2 Prerequisites for Installing WebCenter Sites

This chapter contains the following sections:

2.1 Before You Begin

  • Refer to the following documentation for various information about installing WebCenter Sites:

    • Refer to the Oracle WebCenter Sites Certification Matrix to select a platform on which to install WebCenter Sites. You will install and configure components of the platform as described in this guide.

      Only selected information regarding the configuration of third-party products is given in this guide. For detailed information and to obtain the latest e-fixes, patches, and service packs, refer to third-party product vendors' documentation and release notes.

    • Refer to Oracle WebCenter Sites Release Notes for last-minute information concerning the WebCenter Sites installation process and related procedures.

    • Refer to the guide named Oracle Fusion Middleware WebCenter Sites: Installing and Configuring Supporting Software for instructions on installing supported databases, application servers, and web servers, and for procedures on integrating with software required by WebCenter Sites.

  • If you plan to run the GUI WebCenter Sites installer, ensure that your systems are capable of displaying the installer GUI. The installer will not work in text mode.

    You can install and deploy WebCenter Sites by either running the GUI installer or installing silently. When you run the GUI installer, a graphical interface guides you through the installation process, prompting you to enter information and select options as required. It also provides access to online help. To install silently, first generate an omii.ini file by running the GUI installer until the Settings Summary screen and then exiting. The silent installer uses this file to install WebCenter Sites.

    You will run the WebCenter Sites installer on all systems in your environment. There are two system types: content management or development (whose installation processes are identical) and delivery. Content management and development systems run in the same mode but are used for different purposes.

    Note:

    Keep in mind the following:

    • The system type cannot be changed once you select the type and click Next (GUI installation), or you start running the silent installer.

    • The installation process does not install all user interfaces on delivery systems, only a limited version of the WebCenter Sites Admin interface to enable the management of select features is installed in delivery.

    • The names of the systems in your WebCenter Sites environment might differ from the names used in this document. Typically, the content management system is also called "staging," and the delivery system is also called "production."

    • The WebCenter Sites installer includes the installation of CAS. By default, CAS will be installed on the primary server. If you will be running CAS on servers other than the primary server, deploy the CAS application and copy the required files at the midway point (when the installer pauses).

    • If you plan to use OAM or another single sign-on provider instead of CAS, install WebCenter Sites to work with CAS. Once you have verified the installation, switch to the new single sign-on provider.

  • Remove older versions of the Java Development Kit (JDK) from the CLASSPATH and PATH environment variables.

    WebCenter Sites requires a JDK, the product will not operate correctly with a Java Runtime Environment.

    Note:

    For clustered installations, ensure date-time in all nodes keep synchronized. In general, this can be achieved by configuring your system clock to synchronize with a time authority using Network Time Protocol (NTP).

  • Create the directory into which you are installing WebCenter Sites. The directory name (<sites_install_dir> in this guide) and path cannot contain spaces or non-ASCII characters, and the application server must be able to read from and write to the directory. In a cluster environment, the path for this directory must be the same for all WebCenter Sites servers.

  • For clustered installations, ensure you have created a shared file system directory that all cluster members can read from and write to; the directory name and path cannot contain spaces. This directory must be mounted as the same path on all cluster member systems.

  • Create a directory for WebCenter Sites temporary files. This directory should be unique for each WebCenter Sites server.

  • For all types of installations, add the JDK/bin directory to the path variable.

  • Install a supported database.

    WebCenter Sites requires access to a database specifically configured for WebCenter Sites. Refer to the Oracle WebCenter Sites Certification Matrix for the list of supported databases (and other third-party components).

    Before installing any other of WebCenter Sites supporting software, complete the following steps:

    1. Install the database management system.

      For instructions, refer to the product vendor's documentation.

    2. Create and configure a database for WebCenter Sites.

      For instructions, see Oracle Fusion Middleware WebCenter Sites: Installing and Configuring Supporting Software.

      Note that database configuration is identical across different application servers. Refer to the correct chapter to create and configure the database of your choice.

      Note that the database configuration is identical across different cluster servers.

  • Install a supported application server on each server that will contain a WebCenter Sites installation. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware WebCenter Sites: Installing and Configuring Supporting Software.

  • Install a supported web server as your environment requires. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware WebCenter Sites: Installing and Configuring Supporting Software.