Installation, Configuration

and Maintenance of
WebSphere Application
Server 8.5
ESIS Consulting LLC

(C) ESIS Consulting LLC. All rights reserved

Section 2
Installation, Configuration
and Maintenance

Installation process overview

Determine software and hardware
prerequisites
Obtain product installation files from IBM
Passport advantage site or local media
Plan for the right topology
Prepare the OS for installation
Using IBM Installation Manager, install the
product and any optional components.
Update to the latest fix pack possible
Configure the product for use
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27006921

Steps to install WAS

Choosing topology
Questions to ask:
1. Where will you place the DMGR ?
2. How many hosts are in your cell ?
3. Do you need Flexible management ? (i.e) Do
you need to install Job Manager and
Administrative Agents ?
4. Do you need a Web Server ? Where is it
located ? (i.e) DMZ or LAN

Determining topology before the installation is important since the installation process
differs for each topology

Single Application Server host and

Web Server on the same host

In this topology, the installation steps are:

1. Install WAS on host1
2. Launch Profile Management Tool. Create dmgr profile
3. Create Application Server profile
4. Start dmgr using firststeps console or startManager command.
5. Login to Admin Console. Federate the Application Server to the Cell
6. Create and start Application Server 2
7. Install Web Server (Ex: IBM HTTP Server or IIS)
8. Using WebSphere Customization toolbox, launch Web Server Plugin configuration
tool to configure web server. A web server definition will be automatically created in
the cell.

Application Servers and Web Server

on the different hosts

In this topology, the installation steps are:

1, Install WAS on host1
2. Launch Profile Management Tool. Create dmgr profile
3. Create Application Server profile
4. Start dmgr using firststeps console or startManager command.
5. Login to Admin Console. Federate the Application Server to the Cell
6. Create and start Application Server 2
7. Install Web Server (Ex: IBM HTTP Server or IIS) on Host 2
8. Using WebSphere Customization toolbox on Host 2, launch Web Server Plugin
configuration tool to configure web server.
9. Under plugins_root/bin directory, a script named configureweb_server_name is
created. Copy this script to profile_root/bin on Host 1 and run it. This creates the Web
Server definition in the cell
10. For web servers other than IBM HTTP Server, the plugin configuration file needs
to be manually propagated

Flexible Management Topology

In this topology, the installation steps are:

1, Install WAS on host1
2. Launch Profile Management Tool. Create dmgr profile
3. Create Application Server profile
4. Start dmgr using firststeps console or startManager command.
5. Login to Admin Console. Federate the Application Server to the Cell
6. Create and start Application Server 2
7. Install Web Server (Ex: IBM HTTP Server or IIS) on Host 2
8. Using WebSphere Customization toolbox on Host 2, launch Web Server Plugin
configuration tool to configure web server.
9. Under plugins_root/bin directory, a script named configureweb_server_name is
created. Copy this script to profile_root/bin on Host 1 and run it. This creates the Web
Server definition in the cell
10. For web servers other than IBM HTTP Server, the plugin configuration file needs
to be manually propagated
11. Install WAS on Host 3. Create an Administrative Agent profile and multiple
Application server profiles
12. Run registerNode command to register Application Servers with Administrative
Agent
13. Install WAS on host 4. Create a Job Manager profile
14. Register the DMGR and Admin Agent using wsadmin.registerWithJobManager
task. You can also use WAS Admin console and WAS Administrative Agent console
to register with Job Manager

Secure Proxy Topology

Secure Proxy for WAS is a high speed reverse proxy that can be used to load
balance and route requests for Web Applications. Consider this as a Web Server.
Secure Proxy does NOT have a web container and hence NO admin console. Use
wsadmin to manage Secure Proxy runtime
Installation steps:
Install WAS as previous topologies. The Secure proxy installation steps are provided
below
1. On Host 1, use profile management tool to create an Administrative Agent profile
2. On host 1, create a secure proxy configuration only profile
3. Register secure proxy with Admin Agent (using registerNode command)
4. Using AdminTask.exportProxyServer command, export secure proxy configuration
to an EAR file
5. On Host 2 install DMZ Secure Proxy (Using IBM installation Manager)
6. Copy the configuration export from Host1 to Host 2 and run AdminTask.
importProxyServer command to import configuration (you must repeat this step
whenever you make configuration changes to Secure Proxyy)

Prepare Operating System

Ensure sufficient disk space exists
Ensure Operating System Patches meet the
requirements
Ensure WAS will be installed in a SINGLE
File system (i.e the files cannot span file
systems)
If you are going to be installing as
administrator/root, ensure you have
necessary passwords
Make sure the host name is resolvable using
dns or local hosts files.
DHCP is not supported

IBM Installation Manager

A Tool to centrally manage installing,
updating and uninstalling range of
WebSphere products
Can use local or remote file repositories
Can connect to IBM website to query latest
fix packs
Three modes: GUI,Command Line, Silent
install
Can be installed by an Administrator (root) or
a regular user (non root)

When Installation Manager is installed by an Administrator, any administrator can use

the product
When Installation Manager is installed by a non Administrator, only that user can use
the product.
On Windows, if you are installing as non Administrator, make sure you install the
produce on a Folder other than C:\Program Files as the user will need write access
for proper
functionality of the product
IBM installation Manager is a free offering. However, the products you install (for
example, WebSphere Application Server) may require licenses

IBM Installation Manager Cont...

Software product that can be installed with
Installation manager is referred to as
Package
Each package has a 'install location' and
'product level'
Package group consists of packages that
are installed in a single location
Packages are stored in flat file repositories
that contain meta data and product binaries

When you download a product to be installed by Installation manager, the product

comes with a file named 'repository.config' which you will use to 'add' a repository in
Installation Manager. This file contains the available products in the download.

IBM Installation Manager Cont...

Using IBM Packaging utility, you can create
custom repositories for installing through
Installation manager
For example, you can combine WebSphere
Application Server, fix pack files and Web
Server Plugin in one custom repository
Installation Manager can install any fix pack
without installation any interim levels
Obtain the Installation Manager from IBM
Passport Advantage, media or from IBM
download site
Important Note: If you install a fix pack level without installing any interim levels, you
can only roll back to your original fix pack level.

Install IBM Installation Manager

Obtain the software; unzip if required
Run the 'install' command and follow
prompts
Three modes for install: Admin, User, Group
Group Mode is not available on Windows
You can install IBM Installation manager
silently using 'installc' command

The exact command to use will depend on the platform. Generally windows platforms
will have .exe added to the commands. Unix platforms will not have this extension.
You can install the IBM installation manager in a)Admin mode b)User mode c)Group
mode
Group mode is NOT available on Windows platforms
Admin mode: Only administrators can install and use the product. There can be only
one Admin instance.
User mode: Only the user who performed the install can use the product. There can
be only one User instance per user
Group mode: Users from a particular group can install use the product. The package
you install must be enabled for group mode

Add repositories to Installation

manager
You can use Web Based repositories if your
computer has internet access
For local repositories (typical), obtain the
software binaries and store them in a
directory locally
Each product will have a file named
repository.config
In Installation manager GUI, click File>Preferences->Repositories->Add repository
to select the repository.config file

Web Based repositories use your IBM Passport advantage credentials

Add repositories to Installation

manager Cont...

Installing WAS using GUI

Start the IBM Installation Manager
You can use the shortcut created during install or
use IBMIM command

Click 'install'
IBM Installation manager searches the
repositories configured and displays the
available packages to install
Select "IBM WebSphere Application Server
Network Deployment" and appropriate
version

You may be prompted for IBM ID and password if "Search service repositories during
installation and updates" option is selected in IBM Installation Manager preferences.
You may also be prompted to update IBM Installation manager to update to its latest
version. You must do so before proceeding.

Installing WAS using GUI Cont...

Accept the license agreement
Choose the root directory for the product
install
If this is the first time you are installing a
package, specify the shared resources
directory (this is where artifacts that are
common to one or more package groups are
stored)
Select "WebSphere Application Server Full
Profile"

You cannot use semicolon in path name

Root directory cannot be a symbolic link
The shared resources directory needs to be sufficiently large (typically several
Gigabytes). This is where product binaries that are common to several WAS products
will be stored.

Installing WAS using GUI Cont...

Optionally select EJB Deploy Tool, Sample
Applications and Standalone clients
If you are installing on a 64 bit architecture,
option to install 32bit or 64bit Java 6.0 SDK
is provided
Optionally install WebSphere Application
Server Liberty Profile - A lightweight
Application Server profile suited for fast
development and simplified configuration
Review summary and click Install

Websphere 8.5 default runtime environment is Java 1.6. But it does support Java 1.7

Installing WAS using GUI Cont...

You can choose to view the install log file at
the end
You can choose to run the profile
management tool to start creating and
managing profiles
Click Finish
If you need to view the log file, click File ->
View Log

Websphere 8.5 default runtime environment is Java 1.6. But it does support Java 1.7
IBM Installation manager log file is an xml file

Installing silently using response file

You can install the product silently using
response files
Response files can be generated using the GUI
or you can manually create them
To install silently, use the command <install
manager home>/eclipse/tools/imcl.
exe -acceptLicense input <response
file> -log <logfile>
To record a response file, use the command
IBMIM.exe -record responseFile skipInstall agentDataLocation

On Unix platforms the commands do not have the extension .exe

IBMIM command is located in <IBM Installation manager install location>/eclipse
While creating the response file, you can choose the directory location, options to
install etc
Ensure that all product disk directories are on the same parent directory (i.e the install
process should not prompt for inserting disk)

Installing silently using response file

Cont...
While creating the response file, you can
choose the directory location, options to
install etc
Ensure that all product disk directories are
on the same parent directory (i.e the install
process should not prompt for inserting disk)
Once the installation is successful, you can
proceed with creating and managing profiles

On Unix platforms the commands do not have the extension .exe

IBMIM command is located in <IBM Installation manager install location>/eclipse

Installing silently using response file

Cont...
Sample response file (source: IBM info center)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<agent-input clean="true" temporary="true">
<server>
<repository location="http://www.ibm.com/software/repositorymanager/com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85" />
</server>
<install modify='false'>
<offering id='com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85'
profile='IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5'
features='core.feature,ejbdeploy,thinclient,embeddablecontainer,com.ibm.sdk.6_32bit,liberty' installFixes='none'/>
</install>
<profile id='IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5'
installLocation='C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer'>
<data key='eclipseLocation' value='C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer'/>
<data key='user.import.profile' value='false'/>
<data key='cic.selector.nl' value='en'/>
</profile>
</agent-input>

Using IBM Installation Manager in

console mode
You can invoke the console mode using the
command <IBM Installation Manager
install directory>/eclipse/tools/imcl.exe
-c

You can use chutils command to change permissions (Owner and group) on the
entire installation.

Installation verification
The installver command used in Websphere
7 and prior has been replaced by the
verification capabilities of IBM Installation
Manager
Start the IBM Installation manager, click File
-> view installed packages to verify
successfully installed packages
The file 'installed.xml' should contain a
'location' element. (Example: <WAS
Root>/properties/version/installe
d.xml)

Creating and Managing profiles

Profiles define the runtime environment for
WAS. Multiple profiles share the same product
binaries
At least one profile must exist to have a working
application serving environment
Two ways to create and manage profiles
Profile Creation Tool (GUI)
manageprofiles command
You can start the profile creation tool GUI using
the shortcuts created during install

The first profile you create is the 'default' profile which is the target for commands
issued from <WAS ROOT>/bin

Creating and Managing Nodes

You can create managed or unmanaged
node using WAS Admin Console or using
addNode command. Managed node is the
one that is federated to a Cell
By default nodes belong to default node
group and default core group
On Windows, managed nodes can be
configured to run as Windows Service
You can use asExistingNode option of
addNode command to recover a damaged
Node

Creating and Managing Nodes

Cont...
You can start a node using the command
startNode
You can stop a node using the command
stopNode
You can stop and restart a node using
Admin Console. You cannot start a node
using Admin Console that is already stopped

A node group is a collection of nodes. Node groups define the boundary of a Cluster.
By default all the nodes belong to default Node Group
When you are starting or stopping a managed node, you are really working on the
Node Agent process of the node which is the administrative agent that represents a
node

Backup and restore configuration

Configuration is automatically backed up
whenever a change occurs (such as adding
a node). The default backup direcotry is
<profile root>/config/backup
Use <profile
root>/bin/backupConfig command to
backup configuration
Use <profile
root>/bin/restoreConfig command to
restore configuration

By default, all the Application Servers will be stopped when backupConfig or

restoreConfig is run in order to avoid partial backup/restore. Use the option '-nostop' if
you don't want to stop the Application Servers.
backupConfig command creates a zip file