Java crash (core dump) or fix pack installation failure in "webui" component
 Technote (FAQ)
 
Problem
The WebSphere® Commerce - Express V5.6 product is bundled with WebSphere Application Server V5.0. The documented installation procedure for WebSphere Commerce - Express V5.6 requires a special procedure to install WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on certain Linux platforms. This Commerce special procedure may fail, requiring the corrective action described in this document.
 
Cause

Overview
WebSphere Commerce - Express V5.6 is built on the functionality provided by WebSphere Application Server products. WebSphere Commerce - Express V5.6 was originally tested for use with WebSphere Application Server V5.0, and the WebSphere Application Server V5.0 product is bundled with the WebSphere Commerce - Express V5.6 product.

The documented installation procedure for WebSphere Commerce - Express V5.6 requires special procedures to successfully install WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on certain Linux platforms. The special procedures cover the topic of initially installing WebSphere Application Server V5.0 and also cover the procedures necessary for installing Fix Pack 2 and Cumulative Fix 3 on the application server.

These special procedures are documented in the IBM® Redbooks, "WebSphere Commerce Version 5.6 Installation Guide for Linux," in Appendix A. The RedBooks article also discusses the specific Linux distributions to which these instructions apply. The publication number for this RedBooks is C0979635, and the electronic version of the publication can be accessed here.


Symptoms
If these special procedures are not followed, or if a problem occurs while following those procedures, the process of installing WebSphere Application Server V5.0 and its required maintenance packs will fail, resulting in a Fix Pack failure or Java™ crash (core dump). Due to the complexity of the procedures, the failures can manifest themselves in many ways. Below, the most common kinds of failure are documented.


Failure during initial installation of WebSphere Application Server V5.0
The installer for WebSphere Application Server V5.0 may fail with the following messages:

# ./install
InstallShield Wizard
 
Initializing InstallShield Wizard...
 
Searching for Java(tm) Virtual Machine...
...................................
......A suitable JVM could not be found. Please run the installer again using the option -is:javahome <JAVA HOME DIR>


If the installer fails in this manner, then the solution described below may help. See the section, Recovering from an initial installation failure.

Note: The problem symptoms described here may be similar to other circumstances. The symptoms and solutions described here only apply to installation scenarios involving WebSphere Commerce Express V5.6 and WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on certain Linux distributions described in the installation RedBooks.


Failure during maintenance pack installation
After a successful completion of the initial WebSphere Application Server V5.0 product, the procedures documented in the Redbooks require installation of Fix Pack 2 and Cumulative Fix 3.

The most common failure occurs during the installation of Fix Pack 2. The installation process for Fix Pack 2 appears to proceed smoothly until the final stage of the process. During the "webui" component update, the updateInstaller reports a failure. The update wizard will state that Fix Pack 2 failed to install, and suggests referring to a specific log file for details (such as "was50_fp2_linux_selective-install.log" or "was50_fp2_linux_webui_install.log").

The "########_######_was50_fp2_linux_webui_install.log" in the <install_root> /logs/update directory would show the following message near the bottom of the log:

Errors were noted: 2                      
Extractor functionality may be compromised!


Approximately 70 lines above the bottom of that same log file, the following messages appear (key messages are highlighted):

Result: StdErr: stackpointer=0x430ffaa8
Result: StdErr: JVMXM004: JVM is performing abort shutdown sequence
Result: StdErr: JVMDG217: Dump Handler is Processing a Signal - Please Wait.
Result: StdErr: JVMDG303: JVM Requesting Java core file
Result: StdErr: JVMDG304: Java core file written to /tmp/ptf2/javacore#####.##########.txt
Result: StdErr: JVMDG215: Dump Handler has Processed Exception Signal 11.
Result: StdErr: /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/EARExpander.sh: line 15: 23161 Segmentation fault      "$JAVA_HOME"/jre/bin/java -Dws.ext.dirs="$WAS_EXT_DIRS" -classpath "$WAS_CLASSPATH" com.ibm.ws.bootstrap.WSLauncher com.ibm.websphere.management.application.commands.EARExpander "$@"
Log: ExecCmd::launch returns 139
Failed on WebUI post processing for deployed adminconsole.ear

Error 59 -- Execution of com.ibm.websphere.update.delta.earutils.ExtendedWebuiPostActor returned an error message.
Collapse: Failed by Result Code


If the installer fails in this manner, then the solution described below may help. See the section, Recovering from a maintenance pack installation failure.

Note: The problem symptoms described here may be similar to other circumstances. The symptoms and solutions described here only apply to installation scenarios involving WebSphere Commerce Express V5.6 and WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on certain Linux distributions described in the installation Redbooks.
 
Solution

General information

It is essential to follow the instructions in Appendix A of the Redbooks, "WebSphere Commerce Version 5.6 Installation Guide for Linux" when installing WebSphere Commerce 5.6 and WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on the specific Linux distributions mentioned in that Redbooks article.

Recovering from an initial installation failure
The WebSphere Application Server V5.0 installer will fail if it is initiated using standard procedures documented in the WebSphere Application Server V5.0 InfoCenter. For this reason, it is important to follow the alternate instructions listed in Appendix A of the Redbooks, "WebSphere Commerce Version 5.6 Installation Guide for Linux".

If the initial installation fails, verify that you have followed steps 1-4 in Appendix A of the Redbooks mentioned above. Step 4 describes a script, "patch_install.sh", which copies the product installer to a local filesystem and modifies it in a manner supported by WebSphere Commerce V5.6. If this script was not invoked, this would explain why the initial product installation of Websphere Application Server V5.0 is failing.


Recovering from a maintenance pack installation failure
The WebSphere Application Server V5.0 updateInstaller will fail if it is used to install Fix Pack 2 when following standard procedures documented in the WebSphere Application Server V5.0 InfoCenter. For this reason, it is important to follow the alternate instructions listed in Appendix A of the Redbooks, "WebSphere Commerce Version 5.6 Installation Guide for Linux".

If the Fix Pack 2 installation fails, verify that you have followed steps 7-9 in Appendix A of the Redbooks mentioned above. Please be absolutely sure that you have referenced the latest electronic copy of this publication! The hardcopy version of this Redbooks contains errors in Appendix A, which can cause an administrator to improperly invoke the updateInstaller.

In several steps in Appendix A, the instructions ask the administrator to "source setupCmdLine.sh". The instructions may imply that it is necessary to literally type the word "source"; however, the "source" command is not valid on Linux platforms. Instead of typing "source", use this command from the application server's "bin" directory:

. ./setupCmdLine.sh

Note the "dot-space" preceding the "dot-slash". Please be sure to type the "dot-space".

Please pay special attention to this paragraph in step 7:
When prompted to enter the location of the fix pack, enter temp_dir/patched_ptf/fixpacks, then select was50_fp2_linux.jar to install WebSphere Application Server Version 5.0.2 Fix Pack 2, where temp_dir is the temporary location you specified when issuing the patch_ptf2_install.sh command.


That instruction is extremely important. The instruction is asking the administrator to specify the location of the "patched" fixpacks directory, containing the altered version of was50_fp2_linux.jar. Do not specify the directory which contains the "original" was50_fp2_linux.jar. It is not possible to install an unmodified version of was50_fp2_linux.jar in this configuration; it will fail in the manner described in the section above.
 
 
Cross Reference information
Segment Product Component Platform Version Edition
Commerce WebSphere Commerce - Express Installation Linux 5.6 Express
Application Servers Runtimes for Java Technology Java SDK
 
 


Document Information


Product categories: Software > Application Servers > Distributed Application & Web Servers > WebSphere Application Server > Install
Operating system(s): Linux
Software version: 5.0
Software edition:
Reference #: 1213993
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: May 24, 2007