Installing WebSphere Application Server 4.0 -- Advanced Single Server Edition -- Typical Installation option

This article describes the quickest way to install WebSphere Application Server Advanced Single Server Edition and IBM HTTP Server on a Linux (Intel) machine.

These instructions assume the following:

  • Your machine has enough memory and disk space for your installation. The Typical Installation requires approximately 92 MB of disk space for WebSphere Application Server and an additional 22 MB for IBM HTTP Server.
  • If you plan to use IBM HTTP Server, you will select it for installation during the WebSphere Application Server installation process. If you plan to use a different supported Web server with WebSphere, you have already installed it on the same machine that will contain WebSphere Application Server.
  • You do not have a previous version of WebSphere Application Server already installed on this machine. If you do have a previous version of WebSphere Application Server already installed, do not follow these instructions. Instead, see the article Migration overview.

Perform the following steps to install WebSphere Application Server:

  1. Ensure that you are logged into the machine with superuser (root) privileges.
  2. If you have a version of IBM HTTP Server previous to version 1.3.19 installed on your machine, uninstall IBM HTTP Server. The Typical Installation of WebSphere Application Server installs IBM HTTP Server version 1.3.19.
  3. If another Web server is running on your system, stop the Web server.
  4. Insert the WebSphere Application Server CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
  5. If necessary, use the mkdir command to create a mount point for the CD-ROM. The following command creates a mount point at the directory /cdrom; you can mount the CD-ROM at any location on the machine's local file system.
    # mkdir /cdrom

    The commands in these steps assume the CD-ROM is mounted at /cdrom. If you mount the CD-ROM at a different location, use that location when issuing commands.

  6. Mount the CD-ROM drive by entering the following command:
    # mount -t isso9660 -r /dev/cdrom /cdrom
    Note: Some window managers automatically mount a CD-ROM for you. Consult your operating system documentation for more information.
  7. Ensure that the DISPLAY and TERM environment variables are set properly.
  8. If the supported Web server or database you plan to use with WebSphere is newer than the version currently required by WebSphere Application Server, you must update the prereq.properties file or disable the prerequisite checking functionality before installing WebSphere Application Server.

    To obtain an updated prereq.properties file, download the latest version from the WebSphere Application Server Tools Web site at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/tools.html. Ensure that the updated prereq.properties file is downloaded or copied into the local /tmp directory.

    To disable prerequisite checking functionality, perform the following steps:

    1. Copy the prereq.properties file from the /cdrom directory to the /tmp directory on the machine on which you plan to install WebSphere Application Server.
    2. Open the prereq.properties file in a text editor and disable prerequisite checking for an individual component by changing the value of the specific key from 1 to 0.
    3. Save the edited prereq.properties file.

  9. Navigate to the /cdrom directory.
  10. If you have not downloaded an updated prereq.properties file or disabled the prerequisite checking functionality, start the WebSphere Application Server installation program by using the install.sh command, as follows:
    # ./install.sh

    If you have downloaded an updated prereq.properties file or disabled the prerequisite checking functionality as detailed in Step 8, start the WebSphere Application Server installation program by using the install.sh command, as follows:

    # ./install.sh -prereqfile /tmp/prereq.properties

  11. The Welcome to the IBM WebSphere Application Server Setup program dialog box opens. Click Next to continue.
  12. The Install Options dialog box opens. Ensure that Typical Installation is selected, and click Next.
  13. The Select Destination Directory dialog opens. Specify the directory in which you want to install WebSphere Application Server. You can either accept the default destination directory or specify a different one by typing the full pathname or by clicking Browse. Note that you cannot modify the destination directory for IBM HTTP Server. Click Next to continue.
  14. The Install Options Selected dialog box opens. Verify that the information is correct and click Install to complete the installation.
  15. The Setup Complete dialog box opens. To view the ReadMe file, ensure that Yes, I want to view the ReadMe File is selected and click Finish; the ReadMe file opens in a default browser window. To view the ReadMe file at a later time, deselect Yes, I want to view the ReadMe File and click Finish to exit from the IBM WebSphere Application Server Setup program.
  16. The WebSphere Application Server - First Steps dialog box opens. You can use this GUI to access product information in the InfoCenter, start and stop the application server, run the WebSphere samples, launch the administrative console, or launch the application assembly tool. Because you must first start and possibly configure the Web server before using WebSphere, close this dialog for now. You can launch the First Steps GUI at a later time by running the firststeps.sh script located in the /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/bin directory.
  17. Unmount the CD-ROM before removing it from the CD-ROM drive by using the umount command, as follows:
    # umount /cdrom
  18. If you are using a Web server other than IBM HTTP Server, start the server. If you are using IBM HTTP Server and have installed it during the WebSphere Application Server installation, you may need to configure the Web Server to run it successfully.

    Perform the following steps to verify that IBM HTTP Server is installed and configured correctly:

    1. Ensure that the Web server is running. If not, start it by entering the following command:
      # /opt/IBMHTTPServer/bin/apachectl start
    2. Start a browser and enter the name of the local machine as the URL. If you see the IBM HTTP Server Web page, the server is installed and configured correctly.
    See the IBM HTTP Server documentation Web site at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/library.html for more information about configuring IBM HTTP Server.

    To enable the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for IBM HTTP Server, see the IBM HTTP Server documentation Web site at www.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/doc/v1319/index.html for more information.

  19. Proceed to the article Testing the installation.