Installing WebLogic Server Using Graphical-Mode Installation

The following sections describe how to install WebLogic Server using the graphical user interface (GUI) mode installation on both Windows and UNIX systems:

• Before You Start
• Starting the Installation Program in Graphical Mode on Windows Platforms
• Starting the Installation Program in Graphical Mode on a UNIX Platform
• Running the Installation Program
• Configuring Domains, Servers, and Clusters with the Configuration Wizard
• What's Next?

 

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Before You Start

Before you start the WebLogic Server installation, please review the following information:

• Make sure you are installing the product on a supported platform. A complete list of supported platforms can be found at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/certifications/certifications/index.html.
• You should read all of Preparing to Install WebLogic Server, specifically the following sections:
• Installation Prerequisites
• Choosing the Type of Installation
• Selecting Directories for the WebLogic Server Installation
• You cannot re-install WebLogic Server in the same location as a previously installed version. You must first uninstall the WebLogic Server installation, as described in Uninstalling WebLogic Server, or install in another location. You can, however, install additional Weblogic Platform components, such as the WebLogic Server examples, in the same location without uninstalling existing components.
• All WebLogic Platform components installed in a BEA product directory (for example, c:\bea\weblogicXXX) must be at the same version level. If you attempt to install additional components at a higher version than those that are already installed in that directory, the installation program prompts you to upgrade your existing components before you can proceed with the installation. For example, if you installed WebLogic Server 8.1 (the GA release), and later attempt to install WebLogic Portal 8.1 Service Pack 1, you are required to upgrade WebLogic Server to Service Pack 1 before you can install WebLogic Portal. For details on upgrading your installation, see Installing WebLogic Server Service Packs and Rolling Patches.

 

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Starting the Installation Program in Graphical Mode on Windows Platforms

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

1. Log in to the Windows system.
2. Download the WebLogic Server installation file for your platform from the URL that your Beta representative supplied.
3. Go to the directory where you downloaded the installation file and double-click the installation file:

   weblogic81b_win32.exe

   The installation program begins to install WebLogic Server.

4. Proceed to Running the Installation Program.

 

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Starting the Installation Program in Graphical Mode on a UNIX Platform

The WebLogic Server installation program for some UNIX platforms includes a JVM bundled in the installation program (filenames ending in .bin). The WebLogic Server installation program uses the bundled JVM to install WebLogic Server and then installs the JVM for use with WebLogic Server. For other UNIX platforms, the WebLogic Server installation program does not include the JVM in the installation program (filenames ending in .jar). To run these installation programs, you must first include the bin directory of a JVM installed on your system at the beginning of the PATH variable definition.

Note: To run graphical-mode installation, your console must support a Java-based GUI. If the installation program determines that your system cannot support a Java-based GUI, the installation program automatically starts console-mode installation. For details, see Installing WebLogic Server Using Console-Mode Installation.

Starting Graphical-Mode Installation for .bin Installation Files

If you have an installation program file that ends in .bin, follow these steps to start the installation program in graphical mode on a UNIX system:

1. Log in to the target UNIX system.
2. Download the WebLogic Server installation file for your platform from the URL that your Beta representative supplied.
3. Open a command-line shell and go to the directory where you downloaded the installation file.
4. Start the installation program by entering the following commands:

   chmod a+x filename

   ./filename.bin

   where filename.bin is the name of the WebLogic Server installation program specific to your platform.

   The installation program begins to install WebLogic Server.

5. Proceed to Running the Installation Program.

Starting Graphical-Mode Installation for .jar Installation Files

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

1. Log in to the target UNIX system.
2. Open a command-line shell.
3. Include the bin directory of a JVM at the beginning of the PATH variable on the target system. For example:

   PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
   export PATH

   Where JAVA_HOME is the full path to the JVM root directory.

4. Start the installation program by entering the following command:

   java -jar filename.jar

   where filename.jar is the name of the WebLogic Server installation file, for example pj_serverXXX_generic.jar.

   Note: You can also include the -log=/full_path_to_log_file option on the command line to create a log file during installation. For example:

   java -jar filename.jar -log=/nfs/home1/logs/wls_install.log

   The installation program creates a verbose installation log.

5. Proceed to Running the Installation Program.

 

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Running the Installation Program

The installation program prompts you to enter specific information about your system and configuration.

Table 2-1 Running the Installation Program

In this window . . .	Perform the following action . . .
Welcome	Click the Next button to proceed or cancel the installation at any time by clicking Exit.
BEA License Agreement	Read the BEA Software License Agreement and indicate your acceptance of the terms of the agreement by selecting Yes. To continue with the installation, you must accept the terms of the license agreement and then click Next.
Choose BEA Home Directory	Specify the BEA Home directory that will serve as the central support directory for all BEA products installed on the target system. If you already have a BEA Home directory on your system, you can select that directory (recommended) or create a new BEA Home directory. If you choose to create a new directory, the WebLogic Server installer program automatically creates the directory for you. For details about the BEA Home directory, see BEA Home Directory.
Choose Install Type	Select the option button for the type of installation you want to perform: Typical—In a typical installation, all software components in the distribution are installed on your system. Sample domains are preconfigured for use with the PointBase database during installation allowing you to execute the samples when the installation is complete. Custom—In a custom installation, you can select the software components and the JVM you want to install and optionally choose not to install the WebLogic Server Node Manager as a Windows service (Windows platforms only). For additional information about installation types, see Choosing the Type of Installation. If you are using the typical installation option, go to the Choose Product Directory window.
Choose Components Note: This window is displayed only if you select Custom installation in the Choose Install Type window.	Select the components to install by selecting or clearing the appropriate check boxes. This window displays a tree-view of all the components available for installation. In an initial installation, all components are checked. The check boxes for components already installed on your system appear as a greyed-check box. Note: When you select or deselect components to install, the installation program checks for dependencies between components and automatically modifies the list of selected components.
Select Java Virtual Machine	Select the JVM that you want to use to install and then run WebLogic Server. Options vary by hardware platform. Install JRockit—Select this option to install Weblogic JRockit. Install Other JVM (the default)—Select this option to install the Sun Java 2 SDK 1.4.1. Use Existing JVM in your BEA Home—Select this option if you are installing a new version of WebLogic Server in an existing BEA Home directory that already contains a JVM. Specify JVM Location—Select this option if you already have a supported JVM installed on the server and you want WebLogic Server to run on that JVM. See Choosing a JVM for more details.
Choose Product Directory	Specify the directory in which you want to install the WebLogic Server software and click Next. You can accept the default product directory (weblogicXXX, where XXX represents the version number of WebLogic Server that you are installing) or create a new product directory. For additional information and a description of the resulting directory structure, see Product Installation Directory. If you choose to create a new directory, the installation program automatically creates the directory for you, if necessary. When you click Next, the installation program begins copying the components you specified to your system. Note: This window is not displayed if you are performing a Custom installation and you have selected the same BEA Home directory that contains previously installed WebLogic Server components. In that case, the selected components are installed in the Product Directory you specified during the initial installation.
Install Node Manager as a Windows Service Note: This window is displayed only if you are installing on a Windows platform and if you select Custom installation in the Choose Install Type window.	Indicate whether you want to install the WebLogic Server Node Manager as a Windows service. The Node Manager is used to monitor and start and stop managed servers in a domain. See Installing the Node Manager as a Windows Service for more information.
Status	Read the information displayed about BEA products and services and click Next when the installation program has finished copying the specified files to your system.
Installation Complete	Select the Run the Configuration Wizard check box (selected by default) if you want to run the Configuration Wizard to create an application domain. Click Done to exit the installation program. If you opted to run the Configuration Wizard, proceed to Configuring Domains, Servers, and Clusters with the Configuration Wizard.

 

 

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Configuring Domains, Servers, and Clusters with the Configuration Wizard

At the end of the WebLogic Server installation process, you can run the Configuration Wizard to create and configure WebLogic domains. A WebLogic domain is an interrelated set of WebLogic Server resources that are managed as a unit. A domain includes one or more WebLogic Servers, and may also include WebLogic Server clusters. You can also start the Configuration Wizard from the Start menu or the command line. For complete details, refer to Creating Domains and Servers in the WebLogic Server Administration Console Online Help.

The Configuration Wizard uses pre-configured domain templates that you use to create a domain for the target environment. WebLogic Server 8.1 includes the following templates:

• WLS Domain—The basic, full-featured template for creating WebLogic domains for WebLogic Server.
• WLS Examples—A template used for updating the WebLogic Server examples domain when you install a service pack.

Configuration Options

Based on the pre-configured domain template that you choose when running the Configuration Wizard, you are prompted to supply certain types of information for each domain. The following list offers a sampling of the type of information you need to provide. Complete details are provided in Creating Domains and Servers in the WebLogic Server Administration Console Online Help.

• Server Type, such as a Single standalone server, or an Administration Server with Managed Servers or clustered Managed Servers.
• A domain directory in which to create the domain. By default, this directory is created in bea_home\user_projects, where bea_home is the BEA Home directory containing the support information for this installation. If the directory does not exist, the Configuration Wizard creates the directory for you.

Note: On UNIX systems, do not use spaces in the domain name.

• Configuration information for the server, such as Server Name, Listen Address, Listen Port, and SSL Listen Port. Default values are provided for most values.

Note: On UNIX systems, do not use spaces in the server name.

• A system user name and password. WebLogic Server user names and passwords can contain any character from the JDK supported character sets, including international characters. Characters should also be valid XML data characters, which excludes the following characters: <, >, [, and ].
• An option to configure the server as a Windows service. If you choose to do so, the server starts automatically each time you boot your Windows system. You must have Administrator privileges to the install the server as a Windows service. For complete details about installing and running WebLogic Server as a Windows service, see Setting Up a WebLogic Server as a Windows Service in Configuring and Managing WebLogic Server.

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

 

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What's Next?

To learn more about WebLogic Server, view the following files:

• about_wls.html

Summarizes new features in this version of WebLogic Server and provides pointers to useful related information.

On a Windows system, access this file by using the About WebLogic Server shortcut on the Start Menu. On both Windows and UNIX systems, access the about_wls.html file at WL_HOME\server\about_wls.html, where WL_HOME represents the top-level installation directory for the WebLogic Server software.

• readme.txt

A text-only file that contains similar information as ABOUT_WLS.HTML. Access the readme.txt file at WL_HOME\server\readme.txt, where WL_HOME represents the top-level installation directory for the WebLogic Server software.