1. Which AIX levels are required for different Java releases?
To take advantage of recent AIX fixes, use the latest AIX Maintenance Level from
Fix Central.
The minimum AIX level supported for each Java release is:
Java 6: AIX 6.1.0.0, 5.3.0.30
Java 5: AIX 6.1.0.0, 5.3.0.30 or 5.2.0.75
Java 1.4: AIX 6.1.0.0, 5.3.0.0, 5.2.0.10 or 5.1.0.50
WebSphere Real Time V2 for AIX: AIX 6.1.3.1 or 5.3.10.1
AIX 5.1 reached end of service in April 2006. AIX 5.2 reached end of service in April 2009.
2. What do I download?
For each release you can download the Developer Kit (JDK or SDK) or the Runtime Environment (JRE):
The Developer Kit is available in AIX installp format. There are Base install images and Update images, also known as PTFs or fixes. You must install the Base image before you install the Update images.
The Runtime Environment is intended for distributing Java with your applications.
All installp images have Version, Release, Modification, and Fix (VRMF) numbers associated with them. Run the command lslpp -l | grep Java on your system to see which Java filesets are installed and what their VRMF numbers are.
SDK 1.4.x installp images: All SDK 1.4.x installp images (VRMF numbers 1.4.0.*, 1.4.1.*, and 1.4.2.*) install into the same directories, because 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 are maintenance levels for Java 1.4. The directories are /usr/java14 for 32-bit code and /usr/java14_64 for 64-bit code. If you want to install Java 1.4, you must install the 1.4.0 base image, followed by the latest 1.4.1 base images, and finally the latest 1.4.2 base images. You can then update your installation with any relevant Update images.
Base images are compressed as tar or tar.gz files and must be extracted before they are installed.
If you have the gunzip utility, download the tar.gz file and run the command gunzip -c packagename.tar.gz | tar -xvf. For example: gunzip -c Java14.sdk.tar.gz | tar -xvf.
To extract the tar file, run the command tar -xvf packagename.tar. For example: tar -xvf Java14.sdk.tar.
4. How do I install the JDK/SDK base and update images?
Base and Update images are in AIX .bff file format, which are ready to be installed. Remove any previous .toc files that exist in the directory containing the .bff images.
Use the smitty command to install the Base and Update images.
Run "smitty install"
Select "Install and Update Software"
Select "Install Software"
Specify directory containing the images
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5. Can different Java releases coexist on a system?
Yes, different Java releases can coexist on a system.
6. What are the installation directories?
The installation directories are:
Java 6 32-bit: /usr/java6
Java 6 64-bit: /usr/java6_64
Java 5 32-bit: /usr/java5
Java 5 64-bit: /usr/java5_64
Java 1.4 32-bit: /usr/java14
Java 1.4 64-bit: /usr/java14_64
WebSphere Real Time V2 for AIX on 32-bit POWER: /usr/java-ppc32-60-srt
WebSphere Real Time V2 for AIX on 64-bit POWER: /usr/java-ppc64-60-srt
7. Which versions of Java do I have installed?
For Java 6, 5.0 and 1.4.2, use the java -fullversion command to see information about your Java installation.
For WebSphere Real Time V2 for AIX, this command is java -Xgc:metronome -fullversion.
The system output is similar to
J2RE 1.4.1 IBM AIX build ca141-20030522
The build date for the code is shown in the format YYYYMMDD.
Run the command from the INSTALL_DIR/jre/bin directory, where INSTALL_DIR is the installation directory. See What are the install directories?
Java 1.3.x: The command /usr/java130/jre/bin/java -fullversion can show 1.3.1, because the support for 1.3.0 ended on 12/31/2002. All 1.3.0 PTFs shipped after that date use 1.3.1 code.
Java 1.1.8:Installp installation for 1.1.8 creates symbolic links in the /usr/bin directory for commands such as java and javac. However, symbolic links are not created when later Java releases are installed, which can result in the command java -fullversion returning the value 1.1.8 when the PATH is not set for the later release.
8. Which paths do I need to set to use a specific Java release on my system?
9. How do I know if an image file has been downloaded successfully?
If you cannot extract from a tar or tar.gz image file, the file might have been corrupted. The download pages for the JDK and SDK base images tell you the number of bytes for all tar and tar.gz files. If the size of the file you downloaded is different, try downloading again.
The "smitty install" utility cannot process a damaged file. Download and extract the file again.
10. How do I get support information on Java for AIX?
