Friday, 21 May 2010

Before we install IBM WAS on linux


Preparing Linux systems for installation

This topic describes how to prepare a Linux system for installing WebSphere Application Server.

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.
Silent mode is a command line invocation with a parameter that identifies an options response file. Edit the options response filebefore installing.
Non-root installation support is introduced in Version 6.1, for both the Installation wizard and for silent installations.
If you encounter a problem such as needing more temporary space or missing prerequisite packages on your operating system, cancel the installation, make the required changes, and restart the installation.

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.
While this topic lists many steps that are common to all Linux distributions, specific Linux distributions might require additional steps. Complete all common steps, as well as any additional steps that are required for your distribution. If your distribution is not listed in this topic, but is supported by WebSphere Application Server, check for any post-release technical notes that are available for your operating system at the product support site at http://www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/support/. If a technical note is not available for your distribution, additional steps might not be required.
When additional steps are required, it is typically because a default installation of the distribution does not provide required libraries or operating system features. If you install WebSphere Application Server on a customized Linux installation that has installed packages which differ significantly from the packages provided by a default installation of the distribution, ensure that your customized installation has the packages required for WebSphere Application Server to run. WebSphere Application Server does not maintain lists of the packages required for each Linux distribution or for updates to each distribution.
For WebSphere Application Server to run adequately, your Linux installation must have the following items:
  • Kernel and C runtime library
  • Current and all compatibility versions of the C++ runtime library
  • X Windows libraries and runtime
  • GTK runtime libraries

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. Download and install the Mozilla Firefox Web browser so that you can use the launchpad application on the product disc and the Gnome and KDE shortcut menu entries for WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment.If you do not have the Mozilla Firefox browser, download and install the browser from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html.
    Note: It might be necessary to run >firefox &url from directories other than the one where Firefox is installed, so ensure that Firefox is in the path. You can add a symbolic link to the /opt/bin directory by entering:
    >ln -s /locationToFirefox/firefox firefox
  3. 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 package is in the /opt/bin/mozilla directory, for example, use the following command:
    export BROWSER=/opt/bin/mozilla
  4. Stop all WebSphere Application Server-related Java™ processes on the machine where you are installing the product.
  5. Stop any Web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
  6. Provide adequate disk space.Attention:
    The Network Deployment product requires the following disk space:
    730 MB for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory before creating profiles
    The installation root directory includes the core product files. This size does not include space for profiles or applications. Profiles require 40 MB of temp space in addition to the sizes shown. Profiles have the following space requirements:
    30 MB for the Deployment manager profile
    This size does not include space for Sample applications that you might install. The size also does not include space for applications that you might deploy.
    200 MB for an Application Server profile with the Sample applications
    This size does not include space for applications that you might develop and install.
    10 MB for an unfederated custom profile
    This size does not include space for applications that you might develop and install. The requirement does include space for the node agent. However, you must federate a custom profile to create an operational managed node.
    After federating a custom profile, the resulting managed node contains a functional node agent only. Use the deployment manager to create server processes on the managed node.
    100 MB for the /tmp directory
    The temporary directory is the working directory for the installation program.
    830 MB total requirement
    This amount is the total space requirement when installing the product from the disc and when not installing service.Installing profiles requires more space.
    The IBM HTTP Server product requires the following space:
    763 MB total requirement
    This estimate includes:
    • The /opt/IBM/HTTPServer directory
    • The IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) /opt/ibm/gsk7 directory
      Note: The GSKit runtime module is gsk7bas.i386.rpm for Linux distributed platforms and gsk7bas.s390.rpm forLinux for System z platforms.
    • The Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server, including the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/plugins directory
    The IBM WebSphere Application Server Clients product requires the following space:
    150 MB for the app_client_root directory
    The amount of space required to install the application clients is actually less than 150 MB. The amount of space depends on the clients that you install as features.
    The Update Installer requires the following space:
    200 MB for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller directory
    The Application Server Toolkit requires the following space:
    550 MB maximum for the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AST directory
    The Application Server Toolkit does not include an integrated test environment.
    Install the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment product and configure an application server to create a test environment.
    The installation wizard for each component displays required space on the confirmation panel before you install the product files and selected features. The installation wizard also warns you if you do not have enough space to install the product.
    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 application objects:
    • For Version 4.0.x: The size of enterprise archive (EAR) files
    • For Version 5.0.x: The size of EAR files
  7. 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 done so already.
    Refer to the documentation for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to migrate to their supported versions.
  8. Increase the ulimit setting in the bash command shell profile to prevent addNode and importWasprofile problems.The addNode command script can fail when adding a node, or the importWasprofile command can fail when importing a configuration archive. The importWasprofile command might fail during the installation of a customized installation package (CIP) when the CIP includes a customized profile.
    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
    See http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21223909 for more information.
  9. Increase the ulimit setting in the bash command shell profile to prevent addNode and importWasprofile problems.The addNode command script can fail when adding a node, or the importWasprofile command can fail when importing a configuration archive. The importWasprofile command might fail during the installation of a customized installation package (CIP) when the CIP includes a customized profile.
    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
    See http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21223909 for more information.
  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. 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 which cp at the command prompt before running the installation program for the WebSphere Application Server product.
    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.
  12. Complete any distribution-specific set up.Complete the steps for your distribution:
    If you are using a supported distribution other than those listed above, examine the WebSphere Application Server support site for any technical notes that are published for your distribution. If technical notes have been published, apply the fixes.
  13. Verify that the Java 2 SDK on the installation image disc is functioning correctly, if you created your own disc.For example, you might have downloaded an installation image from Passport Advantage®, or you might have copied aninstallation image onto a backup disc. In either case, perform the following steps to verify that the disc contains a valid Java 2 software development kit (SDK).
    1. Change directories to the /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin directory on the product CD-ROM or DVD. For example:
      cd /JDK/jre.pak/repository/package.java.jre/java/jre/bin
    2. Verify the Java 2 SDK version. Type the following command:
      ./java -version
      The command completes successfully with no errors when the Java 2 SDK is intact.
  14. Grant a non-root installer ID the correct file permissions to create menu entries in Gnome and KDE.Before the installation, the root user can grant write permission to the non-root installer for the /etc/xdg/menus/applications-merged directory. Then the Installation wizard creates the menu entries during the non-root installation.
    Otherwise, you must run scripts to create and remove the menu entries while WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment is installed. See Limitations of non-root installers for more information.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)