The launchpad console is the starting point for installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server - Express®.
About this task
The launchpad identifies components on the product disk
or image that you can install (launch).
WebSphere Application Server is an integrated
platform that contains an application server, a set of web development
tools, a web server, and additional supporting software and documentation.
The launchpad is a single point of reference for installing the entire
application server environment. If you click a link that points to
a product repository on another disk or image, you are prompted to
insert that disk or browse to that image. For example, IBM HTTP Server, Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server, and Application
Client for IBM WebSphere Application Server are on the
supplements disk. If you click a link to launch those products, you
must insert the supplements disk in the disk drive or point the installer
to the product repositories to install the product from the launchpad.
Procedure
- Start the launchpad.
The launchpad program
is available in the root directory of the product disk or the downloaded
installation image. You can start the launchpad manually using a fully
qualified command instead of changing directories to the disk and
running the command locally from the root directory:
Avoid trouble: Some Windows operating systems such
as Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7 have implemented a more restrictive
security policy that denies access to trusted files by non-trusted
files or applications. When the launchpad application is run as a
non-trusted program, you will receive JavaScript "Access is denied" errors that
subsequently cause the application to hang. Because downloaded images
are automatically blocked, unblock the files so that the launchpad
can successfully access the files. Before you extract the image, right-click
the image file and select
Properties to open the Properties
panel and locate the security section and click the
Unblock button.
You can now extract the image and run the launchpad application.
gotcha
The
launchpad opens in the language of the locale setting of the machine.
- Use the launchpad to perform the following tasks.
- View the Welcome page, and access links to the WebSphere Application Server Information
Center and the IBM Education
Assistant.
- Launch Installation Manager installation, and access the IBM Installation Manager Information
Center.
- Download the latest version of IBM Packaging
Utility, and access the IBM Packaging
Utility Information Center.
- Launch Installation Manager to install WebSphere Application Server - Express
- Launch Installation Manager to install IBM HTTP Server
- Launch Installation Manager to install Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server.
- Launch Installation Manager to install the WebSphere Customization Toolbox.
- Launch Installation Manager to install Application Clients.
- Access the latest version of IBM Support
Assistant.
- Launch the installation for IBM Tivoli® Composite Application
Manager for WebSphere Application
Server.
- Access the latest version of the Tivoli Federated
Identity Manager for WebSphere Application
Server Network Deployment.
- Launch Installation Manager to install IBM WebSphere Adapters
Version 7.5.
Results
This procedure results in using the launchpad to start the
installation and to access information through a browser.
Troubleshooting
If
you can start the launchpad but clicking a link does not resolve to
a page in the launchpad, you might have the wrong media in the disk
drive. Check the validity of the media.
If the launchpad links still do not work
after following this procedure, launch the programs directly.