Preparing Linux systems for installation

Follow this procedure to prepare a Linux system for installation of WebSphere Process Server.

Before you begin

The installation uses an InstallShield for Multiplatforms (ISMP) wizard. You can also install the product silently. Silent mode is invoked at a command line with a parameter that identifies a response file, which you edit before installing.

Why and when to perform this task

Use the following procedure to prepare the operating system for installation of WebSphere Process Server.

Steps for this task

  1. Log on as root.

    You cannot install the product correctly as a non-root user. If you create copies of the product CDs, do so as root. Copies made by non-root users do not preserve the correct file attributes and do not work.

  2. Verify that the umask setting is 022.
    To verify the umask setting, issue the following command:
    umask
    To set the umask setting to 022, issue the following command:
    umask 022
  3. Optional: Download and install the Mozilla Firefox Web browser so that you can use the Launchpad application on the product disk 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.com/en-US/firefox/.
    Important: You might have to start ">firefoxURL" from directories other than the one where Firefox is installed, so make sure Firefox is in the path. You can add a symbolic link to the /opt/bin directory by typing ">ln -s /locationToFirefox/firefox firefox".
  4. 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 Firefox package is in the /opt/bin/firefox directory, use the following command:
    export BROWSER=/opt/bin/firefox
  5. Stop all Java processes related to WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, WebSphere Process Server, or WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus on the machine on which you are installing the product.
  6. Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
  7. Provide adequate disk space. For the space required to install WebSphere Process Server and related products, see WebSphere Process Server detailed system requirements at http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27006205 and select the link to your version of the product.
  8. Verify that prerequisites and corequisites are at the required release levels.

    Although the Installation wizard checks for prerequisite operating system patches, review the prerequisite supported hardware and software for WebSphere Process Server if you have not already done so. To access this information, see WebSphere Process Server detailed system requirements at http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27006205 and select the link to your version of WebSphere Process Server.

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

  9. Increase the ulimit setting in the bash command shell profile to prevent problems with the addNode and importWasprofile commands. The addNode command script can fail when adding a node, or the importWasprofile command can fail when importing a configuration archive. 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:
    1. cd ~
    2. vi .bashrc
    3. ulimit -n 8192
  10. 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.
  11. Red Hat Enterprise Linux V4.0 only: Provide necessary prerequisites for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

    A Linux package registration limitation prevents the prereqChecker program in the installer from examining prerequisite packages on Linux systems. Verify that the following prerequisite packages are installed. See Installing and verifying Linux packages for more information.

    Installing packages for all hardware platforms

    Install the following packages on any hardware platform:

    compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.3
    Required for C++ runtime compatibility. Used by such components as GSKit, the Java 2 Software Development Kit (SDK), and the Web server plug-ins, for example.
    compat-db-4.1.25-9
    Required by IBM HTTP Server. Some of the modules use the libraries contained within this package.
    xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6.8.1 or xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6.8.2
    Required by the Java 2 SDK to provide printing functions for graphical user interfaces. Without this package, Swing-based applications and Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT)-based applications, such as InstallShield for Multiplatforms (ISMP), cannot instantiate.
    rpm-build-4.3.3-7_nonptl
    Required by ISMP to properly register products within the RPM database.

    These packages are part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 operating system, but are not installed by default. You can also install a later release of any of these packages if Red Hat provides new packages as errata.

    Selecting packages for hardware platforms that are capable of running both 32-bit and 64-bit applications

    Hardware platforms capable of running both 32-bit and 64-bit applications include AMD Opteron, Intel(R) EM64T, iSeries, pSeries (PowerPC(R)), and zSeries (S/390 64-bit) machines.

    By default, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 only installs 64-bit runtime support on these platforms. However, various applications included with WebSphere Process Server products and packages also require the 32-bit runtime support. Therefore, you must also install the 32-bit runtime support.

    Install the following required 32-bit packages by selecting to customize the packages during the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 installation. Or, customize packages on an existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 system by issuing the system-config-packages command from a graphical terminal.

    Install the Compatibility Architecture Support under the System category. Optionally install the Compatibility Architecture Development Support under the Development category if you intend to build C or C++ libraries for use with both 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

    Platforms that support both 32-bit and 64-bit applications require both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the following packages:
    • compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.3
    • compat-db-4.1.25-9
    • xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6.8.1 or xorg-x11-deprecated-libs-6.8.2

    Run the rpm -qa | grep package_name command to verify that you have both versions of each package. Substitute the name of each package for the package_name variable.

    Installed packages are displayed in the reply to the command. If you do not get two replies for each package, you have only one version of the package installed. You must then install the missing package.

    Installing additional packages for specific platforms

    In addition to the packages that are common to all platforms, install the following packages on hardware platforms capable of running both 32-bit and 64-bit applications, before installing WebSphere Process Server products and packages.

    x86 platforms and Opteron or EM64T platforms: compat-libstdc++-296-2.96-132.7.2
    The compat-libstdc++-296-2.96-132.7.2 package is required for C++ runtime compatibility. The package is used by such components as GSKit, the Java 2 SDK, and the Web server plug-ins, for example.
    zSeries (S/390) platforms: compat-libstdc++-295-2.95.3-81
    The compat-libstdc++-295-2.95.3-81 package is required for C++ runtime compatibility. The package is used by such components as GSKit, the Java 2 SDK, and the Web server plug-ins, for example.

    Install both the 32-bit version and the 64-bit version of the package on 64-bit zSeries hardware platforms.

    Problems encountered when you do not install required packages

    If you do not install all of the required packages, the Installation wizard cannot start. Error messages indicate missing libraries, the inability to load graphical interfaces, or other errors that occur during the installation.

  12. SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 only: Apply SLES 9 SP1 on PowerPC 64-bit platforms to avoid a known problem.

    SLES 9 SP1 is the officially supported platform for PowerPC 64-bit machines.

    A known problem in the SLES 9 GA kernel (LTC 9288) is documented in the SDK guide for the 142SR1a release. The problem results in a 64-bit WebSphere Application Server hang indicated by the following error messages:
    00000014 RecoveryManag A WTRN0028I: Transaction service recovering 0 
             transactions. 
    0000000a ResourceMgrIm I WSVR0049I: Binding DefaultTimerManager as tm/default 
    0000000a WorkAreaServi A ACWA0002I: WorkArea service not enabled on dmgr. 
    0000000a AppProfileCom I ACIN0007I: The application profiling service started 
             successfully. 
    0000000a CacheServiceI I DYNA0048I: WebSphere Dynamic Cache initialized 
             successfully. 
    00000015 LogAdapter E DCSV9416E: An internal error occurred. 
             Exception is Clock not changed in 10002 rounds. 
    00000015 LogAdapter E DCSV9416E: An internal error occurred. 
             Exception is Clock not changed in 10002 rounds.
    SLES9/AMD64 system: The following 32-bit libraries are required by the SDK:
    • XFree86-libs-32bit-9
    • glibc-32bit-9
    • glib-32bit-9
    • gtk-32bit-9
  13. Verify that the system cp command is used, rather than the cp command provided by emacs or other freeware.

    If you install the product using a cp command that is part of a freeware package, rather than with the system cp command, the installation might appear to complete successfully, but the Java 2 SDK that the product installs might have missing files in the install_root/java directory (where install_root represents the installation directory of WebSphere Process Server).

    Missing files can destroy required symbolic links. You must remove the freeware cp command from the PATH in order to install the WebSphere Process Server product successfully.

    If you have emacs or other freeware installed on your operating system, perform the following steps to identify which cp command is being used by the system, and to deactivate the freeware cp command if it is being used:

    1. Type which cp at the command prompt before running the installation program for the WebSphere Process Server product.
    2. If the resulting directory output includes freeware, remove the freeware directory from your PATH. For example, if the output is similar to .../freeware/bin/cp, remove the directory from the PATH.
    3. After you install WebSphere Process Server, add the freeware directory back to the PATH.
  14. Verify that the Java 2 SDK on your copies of the product CDs is functioning correctly.

    If you created your own product CDs from ISO images or by copying the actual CDs, perform the following steps to verify that the Java 2 SDK is working correctly.

    1. On your created product CD for WebSphere Process Server CD 1, navigate to the /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/bin directory. To do this, issue the following command:
      cd /mnt/JDK/repository/prereq.jdk/java/bin
    2. Verify the Java 2 SDK version. To do this, issue the following command:
      ./java -version
      The command completes successfully with no errors when the Java 2 SDK is intact.
    3. Repeat this procedure on your created product CD for WebSphere Process Server CD 2.

Result

This procedure prepares the operating system for installation of WebSphere Process Server.

What to do next

After preparing the operating system, you can install WebSphere Process Server. See Installing the software for descriptions of the various installation alternatives available.


Last updated: Wed 01 Nov 2006 07:47:12

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