This topic describes how to prepare a Linux system for
installing WebSphere Application Server.
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.
Non-root
installation support is introduced in Version 6.1, for both the Installation
wizard and for silent installations.
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.
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.
While
this topic lists many steps that are common to all Linux distributions,
specific Linux distributions might require additional steps. Complete
all common steps, as well as any additional steps that are required
for your distribution. If your distribution is not listed in this
topic, but is supported by WebSphere Application Server, check for
any post-release technical notes that are available for your operating
system at the product support site at http://www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/support/.
If a technical note is not available for your distribution, additional
steps might not be required.
When additional steps are required,
it is typically because a default installation of the distribution
does not provide required libraries or operating system features.
If you install WebSphere Application Server on a customized Linux
installation that has installed packages which differ significantly
from the packages provided by a default installation of the distribution,
ensure that your customized installation has the packages required
for WebSphere Application Server to run. WebSphere Application Server
does not maintain lists of the packages required for each Linux distribution
or for updates to each distribution.
For WebSphere Application
Server to run adequately, your Linux installation must have the following
items:
- Kernel and C runtime library
- Current and all compatibility versions of the C++ runtime library
- X Windows libraries and runtime
- GTK runtime libraries
- Log on to the operating system.
You can log
on as root or as a non-root installer.
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
- Download and install the
Mozilla Firefox Web browser so that you can use the launchpad application
on the product disc and the Gnome and KDE shortcut menu entries for
WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment.
If you do not have the Mozilla Firefox
browser, download and install the browser from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html.
Note: It
might be necessary to run
>firefox &url from
directories other than the one where Firefox is installed, so ensure
that Firefox is in the path. You can add a symbolic link to the
/opt/bin directory
by entering:
>ln -s /locationToFirefox/firefox firefox
- 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.
If the Mozilla package is in the
/opt/bin/mozilla directory,
for example, use the following command:
export BROWSER=/opt/bin/mozilla
- Stop all WebSphere Application
Server-related Java processes
on the machine where you are installing the product.
- Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
- Provide adequate disk space.
Attention:
The Network Deployment product
requires the following disk space:
The IBM HTTP Server product requires the following
space:
The IBM WebSphere Application Server Clients
product requires the following space:
- 150 MB for the app_client_root 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 Update Installer requires the following
space:
- 200 MB for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller directory
-
The Application Server Toolkit requires the
following space:
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
- 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.
Refer to the documentation
for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to
migrate to their supported versions.
- Increase the ulimit setting in the
bash command shell profile to prevent addNode and importWasprofile
problems.
The addNode command script
can fail when adding a node, or the importWasprofile command
can fail when importing a configuration archive. The importWasprofile command
might fail during the installation of a customized installation package
(CIP) when the CIP includes a customized profile.
Set a higher
ulimit setting for the kernel in the bash shell profile script, which
is loaded at login time for the session.
Set the ulimit on your
Linux command shells by adding the command to your shell profile script.
The shell profile script is usually found under your home directory:
- cd ~
- vi .bashrc
- ulimit -n 8192
See http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21223909 for more information.
- Increase the ulimit setting
in the bash command shell profile to prevent addNode and importWasprofile
problems.
The addNode command script
can fail when adding a node, or the importWasprofile command
can fail when importing a configuration archive. The importWasprofile command
might fail during the installation of a customized installation package
(CIP) when the CIP includes a customized profile.
Set a higher
ulimit setting for the kernel in the bash shell profile script, which
is loaded at login time for the session.
Set the ulimit on your
Linux command shells by adding the command to your shell profile script.
The shell profile script is usually found under your home directory:
- cd ~
- vi .bashrc
- ulimit -n 8192
See http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21223909 for more information.
- Restore the original copy of the /etc/issue file if the file is modified.
The prereqChecker program in the installation wizard uses
the file to verify the version of the operating system. If you cannot
restore the original version, ignore the Operating System Level Check
message about the operating system being unsupported. The installation
can continue successfully despite the warning.
- 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.
- Type which cp at the command prompt before
running the installation program for the WebSphere Application Server product.
- 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.
- Install the WebSphere Application
Server product.
- 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.
- Complete any distribution-specific set up.
Complete
the steps for your distribution:
If you are using a supported distribution other than those
listed above, examine the WebSphere Application Server support site
for any technical notes that are published for your distribution.
If technical notes have been published, apply the fixes.
- 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).
- Change directories to the /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin directory
on the product CD-ROM or DVD. For example:
cd /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin
- 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.
- Grant a non-root installer ID the correct
file permissions to create menu entries in Gnome and KDE.
Before
the installation, the root user can grant write permission to the
non-root installer for the /etc/xdg/menus/applications-merged directory.
Then the Installation wizard creates the menu entries during the non-root
installation.
Otherwise, you must run scripts to create and
remove the menu entries while WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment is installed.
See Limitations of non-root installers for more information.
What to do next
After
preparing the operating system for installation, you can install the WebSphere Application Server
product.
See Preparing to install Network Deployment on a Linux system for
the next step in the overall procedure, which is selecting the type
of installation to perform.