Installing and Configuring Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications

Two steps are required to install and configure Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA):
  1. Turn on the SUA features.
  2. Install the Utilities and SDK for Unix-based Applications.

Turning on the SUA features

The Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications is part of the Windows® OS distribution, so installing the subsystem requires no additional CD or download. It is a feature of the base distribution of Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008/R2, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows 7, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Enterprise. To turn on the SUA component, complete the following steps:
  1. In the Control Panel, select Programs and Features, then select Turn Windows Features On or Off or Add Features Wizard. SUA features are now added to the Start menu.
  2. Scroll through the list presented in the next window and select Subsystem for Unix-based Applications. You might be prompted to enter the Windows OS disc 2 where psxss.exe is located.
  3. Restart your computer.
Tip: While SUA is part of Windows OS distributions, it is not always installed by default. You might need to install it manually, usually from Windows OS system disc 2. Do the following steps on your Windows system to install SUA: Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components on Windows 2003 R2. This example is for Windows Server 2003 R2

Installing the Utilities and SDK for Unix-based Applications

After the SUA feature is turned on, the next step is to download the Utilities and SDK. You can access the link to download the Utilities in either of the following ways:
  1. Start >All Programs > Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, the link can be accessed from here.
  2. Visit the download site directly:
The page that is displayed is important because it outlines the difference between a standard (default) installation and a custom installation. A common error that occurs during Utilities and SDK installation is that users accept the default installation. The default installation does not include the GNU utilities and GNU SDK. To complete a custom installation, take the following steps:
  1. In the Utilities and SDK for Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications wizard, click Next.
  2. In the User name field, enter your name. If the name of your organization is not displayed in the Organization field, enter the name of your organization.
  3. Read the End User License Agreement. If you accept the terms of the agreement, click I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and then click Next to continue installation. If you click I do not accept the License Agreement (Exit Setup), the installation procedure ends.
  4. To install default Utilities and SDK for UNIX-based Applications components in the default directory, click Standard Installation > Next. If you want to specify a different set of components or a different installation location, select Custom Installation, and then click Next.
  5. Select the icon next to each component that you want to install, and then click the appropriate option. If you do not want to install a component, click the icon next to the component, and then click Entire feature will not be available. When you are finished specifying the components to install, click Next.
  6. If you are installing the GNU Software Development Kit (SDK), read the information about the GNU Library General Public License carefully. If you want to install the GNU SDK, click Next to continue installation. If you click Back, you have another opportunity to select the components to install.
  7. To apply these changes, restart your computer.

For an overview of SUA, see:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/f9d70026-ae8b-4969-8755-1ea1edc4e38e1033.mspx?mfr=true