Hardware and Software Requirements

This section lists the requirements that must be met before installing GlassFish Server 3.1 or 3.1.1 software.

The following topics are addressed here:

• Supported Platforms, JDK Versions, Browsers, mod_jk, and JDBC Drivers and Databases

• System Virtualization Support

• Required Disk Space

• Required Free Ports

• Message Queue Broker Requirements

• Important Patch Information

• Paths and Environment Settings for the JDK Software

Supported Platforms, JDK Versions, Browsers, mod_jk, and JDBC Drivers and Databases

Certification matrices containing complete information about supported operating environments, hardware, JDK versions, browsers, mod_jk, and JDBC drivers and databases for GlassFish Server are available in the following locations:

• GlassFish Server 3.1.1 Certification Matrix

• GlassFish Server 3.1 Certification Matrix

Also be sure to see Paths and Environment Settings for the JDK Software for important JDK configuration instructions.

System Virtualization Support

System virtualization is a technology that enables multiple operating system (OS) instances to execute independently on shared hardware. Functionally, software deployed to an OS hosted in a virtualized environment is generally unaware that the underlying platform has been virtualized. Oracle performs testing of its Java-based products on select system virtualization and OS combinations to help validate that the Oracle products continue to function on properly sized and configured virtualized environments as they do on non-virtualized systems.

For information about Oracle support for Oracle Java-based products in virtualized environments, see Supported Virtualization and Partitioning Technologies for Oracle Fusion Middleware. In particular, refer to the section titled, “Oracle Branded Sun Product Releases Support.”

Required Disk Space

The download sizes for GlassFish Server 3.1-3.1.1 vary depending on the package you choose. The following are the approximate sizes of the multilingual (ML) executable and ZIP packages for the Full and Web profiles:

• Full, ML, .exe: 67 MB

• Web, ML, *.exe: 38 MB

• Full, ML, *.zip: 102 MB (133 MB unzipped)

• Web, ML, *.zip: 65 MB (90 MB unzipped)

The installation sizes will vary depending on your configuration, but the approximate amount of disk space used by a GlassFish Server 3.1-3.1.1 is as follows:

• Full: 250 MB

• Web: 150 MB

Required Free Ports

You must have seventeen unused ports available for the ports GlassFish Server uses. The installation program automatically detects ports that are in use and suggests currently unused ports for the default settings. The initial default port assignments are listed in the following table. If these default port numbers are in use, the installation program assigns a randomly selected port number from the dynamic port range. The selected port number might not be the next available port number.

Table 1-3 Default Port Assignments for GlassFish Server 3.1-3.1.1

Message Queue Broker Requirements

GlassFish Server 3.1-3.1.1 is now bundled with Message Queue (MQ) Broker 4.5. Refer to the Oracle GlassFish Server Message Queue 4.5 Release Notes for complete information about MQ Broker requirements.

Important Patch Information

If you are using the Solaris 10 operating system, you must apply all relevant patches or patch clusters that are listed on the My Oracle Support site.

Paths and Environment Settings for the JDK Software

Ensure that your JDK configuration settings on all local and remote GlassFish Server hosts adhere to the guidelines listed below. Failure to adhere to these guidelines can cause various problems that may be difficult to trace.

The following topics are addressed here:

• Use the Correct Java Version

• Use the JDK Binaries

• Set the JAVA_HOME Environment Variable

• Set Other Environment Variables As Necessary

Use the Correct Java Version

Ensure that the version of Java used on all local and remote GlassFish Server hosts meets the requirements specified in Supported Platforms, JDK Versions, Browsers, mod_jk, and JDBC Drivers and Databases.

Use the JDK Binaries

The following binary files that are used with GlassFish Server must come from the JDK software, not the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software:

• java

• keytool

To meet this requirement, ensure that the bin directory for the JDK software precedes the bin directory for the JRE software in your path.

Set the JAVA_HOME Environment Variable

Before performing any GlassFish Server installation or configuration procedures, set the JAVA_HOME environment variable on the GlassFish Server host machine to point to the correct Java version. Also be sure to add the JAVA_HOME/bin directory to the PATH variable for your environment. The JAVA_HOME variable must be set on all local and remote GlassFish Server hosts.

Set Other Environment Variables As Necessary

All remote asadmin subcommands require the correct version of Java to be available on the affected remote machine. For example, when creating a cluster or server instance on a remote machine, the remote machine uses its local default Java installation, not the Java installation that is on the DAS. Errors will therefore occur if the remote machine uses the wrong Java version.

Depending on the remote subcommand, the errors may not occur when the subcommand is executed, but may occur later, when interacting with a configuration or resource created or modified by the subcommand. For example, when creating a clustered server instance on a remote machine, the error may only first appear when you attempt to deploy an application on that server instance.

This issue is more likely to be encountered when GlassFish Server is installed on the remote server by means of a ZIP file package rather than a self-extracting installer run in GUI mode. This is because the GUI installer gives you the option to specifically choose your Java version, whereas you do not have that option when simply unzipping a ZIP file.

Depending on what shell is invoked via SSH on the remote host, the JAVA_HOME and PATH environment variables may need to be explicitly set in .bashrc, .cshrc, or some other shell configuration file. This configuration file may differ from the one that is used when you log in to the machine, such as .profile.

Alternatively, you can specifically set the Java path with the AS_JAVA property in the in the as-install-parent/glassfish/config/asenv.conf file.