Silently install the application server product. To configure
the installation, change the options in the response file before you
issue the installation command.
Before you begin
This topic describes installing silently on any supported
operating system.
Before starting this installation, review the
following topics.
Customize the response
file to add your selections before attempting to install silently.
Use the response file to supply values to the installation
wizard as the wizard runs in silent mode. The wizard does not display
interactive panels when it runs in silent mode, but reads values from
the response file instead.
Be precise when
supplying values in the file: Customize the options response file
precisely to let the installation program read the option values that
the file contains. Incorrect specifications affect the silent interface
of the installation wizard. For example, always enclose values in
double quotation marks.
About this task
A silent installation uses the installation wizard to
install the product in silent mode, without the graphical user interface.
Instead of displaying a wizard interface, the silent installation
causes the installation program to read all of your responses from
a file that you provide. To specify nondefault options during a silent
installation, you must use the response file. To install silently,
you must accept the license agreement in the agreement option.
Perform the following procedure
to edit the response file.
Procedure
- Log on to the operating system. If you are
installing as a non-root or non-administrative user, then there are
certain limitations.
In addition, 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 could be used, depending on whether or not 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
When installing as an administrative
user on a Windows
® operating
system, a Windows service
is automatically created to autostart the application server. The
installer user account must have the following advanced user rights:
- Act as part of the operating system
- Log on as a service
For example, on some Windows operating
systems, click
Control Panel > Administrative Tools >
Local Security Policy > Local Policies > User Rights Assignments to
set the advanced options. See your Windows operating
system documentation for more information.
If you plan to run the application server as a Windows service, do not install
from 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 restriction, install with a user ID that does
not contain spaces.
- Access the root directory of your installation
image on your hard disk, or insert the disk labeled WebSphere® Application Server Network Deployment into
the disk drive.
The application
server product installer is spanned across multiple CDs. If you are
installing the product from the CDs, then you must use the following
procedure or the installation will not proceed:
- Copy both installation CDs into the same parent directory (for
example, WebSphere7) on your hard disk.
- Name the directories DISC1 and DISC2. For example, the directories
could be named WebSphere7/DISC1 and WebSphere7/DISC2.
Avoid trouble: The directory names for the discs are case sensitive.
Use uppercase letters for DISC1 and DISC2 when you create them.
gotcha
With DISC1 in the disc drive of your server, perform:
CPY OBJ('/qopt/websphere1/*') TODIR('/Websphere7/DISC1') SUBTREE(*ALL) OWNER(*KEEP)
With
disc 2 in the disc drive of your server, perform:
CPY OBJ('/qopt/websphere2/*') TODIR('/Websphere7/DISC2') SUBTREE(*ALL) OWNER(*KEEP)
- If your system's language is not set to English, then set the
language to English for the duration of the installation.
Avoid trouble: If your language is set to something other than
English, the installation will fail.
gotcha
- Run the installer from the DISC1 directory after following the
remaining instructions in this document.
- After you have completed the installation, reset your system's
language to its previous setting if you had changed it during the
installation.
If you are installing from a DVD or a downloaded image,
then you do not need to take any action because these images are not
spanned.
- Locate the sample options response file.
The file is named responsefile.nd.txt in
the WAS directory on the product image, CD-ROM,
or DVD.
- Copy the file to preserve it in its
original form. For example, copy and save it as myresponsefile.txt to
a location on your hard drive.
- Edit the copy in your flat file editor
of choice, on the target operating system. Read the directions within
the response file to choose appropriate values that reflect parameters
for your system. The response file contains a description of each
option.
- Save the file.
- Issue the proper command to use your custom
response file. For example, issue a command such as the
following:
- mnt_cdrom/WAS/install
-options /tmp/WAS/myresponsefile.txt -silent
- "disk_drive:\WAS\install"
-options "C:\temp\WAS\myresponsefile.txt" -silent
For example, for a BASE, EXPRESS, or Network
Deployment install, add -OPT profileType="none" in
the response file.
Although the installation process verifies
that the minimum required version of the operating system is available,
the installation process might not correctly flag a maintenance upgrade
of that operating system version as being a supported configuration.
If you have upgraded your supported operating system version to a
higher maintenance level and you receive an error message indicating
that the prerequisites have not been met, then you can uncomment the
-OPT
disableOSPrereqChecking="true" option in the response file
to bypass operating system prerequisite checking. See the response
file for more information.
Avoid trouble: Although maintenance
upgrades of the same major release are supported, subsequent
major releases
of the operating system might not be supported. Review the prerequisites
on the
WebSphere Application
Server detailed system requirements web site if you have not
already done so.
gotcha
- After the installation, examine the
logs for success.
Results
This
procedure results in creating a customized response file and using
the file to start a silent installation. The silent installation takes
some time to complete.
Troubleshooting
If
you customize the response file incorrectly, the installation wizard
cannot install the product with the -options or -silent parameters.
Compare your options response file to the responsefile.nd.txt file
that is shipped with the product and make any necessary corrections.
After correcting the file, reinstall.
Verify
the success of the installer program by examining the
app_server_root/logs/install/log.txt file
to verify that there were no file system or other unusual errors while
installing. If the
app_server_root/logs/install directory
does not exist, check the following locations for log files:
- user_home/waslogs
- user_home/niflogs/tmp/waslogs
See the "Troubleshooting Installation" topic for more information
on other installation logs and log locations.
Verify or troubleshoot
the installation if the app_server_root/logs/install/log.txt
file or the app_server_root/logs/manageprofiles/pmt.log
file does not contain a record of a problem, but problems exist. If
the error happens early in the installation, look for the logs in
the system temporary area. The installation program copies the logs
from the system temporary area to the logs directory
at the end of the installation.
If the profile_root directory
does not exist, the pmt.log file is in the user_home directory.
Issue the env command to display the user_home directory
on operating systems such as AIX® or Linux®.
See the environment variable settings on Windows system
to display the value of the variable.
What to do next
After installing
the product from the installation image, the next step is to check
for available updates before you alter the configuration of the product.
Read the "Installing maintenance packages" topic for more information.
After updating the product, create a profile
if you have not yet done so. Use the Profile Management Tool or the manageprofiles command
to create a profile.
On Windows systems,
use the Start menu to locate IBM® WebSphere and select appropriate
menu options to display the First steps option for the profile
that you intend to verify.
The First steps console, firststeps.sh,
is available in the profile_root/firststeps directory.
A separate First steps console exists for each profile, except custom
profiles. Use the First Steps console of each profile to verify the
profile.
Use the installver program
to compare the checksum of all installed files against the bill of
materials that ships with the product, if you want to perform more
installation verification. See Verifying checksums of installed files.
After verifying the product installation and starting
the deployment
manager or a standalone application server, use the administrative
console to deploy an existing application. See Fast paths for WebSphere Application Server
for more information.