Install OceanBase Desktop

Before installing OceanBase Desktop on a Windows operating system, make sure your machine meets the following requirements:

• The operating system must be Windows (x86-64 chipset). For Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2, you will need Windows 10 Version 1903 or later (build 18362 or higher) or Windows 11.

• Your machine must have at least 2 vCPU cores, 6 GB of memory, and 10 GB of available disk space.

Follow the steps below to check if your machine meets these requirements:

• Check the Windows version

  Press [Win] + [Q] on your keyboard, search for Settings, and open it. In the Settings window, choose System > About to view your Windows version and build number.

  

• Check memory and CPU

  Press [Win] + [Q] on your keyboard, search for Task Manager, and open it. Navigate to the Performance tab. Under the CPU section, you can see the number of CPU cores, and under the Memory section, you will find details about your system's memory usage.

  

• Check the disk space

  Press [Win] + [Q] on your keyboard, search for File Explorer, and open it. In File Explorer, click This PC on the left-hand panel to view the available disk space under Devices and drives.

Step 1: Install dependencies

To install OceanBase Desktop on a Windows operating system, you need to install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). WSL is a feature released by Microsoft in 2016 for Windows 10. It allows you to run ELF-format Linux executable files on the Windows operating system.

Currently, two generations of WSL are available: WSL 1 and WSL 2. WSL 1 provides a Linux compatibility layer that translates Linux system calls into Windows NT system calls. WSL 2, on the other hand, leverages Windows Hyper-V functionality to run Linux virtual machines through virtualization technology, providing a more native Linux experience.

1. Check if virtualization is enabled.

   Press [Win] + [Q] on your keyboard, search for Task Manager, and open it. Navigate to the Performance tab and check the CPU section. As shown in the image below, if virtualization is enabled, the Virtualization field will show Enabled. If it shows Disabled, follow the instructions below to enable virtualization in the BIOS.

   

2. Enable virtualization.

   This section uses a ThinkPad (a Lenovo brand) as an example to show how to access the BIOS and enable virtualization. The steps may vary slightly depending on your computer brand. For detailed instructions, visit the official website of your computer manufacturer, such as Dell, Lenovo, ThinkPad, HP, and Huawei. You can also search online for instructions specific to your computer model.

   1. Open the Start menu, click the Power button, and select Restart.

   2. As your computer restarts, immediately press the F1 key to access the BIOS settings.

   3. In the BIOS page, navigate to the Security option and select Security Virtualization.

   4. On the settings page, toggle the option next to Virtualization Technology to Enabled.

   5. After making changes, click Save and Exit to save your modifications and exit the BIOS settings. Wait for the system to reboot.

   Note

   After enabling virtualization, you can repeat the steps in the first section to verify that virtualization is now enabled.

3. Enable the WSL and virtual machine platform features.

   There are two methods to enable the WSL and virtual machine platform features. Choose the method based on your needs.

   • Method 1: Enable the features using command lines

     Press [Win] + [Q] on your keyboard, search for powershell or Windows Powershell, click Run as Administrator, and enter the following commands in the opened command line. After both commands are executed successfully, restart your computer.

     # Enable the WSL feature
     dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
     
     # Enable the virtual machine platform feature
     dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
     

   • Method 2: Enable the features using the graphical interface

     Press [Win] + [R] on your keyboard, type optionalfeatures, and click OK to open the Windows Features window. Alternatively, press [Win] + [Q], search for Turn Windows features on or off, and click to open the Windows Features window. Scroll down, check the boxes for Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Subsystem for Linux, then click OK. Restart your computer to apply the changes.

     

4. Install the WSL 2 kernel component.

   You can click Download to get the wsl.2.5.7.0.x64.msi file, or visit the WSL GitHub repository to find the necessary WSL installation package. After the download finishes, double-click the file to launch the installer, and then follow the step-by-step instructions by clicking Next to complete the installation.

5. Set WSL 2 as the default version.

   Enter the following command in the cmd or powershell window:

   wsl --set-default-version 2
   

6. Verify the installation.

   In the cmd or powershell command line, enter the following command:

   wsl --version
   

   If the output appears as shown below, with the WSL version displayed as 2.xxx, it indicates that WSL 2 has been successfully installed.

   WSL version: 2.5.7.0
   Kernel version: 6.6.87.1-1
   WSLg version: 1.0.66
   MSRDC version: 1.2.6074
   Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
   DXCore version: 10.0.26100.1-240331-1435.ge-release
   Windows: 10.0.19045.5854
   

Step 2: Install OceanBase Desktop

1. Download the installation package.

   Go to OceanBase Download Center, search for OceanBase Desktop, and click Windows to download the installation package.

2. Install the application.

   1. Double-click the downloaded OceanBase-Desktop-Setup-x.x.x.exe file.

   2. Allow the application to make changes to your device.

   3. Choose the installation location for the application. By default, it will be installed on the C drive. You can also select a different folder for the installation.

   4. After the installation is complete, click Finish to automatically launch OceanBase Desktop.

3. Launch OceanBase Desktop.

   After the installation is complete, an OceanBase database in the Stopped state will be automatically deployed. Click the Start button in OceanBase Desktop to launch the OceanBase database.

   

Step 3: Connect to OceanBase Desktop

Once the OceanBase database is successfully started, click the Connection button in OceanBase Desktop to copy the connection string that appears. Press [Win] + [R] on your keyboard, type cmd, and click OK to open the cmd command line. Alternatively, press [Win] + [Q], search for and open powershell or Windows Powershell. Execute the copied connection string in the command line to connect to the launched OceanBase Desktop. An example connection string is as follows:

wsl.exe -d oceanbase-desktop --exec bash -c "obclient -h127.1 -P2881 -uroot@test -Doceanbase -A"