This topic describes how to use the custom installation path to install IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express, Version 6.
Before you begin
This procedure is one of the installation paths that are available for any platform.
Select the appropriate installation path before you begin the installation.
Before starting the installation, see Using the launchpad to start the installation for information about the Installation solutions diagrams. The diagrams show typical topologies for the product. The solutions are also in Planning to install WebSphere Application Server - Express.
Why and when to perform this task
Perform the following installation to select features for the WebSphere Application Server - Express product and to select characteristics for the application server profile.
Steps for this task
umaskTo set the umask setting to 022, issue the following command:
umask 022
For example, on some Windows systems, click Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > User Rights Assignments to see the advanced options. See your Windows documentation for more information.
The installation wizard grants your Windows user ID the
advanced user rights, if the user ID belongs to the administrator group. The
silent installation does not grant these rights. If you create a new user
ID on a Windows platform to perform a silent installation, you must restart
the system to activate the proper authorizations for the user ID before you
can perform a successful silent installation.
When
installing the WebSphere Application Server as a Windows service, do not use
a user ID that contains spaces. A user ID with spaces cannot be validated.
Such a user ID is not allowed to continue the installation. To work around
this problem, install with a user ID that does not contain spaces, or do not
choose to install Windows services.
If you have a problem starting the launchpad, use the troubleshooting information in Using the launchpad to start the installation to correct the problem.
When using the launchpad, launch the Installation wizard for Express server.
After launching the Installation wizard from the launchpad or from the command line, the InstallShield MultiPlatform (ISMP) wizard initializes and then displays the Welcome panel.
The license agreement displays.
After you accept the licensing terms, the Installation wizard checks for a supported operating system and prerequisite patches.
If you encounter a problem such as not having the right prerequisite updates on your system, cancel the installation, make the required changes, and restart the installation.
Although the Installation wizard checks for prerequisite operating system patches with the prereqChecker application, review the prerequisites on the IBM WebSphere Application Server supported hardware, software, and APIs Web site if you have not already done so.
The Web site lists all supported operating systems and the operating system fixes and patches that you must install to have a compliant operating system.
Refer to the documentation for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to migrate to their supported versions.
The Installation wizard checks for a previous installation at the same product level.
If the wizard detects a previous installation, it displays the Existing installation panel. The panel lets you add features to the existing installation, perform a new installation to another directory, or perform an upgrade of a trial installation to the full product.
This scenario assumes that there is no existing V6 product on the machine.
The wizard displays a panel that prompts you for the location of the installation root directory for the product binaries.
Specify the location of the installation root directory for the core product files, which are also known as the shared system files or the product binaries. The system files do not change unless you add features; install service such as refresh packs, fix packs, or interim fixes; or install a product that extends the Express product.
Spaces are not supported in the name of the installation
directory on Linux and UNIX systems.
Deleting the default target location and leaving an installation directory field empty prevents you from continuing.
Non-ASCII special characters are not supported in the name of the installation directory.
The installer program checks for required space at the beginning of the installation. If you do not have enough space, stop the installation program, free space by deleting unused files and emptying the recycle bin, and restart the installation.
Important: Do not use a semi-colon in the directory
name on all Windows systems. WebSphere Application Server cannot install properly
on a Windows platform if the target directory includes a semi-colon. A semi-colon
is the character used to construct the classpath in all Windows systems.
The installation directory path must be no longer than 60 characters to successfully create the application server profile on a Windows 2000 system.
The wizard displays the Installation options panel. The panel lets you choose whether to do a full installation or a custom installation. A custom installation displays the Features selection panel. Use the panel to select which features to install. This procedure documents using the full installation, which does not display the Features selection panel..
Select Custom installation to select features to install.
The wizard displays the Features selection panel.
Feature | Description | |
---|---|---|
Core product files | Installs the product binary code. | |
Application Server Samples | Installs the Sample applications. | |
Javadoc | Installs the API documentation of WebSphere Application Server - Express classes. |
Performance considerations
For better performance in either a development or production environment, do not install the Samples. By omitting the Samples, you can improve application server startup time by 60 percent and save 15 percent of disk space. You can save up to 30 percent of process footprint (based on a maximum heap size of 256 MB).
Use the netstat -a command to display all ports in use. Programs and products must run to use ports. The netstat command only displays ports in use by active applications.
The Installation wizard displays the Node and host names panel.
A good practice is to use unique names for each application server that you create. However, unique names are important only at the profile name level in the configuration directory.
Field name | Default value | Constraints | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Node name | DefaultNode | Avoid using reserved folder names. |
Pick any name except for the reserved names. To help organize your installation, use a unique name if you plan to create more than one application server on the machine. However, a unique name for a stand-alone application server is not required. |
Host name | DNS name of your machine | See the following considerations for the host name field. | Use the actual DNS name or IP address of your machine to enable communication with your machine. See additional information about the host name following this table. |
Node name considerations
The installation directory path must be no longer than
60 characters.
Host name considerations
The host name is the network name for the physical machine on which the node is installed. The host name must resolve to a physical network node on the server. When multiple network cards exist in the server, the host name or IP address must resolve to one of the network cards. Remote nodes use the host name to connect to and to communicate with this node. Selecting a host name that other machines can reach within your network is extremely important. Do not use the generic localhost identifier for this value.
If you define coexisting nodes on the same computer with unique IP addresses, define each IP address in a domain name server (DNS) look-up table. Configuration files for stand-alone Application Servers do not provide domain name resolution for multiple IP addresses on a machine with a single network address.
The fully qualified DNS host name has the advantage of being totally unambiguous and also flexible. You have the flexibility of changing the actual IP address for the host system without having to change the Application Server configuration. This value for host name is particularly useful if you plan to change the IP address frequently when using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign IP addresses. A format disadvantage is being dependent on DNS. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.
The short host name is also dynamically resolvable. A short name format has the added ability of being redefined in the local hosts file so that the system can run the Application Server even when disconnected from the network. Define the short name to 127.0.0.1 (local loopback) in the hosts file to run disconnected. A format disadvantage is being dependent on DNS for remote access. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.
A numeric IP address has the advantage of not requiring name resolution through DNS. A remote node can connect to the node you name with a numeric IP address without DNS being available. A format disadvantage is that the numeric IP address is fixed. You must change the setting of the hostName property in Express configuration documents whenever you change the machine IP address. Therefore, do not use a numeric IP address if you use DHCP, or if you change IP addresses regularly. Another format disadvantage is that you cannot use the node if the host is disconnected from the network.
After specifying application
server characteristics, the wizard displays the Windows service definition
panel, if you are installing on a Windows platform.
Version 6 attempts to start Windows services for application server processes started by a startServer command. For example, if you configure an application server as a Windows service and issue the startServer command, the wasservice command attempts to start the defined service.
If you chose to install a local system service, you do not have to specify your user ID or password. If you create a specified user type of service, you must specify the user ID and the password for the user who is to run the service. The user must have Log on as a service authority for the service to run properly.
To perform this installation task, the user ID must not have spaces in its name. The ID must also belong to the administrator group and must have the advanced user rights Act as part of the operating system and Log on as a service. The Installation wizard grants the user ID the advanced user rights if it does not already have them, if the user ID belongs to the administrator group.
You can also create other Windows services after the installation is complete, to start other server processes. See Automatically restarting server processes for more information.
The installation wizard shows which components are selected for installation in a pre-installation summary panel.
The Installation wizard creates the uninstaller program and then displays a progress panel that shows which components are being installed. At the end of the installation, the wizard displays the Installation completion panel.
If problems occur, consult the following applicable log files. See Troubleshooting installation for the complete list of log files.
Log | Content | Indicators |
---|---|---|
install_root/logs/log.txt | Logs all installation events |
|
install_root/logs/wasprofile/wasprofile_create_profile_name.log |
|
|
install_root/logs/wasprofile/wasprofile_delete_profile_name.log |
|
|
install_root/profiles/profile_name/logs/pctLog.txt | Logs all profile creation events that occur when using the Profile creation wizard |
|
install_root/logs/instconfig.log (Not available on Linux systems or UNIX systems) | Logs the activities of ANT configuration scripts that run at the end of the installation procedure. |
|
If the installation of the core product files fails, fix the error and reinstall.
If the creation of a profile fails, fix the error and run the Profile creation tool to recreate the profile.
Troubleshoot the installation if the install_root/logs/log.txt file or the install_root/logs/wasprofile/wasprofile_create_default.log file does not contain a record of any problems, but problems exist.
See Troubleshooting installation and Installation component troubleshooting tips for more information.
If problems exist that cause you to reinstall the product, correct the errors, uninstall the product as described in Uninstalling the product, reboot a Windows machine or log off and back on as root on a Linux or UNIX machine, and reinstall.
Result
This procedure results in the Installation wizard installing WebSphere Application Server - Express into the installation root directory. The Installation wizard creates a profile named default that provides the run-time environment for the server1 application server.
Further configuration is not necessary at this time. However, you can create additional stand-alone application servers with the Profile creation wizard. Each profile is created in the install_root/profiles directory by default.
See Using the Profile creation wizard for more information.
What to do next
Deploy an application to get started!
See Fast paths for WebSphere Application Server to get started deploying applications.
Related tasks
Installing the product and additional software