The launchpad console is the starting point for installing
IBM WebSphere Application Server.
Before you begin
Supported configurations:
- You cannot install
the feature pack using the launchpad. Use the launchpad to install
the WebSphere Application Server base product, Express, Network Deployment,
or a supplemental product.
On the Windows 7 and
Windows Vista operating systems, the launchpad interface is not supported.
- On the Windows Server 2008 R2
or Windows Server 2008 operating systems, the launchpad interface
is supported when you use the built-in Administrator user account
to install the product.
sptcfg
The launchpad is a Web application. Before using the
launchpad, you must have a supported Web browser.
Use the launchpad from a Windows workstation.
Avoid trouble: You cannot run the launchpad remotely to install
a product. Only local use of the launchpad is supported.
gotcha
Avoid trouble: After mounting
the disc driver on operating system, the
launchpad.sh script
in CD-ROM root directory on the Sun Solaris SPARC 64-bit operating
system launches the wrong installation wizard. The system attempts
to launch the script from the
/cdrom/CD_name directory
instead of the
/cdrom/CD_name/sol_sparc64 directory.
Launch the script from the
/cdrom/CD_name/sol_sparc64 directory
to resolve the issue.
gotcha
Guidelines for installing WebSphere Application Server components on the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system:
About this task
WebSphere Application Server is
an integrated platform that contains an Application Server, a set
of Web development tools, a Web server, and additional supporting
software and documentation. The launchpad is the single point of reference
for installing the entire Application Server environment.
The
launchpad identifies components on the product disk that you can install
(launch).
Links
in the navigation frame of the product disk launchpad enable you to:
- View the Solution installation diagrams
- Launch the installation wizard for WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment
- Launch the installation wizard for IBM HTTP Server
- Launch the installation wizard for Web server plug-ins
- Launch the installation wizard for WebSphere Application Client
Tip: IBM HTTP Server, Web server plug-ins, and WebSphere Application
Client are now contained on the "WAS Tools CD." This CD will be required
to install these products from Launchpad.
Links
in the navigation frame of the supplements disk launchpad enable you
to
- Launch the installation wizard for the Update Installer
- Launch the installation program for the IBM Support Assistant
(ISA)
Note on using the IBM Support Assistant (ISA) on Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and Windows 2008 operating systems: ISA Version 3.x and earlier
are not supported on the Windows Vista
operating system. ISA plans to support the Windows Vista operating system in a later
version. See the ISA Web site at
http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/ for
information on ISA support.
ISA is not supported
on Windows 2008.
- Access the Installation Factory in the ifactory directory
- Access the migration tools in the migration directory
- Access the World Type fonts in the fonts directory
- Access the Devanagari font in the fonts directory
There is no WebSphere launchpad for the
disks in the secondary packet, such as the DB2 product disk.
Results
This procedure results in using the launchpad to start the
installation and to access information through a browser.
Troubleshooting
To use the Launchpad application to install products
from a network share, the contents of the "WAS CD" and "WebSphere
Supplements CD" must be copied into separate directories. The Launchpad
application uses the ~/launchpad/diskinfo/thisDisk.properties file
to identify the correct location for the install files.
If you
can start the launchpad, but clicking a link does not resolve to a
page in the launchpad, you might have the media for the wrong operating
system in the disk drive. Check the validity of the media.
If you are attempting to use the Mozilla
browser on a Windows system, Internet Explorer might open instead.
The launchpad does not recognize Mozilla as the default browser if
Internet Explorer is also installed on the same system. The launchpad
is fully functional with Internet Explorer, so no action is required.
Issue
the following case-specific command at a command prompt, to create
an environment variable that forces the use of Mozilla:
set BROWSER=Mozilla
If the launchpad links still do not work after following
this procedure, refer to the following locations of the component
installation programs and launch the programs directly.