Prepare a Windows machine for Portal Install

 

Overview

Refer to Supported hardware and software to view a list of the supported Windows operating systems and associated service packs.

For Portal on Windows, to avoid path issues when path is too long, do NOT install Portal into...

C:/Program Files/WebSphere

...rather, install into...

C:/WebSphere

Before installing WebSphere Portal, there are several tasks perform to ensure that your machine is ready for installation.

  1. Verify the operating system/service pack version
  2. Check the network setup
  3. Create wpsadmin system account
  4. Manage the length of your PATH environment variable
  5. Disable any firewall products
  6. Launch Services
  7. Launch Task Manager

 

Verify the operating system/service pack version

You can check your operating system and service pack version by going to...

My Computer icon (Right-click) | Properties

...and verifying that an appropriate operating system/service pack combination is installed. If an appropriate operating system or service pack is not installed, refer to the Microsoft support site to download and install the required software.

 

Check the network setup

 

Checking for a configured, fully-qualified host name

WebSphere Portal also requires the use of a fully-qualified host.name, which is typically the host.name of the server along with its fully-qualified domain name (FQDN). To be sure that this is configured correctly, you can check with a simple ping before you start installation. For example, you could enter the following command at a command prompt:

ping yourserver.setgetwebmpany.com

If a fully-qualified host.name is not correctly configured, the request might time out.

 

Create wpsadmin system account

A common user id that is used for Portal administration is "wpsadmin". Before installing WebSphere Portal, create a wpsadmin account as a Local Windows user id in the Administrators group.

To determine if a user account is a member of the Administrators group, go to...

Start | Programs | Administrative Tools | Computer Management | Local Users and Groups | Groups | Administrators

A domain user ID with administrator privileges is not sufficient for installation. The account must be Local.

 

Run WAS as a service (Optional)

If you install WAS during the installation, you can select to run WAS as a service, and then provide the system logon user ID and password. The user ID must have the following user rights:

Act as part of the operating system: Windows designates this user right as a privilege for the user account.
Log on as a service: Windows designates this user right as a logon right for the user account.

Because a single user ID and password are used, the WebSphere Portal installation does not allow you to create separate user accounts for these services. User rights are maintained with the Local Security Policy tool.

To view or modify the user rights:

  1. Click...

    Start | Programs | Administrative Tools | Local Security Policy | Double-click Local Policies | User Rights Assignment

  2. Locate and open Act as part of the operating system to determine if this user right is enabled. If it is enabled go to the next step. If it is not enabled, enable it.

  3. Locate and open Log on as a service to determine if the user right is enabled. If it is enabled, go to the next step. If it is not enabled, enable it.

  4. If you made any changes, log off and then log on to activate the changes. In some cases reboot the system.

    Note: If these changes are not made prior to starting the installation, rebooting will be required during the installation to update the user ID with the required privileges.

The Windows help system provides extensive information about the user rights and security options that are available. See the Windows help system for more information on setting user rights.

 

Manage the length of your Path environment variable

During installation and configuration values are added temporarily to the Path. As a result, you might see the following error during configuration:

The input line is too long.

The syntax of the command is incorrect.

This message might also appear in wpsinstalllog.txt.

This is because the Path environment variable is approaching the maximum length allowed by Windows. It is recommended that you shorten the PATH and then attempt to configure again. The Path environment variable can be accessed by right-clicking My Computer and clicking Properties. Then click the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.

 

Disable any firewall products

Before you start the WebSphere Portal installation program, disable any firewall products that are running on the machine where portal will be installed. If the installation program detects a firewall, a warning message displays.

 

Launch Services

The Windows operating system includes an administrative tool called Services that enables you to stop, start, or check the status of a service. An example of a service is DB2 - DB2, which is the name of the main service that is provided by DB2.

At various times during the installation of WebSphere Portal, you might need to check the status of specific services or start and stop services. Note that some applications like DB2 have more than one service running, and if you have to start or stop these services, start or stop all of them.

To access Services:

  1. Click...

    Start | Programs | Administrative Tools | Services

  2. To determine if a service has started, view the Status column. If there is no value in the Status column, then that service has not started.

  3. To start or stop a service, right-click on the service and then click Start or Stop.

Services are sometimes referred to as processes in the screens that are provided with some applications.

 

Launch Task Manager

Windows Task Manager provides real-time status information about your system, including the programs and processes that are running and the system resources, such as memory, that are being consumed. Because some parts of the WebSphere Portal installation are processor intensive, you can use Windows Task Manager to verify that the installation is continuing, even though progress indicators on the install panels might appear to have stalled.

To open Windows Task Manager:

  1. Right-click an empty space on the taskbar.

  2. Click Task Manager.

  3. Click the Processes or Performance tab to view the progress.

 

See also

  1. AIX
  2. HP-UX
  3. Linux
  4. Solaris
  5. Supported hardware and software

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WebSphere is a trademark of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

 

IBM is a trademark of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.