Preparing for reinstallation after failed uninstallation on Linux systems

This procedure cleans a Linux system if uninstallation of WebSphere Process Server fails. After running the uninstallation program, these manual steps remove registry entries that can prevent you from reinstalling the product into the original directory. If you are not planning to reinstall, do not perform this task.

Before you begin

Before performing this procedure, ensure you have uninstalled WebSphere Process Server using the Uninstallation wizard or silently, and that the procedure was not completely successful. If the procedure was successful, you do not need to perform this task.

Determine the install_root directory for the product so that you remove the correct product and produce a clean system.

Default directories are shown in Table 1:

Table 1. Planning table for identifying actual location of product installation
Identifier Default directory location Actual location
install_root

/opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer or /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

Character spaces were added to these entries to enable them to fit in the table cell. The actual entries do not include character spaces.

 
profile_root

/opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer/profiles/profile_name or /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/profile_name

Character spaces were added to these entries to enable them to fit in the table cell. The actual entries do not include character spaces.

 
The Installation wizard and the Profile wizard let you specify your own locations for installation root directories. Examine the following files to determine the actual locations:
  • The ~/.WBIRegistry file identifies the installation root for all installed WebSphere Process Server products; the ~/.WASRegistry file, for all WebSphere Application Server products. These files are located in the home directory of the user ID from which the product was installed.
  • The install_root/logs/wasprofile/wasprofile_create_profile_name.log file for each created profile identifies the installation location in the stanza with the <method>invokeWSProfile</method> tag.
Uninstalling the product leaves the profile_root directory, including the profile_root/logs directory with the pcatLog<timestamp>.txt file, where profile_root represents the installation location of the profile. It leaves the install_root/logs directory as well.

Why and when to perform this task

Reinstalling the product into a new directory when files remain from a previous installation can create a coexistence scenario. However, you can delete all files and registry entries to completely remove WebSphere Process Server. A clean system lets you reinstall the product into the original directory without coexistence.

Important: Throughout this procedure, steps address removing artifacts left after uninstallation of both WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment. The WebSphere Application Server product addressed is assumed to be the one underlying the installation of WebSphere Process Server.

Perform the following procedure to produce a clean system.

Steps for this task

  1. Log on as root.
  2. Use the kill command to kill all Java processes that are running.
    If you are running Java processes that are not related to WebSphere Process Server or WebSphere Application Server products and it is not possible to stop them, stop all WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server product-related processes. Use the following command to determine all processes that are running:
    ps -ef | grep java
    Stop all WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server product-related processes with the kill -9 java_pid_1 java_pid_2...java_pid_n command.
  3. Search for related packages. Issue the following command to show packages for the WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server products:
    rpm -qa | grep WS
    To narrow your query to search for WebSphere Process Server packages only, type the following command:
    rpm -qa | grep WSEAA60 
    For example, after issuing the command rpm -qa | grep WSEAA60, the following list of packages might be displayed:
    WSEAA60WBICoreComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60WBIServerSamplesComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60BPCComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60WBIServerComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60JavadocsComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60LicensingComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60CEISamplesComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60AddBytesNonHP-6.0-0
    WSEAA60WBICoreSamplesComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60CEIComponent-6.0-0
    WSEAA60BPCSamplesComponent-6.0-0

    WebSphere Process Server package names have a prefix of WSE and a suffix of 60. WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, version 6.0, package names have a prefix of WSB or WSP and a suffix of 60. Do not remove packages for WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server products that you did not uninstall.

  4. If there are packages to delete, type rpm -e packagename to remove any packages for the product that you uninstalled.
    Alternatively, you can search for packages to verify that every item in the list is something to delete:
    rpm -qa | grep WSEAA60
    If the list contains packages that you intend to delete and no others, remove all of the packages with the following command:
    rpm -qa | grep WSEAA60 | xargs rpm -e
    If there is a problem with package dependencies, you can use the following command to remove the packages:
    rpm -e packagename --nodeps --justdb

    The nodeps option skips the dependency check. The justdb option updates only the package database, and not the file system. Using only the nodeps option can cause a failure in package removal if there is any mismatch in the dependent file system (files and directories).

  5. Remove any profile directories that are not located in the installation root (install_root) directory.

    To determine the locations of profile directories, first use the wasprofile -listProfiles command to display profile names. Then, to determine where profile directories are located, use the wasprofile -getPath -profileName profile_name command, where profile_name is the name of the profile corresponding to a given directory.

  6. Remove the installation root directory. Type rm -rf install_root to remove WebSphere Process Server directories. Ensure you specify the correct install_root for the product you uninstalled. For example, if you uninstalled WebSphere Process Server from the default installation directory /opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer, issue the following command:
    rm -rf /opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer
  7. Edit the vpd.properties file to remove the entries for WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment.
    The file is located in the installation directory of the operating system, such as the root directory. Remove all entries for the installation of WebSphere Process Server that you have uninstalled. Each WebSphere Process Server entry starts with the characters WSE, followed by numbers representing the release number, and on the same line will have the install_root path corresponding to the installation you have uninstalled. (Each entry is on a single line if the file is displayed in a text editor with word wrap turned off.) For example, the line
    WSEAA60BPC|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=Bpc|BPC||IBM||6.0.0.0
    |/opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer|0|0|1|WSEAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|true|
    |true|3|WSEAA60BPC|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
    corresponds to the Business Process Choreographer component (indicated by BPC in the example), for an installation that was installed in the directory /opt/ibm/WebSphere/ProcServer.
    Note: This text appears in several lines in this document for formatting purposes but would be a single line in the vpd.properties file.

    Each WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment entry in the vpd.properties file has a similar format. For information about these entries to help you determine which to delete, and for more information about the vpd.properties file, refer to the topic vpd.properties file in the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, version 6.0 information center.

    Do not delete or rename the vpd.properties file because the InstallShield for MultiPlatforms (ISMP) program uses it for other products that it installs. If the WebSphere Process Server or WebSphere Application Server product that you are uninstalling is the only product with entries in the vpd.properties file, you can delete this file.

  8. Edit the .WBIRegistry and .WASRegistry files.

    These files are located in the home directory of the user ID from which the product was installed.

    The .WBIRegistry file contains a one-line entry for each WebSphere Process Server product installation; the .WASRegistry file, for each WebSphere Application Server product installation.

    You can delete these files if there is just one line in each that identifies the product that you removed. Otherwise, use a flat-file editor to remove the line that identifies the installation root directory of the product that you removed. Leave the other lines intact. Do not delete the .WBIRegistry and .WASRegistry files unless you removed all of the installations listed in the files.

Result

This procedure results in having a clean system. You can reinstall into the same directories now. A clean system has no trace of a previously deleted installation.

What to do next

After you have cleaned your system, go to Installing the software to choose an installation procedure.


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

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