Installing WebSphere 8 for Developers

1. Prerequisites and System Information

To use WebSphere with MyEclipse, you must have a MyEclipse Blue or Bling subscription.

This document outlines WAS installation on Windows. If you are on Unix/Linux, please see the appropriate WebSphere docs to guide you through the exact programs to launch that are synonymous with the ones outlined in this Windows tutorial. If there are comparable executables on Linux, the instructions, except for the directory paths, will be very similar.

Note: There is no WebSphere installation available for Macintosh.

To complete installation you need the WebSphere Application Server 8.0 for Developers Installer (via IBM’s Installation Manager). The IBM Installation Manager finds and installs all necessary software updates so you know you are getting all components necessary without the guesswork.

2. Install WebSphere Application Server 8

1. Download the free WebSphere Application Server run time file.
   Note: You are first required to download and install an Installation Manager from which you install WAS 8. The Installation Manager detects and provides you with all the components required for running WAS 8.
2. After you install the Installation Manager, a list of software to be installed appears. Click the Check for Other Versions, Fixes, and Extensions button to be sure all available files are listed.
   
   Checking for all available updates
3. Updates are discovered. Select the Show All Versions checkbox to view additional files, and click Next.
   
   Viewing additional versions
4. Additional fixes are detected by the Installation Manager. Click the Check for Other Fixes button, select the fixes to install, and click Next.
   
   Installing additional fixes
5. Continue by accepting the license agreement, and clicking Next through the wizard, accepting the defaults, or changing paths, if necessary.
6. When installation is complete, select the Profile Management Tool to Create an Application Server Profile for a Development Environment option, an click Finish.
   
   Opening Profile Management tool
7. You are prompted to enter system administrative security information. Deselect the Enable administrative security checkbox, and click Next. This tutorial is geared towards a development installation of WebSphere Application Server, which is why Administrative Security is not necessary.
   
   Disabling administrative security
8. You are presented with a summary of the profile configuration. Click Create to create the profile.
9. After the profile is created, click Finish to open the First Steps console.
10. Click the Installation verification link on the First Steps console. Websphere starts up and a console window appears, displaying the startup log.
    
    First steps – installation verification
11. Look for verification success messages at the end of the console log before the installation is verified. This can take a few minutes to display.
    
    Installation verification console message
12. After the installation is verified, close the console window, and click Stop the Server on the First Steps console. Another console log appears. Close the Console window when complete.
13. Close the First Steps console. Your installation of WebSphere Application Server is complete.
    Note: If your default browser is at a path that includes embedded spaces, you might have difficulty during installation. If this is the case, modify the firststeps.bat file (in the firststeps folder of the profile) to add double quotes around all instances of %FirstStepsDefaultBrowserPath%.

3. Disable the Windows System Service

By default, when WebSphere Application Server is installed, the installer adds a Windows System Service that runs WebSphere automatically on boot up. This is typically necessary on a production server, but on a development machine, starting an entire application server on startup not only slows down your startup, but it also conflicts with managing WebSphere from inside MyEclipse. Because of this, you should disable this system service so it doesn’t start on boot up.

1. On Windows XP, click the Start Menu, then Control Panel and then Administrative Tools and Services to find the list of system services. On Vista and 7, open the Start Menu and type Services into the filter box to find the link.
   
   
   Opening Windows services
2. On the Services window, scroll down to the service named IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.x and likely the computer node name after that. Right-click the service, and select Properties or double-click the entry to to open its service properties.
3. Select Disabled or Manual from the Startup type drop-down, and click OK.
   
   Changing the service startup type
   Note: If the service is running, click the Stop button on this window.