Oracle 26ai Linux Installation: Getting my hands dirty!!

Introduction

Oracle's latest release of Oracle 26ai for on-premise installation marks an exciting milestone in database technology. As soon as the software became available on January 27, 2026, I was eager to get hands-on experience with the new features and capabilities.

This blog post documents my journey through the installation process on Oracle Enterprise Linux 9.7, including both the successes and the challenges I encountered along the way. I'll be conducting more extensive testing of the new 26ai features in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for additional insights and discoveries.

Download Link:

https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/oracle26ai-linux-downloads.html

Installation

[oracle@kiwiel91 26ai]$ uname -a
Linux kiwiel91.oraclekiwi.co.nz 6.12.0-105.51.5.el9uek.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue Oct 14 19:55:41 PDT 2025 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[oracle@kiwiel91 26ai]$ cat /etc/oracle-release
Oracle Linux Server release 9.7

The installation started very well as I could easily choose the options needed (I wanted to do a software plus a database installation).

Choose the right class for installation.

I also chose to create a sample database with recovery enabled. I adjusted the SGA parameter to meet my virtual box requirements.

The usual orainstRoot.sh and root.sh were run without issues, but then I encountered an error.

I checked the installation log, but was unable to find out the reason, and moreover, the actual error message seems to be new to me, as I have not seen an error code starting with “PILOT-”. I exited the installation. The binaries were still installed.

The /u01 mount point has sufficient free space.

[oracle@kiwiel91 u01]$ df /u01
Filesystem     1K-blocks     Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdb        61612236 13437384  45029124  23% /u01
[oracle@kiwiel91 u01]$

Now, after this, I had to moveforward and see if I could create a database using dbca. I ran the utility and created a sample database. The progress was a bit slow due to my VirtualBox environment, but in the end, it was successful.

[oracle@kiwiel91 tahi]$ sqlplus
SQL*Plus: Release 23.26.1.0.0 - Production on Wed Jan 28 14:30:24 2026
Version 23.26.1.0.0

Copyright (c) 1982, 2025, Oracle.  All rights reserved.

Enter user-name: / as sysdba
Connected to:
Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition Release 23.26.1.0.0 - Production
Version 23.26.1.0.0

SQL> sho pdbs

    CON_ID CON_NAME                       OPEN MODE  RESTRICTED
---------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------
         2 PDB$SEED                       READ ONLY  NO
         3 TAHIPDB                        READ WRITE NO
SQL>

Conclusion:

Despite encountering the mysterious PILOT-prefixed error during the initial installation, I was ultimately able to get Oracle 26ai up and running.

The successful installation of the binaries and the ability to create a database using "dbca" demonstrate that the core installation was sound.

The PILOT error code appears to be new to Oracle 26ai, and I haven't been able to find documentation on what it signifies. This could be part of the new diagnostic framework introduced in this release. I plan to investigate this error further and will share my findings in future posts.

Moving forward, I'll be thoroughly testing the new features of Oracle 26ai. Keep an eye on this space for detailed reviews of the new capabilities, performance benchmarks, and practical use cases. If you've encountered similar issues or have insights about the PILOT error codes, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Oracle 26ai New Features:

https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/26/nfcoa/