Installing WebLogic Platform
Your WebLogic Platform distribution requires a valid product license to run. The following sections explain how to acquire, install, and update a WebLogic Platform license:
WebLogic Platform uses an XML-format license file called license.bea
. This license file, stored in the BEA Home directory, is used for the BEA WebLogic Platform products installed in that BEA Home directory. WebLogic Platform checks this file at run time to determine which software components you are authorized to use.
Note: If you have multiple BEA Home directories on your system, each BEA Home must have a license.bea
file that authorizes use of the products associated with that directory.
Licenses are release specific. To use WebLogic Platform 8.1, you must have an 8.1 license file. To convert a pre-8.1 license.bea
file to a WebLogic Platform 8.1 license.bea
file, see Upgrading Licenses from Previous WebLogic Platform Releases.
The types of license files that can be used as the license.bea
file and the technical restrictions that they impose are described in the following table.
Note: See the BEA Software License Agreement for specific license terms and conditions.
|
|
Note: If you wish to deploy applications in scale-limited mode, it is recommended that you develop with the development license file described above, then replace the scale-limited license file prior to scale-limited testing and deployment. |
|
|
|
Note: This is a special type of production license available only for the WebLogic Server Workgroup Edition product. |
|
When you install WebLogic Platform 8.1 Service Pack 3 or later, two non-expiring license files are installed on your system: a development license (license.bea
) and a scale-limited license (license_scale_limited.bea
).
Note: The scale-limited license can also be downloaded for use with 8.1 SP2. For details on downloading and installing the scale-limited license for SP2, see "Downloading and Installing the Scale-Limited Licenses in SP2" at the following URL:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/sp_notes/sp_notes.html#scale_limited_license
.
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.
Note: The license.bea
file delivered with your software conforms with the XML grammar definition. The XML definition (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
) must be at the very beginning of the license.bea
file. There cannot be any spaces or line breaks before the XML definition.
For a description of the product offerings supported by the WebLogic Platform license files, see the WebLogic Platform Licensing page at the following URL:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/interm/license.html
When you install WebLogic Platform, the installation program generates a development license.bea
file for use with the WebLogic Platform software and installs it in the BEA Home directory.
Note: If you are installing into an existing BEA Home that contains a previous release of WebLogic Platform, the installation program automatically adds the WebLogic Platform 8.1 development license to the existing license.bea
file. However, if you are adding WebLogic Platform 8.1 product components into a BEA Home that already contains a WebLogic Platform 8.1 production or ISV license for existing components, the development license for the additional components is not added to the license.bea
file. To use the additional components, you must merge a production or ISV license for those components into the existing license.bea
file, or install the components into a separate BEA Home directory.
You must update the license.bea
file separately, independent of the installation process if at least one of the following is true:
In each of these cases, you will receive a new license file from BEA, the contents of which must be included in the license.bea
file in the target BEA Home directory. To facilitate the license update process, BEA provides an UpdateLicense
utility that merges the new license into the existing license in the BEA Home directory, and deletes any expired or duplicate entries.
When determining how to update your license.bea
file, you should consider the following:
UpdateLicense
utility unless you want to use the scale-limited license or an ISV redistribution license. In general, you should install these licenses by replacing your existing license.bea
file. Scale-limited licenses for WebLogic Platform 8.1 should not be merged with other WebLogic Platform 8.1 development or production licenses. For instructions on installing the scale-limited license and ISV redistribution license, see Replacing Your license.bea File.license.bea
file that contains WebLogic Platform 8.1 development license entries, all development entries are removed. For example, if you merge a WebLogic Server 8.1 production license with a WebLogic Platform 8.1 development license, all development entries for the remaining WebLogic Platform 8.1 component products will be removed. http://elicense.bea.com
.license.bea
file with a new license.bea
file, but if you do so, you run the risk of losing the product usage rights enabled by your existing license file. Note: Do not edit license.bea
file manually. Doing so may cause operating problems for the currently installed BEA products, or result in problems later when BEA products are installed for maintenance upgrades.
To update your license.bea
file, perform the following procedure.
license.bea
, in the target BEA Home directory. For example, save the file as new_license.bea
. Use this file as the license_update_file
in step 4 of this procedure.PATH
variable by entering the following commands:In certain instances, you may need to replace your existing license.bea
file with a new license file, such as a scale-limited or an ISV redistribution license. To do so, complete the following steps:
c:\bea
.license.bea
file. For example, at the command prompt, enter the following command:Note: The scale-limited license is non-expiring and will continue to be valid for update releases of WebLogic Platform 8.1 that are issued after SP2 and that are installed in the same BEA Home directory.
The format of the license.bea
file changes with each release of WebLogic Platform. To upgrade a license.bea
file from a previous release of WebLogic Platform to a license for the current version, complete the following steps:
Note: You need a BEA eLicense account to log in to this Web site. If you do not have a BEA eLicense account, click the Register link on the Customer Support site to register for one.
license.bea
file on your system, see Updating license.bea Using the UpdateLicense Utility.
In some cases, BEA distributes software for promotional purposes on CD. These CDs include installers that do not automatically generate a development license key. Instead, the CD folio directs you to a BEA web site, where you can obtain a development license file after you supply a code from the CD folio. The license file you obtain allows you to begin using the software immediately, and entitles you to the same usage rights as described for the development license in Table 6-1.
When you receive this license file from BEA, complete the following steps: