Installing WebSphere Application Server V5.0 on Solaris 9
 Technote (troubleshooting)
 
Problem(Abstract)
During an installation of IBM WebSphere Application Server 5.0 on Solaris 9, the prereq checker runs and the following message appears:
Operating System Level Check: A supported operating system was not detected. Installation may not be successful.
 
Cause
The message appears because the WebSphere prereqChecker does not recognize Solaris 9. It declares that Solaris 9 is not supported, as Solaris 9 was not available when the WebSphere Application Server V5.0 product was originally released.
 
Resolving the problem
A number of solutions are possible to bypass the warning.
Recommended solution

Bypass the warning by clicking "Next".

This message is a warning only. Please check http://www-306.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/doc/latest/prereq.html for the latest status of supported operating systems. If the webpage or IBM service declares support for your operating system, please click "Next" to continue the installation.


Alternate Solution

Alternatively, this problem can be avoided by using this solution instead of the solutions proposed above. In this case, the alternate solution is to bypass prerequisite checking completely by invoking the installer differently.

To suppress the warning page entirely, launch the installer using this command. Note that this command should appear on one line but it may appear here on multiple lines due to formatting restrictions.

install -W osLevelCheckActionBean.active=false -W osLevelCheckPanelBean.active=false



Another Alternate Solution

Alternatively, this problem can be avoided by using this solution instead of the solutions proposed above. Modify the prereqchecker.xml to recognize Solaris 9 as a supported operating system for WebSphere Application Server V5.0.

To do so, edit $InstallDir/waspc/prereqChecker.xml before starting the installation. Note that you must edit the file separately for the base, Network Deployment, and Enterprise editions of the product.
  1. Locate the following directory on the installation media:

    install_root/waspc

    Note: install_rootrefers to the source installation directory for the product.

  2. Copy these files from the directory located in step 1 to a temporary directory:

    prereqChecker.xml
    prereqChecker.dtd


    Both prereqChecker.xml and prereqChecker.dtd must be present in the same directory to allow the installer to process the prerequisite checker data.
  3. Edit the temporary copy of the prereqChecker.xml file. Locate the section labeled with the "osLevel" tag for "Solaris 9". (An example is provided in step 4.)

    Alternatively, you may use the prereqChecker.xml attached to this technote and skip to step 6.
  4. Add an entry for Solaris 9 after the end-osLevel tag for Solaris 8, as shown in this example. The italicized red text shows existing entries which help identify the text to search for. The bold blue text indicates the entries which should be inserted into the prereqChecker.xml file. Note that the text below may appear differently in a text editor due to formatting variations.
    <osPlatform type="solaris">
    <osLevel version="5.8" checkId="solaris8" category="osversion" displayName="Solaris 8">
    <osPatch name="108940" displayName="Patch 108940-14" version="14" checkByDefault="yes"

    [truncated for brevity]
    description="Linker patch: required for messaging"/>
    </osLevel>

    <osLevel version="5.9" checkId="solaris9" category="osversion" displayName="Solaris 9">
    </osLevel>

    </osPlatform>
  5. Save the edited prereqChecker.xml.
  6. Invoke the installation wizard from a command prompt, using the parameter provided in the following example:
    ./install -W osLevelCheckActionBean.configFilePath="/tmp/prereqChecker.xml"

    Note that the reference to "/tmp" in this example should be replaced with the full path to the appropriate directory containing prereqChecker.xml.
  7. The installation should proceed normally. The installation wizard should recognize Solaris 9 as a supported operating system. Normal installation procedures can be followed afterward.
 
prereqChecker.xml
 
Cross Reference information
Segment Product Component Platform Version Edition
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): Solaris
Software version: 5.0
Software edition:
Reference #: 1205264
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: Apr 30, 2005