1. Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Sites
  2. Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Sites
  3. Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

2 Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

To prepare for your Oracle WebCenter Sites installation, verify that your system meets the basic requirements, then obtain the correct installation software.

Parent topic: Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Sites

Roadmap for Installing and Configuring the Standard Installation Topologies

This guide has all the steps required to install and configure standard installation topologies. The guide also refers to additional information that you can use if you want to create a modified version of this topology.

Table 2-1 shows the steps required to install and configure the topology.

Table 2-1 Standard Installation Roadmap

Task Description Documentation

Verify your system environment

Before beginning the installation, verify that the minimum system and network requirements are met.

See Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment.

Check for any mandatory patches that will be required before or after the installation

Review the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure release notes to see if there are any mandatory patches required for the software products you are installing.

See Install and Configure in Release Notes for Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure.

Obtain the appropriate distributions

Obtain the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and the Oracle WebCenter Sites installation files.

See About Product Distributions.

Determine your installation directories

Verify that the installer can access or create the installer directories that it must access or create. Also, verify that the directories exist on systems that meet the minimum requirements.

See What are the Key Oracle Fusion Middleware Directories? in Understanding Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Install prerequisite software

Install Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure to create the Oracle home directory for Oracle WebCenter Sites.

See Oracle Fusion Middleware Installing and Configuring the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure. There is no need to configure a domain for Infrastructure; the purpose of this task is to install oracle_common into the Oracle home.

Install the software

Run the Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle WebCenter Sites.

Installing the software transfers the software to your system and creates the Oracle home directory.

See Installing the Oracle WebCenter Sites Software.

Select a database profile and review any required custom variables.

Before you install required schemas in the database, review information about any custom variables you need to set for Oracle WebCenter Sites schemas.

See Understanding Database Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation.

Create the schemas

Run the Repository Creation Utility to create the schemas required for configuration.

See Creating the Database Schemas.

Create a WebLogic domain

Use the Configuration Wizard to create and configure the WebLogic domain.

See Configuring the Domain if you are creating the topology for Oracle WebCenter Sites.

Verify that you meet deployment prerequisites

Verify that your environment meets deployment requirements

See Completing Prerequisites for Configuring Visitor Services

Administer and prepare your domain for high availability

Discover additional tools and resources to administer your domain and configure your domain to be highly available.

See Next Steps After Configuring the Domain.

Parent topic: Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

Before you begin the installation and configuration process, you must verify your system environment.

Table 2-2 identifies important tasks and checks to perform to ensure that your environment is prepared to install and configure Oracle WebCenter Sites.

Table 2-2 Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

Task Description Documentation

Verify certification and system requirements.

Verify that your operating system is certified and configured for installation and configuration.

See Verifying Certification, System, and Interoperability Requirements.

Identify a proper installation user.

Verify that the installation user has the required permissions to install and configure the software.

See Selecting an Installation User.

Select the installation and configuration directories on your system.

Verify that you can create the necessary directories to install and configure the software, according to the recommended directory structure.

See About the Directories for Installation and Configuration.

Install a certified JDK.

The installation program for the distribution requires a certified JDK present on your system.

See Understanding JDK Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation.

Install and configure a database for mid-tier schemas.

To configure your WebLogic domain, you must have access to a certified database that is configured for the schemas required by Oracle WebCenter Sites.

See Understanding Database Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation.

Parent topic: Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

Verifying Certification, System, and Interoperability Requirements

Oracle recommends that you use the certification matrix and system requirements documents with each other to verify that your environment meets the requirements for installation.

  1. Verifying that your environment meets certification requirements:

    Make sure that you install your product on a supported hardware and software configuration. See the certification document for your release on the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations page.

    Oracle has tested and verified the performance of your product on all certified systems and environments. Whenever new certifications are released, they are added to the certification document right away. New certifications can be released at any time. Therefore, the certification documents are kept outside the documentation libraries and are available on Oracle Technology Network.

  2. Using the system requirements document to verify certification:

    Oracle recommends that you use the Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications document to verify that the certification requirements are met. For example, if the certification document indicates that your product is certified for installation on 64-Bit Oracle Linux 6.5, use this document to verify that your system meets the required minimum specifications. These include disk space, available memory, specific platform packages and patches, and other operating system-specific requirements. System requirements can change in the future. Therefore, the system requirement documents are kept outside of the documentation libraries and are available on Oracle Technology Network.

  3. Verifying interoperability among multiple products:

    To learn how to install and run multiple Fusion Middleware products from the same release or mixed releases with each other, see Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c Interoperability and Compatibility in Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility.

Parent topic: Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

Selecting an Installation User

The user who installs and configures your system must have the required permissions and privileges.

Parent topic: Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

About User Permissions

The user who installs a Fusion Middleware product owns the files and has certain permissions on the files.

  • Read and write permissions on all non-executable files (for example, .jar, .properties, or .xml). All other users in the same group as the file owner have read permissions only.

  • Read, write, and execute permissions on all executable files (for example, .exe, .sh, or .cmd). All other users in the same group as the file owner have read and execute permissions only.

This means that someone other than the person who installs the software can use the installed binaries in the Oracle home directory to configure a domain or set of Fusion Middleware products.

During configuration, the files generated by the configuration process are owned by the user who ran the Configuration Wizard. This user has the same permissions as described above for the installation user. However, security-sensitive files are not created with group permissions. Only the user that created the domain has read and write permissions and can administer the domain.

Consider the following examples:

  • Example 1: A Single User Installs the Software and Configures the Domain

    This example explains the file permissions where the same user installs the software and configures the domain.

    To ensure proper permissions and privileges for all files, Oracle recommends that the same owner perform both tasks: install the Oracle Fusion Middleware product and configure the WebLogic Server domain by using the Configuration Wizard.

    Figure 2-1 Directory Structure when a Single User Installs the Software and Configures the Domain


    Description of Figure 2-1 follows
    Description of "Figure 2-1 Directory Structure when a Single User Installs the Software and Configures the Domain"

    If the user who creates the domain is different than the user who installed the software, then both users must have the same privileges, as shown in the next example.

  • Example 2: The Oracle Home Directory and Domain are Created by Different Users

    This example explains the file permissions where one user creates the Oracle home and another user configures the domain.

    Figure 2-2 Directory Structure when Different Users Install the Software and Configure the Domain


    Description of Figure 2-2 follows
    Description of "Figure 2-2 Directory Structure when Different Users Install the Software and Configure the Domain"

Note:

Certain domain files do not have group permissions. For example, cwallet.sso.

Consider the following points before you run the installer:

  • On UNIX operating systems, Oracle recommends that you set umask to 027 on your system before you install the software. This ensures that the file permissions are set properly during installation. Use the following command:

    umask 027

    You must enter this command in the same terminal window from which you plan to run the product installer.

  • On UNIX operating systems, do not run the installation program as a root user. If you run the installer as a root user, the startup validation may fail and you cannot continue the installation.

  • When you manage a product installation (for example, applying patches or starting managed Servers), use the same user ID that you used to install the product.

  • On Windows operating systems, you must have administrative privileges to install the product. See Verifying the Installation User has Administrator Privileges on Windows Operating Systems.

About Non-Default User Permissions on UNIX Operating Systems

Changing the default permission setting reduces the security of the installation and your system. Oracle does not recommend that change the default permission settings.

If other users require access to a particular file or executable, use the UNIX sudo command or other similar commands to change the file permissions.

Refer to your UNIX operating system Administrator's Guide or contact your operating system vendor, if you need further assistance.

Verifying that the Installation User has Administrator Privileges on Windows Operating Systems

To update the Windows Registry, you must have administrator privileges.

By default, users with the administrator privilege sign in to the system with regular privileges, but can request elevated permissions to perform administrative tasks.

To perform a task with elevated privileges:

  1. Find the Command Prompt icon, either from the Start menu or the Windows icon in the lower-left corner.
  2. Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
    This opens a new command prompt window, and all actions performed in this window are done with administrator privileges.

    Note:

    If you have User Access Control enabled on your system, you may see an additional window asking you to confirm this action. Confirm and continue with this procedure.

    Note:

    For Oracle Identity and Access Management components, ensure that you have enabled User Account Control (UAC). If you have not done so already, enable UAC by following the instructions in the Enabling User Account Control (UAC) section from the appropriate version of Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications for your installation.
  3. Perform the desired task.

    For example, to start the product installer:

    For a jar file, enter:

    java —jar distribution_name.jar

    For an executable (.exe, .bin, or .sh file), enter:

    distribution_name.exe

About the Directories for Installation and Configuration

During the installation and domain configuration process, you must plan on providing the locations for these directories: Oracle home, Domain home, and the Application home.

Parent topic: Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

About the Recommended Directory Structure

Oracle recommends specific locations for the Oracle Home, Domain Home, and Application Home.

Oracle recommends a directory structure similar to the one shown in Figure 2-3.

Figure 2-3 Recommended Oracle Fusion Middleware Directory Structure


Description of Figure 2-3 follows
Description of "Figure 2-3 Recommended Oracle Fusion Middleware Directory Structure"

A base location (Oracle base) should be established on your system (for example, /home/oracle). From this base location, create two separate branches, namely, the product directory and the config directory. The product directory should contain the product binary files and all the Oracle home directories. The config directory should contain your domain and application data.

Oracle recommends that you do not keep your configuration datain the Oracle home directory; if you upgrade your product to another major release, are required to create a new Oracle home for binaries. You must also make sure that your configuration data exists in a location where the binaries in the Oracle home have access.

The /home/oracle/product (for the Oracle home) and /home/oracle/config (for the application and configuration data) directories are used in the examples throughout the documentation; be sure to replace these directories with the actual directories on your system.

About the Oracle Home Directory

When you install any Oracle Fusion Middleware product, you must use an Oracle home directory.

This directory is a repository for common files that are used by multiple Fusion Middleware products installed on the same machine. These files ensure that Fusion Middleware operates correctly on your system. They facilitate checking of cross-product dependencies during installation. For this reason, you can consider the Oracle home directory a central support directory for all Oracle Fusion Middleware products installed on your system.

Fusion Middleware documentation refers to the Oracle home directory as ORACLE_HOME.

Oracle Home Considerations

Keep the following in mind when you create the Oracle home directory and install Fusion Middleware products:

  • Do not include spaces in the name of your Oracle home directory; the installer displays an error message if your Oracle home directory path contains spaces.

  • You can install only one instance of each Oracle Fusion Middleware product in a single Oracle home directory. If you need to maintain separate versions of a product on the same machine, each version must be in its own Oracle home directory.

    Although you can have several different products in a single Oracle home, only one version of each product can be in the Oracle home.

Multiple Home Directories

Although in most situations, a single Oracle home directory is sufficient, it is possible to create more than one Oracle home directory. For example, you need to maintain multiple Oracle home directories in the following situations:

  • You prefer to maintain separate development and production environments, with a separate product stack for each. With two directories, you can update your development environment without modifying the production environment until you are ready to do so.

  • You want to maintain two different versions of a Fusion Middleware product at the same time. For example, you want to install a new version of a product while keeping your existing version intact. In this case, you must install each product version in its own Oracle home directory.

  • You need to install multiple products that are not compatible with each other. See Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c (12.2.1.3.0) Interoperability and Compatibility in Understanding Interoperability and Compatibility .

Note:

If you create more than one Oracle home directory, you must provide non-overlapping port ranges during the configuration phase for each product.
About the Domain Home Directory

The Domain home is the directory where domains that you configure are created.

The default Domain home location is ORACLE_HOME/user_projects/domains/domain_name. However, Oracle strongly recommends that you do not use this default location. Put your Domain home outside of the Oracle home directory, for example, in /home/oracle/config/domains. The config directory should contain domain and application data. Oracle recommends a separate domain directory so that new installs, patches, and other operations update the ORACLE_HOME only, not the domain configuration.

See About the Recommended Directory Structure for more on the recommended directory structure and locating your Domain home.

Fusion Middleware documentation refers to the Domain home directory as DOMAIN_HOME and includes all folders up to and including the domain name. For example, if you name your domain exampledomain and locate your domain data in the /home/oracle/config/domains directory, the documentation would use DOMAIN_HOME to refer to /home/oracle/config/domains/exampledomain.

About the Application Home Directory

The Application home is the directory where applications for domains you configure are created.

The default Application home location is ORACLE_HOME/user_projects/applications/domain_name. However, Oracle strongly recommends that you locate your Application home outside of the Oracle home directory; if you upgrade your product to another major release, you must create a new Oracle home for binaries.

See About the Recommended Directory Structure for more on the recommended directory structure and locating your Application home..

Fusion Middleware documentation refers to the Application home directory as APPLICATION_HOME and includes all folders up to and including the domain name. For example, if you name your domain exampledomain and you locate your application data in the /home/oracle/config/applications directory, the documentation uses APPLICATION_HOME to refer to /home/oracle/config/applications/exampledomain.

Installing Multiple Products in the Same Domain

There are two methods to install and configure multiple products in one domain. This is also known as extending a domain.

  • Method 1.

    Install and configure Product A, including creating the schemas and starting all servers in the domain to verify a successful domain configuration.

    This is the method used in all installation guides in the Fusion Middleware library. You can repeat this process for as many products as necessary. It allows you to validate one product at a time and add more products incrementally.

    To install Product B in the same domain as Product A:

    1. Stop all servers to prevent any updates to the domain while you add the new product.

      See Starting and Stopping Oracle Fusion Middleware in Administering Oracle Fusion Middleware.

    2. Follow the instructions in the installation guide for Product B, including creating the necessary schemas.

    3. Run the Configuration Wizard to configure the domain.

      During configuration, the Configuration Wizard automatically detects the components that have been installed and offers you the option to extend the existing Product A domain to include Product B.

  • Method 2.

    Install all of the required products, then create the schemas for all of the products. After you create the schemas, configure the domain by using the necessary product templates, then start all the servers.

    This method of creating a multi-product domain may be slightly faster than Method 1; however, the installation guides in the Fusion Middleware library do not provide specific instructions for this method of domain creation.

See Also:

Parent topic: About the Directories for Installation and Configuration

Preparing for Shared Storage

Oracle Fusion Middleware allows you to configure multiple WebLogic Server domains from a single Oracle home. This allows you to install the Oracle home in a single location on a shared volume and reuse the Oracle home for multiple host installations.

If you plan to use shared storage in your environment, see Using Shared Storage in High Availability Guide for more information.

Understanding JDK Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation

Most Fusion Middleware products are in .jar file format. These distributions do not include a JDK. To run a .jar distribution installer, you must have a certified JDK already installed on your system.

Make sure that the JDK is installed outside of the Oracle home. If you install the JDK under the Oracle home, you will encounter problems when you try to perform tasks in the future. Oracle Universal Installer validates that the Oracle home directory is empty; the install will not progress until you specify an empty directory. Oracle recommends that you locate your JDK installation in the /home/oracle/products/jdk directory.

Some products (such as Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle JDeveloper) are available as platform-specific distributions. Platform-specific distributions have a .bin (for UNIX operating systems) or .exe (for Windows operating systems) installer; in these cases, a platform-specific JDK is in the distribution and you do not need to install a JDK separately. However, you may need to upgrade this JDK to a more recent version, depending on the JDK versions that are certified.

Always verify the required JDK version by reviewing the certification information on the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations page. For 12c (12.2.1.3.0), the certified JDK is 1.8.0_131 and later.

To download the required JDK, navigate to the following URL and download the Java SE JDK:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

Parent topic: Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

Understanding Database Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation

Many Fusion Middleware products require database schemas prior to configuration. If you do not already have a database where you can install these schemas, you must install and configure a certified database.

To find a certified database for your operating system, see the certification document for your release on the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations page.

To make sure your database is properly configured for schema creation, see Repository Creation Utility Requirements in the Oracle Fusion Middleware System Requirements and Specifications document.

After your database is properly configured, you use the Repository Creation Utility (RCU) to create product schemas in your database. This tool is available in the Oracle home for your Oracle Fusion Middleware product. See Understanding Repository Creation Utility in Creating Schemas with the Repository Creation Utility.

Parent topic: Roadmap for Verifying Your System Environment

About Product Distributions

You create the initial Oracle WebCenter Sites domain using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure distribution, which contains both Oracle WebLogic Server software and Oracle Java Required Files (JRF) software.

Oracle JRF software consists of:

  • Oracle Web Services Manager

  • Oracle Application Development Framework (Oracle ADF)

  • Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control

  • Repository Creation Utility (RCU)

  • Other libraries and technologies required to support Oracle Fusion Middleware products

Installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure is a prerequisite to installing Oracle WebCenter Sites.

Note:

  • Dependant Softwares for Oracle Access Management:

    To configure Oracle Access Management, you must install Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure 12c (12.2.1.3.0) prior to installing Oracle Identity and Access Management.

    For information about installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure 12c (12.2.1.3.0), see Installing the Infrastructure Software in Installing and Configuring the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure.

  • Dependant Softwares for Oracle Identity Governance:

    Oracle Identity Governance requires Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure 12c (12.2.1.3.0) and Oracle SOA Suite 12c (12.2.1.3.0). A quick installer is available for Oracle Identity Governance 12c (12.2.1.3.0), which installs Infrastructure, Oracle SOA Suite, and Oracle Identity and Access Management 12c (12.2.1.3.0) in one go. In other words, no separate installers are required for installing all the three softwares. If you wish to use the simplified installation process for Oracle Identity Governance, see Installing and Configuring Oracle Identity Governance Using Simplified Installation Process.

    The other way is to install and configure Oracle Identity Governance in a traditional method, that is, installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle SOA Suite 12c (12.2.1.3.0) first, using their respective installers, and then installing Oracle Identity Governance.

    For information about installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure 12c (12.2.1.3.0), see Installing the Infrastructure Software in Installing and Configuring the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure.

    For information about installing Oracle SOA Suite 12c (12.2.1.3.0), see Installing the Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle Business Process Management Software in Installing and Configuring Oracle SOA Suite and Business Process Management.

For more information about the modes of installation supported for Oracle Identity and Access Management, see About the Modes of Installation.

Parent topic: Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

Obtaining the Product Distribution

You can obtain the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle WebCenter Sites distribution on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

To prepare to install Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle WebCenter Sites:

  1. Enter java -version on the command line to verify that a certified JDK is installed on your system. For 12c (12.2.1.3.0), the certified JDK is 1.8.0_131 and later.

    See Understanding JDK Requirements for an Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation.

  2. Locate and download the Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle WebCenter Sites software. To configure Oracle Identity Governance in collocated mode, you must download Oracle SOA Suite 12.2.1.3.0.

    See Obtaining Product Distributions in Planning an Installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Parent topic: Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

Prerequisites

It is important to understand the prerequisites before you install the WebCenter Sites.

To prepare to install Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle WebCenter Sites, ensure to fulfill the following prerequisites:

Parent topic: Preparing to Install and Configure Oracle WebCenter Sites

Oracle Database

It is important to install Oracle database before you install the WebCenter Sites.

You need to install Oracle database and create a database in order to install Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure and Oracle WebCenter Sites. For more information about installing Oracle database and creating a database, see Installing Oracle Database and Creating a Database

Parent topic: Prerequisites

Configuring a DB2 Database for WebCenter Sites

Oracle recommends a specific database configuration for your DB2 database.

To configure the DB2 database:
  1. Create a file with the following DB2 commands. (For example, create db.sql and modify the database name, path, and user variables to match your installation):
    CONNECT TO <DBNAME>;
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION USING APPLHEAPSZ 1024 DEFERRED;
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION USING LOCKTIMEOUT 30 DEFERRED;
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION USING APP_CTL_HEAP_SZ 1024 DEFERRED;
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION USING LOGFILSIZ 32768 DEFERRED;
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION USING LOGSECOND 8 IMMEDIATE ;
CONNECT RESET;
  2. Run the SQL script.

Parent topic: Prerequisites

MSSQL Server

You need to install SQLServer before installing Oracle WebCenter Sites.

To install SQLServer Management Studio, follow the steps below:
  1. Login to SQLServer Management Studio.
  2. Sign in with administrator rights.
  3. Select Database and right-click to select New Database.
  4. Right-click the RCU database and select New Query.
  5. Enter the following queries:
    ALTER DATABASE RCU SET READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT ON
ALTER DATABASE RCU COLLATE LATIN1_GENERAL_CS_AS
  6. Right-click the queries and select Execute.
  7. Ensure the SQLServer and SQLServer browser runs in the SQLServer Configuration Manager.

Parent topic: Prerequisites