Installing and Configuring WLS-VE: Main Steps

The following steps summarize the overall process for installing BEA WebLogic Server Virtual Edition™ (see Figure 1-1). Subsequent sections of this document provide details about how to carry out these main steps:

Prepare for installation:

Ensure that your environment meets the WebLogic Server Virtual Edition (WLS-VE) requirements. See Verifying That Your Environment Supports WLS-VE.
Design your WLS-VE solution. Consider whether your applications are appropriate for a virtualized solution and determine your file storage solution and capacity requirements. See Determining Appropriate Applications for WLS-VE, Designing a File Storage Solution, and Planning System Capacity in Preparing for the Installation.
Download the WLS-VE installation program.

You can download an installer that runs on a Windows platform or one that runs on a Linux platform. Regardless of which installer you download, WLS-VE appliances always run directly on a hypervisor platform.

See Downloading WLS-VE on page 2-6.

Prepare NFS shares and SMB shares for installation.

WLS-VE requires the BEA license files and patches to reside on an NFS file server below a directory that is exported as an NFS share. BEA recommends that WLS-VE configuration and startup utilities also reside on an NFS share. You can also use the NFS share to temporarily store a copy of the WLS-VE ISO image, which is the boot image for WLS-VE. The BEA_HOME_MOUNT parameter in the <domain_dir>/bin/startWLSVE.[sh/cmd] file defines the NFS share that is used to store the BEA license file and patches.

If you install WLS-VE from a Windows machine, use SMB to access the directory on the NFS server.

See Understanding WLS-VE Directories on page 2-8 and NFS Security Measures.

On the system on which you want to run the WLS-VE installer, map or mount the shared directory.

On Windows, configure the drive-letter mapping to reconnect at logon. The shortcuts that the WLS-VE installer creates will function only if the utilities are available from the same drive letter.

On Linux, if your UNIX environment supports auto-mounting you might not need to mount the shared directory from your Linux host.

Run the WLS-VE installer.

See Using the Installation Program on page 3-1.

Give the hypervisor software access to the WLS-VE ISO image.

See Copying the ISO Image.

Run the LiquidVM Configuration Wizard to provide the startup utility with the information it needs to connect to VMware Virtual Center and an ESX Server host. See Configuring LiquidVM Connection Parameters.
Run the Domain Configuration Wizard to create a WebLogic Server domain and the server instances in the domain. See Configuring and Starting WLS-VE Domains.
Edit the start scripts for the WebLogic Server instances in your domain, using <domain_dir>/bin/startWLSVE.[sh/cmd] as a template. See Creating WLS-VE Domains.

Figure 1-1 Example Installation

Example Installation

Installation and Configuration Guide

Installing and Configuring WLS-VE: Main Steps