Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 SP12 Installation and Migration Guide

Chapter 2 Before You Install Sun Java System Web Server

The following sections provide the information you need to know before you install Sun Java System Web Server.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Note –

To upgrade Sun Java System Web Server 6.1, which is a part of the Sun Java Enterprise System 1, use the patchadd command.

Supported Platforms

The following table describes the platform support for Sun Java System Web Server :

Note –

HP-UX 11i is supported only on PA-RISC platforms.

Table 2–1 Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 SP11 Supported Platforms


Vendor	Architecture	Operating System	Minimum Required Memory	Recommended Memory	Recommended Disk Space
IBM	PowerPC	AIX 5.1*, 5.2, 5.3	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Hewlett-Packard	PA-RISC 2.0	HP-UX 11.11	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Microsoft	x86	Windows 2000 SP4 or higher Windows XP Professional Windows 2000 Advance Server Windows 2003 SP1 Enterprise Edition (32 bit)	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Sun	SPARC**	Solaris 8, 9, 10	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Sun	SPARC** (64-bit)	Solaris 10	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Sun	SPARC**, x86	Trusted Solaris 8 (Professional Services Engagement)***	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Sun	x86	Solaris 9, 10	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Sun	x86	Sun Linux 5.0 (Deprecated) ****	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB
Red Hat	x86	Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1 `Linux kernel 2.4.9-e.3smp` `glibc-2.2.4-26` `ncurses-4-5.0-5` You may also create a symbolic link from `libncurses5.so` to `libcurses4.so`, although we recommend that you install `ncurses4-5.0-5.i386.rpm`. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 update 1 `uname -r: 2.4.21-9.ELsmp` Red Hat Advanced Server 4.0 SuSE Linux Enterprise 9.0	64 MB	192 MB	256 MB

* AIX 5.1 is deprecated.

** As of iPlanet Web Server 6.0, older SPARC CPUs are not supported. Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 continues to support the UltraSPARC architecture.

*** Sun or Sun Partner Advantage professional services highly recommended.

**** Support for Sun Linux 5.0 is deprecated and will be removed in the next release of the Sun Java System Web Server.

For better performance and support, migrate your Web Server to a supported operating system.

Note –

For a Solaris installation, Sun Java System Web Server (SP5 onwards) supports Global Zone with Sparse Root Zone and Whole Root Zone.

Required Patches

You are recommended to update your operating system with the latest applicable patches.

For the Solaris OE platform, Sun's recommended patch list can be found in the following location:

Click here

Caution –

Patch 108993-22 (SPARC) or 108994-22 (x86) is required on Solaris 8 when Solaris is configured to use LDAP for authentication.

Supported Browsers

Sun Java System Web Server runs on the following browsers:

Netscape^TM 7.0
Netscape 6.2.1
Netscape 4.79
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5

Hardware and Software Requirements

In addition to the UNIX, Linux, or Windows operating system memory and disk space requirements listed above, your computer must have the following hardware and software:

All Platforms

Java and cookies enabled in your browser.
If you are using Internet Explorer, you need to set your browser to check for a new version of a page every time you access it. To configure this setting, from the View menu, choose Internet Options. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Settings. Click the radio button to check for newer versions of stored pages every visit to the page.

UNIX/Linux

Swap space at least as large as the amount of RAM on your system (twice the amount of RAM is recommended). Linux requires 256 MB swap space.

Windows

If you plan on running more than two separate instances of Sun Java System Web Server on your system, an additional 16 MB RAM for each server instance.
Paging space at least as large as the amount of RAM on your system (twice the amount of RAM is recommended).
If you intend to use hostnames during the Sun Java System Web Server installation, DNS properly configured with an entry for your server in a DNS server.
A static IP address on your machine.

Other Technical Requirements

Once you have the proper hardware and software necessary to install Sun Java System Web Server, you should make sure that you meet the following requirements:

You know the host name and IP address of your server computer.
Your server has a DNS alias. For information on creating a DNS alias for your server, see Creating a DNS Alias for the Server.
Your server has a user account on UNIX, Linux, or Windows. See UNIX and Linux User Accounts for the Server.
You have two port numbers - one for the Administration Server and the other for the first Sun Java System Web Server server instance. For information on choosing port numbers for your server, see Choosing Unique Port Numbers.

Creating a DNS Alias for the Server

If your server will run on one machine among many in a network, you or your system administrator should set up a DNS CNAME record or an alias that points to the actual server machine. Later, you can change the actual hostname or IP address of the server machine without having to change all URLs that point to the server machine.

For example, you might call the server my_server.my_company.com and then use an alias like www.my_company.com. So the URLs to documents on your server would always use the www alias instead of my_server.

UNIX and Linux User Accounts for the Server

When the Sun Java System Web Server starts, it runs with a UNIX or Linux user account that you specify during installation. Any child processes of the server are created with this account as the owner. It is best to create a UNIX or Linux account for the server that has restricted access to your system resources. The account needs read permissions for the configuration files and write permissions for the logs directory.

On Solaris OE, by default, a user and group account named webservd is created for Sun Java System Web Server if it does not already exist.

On non-Solaris UNIX platforms (where the webservd user/group cannot be reserved outright), if you do not create a dedicated user account for Sun Java System Web Server, you can use the account with the name nobody. You might not however want to give the user nobody permissions for running the Sun Java System Web Server. Sometimes the user nobody does not work on some systems if a negative uid/gid is assigned during installation. Check the /etc/passwd file to see if the uid for nobody exists, and make sure it is greater than 0.

Note –

It is strongly recommended that you use a dedicated account for the server.

The Administration Server can also run with a user account that has write permissions to the configuration files for all installed servers. However, it is much easier to run the Administration Server as root because then the Administration Server user can start and stop servers with port numbers less than 1024. (Port numbers greater than 1024 can be started by any user).

The user you use to run the Sun Java System Web Server (often nobody) should be in the same group as the user you use to run the Administration Server (often root).

Note –

When changing the server user, remove any /tmp/lock.* files created in the /tmp directory.

Windows User Accounts for the Server

You should create a Windows user account for your Sun Java System Web Server. It should have restricted access to your system resources and run under a nonprivileged system user account (one that has a limited set of system permissions to your system). When the server starts, it runs with this user account. Any server extension modules the server uses are created with this user account as the owner.

During installation, the server uses the LocalSystem account, not the user account you created. Once you start and run the server, you should use the user account you created. You can change the user account for the server after the installation process. You can configure that user account so that it has permissions to get files on another computer, so that your server can serve files that are mounted from another computer.

In addition, the user account you create for the server should belong to a group that contains the server users for all Sun Java System servers so that multiple servers can have access to shared files.

Note –

It is strongly recommended that you use a dedicated account for the server.

Choosing Unique Port Numbers

You need multiple port numbers: one for the Administration Server and one for each instance of Sun Java System Web Server. The Administration Server is a special instance of the Sun Java System Web Server that you use to manage your Sun Java System Web Server.

The standard web server port number is 80 and the standard SSL-enabled web server port number is 443, but you can install Sun Java System Web Server to use any port. If you use a port other than the default port (port 80), the URL used to gain access to your home page changes. For example, if your computer is called www.siroe.com and you choose port 9753, the URL of your server will be http://www.siroe.com:9753/.

You should choose a random number for the Administration Server to make it harder for anyone to breach your server. When you configure your server, you use port number of the Administration Server. For example, for server mozilla.com, the server’s URL could be http://www.mozilla.com:2634/.

Make sure the port you choose is not already in use. On UNIX and Linux systems, you can check the file /etc/services on the server machine to make sure you do not assign a port number that is reserved for another service. If you choose a port that is currently being used by another service, the installation program prompts you for another port.

Note –

If you use UNIX or Linux, and you choose a server port number lower than 1024, you must be logged in as root to start the server. After the server binds to the port, the server changes from the root user account to the user account you specify. If you choose a port number higher than 1024, you do not have to be the root user to start the server.

Installation Overview

You can install Sun Java System Web Server by downloading it from the Sun Products download web site:

http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp

You can also install it from the Sun Java System Web Server CD. In addition, the Sun Java System Web Server software comes with the 5.2 version of Sun Java System Directory Server on a Companion CD.

To install Sun Java System Web Server

If you have iPlanet Web Server 4.1 already installed and plan to migrate that server to work with Sun Java System Web Server 6.1, shut down the 4.1 web server and save a back up of all its files in the server root.

Note –
Direct migration from a version of iPlanet Web Server that is lower than 4.1 to Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 is not supported. You must first migrate your legacy server to iPlanet Web Server 4.1 and then to Sun Java System Web Server 6.1.

You must install Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 in a separate directory. For instance, if a previous version of the web server is installed in C:\netscape\server4, install Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 in C:\Sun\WebServer6.1.

On Windows you can save copies of files added to Winnt/System32 during server installation, and copies of the registry as well. For more information on saving copies of the registry, see your operating system documentation.

If you do not already have a browser installed, install one. For a list of supported browsers, see Supported Browsers.

If you are planning to use users and groups for access control, and you do not have an Sun Java System Directory Server installed, install it from the Companion CD included with your Sun Java System Web Server software.

Install and configure Sun Java System Web Server.