aarch64                                                                                    yum-utils-4.3.0-16.0.1.el9.noarch                                                                                   

Complete!
[root@ab8lab1 ~]# 

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Hope this blog gives you some insight on the ARM to get you started.

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