Preparing AIX systems for installation

This topic describes how to prepare an AIX® system for the installation of IBM® WebSphere® Application Server products.

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.

Note: WebSphere Application Server prevents users from installing to a non-empty directory. If WebSphere Application Server is installed to a directory with a lost+found sub-directory, you will be prompted to use an empty directory. If you still want to install to this directory, then you can delete the lost+found directory. However, the next time fsck is executed, the lost+found directory will be created. This should not have any effect on an existing install, however during uninstall this directory will not be removed.
Restriction: There are known issues with using Cygwin/X to run Eclipse-based applications on remote AIX machines. This affects your use of the Profile Management tool and the Installation Factory. With Cygwin/X on remote AIX, for example, a splash screen for the Profile Management tool appears but the Profile Management tool never actually comes up. For details of existing Bugzilla reports on these issues, see the information at https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=36806. If a different X server (such as Hummingbird Exceed®) is used, these problems do not occur.
To run the Profile Management Tool or the Configuration Migration Tool after you have installed the 64-bit product on an AIX 64-bit system, you must have the GTK installed. If you do not have the GTK installed, you receive an error message similar to the following:
Eclipse:
	An error has occurred. See the log file
	/workspace/.metadata/.log.
To install the GTK, perform one of the following actions:
  • Install Firefox 3.5.x as described later in this procedure.
  • Install the following RPMs to install the current version of the GTK:
    • atk-1.12.3-2.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • cairo-1.8.8-1.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • expat-2.0.1-1.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • fontconfig-2.4.2-1.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • freetype2-2.3.9-1.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • gettext-0.10.40-6.aix5.1.ppc.rpm
    • glib2-2.12.4-2.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • gtk2-2.10.6-4.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • libjpeg-6b-6.aix5.1.ppc.rpm
    • libpng-1.2.32-2.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • libtiff-3.8.2-1.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • pango-1.14.5-4.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • xcursor-1.1.7-3.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • xft-2.1.6-5.aix5.1.ppc.rpm
    • xrender-0.9.1-3.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    • zlib-1.2.3-3.aix5.1.ppc.rpm
    • pixman-0.12.0-3.aix5.2.ppc.rpm
    These RPMs can be found on the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications website.
Avoid trouble Avoid trouble:
  • If you are installing remotely and want to use the installation wizard, then you must use a connection mechanism that supports the use of graphics. If your connection does not support the use of graphics, then install the product silently.
  • To run the install successfully, you must have write permissions to the USER_HOME directory.
    If you do not have permission to write to USER_HOME, then be aware of the following install limitations:
    • The installer program will not produce an installation log file.
    • The installer program will not write the product installation registry, which means that certain coexistence-aware functions will not be available, such as automatically avoiding port conflicts with other installations when creating profiles.
    • There can be issues when applying Fixpacks with the Update Installer.
    • The Profile Management Tool GUI will not function due to a requirement to write to USER_HOME. You must use the "manageprofiles" on the command-line to manage profiles instead.
gotcha

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.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the operating system.

    You can log on as root or as a non-root installer.

    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
  2. Stop all WebSphere Application Server-related Java processes on the machine where you are installing the product.
  3. Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
  4. The application server product contains IBM Software Development Kit (SDK) Version 6. Review the following SDK 6 requirements.
    • You must run AIX v5.3 Maintenance Package AIX 5300-07 or later, or AIX v6.1, for SDK 6 to operate properly.
      To test whether this Java SDK is supported on a specific System p system, at the system prompt type:
      lscfg -p | fgrep Architecture

      You should receive the reply: Model Architecture: chrp. Only Common Hardware Reference Platform (chrp) systems are supported.

    • The environment variable LDR_CNTRL=MAXDATA is not supported for 64-bit processes. Only use LDR_CNTRL=MAXDATA on 32-bit processes.
      Note: To show the value of this variable, use the following command:
      echo $LDR_CNTRL
    • If you are using one of the supported non-UTF8 CJK locales, you must install one of the following filesets. The installation images are available on the AIX base discs; updates are available from the Fix Central web site.
      • X11.fnt.ucs.ttf (for ja_JP or Ja_JP)
      • X11.fnt.ucs.ttf_CN (for zh_CN or Zh_CN)
      • X11.fnt.ucs.ttf_KR (for ko_KR)
      • X11.fnt.ucs.ttf_TW (for zh_TW or Zh_TW)

      For more information about recommended graphical (X11) filesets that should be installed on AIX 6.1 so that you can use the WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0 graphical install wizard, see Resolving V7.0 graphical wizard start-up issues on AIX.

  5. Use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) to display packages that are installed to determine whether you must update packages that are described in the following steps.
  6. Download the most current version of the INFOZIP product to avoid problems with zipped files. Although zipped files are primarily used in the service stream, prepare your AIX operating system by downloading a current version of the INFOZIP package from the http://www.info-zip.org Web site.
  7. Provide adequate disk space. The amount of disk space required varies with the number of features or products installed. If you are installing the product using the installation wizard, the installation summary panel indicates the approximate amount of disk space required based on the features and products you have selected. Installing all features and products, including the centralized installation manager (CIM) requires approximately 3 GB of disk space. Installing all features and products without the CIM requires approximately 2 GB of disk space. This estimate includes the following products, components, and features:
    • Main application server product installation
    • Profiles
    • Sample applications
    • IBM HTTP Server
    • Web server plug-ins
    • Application Client for WebSphere Application Server
    • IBM Update Installer for WebSphere Software
    With the JFS file system on AIX, you can allocate expansion space for directories. If the Installation wizard does not have enough space, ISMP issues a system call for more space that increases the space allocation dynamically. The message you might see when this occurs for the /usr directory is similar to the following example:
    NOTE: The following
    file systems will be expanded during the installation:
      /usr

    If you plan to migrate applications and the configuration from a previous version, verify that the application objects have enough disk space. As a rough guideline, plan for space equal to 110 percent of the size of the applications.

  8. Unmount file systems with broken links to avoid java.lang.NullPointerException errors.

    Unmount file systems with broken links before installing.

    Installation can fail with the following error when broken links exist to file systems:
    An error occurred during wizard bean change notification:
    java.lang.NullPointerException 
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getFileSystemData(AixFileUtils.java:388)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getPartitionDataWithExecs(AixFileUtils.java:172)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileUtils.
         getPartitionData(AixFileUtils.java:104)
      at com.ibm.wizard.platform.aix.AixFileServiceImpl.
         getPartitionNames(AixFileServiceImpl.java:397)
    ...
    
    Use the df -k command to check for broken links to file systems. Look for file systems that list blank values in the 1024-blocks size column. Columns with a value of "-" (dash) are not a problem. The following example shows a problem with the /dev/lv00 file system:
    >  df -k
    Filesystem    1024-blocks      Free %Used    Iused %Iused Mounted on
    /dev/hd4          1048576    447924   58%     2497     1% /
    /dev/hd3          4259840   2835816   34%      484     1% /tmp
    /proc                   -         -    -         -     -  /proc
    /dev/lv01         2097152    229276   90%     3982     1% /storage
    /dev/lv00
    /dev/hd2          2097152    458632   79%    42910     9% /usr
    iw031864:/cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs
    
    The /proc file system is not a problem. The iw031864:/cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs file system is a definite problem. The /dev/lv00 file system is also a likely problem. Use one of the following commands to solve this problem:
    >  umount /cdrom/db2_v72_eee_aix32_sbcs
    >  umount /cdrom 

    Start the installation again. If the problem continues, unmount any file systems that have blank values, such as the /dev/lv00 file system in the example. If you cannot solve the problem by unmounting file systems with broken links, reboot the machine and start the installation again.

  9. 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 already done so.

    Refer to the documentation for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to migrate to their supported versions.

  10. 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.
    1. Type the following command prompt before running the installation program for the WebSphere Application Server product.
      which cp
    2. 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.
    3. Install the WebSphere Application Server product.
    4. 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.

  11. Verify that the Java SDK on the installation image disk is functioning correctly, if you created your own disk.

    For example, you might have downloaded an installation image from Passport Advantage®, or you might have copied an installation image onto a backup disk. In either case, perform the following steps to verify that the disk contains a valid Java software development kit (SDK).

    1. Change directories to the /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin directory on the product disk. For example:
      cd /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin
    2. Verify the Java version. Type the following command:
      ./java -version

      The command completes successfully with no errors when the SDK is intact.

  12. Optional: Install the Mozilla Firefox browser if it is not already installed. The Mozilla Firefox browser supports the launchpad console. Follow the instructions for installing Firefox version 1.5 or above on AIX.
    1. Download the latest supported version of Mozilla Firefox (1.5 or later) for AIX. Download Mozilla for AIX from the following location: Web browsers for AIX.

      Download the installp image and install it from the SMIT.

  13. 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.

    If the Mozilla Firefox package is in the bin/firefox directory, for example, use the following command to export BROWSER=/usr/bin/firefox:
    EXPORT BROWSER=/usr/bin/firefox
  14. Silent installation only: Make an allowance for a known ISMP problem that causes a call to the Xwindows service during a silent installation.
    The DISPLAY environment variable on your AIX machine might point to an X server that is not logged in.
    Note: To show the value of this variable, use the following command:
    echo $DISPLAY
    Two common scenarios can cause this to occur:
    • Your AIX machine has an X server running, but the X server is stuck at the graphical login screen because you have not yet logged in.
    • Your AIX machine is configured to display X Window applications on a remote X server that is not logged in.

    A silent installation can hang in either case as ISMP calls Xwindows services.

    Two solutions exist:
    • Login to the local X server through the graphical user interface before beginning the silent installation.
    • Export the DISPLAY environment variable to point to null or blank. To export DISPLAY=null:
      EXPORT DISPLAY=null
  15. Optional: Preparing a Workload Partition (WPAR): If you are going to install the application server product on a WPAR on AIX 6.1, then you must make sure that the WPAR has private and writable versions of the /usr and /opt file systems. If you do not have this type of WPAR, then create a new WPAR using the following steps:
    1. Choose a name for the WPAR that maps to an IP address for your network, or add an entry for the new WPAR in the /etc/hosts file. Make sure you know the subnet IP address as well.
    2. Use the following command to create the WPAR:
      mkwpar -n <wpar_name> -h <host_name> -N netmask=<A.B.C.D> address=<A.B.C.D> -r -l 
      Note: The -l parameter creates private and writable versions of the /usr and /opt file systems.
    For additional WPAR information, see Guidelines for installing WebSphere Application Server into an AIX Version 6.1 system WPAR from within the WPAR.

Results

This procedure results in preparing the operating system for installing the product.

What to do next

For optimal performance, tune the Java environment for your operating system. For more information, see the Java tuning information for your specific AIX operating system version.

After verifying prerequisites, verifying the product disk, and setting your installation goals, you can start installing. Use one of the following installation procedures:
Install the Network Deployment product on your operating system.
  • Perform a custom installation.

    The custom installation lets you select features to install. The features include the core product files (required), the Javadoc (optional), and the Sample applications (optional).

    See Installing the Network Deployment product.

  • Perform a silent installation.

    A silent installation requires you to edit the example response file to contain all of your installation choices. After creating a valid response file, issue the install command with the silent parameter from a command window.

    See Installing silently.

  • Install additional features to an existing product.

    After using a custom installation to omit one or both of the optional features, you can install the product again to add the features. Select a missing feature to install it.

    See Installing additional features on an existing Network Deployment product.




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Last updatedLast updated: Feb 6, 2014 2:29:34 AM CST
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