Installing WebLogic Platform

Installing WebLogic Platform Using Silent-Mode Installation

The following sections describe how to install WebLogic Platform using the installation program in silent mode on both Windows and UNIX systems:

What Is Silent-Mode Installation?

Silent-mode installation is a way of setting installation configurations only once and then using those configurations to duplicate the installation on many machines. During installation in silent mode, the installation program reads the settings for your configuration from an XML file that you create prior to beginning the installation. The installation program does not display any configuration options during the installation process. Silent-mode installation works on both Windows and UNIX systems.

With previous releases of WebLogic Platform, you have the option of running the Configuration Wizard as part of the silent installation process. In WebLogic Platform 8.1, the Configuration Wizard cannot be run, automatically, with the WebLogic Platform installation program; it must be run separately. However, you can create a simple shell script or command file that sequentially runs silent mode installation and silent mode configuration. For more information about running the Configuration Wizard in silent mode, see Creating WebLogic Configurations Using the Configuration Wizard at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/confgwiz/index.html.

Note: Using silent-mode installation implies that you consent to the BEA License Agreement. You neither see a copy of the BEA Software License Agreement nor have any means of accepting the terms of the agreement.

The instructions in this section are based on the assumption that you have already acquired the installation program, from either CD or the Web. For more information, see WebLogic Platform Distribution Methods.

Before You Start

Before you start to install WebLogic Platform, please review the following information:

Make sure that the hardware/software configuration on which you plan to install the product is supported by WebLogic Platform. For a complete list of supported configurations, see WebLogic Platform Supported Configurations at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/suppconfigs/index.html.
Be sure to read Preparing to Install WebLogic Platform.
If you are installing WebLogic Platform on an operating system other than Windows, Solaris, or HP-UX, you may need to follow special installation instructions. Before launching the installation program, check "Installation Information" in Supported Configurations for WebLogic Platform 8.1 at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/suppconfigs/configs81/81_over/install_info.html.
If you plan to install the TIBCO Rendezvous Control and Event Generator subcomponent of WebLogic Integration 8.1, you must install and configure TIBCO Rendezvous on your machine before you install WebLogic Integration.

Note: Information about obtaining and installing a licensed copy of TIBCO Rendezvous is available at the following URL:

http://www.tibco.com

By simply following the installation instructions provided by TIBCO for this product, you can install TIBCO Rendezvous correctly so that it is ready to be used later with WebLogic Integration. For information about using the TIBCO Rendezvous Control and Event Generator, see the TIBCO Rendezvous Control and Event Generator User Guide at the following URL:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13214_01/wli/docs81/tibcorv/index.html

Using Silent-Mode Installation: Main Steps

The silent-mode installation process has two primary steps:

Create a template file that defines the configuration settings normally entered by a user during an interactive installation process, such as graphical-mode or console-mode installation. For example, values for the BEA Home directory, the product directory, and the components to be installed are supplied in a silent-mode template file.

For a detailed procedure, see Creating a Silent-Mode Installation Template File. For a sample template file, see Sample Template File for Silent-Mode Installation.

Start the silent-mode installation process using the values specified in the template file.

For a detailed procedure, see Starting the Silent-Mode Installation Process on a Windows System or Starting the Silent-Mode Installation Process on a UNIX System.

Important Considerations for Silent-Mode Installation

When you are performing an installation in silent mode, keep in mind the following considerations:

You must use the package installer for silent-mode installation. Silent-mode installation is not supported with the net installer. Filenames for the net installer version of the installation program are preceded by net_, for example net_platformXXX_solaris.bin, where XXX represents the version number of the software you are installing. Do not attempt to use installation programs with filenames beginning with net_ for silent-mode installation.
Silent-mode installation requires the same amount of temporary disk space and uses the same temporary storage directories as a standard installation. For more information, see Temporary Disk Space Requirements. The installation program does not alert you if there is not enough space in the temporary directory.
A silent-mode installation takes the same amount of time as a standard installation. At the beginning of a silent-mode installation, an initial installation program window or message is displayed briefly, indicating that the installation has started. No messages are displayed to indicate that the installation is in progress or has completed successfully. You can, however, specify that an exit code be displayed to the console if you initiate the installation using a script. For more information, see Returning Exit Codes to the Console.
Incorrect entries in the silent.xml file can cause installation failures. To help you determine the cause of a failure, we recommend that you create a log file when you start the installation. For more information, see Generating a Verbose Installation Log.
The XML definition (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>) must be at the very beginning of the silent.xml template file. There cannot be any spaces or line breaks before the XML definition.
You cannot reinstall WebLogic Platform components on top of a previously installed version of the same component. You can, however, add components to an existing installation. For example, you can install WebLogic Server during one installation, and WebLogic Integration or WebLogic Portal during a separate installation. However, to reinstall the same version of one of the product components, you must first uninstall the component, as described in Uninstalling WebLogic Platform, or install in another location.

Creating a Silent-Mode Installation Template File

When you install WebLogic Platform in silent mode, the installation program uses an XML file (silent.xml) to determine which installation options should be implemented. Therefore, before you can run the installation program in silent mode, you must first create a silent.xml file in which you specify the installation options that you want to have invoked.

Note: Incorrect entries in the silent.xml file can cause installation failures. To help you determine the cause of a failure, we recommend that you create a log file when you start the installation.

To create a template file for use in a silent-mode installation, follow these steps:

In a supported browser, display the sample template file for silent-mode installation: silent.xml. This file is available at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/install/scripts/silent.xml.

The file is also presented later in this chapter. See Sample Template File for Silent-Mode Installation.

In the popup window that is displayed, choose File—>Save As...

Specify silent.xml as the file name and save the file in the directory containing the WebLogic Platform installation program.

Note: The first line of the template file must contain the following XML definition: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>. The XML definition must appear at the beginning of the first line of the file; no spaces or line breaks are allowed before it.

In the silent.xml file that you saved on your system, modify the values for the keywords shown in Table 4-1 to reflect your configuration.

Note: You must follow XML guidelines for characters when modifying values. That is, you cannot use characters reserved for use in XML, such as <, >, [, and ].

Table 4-1 Silent-Mode Installation Template Values

For this data-value name . . .	Enter the following value . . .
`BEAHOME`	The full pathname for the BEA Home directory of your choice. For details about the BEA Home directory, see Choosing a BEA Home Directory.
`USER_INSTALL_DIR`	The full pathname for the directory in which you want to install the WebLogic Platform software. For details, see Choosing a Product Installation Directory.
`INSTALL_NODE_MANAGER_SERVICE` (Windows platforms only)	`yes` to install the WebLogic Server Node Manager as a Windows service. See Installing the Node Manager as a Windows Service. `no` to skip the installation of the WebLogic Server Node Manager as a Windows service.
`COMPONENT_PATHS`	Specify the components and subcomponents you want to install on your system: To install WebLogic Server, use the following values: `WebLogic Server Server Server Examples` To install WebLogic Workshop, use the following values: `WebLogic Workshop Workshop Runtime Framework WebLogic Workshop Application Developer Edition Workshop Samples` To install WebLogic Integration, use the following values: `WebLogic Integration Integration Server WebLogic Workshop Integration Extension Integration Examples BPEL Import and Export Tools TIBCO Rendezvous Control(TM) and Event Generator` To install WebLogic Portal, use the following values: `WebLogic Portal Portal Server WebLogic Workshop Portal Extension Portal Examples` To install the WebLogic Platform Tour, use the following values: `Platform Samples and Utilities Platform Tour` For additional information about entering these values, see Guidelines for Component Selection. Note: When using the WebLogic Server only installer, you can specify the WebLogic Server and WebLogic Workshop components only.

Guidelines for Component Selection

Use the following guidelines when you specify values for the COMPONENT_PATHS data-value name:

When you specify a component, all subcomponents are also installed. For example, the following entry installs the Integration server, the Integration extension, and the examples:

<data-value name="COMPONENT_PATHS" value="WebLogic Integration" />

To install multiple components, separate components with a bar (|). Do not leave a space before or after the bar. For example, to install WebLogic Server, WebLogic Workshop, and their subcomponents, enter the following line in the file:

<data-value name="COMPONENT_PATHS" value="WebLogic Server|WebLogic Workshop" />

To specify subcomponents, you must specify a component/subcomponent combination for each entry. For example:

<data-value name="COMPONENT_PATHS" value="WebLogic Portal/Portal Examples|WebLogic Portal/WebLogic Workshop Portal Extension" />

If you do not include the COMPONENT_PATHS data-value name in the silent.xml file, the complete WebLogic Platform is installed.

Note: The installer performs dependency checking to ensure that all required components are installed. For more information, see Dependencies Between Installable Components.

Sample Template File for Silent-Mode Installation

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!-- Silent installer option: -mode=silent -silent_xml=/home/me/silent.xml -->

<domain-template-descriptor> 

<input-fields> 
   <data-value name="BEAHOME"                   value="C:\bea" /> 
   <data-value name="USER_INSTALL_DIR"          value="C:\bea\weblogic81" /> 
   <data-value name="INSTALL_NODE_MANAGER_SERVICE"   value="no" />
   <data-value name="COMPONENT_PATHS" value="WebLogic Server|WebLogic Workshop|WebLogic Integration|WebLogic Portal" />
</input-fields> 
</domain-template-descriptor>

Starting the Silent-Mode Installation Process on a Windows System

To start the silent-mode installation process on a Windows system, follow these steps:

If you want to install WebLogic Platform as a Windows service, you must have Administrator privileges. For information about installing WebLogic Platform as a Windows service, see "Setting Up a WebLogic Server Instance as a Windows Service" in Configuring and Managing WebLogic Server at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/adminguide/winservice.html.

Open an MS-DOS command prompt window.

Go to the directory that contains the installation file and launch the installation procedure by entering the following command:

filename.exe -mode=silent -silent_xml=path_to_silent.xml
Here filename.exe is the name of the WebLogic Platform installation file, and path_to_silent.xml is the full pathname of the silent.xml template file.

Note: You can also include the -log=full_path_to_log_file option in the command line to create a verbose installation log. For example:

platformXXX_win32.exe -mode=silent -silent_xml=D:\silent.xml -log=D:\logs\platform_install.log
In this example, XXX represents the version number of the software you are installing. For more information, see Generating a Verbose Installation Log.

Starting the Silent-Mode Installation Process on a UNIX System

The WebLogic Platform installation program requires a Java run-time environment (JRE) to run. A JRE is bundled in the Windows installation program, and in some UNIX installation programs (those with filenames ending in .bin). For other UNIX platforms, the WebLogic Platform installation program does not include the JRE. Filenames for these installation programs end in .jar. To run the .jar installation programs, you must have an appropriate version of a Java 2 SDK installed on your system, and include the bin directory of the Java 2 SDK at the beginning of your PATH system variable.

Note: It is important that you use an SDK because the installation process sets the JAVA_HOME and related variables to point to this directory. All scripts installed with WebLogic Platform use this SDK by default, including scripts to start sample applications, the Configuration Wizard, and other WebLogic development tools.

Starting Silent-Mode Installation for .bin Installation Files

To start the silent-mode installation process using installation files with names ending in .bin, follow these steps:

Go to the directory that contains the installation file.

Launch the installation by entering the following command:

chmod a+x filename./filename.bin -mode=silent -silent_xml=/path_to_silent.xml
Here filename.bin is the name of the WebLogic Platform installation file, and path_to_silent.xml is the full pathname of the silent.xml template file.

Note: You can also include the -log=full_path_to_log_file option in the command line to create a verbose installation log. For example:

platformXXX_solaris.bin -mode=silent -silent_xml=/home/silent.xml -log=/home/logs/platform_install.log
For more information, see Generating a Verbose Installation Log.

Starting Silent-Mode Installation for .jar Installation Files

To start the silent-mode installation process for installation files with names ending in .jar, follow these steps:

Add the bin directory of the appropriate SDK to the beginning of the PATH variable definition on the target system. For example:

PATH=JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH export PATH
Here JAVA_HOME is the full path of the SDK directory.

Go to the directory that contains the installation file.

Note: To ensure that the hardware/software configuration on which you are installing the product is supported by WebLogic Platform, see WebLogic Platform Supported Configurations at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/suppconfigs/index.html.

Launch the installation by entering the following command:

java -jar filename.jar -mode=silent -silent_xml=/path_to_silent.xml
Here, filename.jar is the name of the WebLogic Platform installation file (for example pj_platformXXX_generic.jar, where XXX represents the version number of the software you are installing) and path_to_silent.xml is the full path to the silent.xml template file.

Note: You can also include the -log=full_path_to_log_file option in the command line to create a verbose installation log. For example:

pj_platformXXX_generic.jar -mode=silent -silent_xml=/home/silent.xml -log=/home/logs/platform_install.log
For more information, see Generating a Verbose Installation Log.

Returning Exit Codes to the Console

When run in silent mode, the installation program generates exit codes that indicate the success or failure of the installation. These exit codes are shown in the following table.

Code	Description
0	Installation completed successfully
-1	Installation failed due to a fatal error
-2	Installation failed due to an internal XML parsing error

If you are launching the silent-mode installation process from a script, you can choose to have these exit codes displayed to the console. Listing 4-1 provides a sample command file that invokes the WebLogic Platform installation in silent mode and echoes the exit codes to the console from which the script is executed.

Listing 4-1 Sample Command File Displaying Silent Mode Exit Codes

rem Execute the installer in silent mode
@echo off
platform814_win32.exe -mode=silent -silent_xml=C:\downloads\silent.xml -log=C:\logs\814platform_silent.log

@rem Return an exit code to indicate success or failure of installation
set exit_code=%ERRORLEVEL%

@echo.
@echo Exitcode=%exit_code%
@echo.
@echo Exit Code Key
@echo ---------------
@echo  0=Installation completed successfully
@echo -1=Installation failed due to a fatal error
@echo -2=Installation failed due to an internal XML parsing error
@echo.

What's Next?

You can start using the product immediately after installing it for the first time because, by default, WebLogic Platform uses the development license that is installed in BEA Home directory. We recommend that you use the QuickStart application to familiarize yourself with the software, take the WebLogic Platform Tour (if you installed the complete WebLogic Platform), and execute the samples provided. For additional information, see Performing Post-Installation Tasks.

Note: QuickStart is not invoked automatically for console or silent-mode installations. You can launch QuickStart from the Start Menu (Windows), or from the command line (Windows and UNIX.) For instructions, see Using QuickStart.

For specific information about Release 8.1 of WebLogic Platform and WebLogic Server, see the appropriate release notes:

BEA WebLogic Platform Release Notes at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/relnotes/index.html
BEA WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express^TM Release Notes at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/notes/index.html