Uninstalling the product

This task describes how to uninstall WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment from the root user on a Linux platform or a UNIX-based platform, or from a user ID that belongs to the administrator group on a Windows platform.

Before you begin

IBM Support offers tutorials on various WebSphere Application Server installation topics. See the installation best practices tutorials at the WebSphere education on demand Web site at the http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&context=SSEQTP&q1=educationondemand&uid=swg27004762 IBM Web address for more information. One topic describes uninstalling WebSphere Application Server products.

Several factors affect the procedure for uninstalling WebSphere Application Server products:

WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment provides an uninstaller program, which you can call with the uninstall command.

Before issuing the command, locate your particular scenario for uninstalling and follow the recommended procedure. The potential exists for losing the embedded messaging feature code for WebSphere Application Server products that remain on the machine unless you follow the particular procedure. Another possible consequence of not following the correct procedure for uninstalling is losing the configuration of a federated node after migration.

Why and when to perform this task

The uninstaller program removes registry entries, uninstalls the product, and removes all related features and products, such as plug-ins. However, the uninstaller program does not remove some files. The uninstaller program does not delete any configuration files that are changed as the result of selecting installation options, or running Samples, for example. The uninstaller program does not delete log files.

Uninstalling products in the proper sequence

Uninstall WebSphere Application Server products in the following sequence when you are uninstalling more than one product:

  1. [5.0 only]WebSphere Application Server Enterprise
  2. WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
  3. WebSphere Application Server (base product)

If you do not have the Network Deployment product installed, open the information center for the base WebSphere Application Server to find recommended procedures for uninstalling unfederated base product nodes.

Planning for time to uninstall The time required to uninstall a product depends on the number of configured servers. The uninstaller program attempts to stop all running servers. As a result, the time required to uninstall is directly proportional to the number of defined servers. The uninstaller program attempts to contact each configured server and waits for a timeout before assuming that a server is not running. Therefore, uninstalling many servers can take several minutes. The uninstaller program can run slightly faster if all servers are running, which avoids waiting for a timeout condition.

Examining logs from the uninstalling operation

[Version 5.0.2]The return code from the uninstaller program is "1" to indicate success; any other response code indicates failure. Examine the install_root/logs/uninstlog.txt file and the install_root/logs/WAS.PME.uninst.log file to verify that no file system or other unusual errors occurred.

Examine the install_root/logs/uninstlog.txt file to verify that no file system or other unusual errors occurred.

Steps for this task

  1. Close all Web browser processes.
    Before uninstalling, verify that you have no open Web browsers that are accessing the administrative console. Otherwise, the potential for locked file errors exists.
  2. Stop the IBM HTTP Server and any related Java processes.
    Stop these processes only if the processes are running on the same machine.
  3. Disable WebSphere Application Server security.
    If security is on and Application Servers are running, the uninstaller program cannot detect the status of the Application Servers because security is on. The uninstall procedure fails because it cannot stop the Applications Server processes.

    Another scenario involving security is when a federated Application Server is stopped. The uninstall procedure fails because the uninstaller program cannot remove the node from the cell when security is enabled.

  4. Stop all Java processes that are related to WebSphere Application Server products on the machine.
    1. Stop any embedded messaging feature services, such as WebSphere embedded messaging publish and subscribe, jmsserver, or WebSphere MQ queue managers, and any related Java processes.
      Stop these processes only if the processes are running on the same machine.

      For example, if you have a federated base product with the embedded messaging server and client feature installed on the same Linux machine, use the following command from the /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin directory to stop the jmsserver process:

      ./stopServer.sh jmsserver

    2. Stop any Java processes related to federated WebSphere Application Server processes with the stopServer command and the stopNode command.
      Stop all server processes for WebSphere Application Server that are running on the machine. For example, use the following commands from the /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin directory on a Linux machine to stop the server1 and nodeagent processes:
      ./stopServer.sh server1
      ./stopNode.sh 
      If you have another installation instance of WebSphere Application Server, V5.0.x or V5.1, stop all servers that are running on the other instances too.

      If servers are running and security is enabled, the uninstaller program cannot shut down the servers and the uninstall procedure fails Manually stop all servers before uninstalling.

    3. Use the wsinstance command to delete any configuration instances of the product that you are uninstalling.
      The following example command is on more than one line for formatting purposes. Enter the command on one line to delete the configuration instance named shasti from a Linux machine:
      
      ./wsinstance.sh -name shasti -host planetlinux -delete
      
    4. Stop the deployment manager dmgr process with the stopManager command.
      Stop all dmgr processes that are running on the machine. For example, issue this command on a Linux machine from the /opt/WebSphere/DeploymentManager/bin directory:
      ./stopManager.sh 
  5. Uninstall the product.
    Select your uninstalling scenario from the following list of options:
  6. (Optional)   Uninstall manually before reinstalling.

    The uninstaller program leaves some log and configuration files that were changed during installation. You can manually uninstall the product to remove all artifacts of the product instance from the platform. This step is required before you can reinstall the product into the same installation root directory.

    • Uninstall manually after uninstalling V5.0.x, or when you are removing all product artifacts from V5.1, as described in Uninstalling manually.

Results

You can uninstall the product.

Related tasks
Installing WebSphere Application Server products
Related reference
uninstall command
vpd.properties file



Searchable topic ID:   tins_uninstall
Last updated: Jun 21, 2007 4:55:42 PM CDT    WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, Version 5.0.2
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wasinfo/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.websphere.nd.doc/info/ae/ae/tins_uninstall.html

Library | Support | Terms of Use | Feedback