Use the launchpad to start Liberty installations

The launchpad console is the starting point for installing WebSphere Application Server Liberty .

The launchpad is a web application. Before using the launchpad we must have a supported web browser.

Install Bash shell. The Bash shell must be installed, but does not need to be used to run launchpad.sh. If we attempt to run the launchpad application from a DVD on the HP-UX, Linux, or Solaris operating systems without the Bash shell installed, the launchpad fails with an error message indicating that the Bash interpreter is not found. If we attempt to run the launchpad from any image on AIX, the launchpad fails with an error message indicating that the current browser is not supported. The Bash package for the AIX operating system is included in the IBM AIX Toolbox.

Examples of what the launchpad can do:

  • Launchpad supports installing Installation Manager in admin or non-admin (user) mode.
  • Launchpad supports updating Installation Manager from an earlier version in admin or non-admin (user) mode.

Examples of what the launchpad cannot do:

  • The launchpad does not support installing in group mode.

  • The launchpad does not support installing or updating with a custom application data location.

Restriction: We cannot run the launchpad remotely to install a product. Only local use of the launchpad is supported.

The launchpad identifies components on the product disk or image we can install (launch).

The launchpad is a single point of reference for installing the application server environment. If we click a link that points to a product repository on another disk or image, we are prompted to insert that disk or browse to that image.

  1. Start the launchpad.

    The launchpad program is available in the root directory of the product disk. We can start the launchpad manually using a fully qualified command instead of changing directories to the disk and running the command locally from the root directory:

    • Open a shell window and issue a fully qualified launchpad command to start Mozilla Firefox as your web browser and start the launchpad with the following command:

        launchpad_a11y.exe

    Windows: If the launchpad application is run as a non-trusted program a JavaScript Access is denied error may be thrown, causing the application to hang. To remediate, before extracting the image, right-click the image file, select Properties, locate the security section, and click the Unblock button.

  2. Use the launchpad to perform the following Liberty related tasks.

    • Access links to the IBM WebSphere Application Server product documentation.
    • Launch IBM Installation Manager installation.
    • Launch IBM Package Utility installation.
    • Install WebSphere Application Server Liberty.
    • Install IBM HTTP Server.
    • Install Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server.
    • Install the WebSphere Customization Toolbox.
    • Access the latest version of IBM Support Assistant.
    • Launch Installation Manager to install IBM WebSphere Adapters.

This procedure results in using the launchpad to start the installation and to access information through a browser.

Troubleshooting

If we can start the launchpad but clicking a link does not resolve to a page in the launchpad, we might have the wrong media in the disk drive. Check the validity of the media. Use the following procedure to correct any error that is preventing the launchpad from displaying. Then, try to start the launchpad again:

  1. If the product disk is no longer accessible, insert the disk.

  2. Enable the JavaScript function in your browser. Mozilla Firefox: Click Tools > Options > Content:

    • Select Enable Java.
    • Select Enable JavaScript.
    • Click Advanced and allow scripts to ... (Select all boxes.)

  3. Restart the launchpad by issuing the launchpad command.

If the launchpad links still do not work after following this procedure, launch Installation Manager and point it at the appropriate repositories to install the offerings.


What to do next

Go to Install and uninstall Liberty on distributed operating systems.


Parent topic: Install and uninstall Liberty on distributed operating systems


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