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.
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.
Log
on as root. You cannot install the product correctly as a non-root user.
If you create a copy of the product CD-ROM or DVD, do
so as root. Copies made from non-root users do not preserve the correct file
attributes and do not work.
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 Firefox browser, download and install the
browser from http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/.
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.
For
example, if the Mozilla package is in the
/opt/bin/mozilla directory,
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 disc space:
- 730 MB for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory
before creating profiles
The installation root directory includes the core
product files. This size does not include space for profiles or applications.
Profiles require 40 MB of temp space in addition to the sizes shown. Profiles
have the following space requirements:
- 30 MB for the Deployment manager profile
This size does not include space for Sample applications
that you might install. The size also does not include space for applications
that you might deploy.
- 200 MB for an Application Server profile with the Sample applications
This size does not include space for applications
that you might develop and install.
- 10 MB for an unfederated custom profile
This size does not include space for applications
that you might develop and install. The requirement does include space for
the node agent. However, you must federate a custom profile to create an operational
managed node.
After federating a custom profile,
the resulting managed node contains a functional node agent only. Use the
deployment manager to create server processes on the managed node.
- 100 MB for the /tmp directory
The temporary directory is the working directory
for the installation program.
- 830 MB total requirement
This amount is the total space requirement when installing
the product from the disc and when not installing service. Installing profiles
requires more space.
The IBM HTTP Server product requires the following space:
- 110 MB for the /opt/IBM/HTTPServer directory
The IBM HTTP Server product requires this space.
- 25 MB for the /opt/ibm/gsk7 directory
The IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) requires this
space.
The runtime
module is gsk7bas.i386.rpm for Linux distributed platforms
and gsk7bas.s390.rpm for Linux for S/390 platforms.
The Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server
require the following maximum amount if space:
- 200 MB for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/plugins directory
The Web server plug-ins require this space.
- 25 MB for the /opt/ibm/gsk7 directory
The IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) requires this
space.
The runtime
module is gskkm.rte.
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:
- 550 MB maximum for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AST directory
The Application
Server Toolkit does not include an integrated test environment.
Install the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment product
and configure an application server to create a test environment.
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 disc 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.
- 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 /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/bin directory
on the product CD-ROM or DVD. For example:
cd /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/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.
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.