Installing a Siebel CRM 15.

5 Self-Study Environment
with Oracle DB XE on Windows 10 64-bit
Installing a Siebel CRM 15.5 Self-Study Environment with Oracle
DB XE on Windows 10 64-bit (Full Version)
With the latest patchset 15.5 for Siebel Innovation Pack 2015 (aka Siebel 15.0) just released during Oracle OpenWorld 2015,
we have compiled instructions how to create an easy-access self-study environment consisting of the Siebel
Developer/Mobile Web Client, Sample Database and Siebel Tools. The following post is an updated version of previous
instructions and has been updated to reflect all necessary steps to download, extract, install and setup Siebel CRM Developer
Web Client, Tools and the Sample Database for Siebel 15.5 on Windows 10 64-bit.

As you will notice, we start from scratch with 15.0 and then apply patchset 15.5 which introduces Oracle Database XE as
the engine behind the sample database. If you already have 15.0 – 15.4 on your machine, you don’t need to download and
install 15.0 again, of course. We choose Windows 10 for the write-up but the steps should equally apply to Windows 7 or 8.

Please note that the procedures below have been verified on an English language version of Windows 10 with administrative
privileges. As some of you found out, there might be difficulties along the way when you install as a non-administrator
and/or on a different language version of Windows.

Process for installing a Siebel CRM 15.5 self-study environment:

1. Register/log in at Oracle’s Software Delivery Cloud (aka E-Delivery)
2. Read and understand the license agreement
3. Use a download manager
4. Verify hard- and software
5. Download the Siebel 15.0 installation archives from OSDC
6. Download the Siebel Patchset 15.5 installation archives from My Oracle Support
7. Extract the installation archives
8. Run the Network Image Creator
9. Prepare Internet Explorer
10. Install the Siebel Mobile/Developer Web Client 15.0
11. Install a 32-bit Oracle DB Client
12. Install Patchset 15.5 for Siebel Mobile/Developer Web Client
13. Install Siebel Tools 15.0
14. Install Patchset 15.5 for Siebel Tools
15. Modify the .cfg files
16. Run a full compile
17. Manage shortcuts
18. Get started with the Siebel Sample Database

(Note: Steps 1 and 3 to 8 can be skipped if you’re lucky enough to find the installers on one of your corporate network
drives).

Step 1: Register/log in at Oracle’s Software Delivery Cloud (aka E-Delivery)

Oracle makes Siebel CRM software available for download on its Software Delivery Cloud (OSDC). If you want to
download software from there, you have to register with your name, company and e-mail address. You will receive a
notification after approximately one business day that you can now use the Software Delivery Cloud.

OSDC was recently updated to an ADF-based interface, so we provide you with a bit more details.

After successful login to OSDC, use the Product search box to find the “Siebel CRM Base” installers for the Microsoft
Windows x64 (64-bit) platform.

Oracle Software Delivery Cloud

After clicking Continue, you will see the Siebel 15.0 installers. You might want to deselect the Secure Enterprise Search
files.

The next step displays the license agreement…

Step 2: Read and understand the license agreement

Oracle provides an unlimited developer license for its software. The license agreement grants a…

…nonexclusive, nontransferable limited license to use the Programs for: (a) purposes of developing, prototyping and
running your applications for your own internal data processing operations;…

Step 3: Use a download manager

Because of the size of the .zip archives you’re going to download onto your hard disk, it is highly recommended to use a
download management tool such as Free Download Manager (FDM).

When you decide to install FDM, you will notice that it creates plug-ins for your browser(s). To initiate the download in
FDM, you simply click the link within your browser as usual and the download will be forwarded to FDM.

Step 4: Verify hard- and software

If you have access to My Oracle Support, you can access the system requirements and platform documentation via the
Certifications tab as indicated here. For a self-study environment as installed in this article, you are fine if you have a recent
laptop or desktop with at least 4 GB of RAM and (of course) Windows 10 64 bit. If you use virtual machines, ensure that
you place them on high-speed disks and reserve enough RAM for best performance.

In addition, ensure that you have installed modern versions of your favorite browser, keeping in mind that if you intend to
run Siebel in High-Interactivity (aka “ActiveX”) mode, you must have Microsoft Internet Explorer available. For best
performance of Siebel Open UI, you should consider using the new Edge browser that comes with Windows 10 or installing
Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Personally I prefer virtual machines because of the greater flexibility. Some companies do not allow their employees to
install software on corporate laptops, so running a (privately owned) virtual machine is sometimes the only option (sad, but
true).

Step 5: Download the Siebel 15 installation archives from OSDC

As we are going to install Siebel Industry Applications 15.0, we have to download the following files from OSDC:

Siebel Innovation Pack 15.0.0.0.0 for Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)

Download the following archives and save them in a single directory. If your download manager allows to control the files
to download within an archive, please refer to the list of .jar files below each package. Note that in this article we only cover
the English-American (enu) language pack. If you want to download additional language packs, please ensure to include the
language-specific files identified by the three-letter language code as part of the name (e.g. deu for German).

Siebel Industry Applications Version 15.0 Siebel Client (Starter Installation Requirement)
SBA_15.0.0.0_Base_Windows_Siebel_Web_Client.jar
SBA_15.0.0.0_enu_Windows_Siebel_Web_Client.jar
Siebel Industry Applications Version 15.0 Siebel Tools (Starter Installation Requirement)
SBA_15.0.0.0_Base_Windows_Siebel_Tools.jar
SBA_15.0.0.0_enu_Windows_Siebel_Tools.jar
Siebel Industry Applications Version 15.0 ImageCreator Files (Starter Installation Requirement)
all files

You might find yourself wondering where the Sample Database installer has gone. As of 15.5, Oracle only offers the sample
database on Oracle DB XE and that installer comes with the Siebel Web Client patchset 15.5 installation archives (see
below). Should you still require the Sybase version of the Siebel Sample Database and have no copy from an earlier
download, you must file a service request with Oracle Support to get it.

Step 6: Download the Siebel Patchset 15.5 installation archives from My

Oracle Support
We will also need the 15.5 patchset. As with all patchsets, this is only available for customers and partners with access to
My Oracle Support.

Make sure you locate the correct patchset on My Oracle Support and save the files separate from the 15.0 files.

Step 7: Extract the installation archives

Most probably you are using a Microsoft Windows machine for the files, so it is recommended to use 7-Zip to extract the
content of the downloaded zip archives into a single folder. Do that for both the 15.0 and 15.5 files and create two separate
JAR folders, one for each version.

As a result of the extract, we have two folders full of .jar files and the files for the Network Image Creator.

Step 8: Run the Network Image Creator

The Siebel Network Image Creator (snic) is needed to create the final installer directories and files. To launch it, you have to
open a Windows command shell (aka DOS box) and navigate to the directory containing the extracted .jar files.

We start with the 15.0 Base files, of course.

At the prompt, set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the location of the Java runtime environment (JRE) on your
machine using a command similar to the following (of course, if you haven’t installed the JRE yet, it is time to do so now):

set JAVA_HOME=C:Program Files\Java\jre1.7.0_45

Your Java version and install folder might vary.

Next, launch the image creator by issuing the following command:

snic.bat

The wizard will launch and guide you through the network image creation process. Basically the image creator asks for the
following:

1. Whether you want to create a new image or add a language pack (select “create a new image”).
2. Enter the path where to store the installer images. (enter a suitable path)
3. The OS platform (select “Windows”)
4. The products (select “Siebel Tools”, “Siebel Web Client”)
5. The languages (select at least “ENU”)

Siebel 15.0 SNIC

Wait until the Network Image Creator has finished extracting the installation archives for Siebel 15.0 Base.

Now, we start snic for the 15.5 patchset in a similar manner as described above. The options you should select as a minimum
are:

ORACLE XE Sample Database

Siebel Tools
Siebel Web Client
 Siebel Network Image Creator (SNIC) 15.5

Wait for SNIC to do the needful. Don’t worry if you can’t find a separate Sample Database installer. As of 15.5, the installer
for the Sample XE database is included with the Siebel Web Client installer. The installer for the Local XE database is
packed into the Siebel Tools installer.

Step 9: Prepare Internet Explorer

The following settings are recommended for running the client installer and the High-Interactivity client flawlessly. You
might not be able to complete this step because of security restrictions on your laptop or in your corporation. In this case,
please contact your IT administrator.

Make IE the default browser for installation

Because the installer for the Siebel Developer Web Client will try to pre-load the ActiveX controls, it launches an HTML
page. This will only work as intended when Internet Explorer is the default browser for your system. To set IE as the default
browser, open the Windows Control Panel, go to Default Programs, and click Set your default programs.

Next, select Internet Explorer in the list and click Set this program as default.

Note: you can change your default browser back to the one you love more than IE once the installation is finished. This
might be the final Siebel release where this step is necessary, since HI will no longer be an option with Siebel 16 or higher.

Pop-up Blocker settings

Add http://localhost, http://[short machine name] and http://[fully qualified machine name] to the allowed sites
list. Alternatively, set the blocking level to “Low” or disable the Pop-up Blocker entirely (if applicable).

Step 10: Install the Siebel Mobile/Developer Web Client 15.0

The following procedure describes the installation of the Siebel Mobile Web Client for use with the Siebel Sample
Database. Important: Don’t use or start any other programs until the installation is finished.

In addition – thanks to Gene and others who found that – ensure that you have administrative privileges on the machine or
run the installers as administrator.

1. Navigate to the /Windows/Client/Siebel_Web_Client/Disk1/install folder of the installation image and double-click

the setup.bat file.
2. Uncheck the option to receive security updates and confirm.
3. Choose “New Installation” to install a new instance. If you want you can choose “Migrate Installation” if you wish
 to upgrade an existing client instance.
4. Provide a meaningful destination folder and HOME.
5. Select the desired language packs (always include American English).
6. At the client type selection, select “Mobile Web Client”. Check the “Activate Open UI” option if you want all .cfg
files to contain the EnableOpenUI parameter set to TRUE.

Leave all other values at default.

During the installation, Internet Explorer is launched to pre-load the Siebel ActiveX controls. When prompted, allow the
execution of any ActiveX content. You will be prompted to close the IE window so that the installer can continue.

Step 11: Install a 32-bit Oracle DB Client

Since Siebel CRM is 32-bit software it needs a 32-bit database client even when it connects to a 64-bit database server. The
author’s experiments have shown that the lightweight “Instant Client” is sufficient, but you might want to go for the full
scale 32-bit version of the Oracle DB Client.

Follow the links below to download and get installation instructions for the clients, you only need one of them, not both.

Oracle Instant Client for Windows 32-bit (download and unzip the basic package for DB 11.2.0.2 to a folder – for example
C:\instantclient – and add that folder to the Windows PATH environment variable)

Oracle Database Client 11gR2 for Windows-32 bit

Step 12: Install Patchset 15.5 for the Siebel Mobile/Developer Web Client
As discussed, the installer for the Oracle XE version of the Siebel Sample Database is included with the client patch
installer. Follow the procedure below to install patchset 15.5 and the sample database. Again: Don’t use or start any other
programs until the installation is finished and ensure that you have administrative privileges on the machine or run the
installers as administrator.

1. Navigate to the /Windows/Client/Siebel_Web_Client/Disk1/install folder of the patchset 15.5 installation image and
double-click the setup.bat file.
2. Select the “Install Sample DB” option and provide the path to the Oracle Client install folder.
3. Wait for the installer to finish. There is no progress indication for the Sample XE install.

Once the installer has finished, we need to do the following:

Open the folder that you specified with the Sample DB option. You should find a network folder with an admin sub-
folder. In the admin sub-folder, there is a tnsnames.ora file with a single entry for the SAMPLE_XE service. Copy
that entry to the clipboard.
Navigate to %Client%\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\server\network\ADMIN and open the tnsnames.ora file.
At the end of the file, paste the SAMPLE_XE entry.
At the top of the file, locate the XE service definition and ensure that it says SID = XE (it might say
SERVICE_NAME = XE).
Save the file.

For comparison, here is what my final tnsnames.ora file looked like.

 tnsnames.ora for Siebel Sample DB XE

Step 13: Install Siebel Tools 15.0

To install Siebel Tools, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the setup.bat file in the /Windows/Client/Siebel_Tools/Disk1/install folder of the installation image.
2. Uncheck the option to receive security updates and confirm.
3. Choose “New Installation” to install a new instance. If you want you can choose “Migrate Installation” if you wish
to upgrade an existing Tools instance.
4. Provide a meaningful destination folder.
5. Keep the defaults in the remaining dialogs except for the following:
In the file system path dialog select the path which points to the SAMPLE/FILES folder in the client
installation directory (or any other valid directory)

Wait for the installer to finish before you use or launch any other program.

Step 14: Install Patchset 15.5 for Siebel Tools

The patchset install for Tools is quite similar as for the Client, except you DO NOT install an XE database:

1. Navigate to the /Windows/Client/Siebel_Tools/Disk1/install folder of the patchset 15.5 installation image and
double-click the setup.bat file.
2. DO NOT select the “Install Local DB” option (this would overwrite the Sample DB files)
3. Wait for the installer to finish.

Step 15a: Modify the tools.cfg file for use with the Siebel Sample XE Database
The following steps are necessary to be able to connect Siebel Tools to the Siebel Sample XE Database. Remember we
installed the sample database into the client installation directory. What we do is create a new data source entry in tools.cfg.

1. Open the tools.cfg file in the %Tools%\BIN\ENU directory.

2. Copy the entire [ServerDataSrc] section and rename the copy to [SAMPLE_XE]
3. Apply the following settings to the parameters in the new [SAMPLE_XE] section:
Docked = TRUE
ConnectString = SAMPLE_XE
TableOwner = SIEBEL
 DLL = sscdo90.dll
SqlStyle = OracleCBO
4. In the [DataSources] section add a new entry as follows
SAMPLE_XE = Sample XE
5. Set the ServerDbODBCDataSource parameter to SAMPLE_XE
6. Copy the new [SAMPLE_XE] section to the clipboard for the next step.
7. Save the file

Step 15b: Modify the client .cfg files

Now, we prepare the client configuration files and (optionally) create .cfg files for running the Siebel Client in
different modes.

1. Navigate to the client install folder and open the BIN/ENU directory.
2. Open the client .cfg file of your choice (e.g. uagent.cfg for Siebel Call Center).
3. Set the EnableFQDN parameter to FALSE.
4. Paste the [SAMPLE_XE] section that you copied from the tools.cfg file below the [DataSources] section
5. In the [DataSources] section add a new entry as follows
SAMPLE_XE = Sample XE
6. Save the file.
7. If you want to run HI and Open UI in parallel, it is recommended to create separate .cfg files. For example if you
chose to activate Open UI during the client installation, copy an existing file such as uagent.cfg and rename the
copy to uagent_hi.cfg or similar. In the copied file, find the [InfraUIFramework] section and add (or edit) the
following line: EnableOpenUI = FALSE.

Repeat these steps for every application you want to use. For example, for Siebel Marketing, you would choose the
market.cfg file.

Step 16: Run a Full Compile

Since Patchset 15.5 comes with innovations, there is a new repository version in the database. We must compile the 15.5
repository to a fresh SRF file to use with Siebel Tools and the Client. Cross your fingers (on one hand) and do the following:

1. Log in to Siebel Tools as SADMIN to the Sample XE data source.

2. Keep your fingers crossed.
3. When Siebel Tools opens, take a deep breath.
4. Run a full compile as usual into a new SRF file. You’ll notice that this is quite fast. On my Lenovo T450 it took
less than 20 minutes.
5. Close Siebel Tools.
6. Replace the siebel_sia.srf file in both the Client and Tools directories with the new file.

In case you never make it to step 3 (which happened to me at first try), take a deep breath anyway and troubleshoot. Here are
a few tips.

Ensure that the instant client path is at the beginning of the Windows PATH environment variable.
If in doubt, set or create an ORACLE_HOME environment variable to
%Siebel_Client_Dir%\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\server (replace %Siebel_Client_Dir% with the actual
directory).
Verify the entries in the tnsnames.ora file.
 Restart the Oracle XE DB service and TNS Listener service.
Use the sqlplus and lsnrctl command line tools to verify that you can log in as SADMIN/SADMIN@SAMPLE_XE
and the listener has registered the XE instance properly.
Befriend an Oracle DB expert near you.

Step 17: Manage Shortcuts

Since we are on Windows 10 which comes out-of-the-box with not one but two browsers, using the /b parameter in your
shortcuts wisely is paramount. The Edge browser is a reasonable choice, so I’ll go with that example. Since it is an “app”
and not an .exe, we have to play a trick (documented here).

1. Create a Windows Command (cmd) file

Create a local file with .cmd extension and add the following line:

cmd /k start microsoft-edge:%1

This line launches a separate Windows shell. The /k option keeps the process running. The new shell will start the browser
via its shorthand moniker which happens to be microsoft-edge: (the colon is important). Finally we pass the first argument
(the URL of the local Siebel client).

2. Create the Shortcut

Let’s say we stored the command file as C:\edge.cmd. Now we can create the shortcut to siebel.exe as usual. For example:

C:\Siebel\15\Client\BIN\siebel.exe /c C:\Siebel\15\Client\BIN\enu\uagent.cfg
/d SAMPLE_XE /u SADMIN /p SADMIN /b "C:\edge.cmd"

And that does the trick. Once siebel.exe is up and running it launches the command file which itself launches a shell process
that is kept alive, so siebel.exe doesn’t shut down immediately.

Check out this post for additional switches for siebel.exe and siebdev.exe.

Step 18: Get started with the Siebel Sample Database

Congratulations! You can now launch all Siebel CRM applications from the Start Menu, connect to the Sample XE data
source and explore Siebel standard functionality.

Of course, there’s the Siebel Administrator account (SADMIN) to start with. The passwords in the sample database are
equal to the account name. But there are more meaningful demo user accounts in the sample database.

Make sure you take a look into the Demo Users Reference (in the Siebel bookshelf) so you are one step ahead of the
competition ;-).
 Siebel 15.5 on Sample XE (and on Edge)

Quite a stretch but with a bit of effort you will soon be able to call a Siebel CRM 15.5 self-study environment your own.
Now you are ready to explore the latest and greatest features as well as practice or prototype customizations on your own
computer.

have a nice day

@lex