Installing WebSphere Application Server 4.0--Custom Installation option

This article describes how to install WebSphere Application Server on a local Solaris SPARC machine. These instructions assume the following:

  • Your machine has enough memory and disk space for your installation. See the WebSphere Application Server Supported Hardware, Software, and APIs Web site at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/doc/latest/prereq.html for the requirements.
  • You do not have a previous version of WebSphere Application Server already installed. If you do have a previous version of WebSphere Application Server installed, do not follow these instructions. Instead, refer to the article "Migration overview."
  • You have installed and configured your database.
  • If you are using IBM HTTP Server as your Web server, you will install it at the same time and onto the same node as you install WebSphere Application Server. If you are using another supported Web server with WebSphere Application Server, you have already installed it onto the same node as WebSphere Application Server.

    Note: You must purchase and install any Web server except IBM HTTP Server before you install WebSphere Application Server. IBM HTTP Server is supplied with WebSphere Application Server and can be installed automatically during installation of WebSphere Application Server.

To install WebSphere Application Server, do the following:

  1. Ensure that you are logged onto the host machine with superuser (root) privileges.
  2. If a preexisting Web server on your system is running, stop the Web server. If you plan to install IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19 as part of the WebSphere Application Server installation and a version of IBM HTTP Server prior to 1.3.19 is already installed on your system, you must uninstall it in order for the WebSphere Application Server installation program to successfully install IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19.
  3. Insert the WebSphere Application Server CD-ROM and, if necessary, mount the CD-ROM drive. (On most Solaris systems, the Volume Management daemon (vold) mounts the CD-ROM automatically and immediately, as well as each time the machine is restarted. If the vold process is not running on the local machine, see your Solaris documentation for instructions on how to mount the CD-ROM drive.) The following steps assume that the CD-ROM drive is mounted at /cdrom.
  4. Navigate to the correct directory on the WebSphere Application Server CD-ROM by entering the following command:
    # cd /cdrom/cdrom0/sun
  5. Ensure that the directory /usr/ucb exists in the PATH environment variable for the root login. If it does not, you must edit the install.sh script. To edit this script, do the following:
    1. Copy the install.sh script from the /cdrom/cdrom0/sun directory to the /tmp directory on the machine on which you will install WebSphere Application Server.
    2. Open this script in a text editor and find the line USERNAME=`/usr/ucb/whoami`.
    3. Add the following line before the line USERNAME=`/usr/ucb/whoami`:

      export PATH = $PATH:/usr/ucb
    4. Save the edited install.sh script.
  6. If the supported Web server or database you plan to use with WebSphere Application Server is newer than the version currently required by WebSphere Application Server, you must update the prereq.properties file or disable the prerequisite checking functionality before installing WebSphere Application Server.

    To obtain an updated prereq.properties file, download the latest version from the WebSphere Application Server Tools Web site at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/tools.html. Ensure that the updated prereq.properties file is downloaded or copied into the local /tmp directory.

    To disable the prerequisite checking functionality, perform the following steps:

    1. Copy the prereq.properties file from the /cdrom/cdrom0/sun directory to the /tmp directory on the machine on which you plan to install WebSphere Application Server.
    2. Open the prereq.properties file in a text editor and disable prerequisite checking for an individual component by changing the value of the specific key from 1 to 0.
    3. Save the edited prereq.properties file.

  7. Run the installation script in one of following ways depending on the actions you have taken in Step 5 and Step 6:
    • If you have edited the install.sh script as detailed in Step 5 but have not downloaded a new prereq.properties file or disabled prerequisite checking functionality as detailed in Step 6, run the installation script file by entering the following commands:
      # cd /cdrom/cdrom0/sun
      # /tmp/install.sh
    • If you have edited the install.sh script as detailed in Step 5 and have downloaded a new prereq.properties file or disabled the prerequisite checking functionality as detailed in Step 6, run the installation script file by entering the following commands:
      # cd /cdrom/cdrom0/sun
      # /tmp/install.sh -prereqfile /tmp/prereq.properties
    • If you have not edited the install.sh script as detailed in Step 5 and have not downloaded a new prereq.properties file or disabled the prerequisite checking functionality as detailed in Step 6, run the installation script file by entering the following command:
      # /cdrom/cdrom0/sun/install.sh
    • If you have not edited the install.sh script as detailed in Step 5 and have downloaded a new prereq.properties file or disabled the prerequisite checking functionality as detailed in Step 6, run the installation script file by entering the following command:
      # /cdrom/cdrom0/sun/install.sh -prereqfile /tmp/prereq.properties
  8. Click Next to pass the introductory page.
  9. The Install Options window opens. Select Custom Installation and then click Next.
  10. The Choose Application Server Components window opens. Select the components you want to install and deselect the components you do not want to install. Note the following information:
    • The Java 2 Software Development Kit (SDK) is installed by default.
    • The Server, Admin, Samples, Application Assembly and Deployment Tools, IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19, and WebServer Plugins components are selected for installation by default.
    • If you plan to use WebSphere Application Server with IBM HTTP Server, ensure that the IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19 and Web Server Plugins options are selected.
    • If you plan to use WebSphere Application Server with a different supported Web server, ensure that the Web Server Plugins option is selected.

      Note: No plug-ins are required to launch the Application Server or the administrative console. However, for production applications, you will not be able to serve servlets without having installed a supported Web server and corresponding Web server plug-in. For non-production applications, you can use the internal HTTP transport system to serve servlets without installing a Web server plug-in by using the internal HTTP transport port 9080. For example, to serve the sample snoop servlet by using the internal HTTP transport, enter the URL

      http://machine_name:9080/servlet/snoop
      In this command, machine_name represents the name of the machine on which WebSphere Application Server is running. The internal HTTP transport mechanism is not designed for use in a production environment.

    • If you plan to install the Web server plug-in for IBM HTTP Server, you must select the IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19 option, or have it already installed on the machine.
    • These instructions assume that you are installing all of the components.

    Click Next to continue.

  11. A window opens that lets you select the plug-in. In this window, do the following:
    1. Select the plug-in option for your Web server.
    2. Click Next.

    Only IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19 is provided with WebSphere Application Server. You must separately purchase and install the other supported Web servers.

  12. The Database Options window opens. From the information that is displayed, do the following:
    1. For Database Type, select your database from the drop-down list.
    2. Ensure that Remote DB is not selected. For this example, you will install WebSphere Application Server on the same node as the database.
    3. For Database Name (Database SID), enter the name of the database to use. This value is the name of the database that you created when you configured your database (for instance, orcl for Oracle or was40 for DB2 UDB).
    4. For DB Home, specify the path of the directory containing the database software.
    5. For DB URL, specify the URL for accessing the database. In most cases, accept the default. (If you are using DB2, Sybase, Merant, or Informix, this field cannot be edited.)
    6. For Server Name, specify the name of the host machine on which the database is located. In most cases, accept the default. (Do not edit this parameter if you are using DB2. To edit this parameter when using another database type, the database must be installed remotely and you must have clicked the Remote DB button.)
    7. For Port Number, specify the port number of the host machine on which the database is located. In most cases, accept the default. (Do not edit this parameter if you are using DB2. To edit this parameter when using another database type, the database must be installed remotely and you must have clicked the Remote DB button.)
    8. For Database User ID, specify the database user name. Ensure that you specify the same user name that you specified when configuring your database for use with WebSphere Application Server.
    9. For Database Password, enter the database password. Ensure that you specify the same password that you specified when installing your database. If you are using DB2 UDB, your password must be eight or fewer characters in length. If you are using Sybase, your password must be six or more characters in length.
    10. Click Next.
  13. The Select Destination Directory window opens. Specify the directory into which you want to install WebSphere Application Server. You can either accept the default destination directory or specify a different one by typing the full pathname or by clicking Browse. Note that if you've selected IBM HTTP Server for installation, you cannot modify its destination directory. Click Next to continue.
  14. A window opens that lists the options you have selected to install. Click Install to begin the installation.
  15. If you are installing IBM HTTP Server automatically at the same time as you install WebSphere Application Server, a window opens, prompting you for the full pathname and file name of the configuration file for the IBM HTTP Server, httpd.conf. Type the location of this file and click OK.
  16. The Setup Complete window opens. To view the ReadMe file, ensure that Yes, I want to view the ReadMe File is selected and click Finish; the ReadMe file is displayed in a default browser window. To view the ReadMe file at a later time, deselect Yes, I want to view the ReadMe File and click Finish to exit from the WebSphere Application Server installation program.
  17. The WebSphere Application Server - First Steps window opens. You can use the GUI to access product information in the InfoCenter, start the administrative server, launch the administrative console, or launch the application assembly tool. Because you must first start and possibly configure your Web server, close this window for now. If you later want to access the First Steps window, do the following:
    1. Navigate to the directory containing the firststeps.sh script (by default, /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin) by using the cd command, as follows:
      # cd /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin
    2. Execute the firststeps.sh script, as follows:
      # ./firststeps.sh
  18. Unmount the CD-ROM by entering the following command:
    # umount cdrom/cdrom0

    You can now eject the CD-ROM.

  19. If you are using a Web server other than IBM HTTP Server, start the server. If you installed IBM HTTP Server as part of the WebSphere Application Server installation, you might need to configure it. Perform the following steps to verify that the IBM HTTP Server is installed correctly:
    1. Ensure that the Web server is running or start it by entering the following command:
      # /opt/IBMHTTPD/bin/apachectl start   
    2. Open a Web browser window and type the name of the host machine as the Universal Resource Locator (URL) (http://host_machine or localhost). If you see the Welcome to the IBM HTTP Server page, the server has been installed correctly.
      Welcome to the IBM HTTP Server

      Note that you might need to make configuration adjustments to the server in order to run it successfully on your system. See the IBM HTTP Web Server documentation at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/library.html for more information.

      To enable the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) on IBM HTTP Server, see the IBM HTTP Server documentation at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/doc/v1319/9atstart.htm for more information.