Preparing AIX systems for installation

This topic describes how to prepare an AIX system for the installation of IBM WebSphere Application Server products.

Before you begin

The installation uses an InstallShield MultiPlatform (ISMP) wizard. You can use the graphical interface of the wizard. You can also use the wizard in silent mode.

Silent mode is a command line invocation with a parameter that identifies an options response file. Edit the options response file before installing.

If you encounter a problem such as needing more temporary space or missing prerequisite packages on your operating system, cancel the installation, make the required changes, and restart the installation.

Note: WebSphere Application Server prevents users from installing to a non-empty directory. If WebSphere Application Server is installed to a directory with a lost+found sub-directory, you will be prompted to use an empty directory. If you still want to install to this directory, then you can delete the lost+found directory. However, the next time fsck is executed, the lost+found directory will be created. This should not have any effect on an existing install, however during uninstall this directory will not be removed.

About this task

Preparing the operating system involves such changes as allocating disk space and installing patches to the operating system. IBM® tests WebSphere® Application Server products on each operating system platform. Such tests verify whether an operating system change is required for WebSphere Application Server products to run correctly. Without the required changes, WebSphere Application Server products do not run correctly.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the operating system.

    Log on as root. You cannot install the product correctly as a non-root user.

    If you create a copy of the product CD-ROM or DVD, do so as root. Copies made from non-root users do not preserve the correct file attributes and do not work.

    Select a umask that allows the owner to read/write to the files, and allows others to access them according to the prevailing system policy. For root, a umask of 022 is recommended. For non-root users a umask of 002 or 022 can be used, depending on whether the users share the group. To verify the umask setting, issue the following command:
    umask
    To set the umask setting to 022, issue the following command:
    umask 022
  2. Stop all WebSphere Application Server-related Java™ processes on the machine where you are installing the product.
  3. Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
  4. Use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) to display packages that are installed to determine whether you must update packages that are described in the following steps.
  5. Download the most current version of the INFOZIP product to avoid problems with zipped files. Although zipped files are primarily used in the service stream, prepare your AIX operating system by downloading a current version of the INFOZIP package from the http://www.info-zip.org Web site.
  6. Install the prerequisite xlC.rte 6.0 run-time code on AIX 5.2 maintenance level 07.

    You must install the xlC.rte 6.0 run-time code before you install the Global Security Kit (GSKit). The GSKit is installed as part of the installation of the IBM HTTP Server or as part of the installation of Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server.

    Download the xlC.rte run-time code as a fix from the AIX Support site.

    If you have AIX 5.2, you can install the xlC.rte 6.0 run-time code from the AIX 5.2 CD.

  7. Provide adequate disk space.
    With the JFS file system on AIX, you can allocate expansion space for directories. If the Installation wizard does not have enough space, ISMP issues a system call for more space that increases the space allocation dynamically. The message you might see when this occurs for the /usr directory is similar to the following example:
    NOTE: The following file systems will be expanded during the installation:
      /usr

    Attention:

    The Express® product requires the following disk space:

    930 MB for the /usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory

    The installation root directory includes the core product files. This size includes the Sample applications. This size includes space for the default application server profile for the server1 process. The requirement does not include space for applications that you might install.

    Each application server profile requires approximately 200 MB plus 40 MB of temp space, and space for any applications that you develop and deploy.

    100 MB for the /tmp directory

    The temporary directory is the working directory for the installation program.

    1030 MB total requirement

    This amount is the total space requirement when installing the product from the disc.

    The total amount of disk space required is approximately 1 GB. The prerequisite checker of the installation program calculates the amount of disk space required.

    Manually verify that the required space for creating a profile is available on AIX®. A known problem in the underlying InstallShield MultiPlatform (ISMP) code prevents proper space checking on AIX systems at the time that the product disc was created.

    The IBM HTTP Server product requires the following space:

    763 MB total requirement
    This estimate includes:
    • The /usr/IBM/HTTPServer directory
    • The IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) /usr/ibm/gsk7 directory
      Note: The runtime module is gskkm.rte.
    • The Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server, including the /usr/IBM/WebSphere/plugins directory
    The following space is required for the WebSphere Application Server Clients:
    150 MB for the /usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppClient directory

    The amount of space required to install the application clients is actually less than 150 MB. The amount of space depends on the clients that you install as features.

    The following space is required for the Update Installer:
    200 MB for the /usr/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller directory

    The installation wizard for each component displays required space on the confirmation panel before you install the product files and selected features. The installation wizard also warns you if you do not have enough space to install the product.

    If you plan to migrate applications and the configuration from a previous version, verify that the application objects have enough disk space. As a rough guideline, plan for space equal to 110 percent of the size of the application objects:
    • For Version 4.0.x: The size of enterprise archive (EAR) files
    • For Version 5.0.x: The size of EAR files
  8. Unmount file systems with broken links to avoid java.lang.NullPointerException errors.

    Unmount file systems with broken links before installing.

    Installation can fail with the following error when broken links exist to file systems:
    An error occurred during wizard bean change notification:
    java.lang.NullPointerException 
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getFileSystemData(AixFileUtils.java:388)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getPartitionDataWithExecs(AixFileUtils.java:172)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getPartitionData(AixFileUtils.java:104)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileServiceImpl.
         getPartitionNames(AixFileServiceImpl.java:397)
    ...
    
    Use the df -k command to check for broken links to file systems. Look for file systems that list blank values in the 1024-blocks size column. Columns with a value of "-" (dash) are not a problem. The following example shows a problem with the /dev/lv00 file system:
    >  df -k
    Filesystem    1024-blocks      Free %Used    Iused %Iused Mounted on
    /dev/hd4          1048576    447924   58%     2497     1% /
    /dev/hd3          4259840   2835816   34%      484     1% /tmp
    /proc                   -         -    -         -     -  /proc
    /dev/lv01         2097152    229276   90%     3982     1% /storage
    /dev/lv00
    /dev/hd2          2097152    458632   79%    42910     9% /usr
    iw031864:/cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs
    
    The /proc file system is not a problem. The iw031864:/cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs file system is a definite problem. The /dev/lv00 file system is also a likely problem. Use one of the following commands to solve this problem:
    >  umount /cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs
    >  umount /cdrom 

    Start the installation again. If the problem continues, unmount any file systems that have blank values, such as the /dev/lv00 file system in the example. If you cannot solve the problem by unmounting file systems with broken links, reboot the machine and start the installation again.

  9. Verify that prerequisites and corequisites are at the required release levels.

    Although the Installation wizard checks for prerequisite operating system patches with the prereqChecker application, review the prerequisites on the Supported hardware and software Web site if you have not already done so.

    Refer to the documentation for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to migrate to their supported versions.

  10. Verify the system cp command when using emacs or other freeware.
    If you have emacs or other freeware installed on your operating system, verify that the system cp command is used.
    1. Type which cp at the command prompt before running the installation program for the WebSphere Application Server product.
    2. Remove the freeware directory from your PATH if the resulting directory output includes freeware. For example, assume that the output is similar to the following message: .../freeware/bin/cp. If so, remove the directory from the PATH.
    3. Install the WebSphere Application Server product.
    4. Add the freeware directory back to the PATH.

    If you install with a cp command that is part of a freeware package, the installation might appear to complete successfully, but the Java 2 SDK that the product installs might have missing files in the app_server_root/java directory.

    Missing files can destroy required symbolic links. If you remove the freeware cp command from the PATH, you can install the Application Server product successfully.

  11. Verify that the Java 2 SDK on the installation image disc is functioning correctly, if you created your own disc.

    For example, you might have downloaded an installation image from Passport Advantage®, or you might have copied an installation image onto a backup disc. In either case, perform the following steps to verify that the disc contains a valid Java 2 software development kit (SDK).

    1. Change directories to the /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/bin directory on the product CD-ROM or DVD. For example:
      cd /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/bin
    2. Verify the Java 2 SDK version. Type the following command:
      ./java -version

      The command completes successfully with no errors when the Java 2 SDK is intact.

  12. 64-bit Version 6.0.2 only: Verify that the Java 2 SDK on the installation image can run.
    A known SDK conflict occurs when you have the following setting in your profile:
    LDR_CNTRL=MAXDATA
    The SDK does not run. The following command or any command fails:
    ./java -version
    Delete the LDR_CNTRL setting from your user_root/.profile file. Then log off and back on to pick up the new environment. Or export a null setting to flush the old setting:
    EXPORT LDR_CNTRL=

    Verify that the ./java -version command works. The command completes successfully with no errors when the Java 2 SDK is running.

  13. Optional: Install the Mozilla browser if it is not already installed. The Mozilla browser supports the launchpad console.
    1. Use smit to see if the Mozilla 1.4 or 1.7.8 or later package is already installed.
    2. Download two prerequisites from the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications (glib & gtk+). Download the packages from the following locations:
    3. Install the packages after downloading them: Use the following command:
      rpm -Uvh glib-1.2.10-2.aix4.3.ppc.rpm gtkplus-1.2.10-4.aix5.1.ppc.rpm
      
    4. Download the latest supported version of Mozilla (1.7.8 or later) for AIX. Download Mozilla for AIX from the following location:

      http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/browsers/index.html

      Download the installp image and install it from the SMIT.

      The Mozilla images distributed on the http://www.mozilla.org Web site are not provided by IBM. IBM has not tested and does not support the download from the non-IBM Web site. Download the Mozilla images from the IBM Web site to verify that the version that you download is tested and supported.

      Using Mozilla 1.7.5 or earlier can result in ISMP failing to initialize during installation. The launchpad link might seem to fail, for example. See V6.0.2: The WebSphere Application Server launchpad fails with Mozilla 1.7.5 (and earlier) on 64-bit AIX 5.2 or 5.3 for more information.

  14. Optional: Export the location of the supported browser.

    Export the location of the supported browser using a command that identifies the actual location of the browser.

    For example, if the Mozilla package is in the bin /mozilla directory, use the following command:
    EXPORT BROWSER=/usr/bin/mozilla
  15. Silent installation only: Make an allowance for a known ISMP problem that causes a call to the Xwindows service during a silent installation.
    The DISPLAY environment variable on your AIX machine might point to an X server that is not logged in. Two common scenarios can cause this to occur:
    • Your AIX machine has an X server running, but the X server is stuck at the graphical login screen because you have not yet logged in.
    • Your AIX machine is configured to display X Windows applications on a remote X server that is not logged in.

    A silent installation can hang in either case as ISMP calls Xwindows services.

    Two solutions exist:
    • Login to the local X server through the graphical user interface before beginning the silent installation.
    • Export the DISPLAY environment variable to point to null or blank.
      EXPORT DISPLAY=null

Results

This procedure results in preparing the operating system for installing the product.

What to do next

[may2010] For optimal performance, tune the Java environment for your operating system. For more information, see the Java tuning information for your specific AIX operating system version. [may2010]

may2010

After preparing the operating system for installation, you can install the WebSphere Application Server product.

See Preparing to install the Express product on an AIX system for the next step in the overall procedure, which is selecting the type of installation to perform.




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Last updated: Aug 29, 2010 6:22:59 PM CDT
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