Installing WebLogic Platform
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You can upgrade your WebLogic Platform installation by using one of two methods: Smart Update (recommended) or the downloadable upgrade installer. The following sections describe how to upgrade your software using either method:
Periodically, BEA releases a service pack or a rolling patch for WebLogic Platform. A service pack is an update to an existing release that includes solutions to known problems and other product enhancements. A service pack is not a replacement for an installation of WebLogic Platform, but a package of changes and additions for it. Between service packs, rolling patches are issued to provide bug fixes for individual components. A rolling patch does not provide product enhancements.
Note: Service packs and rolling patches are available for download only for registered support customers, from a password-protected Web site. To download one of these product updates, you must log in using your eSupport username and password. If you do not have an eSupport account, go to the following URL to get one: http://support.bea.com
.
You can install service packs and rolling patches using the following methods:
http://support.bea.com
, without downloading the entire WebLogic Platform distribution. The upgrade installation program supports graphical and console modes of installation.Both Smart Update and the package upgrade installer create a backup file containing the media state of the current installation and information about files that were added during the upgrade. This backup file is used to restore system state if any errors occur during installation, and when you uninstall or roll back an upgrade installation.
For a typical upgrade installation of WebLogic Platform (that is, all WebLogic Platform component products installed), you require a minimum of 250MB of available disk space.
Notes: The upgrade installer only updates files installed by the WebLogic Platform installation program. It does not update any user-created files, or directories created using the Configuration Wizard (user_projects
by default).
Temporary patches are not compatible across service packs. If you installed a temporary patch and updated your classpath to reference the patch, you may need to remove any references to the patch from your classpath.
If you are using Node Manager to manage your servers in a clustered environment, you should back up the following directory and files on all machines that are running the Node Manager before upgrading your installations:
In these pathnames, WL_HOME
is the root directory of your WebLogic Platform installation, for example, c:\bea\weblogic81
.
Once the upgrade installation is complete, you should restore these files.
For more information about Node Manager, see "Overview of Node Manager" in Configuring and Managing WebLogic Server at: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/adminguide/nodemgr.html
You can use the Smart Update feature to check, periodically, for available software updates. When you start Smart Update, it checks the version numbers of the products installed (associated with the current BEA Home directory), and then connects to the BEA Web site to check for available service packs. The Smart Update Window includes three panes:
Note: Smart Update checks for only those products that are associated with the current BEA Home directory. If you have multiple BEA Home directories on your system, you must run Smart Update once for each directory, to make sure that available service packs are installed for each one. For more information about BEA Home directories, see Choosing a BEA Home Directory.
To install service packs or rolling patches using Smart Update, perform the following steps:
WL_HOME
. (As part of the upgrade procedure, the installation program automatically overwrites any files, including applications, that you have created in this directory.) For a description of the WL_HOME
directory, see Choosing a Product Installation Directory.Note: In some cases, changes are made in the config.xml
file between service packs. You may want to make backup copies of the config.xml
file in any user-created domains also, in case you later want to roll back or uninstall an upgrade installation.
Note: To run Smart Update on a UNIX system, the console attached to the machine on which you are upgrading the software must support a Java-based GUI. |
If any service packs or rolling patches are available, they are displayed in the Upgrade Options section of the window.
Note: You must have a valid eSupport account to install a service pack or rolling patch using Smart Update. If you do not have one, you can register for an account at http://support.bea.com
.
The Downloading Archive Information window is displayed briefly, followed by the Specify Download Options window.
Note: If you have previously specified a storage directory, that directory name is displayed. If you have not previously specified a storage directory, the installer specifies the system temporary directory as the default. Make sure that your temporary directory has sufficient space to accommodate the archive files and the installation program. For more information about temporary space required by the installation program, see Temporary Disk Space Requirements.
Click Pause if you need to interrupt the download for any reason. If you do so, the download is discontinued and the Pause button is replaced by a Resume button. Click Resume when you want to proceed with the download.
When the download is complete, the Archive Integrity Check window is displayed while it verifies the integrity of the upgrade archive files you downloaded.
When the archive verification is complete, the Confirm Product Directory window is displayed, which contains the path to the BEA home directory and to the product directory in which the WebLogic Platform software will be updated.
When a maintenance release is available, you can download a package upgrade installer from the BEA Customer Support Web site at http://support.bea.com
.
Note: Service packs and rolling patches are available for download only for registered support customers, from a password-protected Web site. To download one of these product updates, you must log in using your eSupport username and password. If you do not have an eSupport account, you can register for one on the BEA Customer Support Web site.
Two package upgrade installers are available: a WebLogic Platform upgrade installer for all components of WebLogic Platform, and a WebLogic Server upgrade installer, which includes WebLogic Server and WebLogic Workshop only. Both programs provide the same functionality; the procedures provided in this section apply to both installers.
These installers upgrade only those components that are already installed on your system. For example, if your installation consists of the WebLogic Server, WebLogic Workshop and WebLogic Portal components of WebLogic Platform 8.1, the upgrade installer upgrades only those components.
You cannot use the WebLogic Platform upgrade installer to install additional components, such as WebLogic Integration. To install additional components, you must use either the net or package installer, as described in WebLogic Platform Distribution Methods.
The upgrade installer can be run in the following modes on both UNIX and Windows platforms:
Notes: To run graphical-mode installation, your console must support a Java-based GUI. If the installation program determines that your system cannot support a Java-based GUI, it automatically starts running in console-mode.
The upgrade installation programs require a Java run-time environment (JRE) to run. A JRE is bundled in the Windows installation program, and in some UNIX installation programs (those with filenames ending in .bin
). For other UNIX platforms, the WebLogic Platform installation program does not include the Java 2 SDK. Filenames for these installation programs end in .jar
. To run the .jar
installation programs, you must have an appropriate version of a Java 2 SDK installed on your system, and include the bin
directory of the Java 2 SDK at the beginning of your PATH
system variable.
Notes: It is important that you use an SDK because the installation process resets the JAVA_HOME
,
and related variables to point to this directory. All scripts installed with WebLogic Platform use this SDK by default, including scripts to start sample applications, the Configuration Wizard, and other WebLogic development tools.
To complete the upgrade installation in graphical mode on UNIX and Windows systems, perform the following steps:
WL_HOME
. (As part of the upgrade procedure, the installation program automatically overwrites any files, including applications, that you have created in this directory.) For a description of the WL_HOME
directory, see Choosing a Product Installation Directory.Note: In some cases, changes are made in the config.xml
file between service packs. You may want to make backup copies of the config.xml
file in any user-created domains also, in case you later want to roll back or uninstall an upgrade installation.
http://support.bea.com
.Note: To download updates, you will need to log in using your eSupport username and password. If you do not have an eSupport account, you can register for one on the BEA Customer Support Web site.
To complete the upgrade installation in console mode on UNIX and Windows systems, perform the following steps:
Note: In this section, the UNIX delimiter, a slash (/), is used in pathnames, such as /home1/bea/weblogic81
. When entering pathnames on a Windows system, remember to replace such slashes with backslashes (\), the Windows delimiter for pathnames. Thus, for example, instead of /home1/bea/weblogic81
, on a Windows system you would enter C:\bea\weblogic81
.
WL_HOME
. (As part of the upgrade procedure, the installation program automatically overwrites any files, including applications, that you have created in this directory.)Note: In some cases, changes are made in the config.xml
file between service packs. You may want to make backup copies of the config.xml
file in any user-created domains also, in case you later want to roll back or uninstall an upgrade installation.
http://support.bea.com
.Note: To download updates, you will need to log in using your eSupport username and password. If you do not have an eSupport account, you can register for one on the BEA Customer Support Web site.
Note: You can also include the -log=
full_path_to_log_file
option in the command line to create a verbose installation log. For example:
platform
XXX
_upgrade_solaris.bin -mode=console -log=/home/bea/logs/platform_install.log
In this example, XXX
represents the version number of the software you are installing. For more information, see Generating a Verbose Installation Log.
The installation program displays the following prompt:
Choose BEA Home Directory:
->1| /home/bea
2| /home1/beahome2
Enter index number to select OR [Exit][Previous][Next]>
Press Enter
to use the selected BEA Home directory or type the number of the BEA Home directory that you want to select.
Whether you accept the selected BEA Home directory or specify a different BEA Home directory, you are prompted to confirm your selection, as shown in the following sample:
Choose BEA Home Directory:
->1¦ Yes, Use this BEA home directory [/home/bea]
2¦ No, return to BEA home directory selection
Enter index number to select OR [Exit][Previous][Next]>
Type 1
or press Enter
to accept your selection. Otherwise, type 2
to return to the Choose BEA Home Directory panel where you can modify your entry.
After you select the appropriate BEA Home directory and confirm your selection, the Confirm Product Directory panel is displayed.
Confirm Product Directory:
Product Installation Directory:[home/bea/weblogic81]
Files in/home/bea/weblogic81
will now be upgraded to the 8.1.x.0 maintenance level.Enter [Exit][Previous][Next]>
When you upgrade your installation in silent mode, you define the settings in an XML file that you create prior to beginning the upgrade installation. During the silent upgrade installation process, the installation program reads the settings for your configuration from the XML file. The installation program does not display any configuration options during the installation process. Silent-mode upgrade installation works on both Windows and UNIX systems.
The process for upgrading your installation in silent mode is similar to that used for silent-mode installation. For information about silent-mode installation, see Installing WebLogic Platform Using Silent-Mode Installation.
To complete an upgrade installation in silent mode on UNIX and Windows systems, perform the following steps:
WL_HOME
. (As part of the upgrade procedure, the installation program automatically overwrites any files, including applications, that you have created in this directory.) For a description of the WL_HOME
directory, see Choosing a Product Installation Directory.Note: In some cases, changes are made in the config.xml
file between service packs. You may want to make backup copies of the config.xml
file in any user-created domains also, in case you later want to roll back or uninstall an upgrade installation.
http://support.bea.com
.Note: To download updates, you will need to log in using your eSupport username and password. If you do not have an eSupport account, you can register for one on the BEA Customer Support Web site.
Note: Incorrect entries in the silent.xml
file can cause installation failures. To help you determine the cause of a failure, we recommend that you create a log file when you start the installation.
To start the upgrade installation process on this platform . . . | |
---|---|
2. Go to the directory in which you downloaded the installation program, and invoke the installation procedure by entering the following command:
The upgrade installer begins to install the WebLogic Platform maintenance release. |
|
For installers with filenames ending in .bin:
|
|
For installers with filenames ending in .jar: 1. Include the 2. Go to the directory in which you downloaded the installation file and invoke the installation procedure by entering the following command:
|
When you upgrade WebLogic Platform in silent mode, the installation program uses an XML file (silent.xml
) to determine which BEA Home directory contains the installation to be upgraded. Therefore, before you can run the upgrade installation program in silent mode, you must first create a silent.xml
file.
Notes: If you created a silent.xml
file when you initially installed WebLogic Platform, you should store it in a safe location or make a backup copy of it so that you do not accidentally overwrite it with the silent.xml
file you are creating for your upgrade installation. Alternatively, you can name your upgrade file using a different file name, for example silent_upgrade.xml
.
Incorrect entries in the silent.xml
file can cause installation failures. To help you determine the cause of a failure, we recommend that you create a log file when you start the installation.
To create a silent.xml
file for use in the silent-mode upgrade installation process, follow these steps:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13196_01/platform/docs81/install/scripts/silent_upgrade.xml
This sample silent_upgrade.xml
file is also presented in the following section. See Sample Template File for Silent-Mode Upgrade Installation.
silent_upgrade.xml
and save it in the directory containing the upgrade installation program that you downloaded from the BEA Customer Support Web site.Note: The XML definition (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
) must be at the very beginning of the template file. There cannot be any spaces or line breaks before the XML definition.
silent_upgrade.xml
file, replace the value for the BEAHOME
keyword with the full pathname of the BEA Home directory associated with the particular installation of WebLogic Platform that you want to update and save the file.Note: You must follow XML guidelines for characters when modifying values. That is, you cannot use characters reserved for use in XML, such as <
, >
, [
, and ]
.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<domain-template-descriptor>
<input-fields>
<data-value name="BEAHOME" value="c:\bea" />
</input-fields>
</domain-template-descriptor>
At times you may want to uninstall a maintenance upgrade. You can use Smart Update to revert your system installation to an earlier version of the release as follows:
Note: If you revert to an earlier service pack, user-created domains may not work with the earlier service pack because of changes made in the config.xml
file between service packs. If you made backup copies of the config.xml
files in the earlier service pack, you should use them after you revert the installation.
Note: If you modify an upgraded installation by installing or uninstalling any WebLogic Platform components, you cannot roll back to any previous versions of the product.
You can also uninstall a service pack or rolling patch using the standard uninstallation process. For details, see Uninstalling WebLogic Platform.
To uninstall a service pack or rolling patch using Smart Update, follow these instructions:
Service packs and rolling patches that you can uninstall (or roll back) are displayed in the Downgrade Options section of the window.
If you are using a Web server with your WebLogic Platform installation, it is important that you keep your Web server up to date to ensure you have all the latest security patches and support. Updated Web server plug-ins are included when you upgrade your WebLogic Server installation. Although it is not required, you may want to replace the Web server plug-ins installed with your Web server with the updated versions.
For details about installing the Web server plug-ins, see Using Web Server Plug-Ins with WebLogic Server at the following URL:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/plugins/index.html
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