Preparing Windows systems for installation

This topic describes how to prepare your Windows systems for the installation of IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 6.x 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.

[Windows 7] [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] Notes on WebSphere Application Server support for some Windows operating systems:

For more supported software information, see the WebSphere® Application Server detailed system requirements.

  • [Windows 7] [Fix Pack 29 or later] Support for WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 on the Windows® 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems began with WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1.0.29.
  • [Fix Pack 17 or later] Support for WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 on the Windows Server 2008 operating system began with WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1.0.17.
  • [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] [Fix Pack 9 or later] Support for WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 on the Microsoft® Windows Vista operating system began with WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1.0.9.

    See WebSphere Application Server support for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system for detailed information on that support.

  • The Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 operating systems are similar to the Microsoft Windows XP operating system in that it is not a server platform; but rather, it is geared towards client-side operation.
  • There are several differences in the Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 operating systems from the Microsoft Windows 2003 and XP operating systems. From the standpoint of Websphere Application Server installation and operation, one of the most significant changes is the introduction of User Account Control (UAC). UAC is enabled by default in the Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 operating systems.
    • Types of user account

      With previous versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, it was typical for a user to install WebSphere Application Server using the built-in Administrator account. On the Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 operating systems, however, the Administrator account is disabled by default and its use is discouraged. In place of the Administrator account, a user account with administrator group privileges is created when the operating system is installed. However, even this account runs by default with standard user (non-administrative) privileges. This documentation refers to this account as the "administrator account."

      In addition to the initial administrator account, it is possible to create other accounts in the Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 operating systems. These other accounts are not members of the administrator group by default. Both of these account types run by default with standard user privileges and do not execute with Administrator privileges. Under certain circumstances, both account types can run with Administrator privileges; but in either case, the user's privileges must be elevated in order to achieve this.

    • Administrator elevation
      When the Windows Vista operating system detects that an operation requires Administrator privileges, it might present the user with an elevation prompt for Administrator privileges that requests user confirmation before continuing with the operation.
      • When the elevation prompt is presented from the administrator account, the user is only required to confirm the operation.
      • When this happens from an account that is not a member of the administrators group, the user is required to provide the Administrator account's password before the operation is allowed to continue.
    • Registry and directory access
      • Certain areas of the operating systems' registry require Administrator privileges before keys can be created, deleted, or modified.

        If a program needs to create or modify registry entries located in these protected areas, in order to configure a Windows Service for example, that program must be running with Administrator privileges. It is not possible to perform such actions while running under standard user privileges.

      • Certain areas of the operating systems' file system require Administrator privileges before program files can be created, deleted, or modified.

        The Program Files directory is one such area. If a program needs to modify files located under the Program Files directory (such as log files, profiles, or configuration files), that program must be running with Administrator privileges. It is not possible to perform such actions while running under standard user privileges.

Avoid trouble Avoid trouble: [Updated in July 2011]
  • If you are installing remotely and want to use the installation wizard, then you must use a connection mechanism that supports the use of graphics. If your connection does not support the use of graphics, then install the product silently.
  • [Updated in July 2011] To run the install successfully, you must have write permissions to the USER_HOME directory.
    If you do not have permission to write to USER_HOME, then be aware of the following install limitations:
    • The installer program will not produce an installation log file.
    • The installer program will not write the product installation registry, which means that certain coexistence-aware functions will not be available, such as automatically avoiding port conflicts with other installations when creating profiles.
    • Since the installer program will not write the product installation registry, you will not be able to install Feature Packs to WebSphere Application Server V6.1, such as EJB 3.0 or WebServices. In order to install the feature packs, the product needs to have been originally installed with write permission to USER_HOME so that the product registry is intact.
    • The Profile Management Tool GUI will not function due to a requirement to write to USER_HOME. You must use the "manageprofiles" on the command-line to manage profiles instead.
    [Updated in July 2011]
    jul2011
[Updated in July 2011]
jul2011
gotcha

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 a user ID that belongs to the administrator group.

    Log on as a member of the administrator group to successfully install the product. You cannot create Windows services from a user ID that does not belong to the administrator group. The creation of Windows services requires the user to have the advanced user rights Act as part of the operating system and Log on as a service.

    Tip: Windows service creation can be disabled by launching the graphical interface from the command line with the following additional option:
    install.exe -OPT PROF_winserviceCheck="false"
  2. Optional: Download and install the latest supported version of Internet Explorer so that you can use the launchpad on the product disc.
    Download Internet Explorer 6 from the following location:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx
    [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] [Fix Pack 9 or later] Note on using the launchpad on the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system: Using the Launchpad GUI to install a Websphere Application Server Version 6.1 component is not supported when you are running the application server on a machine that contains the Windows Vista operating system.
  3. Optional: Download and install Mozilla 1.7.5 or later.

    If you plan to use the Mozilla browser, install the 1.7.5 version to avoid a known problem that causes two browser windows to open when using the launchpad.bat script. This problem is caused by a known bug with the Mozilla -CreateProfile feature. See bugzilla bug 249585 for more information.

    [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] [Fix Pack 9 or later] Note on using the launchpad on the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system: Using the Launchpad GUI to install a Websphere Application Server Version 6.1 component is not supported when you are running the application server on a machine that contains the Windows Vista operating system.
  4. Stop all WebSphere Application Server-related Java processes on the machine where you are installing the product.
  5. Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
  6. Stop all instances of the process_spawner.exe program. [Updated in July 2011] You can skip this step if the process_spawner.exe does not exist.
    Note: The process_spawner.exe is a required binary for the WebSphere Application Server to function properly. The process_spawner.exe is not intended to be called directly and is a core functionality of the WebSphere Application Server on Windows.
    [Updated in July 2011]
    jul2011
  7. Provide adequate disk space.

    Attention:

    The base WebSphere Application Server product requires the following disk space:

    930 MB for the C:\Program Files\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 C:\temp 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 IBM HTTP Server product requires the following space:

    763 MB total requirement
    This estimate includes:
    • The C:\Program Files\IBM HTTP Server directory
    • The IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) C:\Program Files\ibm\gsk7 directory
    • The Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server, including the C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\Plugins directory
    The following space is required for the Application Client for WebSphere Application Server:
    150 MB for the C:\Program Files\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 C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\UpdateInstaller directory

    The following space is required for the Application Server Toolkit:

    550 MB maximum for the C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AST directory

    The Application Server Toolkit does not include an integrated test environment.

    Install the WebSphere Application Server product to create a test environment.

    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. 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 done so already.
    [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] [Fix Pack 9 or later] Note on the behavior of the prereqChecker application when installing WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 on Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and Windows 2008 operating systems: Because these operating systems were not available at the time of the original release of WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1, the prereqChecker application that runs during installation using the original media does not recognize Windows Vista and Windows 2008 as supported operating systems. You can safely ignore the related warning that you receive when you install WebSphere Application Server on a machine running these operating systems. However, updated maintenance.xml files are available to prevent this warning.

    [This information only applies to Version 6.1.0.9 and later running on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.] Complete the procedure found in WebSphere Application Server might not recognize Microsoft Windows Vista as a supported operating system to replace the maintenance.xml files with files that recognize Windows Vista as a supported operating system.

    Complete the procedure found in WebSphere Application Server might not recognize Microsoft Windows 2008 as a supported operating system to replace the maintenance.xml files with files that recognize Windows 2008 as a supported operating system.

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

  9. Download Windows Script 5.6 to create Start menu items correctly on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

    Download Windows Script 5.6 from the following Microsoft Web page: http://www.microsoft.com/ downloads/ details.aspx? FamilyId= C717D943-7E4B-4622-86EB-95A22B832CAA.

  10. Verify that the Java 2 SDK on your copy of the product disc is functioning correctly.

    If you created your own product disc from an ISO image or by copying the actual disc, perform the following steps to verify that the Java 2 SDK on the product CD-ROM or DVD is working correctly.

    1. Change directories to the \win\WAS\jdk\java\bin directory on the product disc. Type the following command:
      cd disc_drive_D:\WAS\jdk\java\bin
    2. Verify the version of the Java 2 SDK. Type the following command:
      .\java -version

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

Results

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

What to do next

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

Go to Preparing to install the base product on a Windows system for the next step in the overall procedure, which is selecting the type of installation to perform.




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