Troubleshooting installation

Use logging and tracing to troubleshoot any problems that occur when you install WebSphere® Application Server.

Logging and tracing

  • An easy way to view the logs is to open Installation Manager and go to File > View Log. An individual log file can be opened by selecting it in the table and then clicking the Open log file icon.
  • Logs are located in the logs directory of Installation Manager's application data location. For example:
    • [Windows]Administrative installation: 
      C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\Installation Manager
    • [Windows]Non-administrative installation: 
      C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\IBM\Installation Manager
    • [Linux][AIX][HP-UX][Solaris]Administrative installation: 
      /var/IBM/InstallationManager
    • [Linux][AIX][HP-UX][Solaris]Non-administrative installation: 
      user_home/var/ibm/InstallationManager
  • The main log files are time-stamped XML files in the logs directory, and they can be viewed using any standard web browser.
  • The log.properties file in the logs directory specifies the level of logging or tracing that Installation Manager uses. To turn on tracing for the WebSphere Application Server plug-ins, for example, create a log.properties file with the following content: 
    com.ibm.ws=DEBUG
com.ibm.cic.agent.core.Engine=DEBUG
global=DEBUG
    Restart Installation Manager as necessary, and Installation Manager outputs traces for the WebSphere Application Server plug-ins.

Troubleshooting

  • [HP-UX]When you attempt to launch Installation Manager from a DVD that was mounted using the CD-ROM file system (CDFS) on an HP-UX operating system, it might fail to launch and point to a log file that contains an exceptions similar to one of the following:
    java.util.zip.ZipException: Exception in opening zip file:
    org.osgi.framework.BundleException: Exception in 
org.eclipse.update.internal.configurator.ConfigurationActivator.start() 
or bundle org.eclipse.update.configurator.
    This issue might be caused by Installation Manager reaching the maximum number of descriptors that can be opened on a CDFS-mounted device. This maximum limit is determined by the value for the tunable kernel parameter ncdnode, which specifies the maximum number of CDFS nodes that can be in memory at any given time. To resolve the problem, change the ncdnode system kernel setting to 250. If the problem persists, increase the setting.
  • [HP-UX]By default, some HP-UX systems are configured to not use DNS to resolve host names. This could result in Installation Manager not being able to connect to an external repository.

    You can ping the repository, but nslookup does not return anything.

    Work with your system administrator to configure your machine to use DNS, or use the IP address of the repository.

  • [IBM i]When you try to install IBM Installation Manager locally from the WebSphere Application Server product media on an IBM i operating system, the following error message might be displayed: 
    The Installc executable launcher was unable to locate its companion shared library.
    This error occurs because all directory and files names contained by the product media are displayed in uppercase. To resolve this issue, enable the handling of mixed case on your IBM i operating system using the following command:
    CHGOPTA EXTMEDFMT(*YES)
  • [Windows]If a non-administrator installs WebSphere Application Server into the Program Files or Program Files (x86) directory with User Account Control (UAC) enabled, WebSphere Application Server will not function correctly.

    UAC is an access-control mechanism that allows non-administrative users to install a software product into the Program Files or Program Files (x86) directory; but it then prohibits any write access to that directory after the installation has completed. WebSphere Application Server requires write access in the app_server_root directory in order to function correctly.

    To resolve this issue, perform one of the following actions:
    • Install WebSphere Application Server into a directory other than Program Files or Program Files (x86), such as C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer.
    • Disable UAC.
  • In some cases, you might need to bypass existing checking mechanisms in Installation Manager.
    • On some network file systems, disk space might not be reported correctly at times; and you might need to bypass disk-space checking and proceed with your installation.
      To disable disk-space checking, specify the following system property in the config.ini file in IM_install_root/eclipse/configuration and restart Installation Manager:
      cic.override.disk.space=sizeunit
      where size is a positive integer and unit is blank for bytes, k for kilo, m for megabytes, or g for gigabytes. For example:
      cic.override.disk.space=120 (120 bytes)
cic.override.disk.space=130k (130 kilobytes)
cic.override.disk.space=140m (140 megabytes)
cic.override.disk.space=150g (150 gigabytes)
cic.override.disk.space=true
      Installation Manager will report a disk-space size of Long.MAX_VALUE. Instead of displaying a very large amount of available disk space, N/A is displayed.
    • To bypass operating-system prerequisite checking, add disableOSPrereqChecking=true to the config.ini file in IM_install_root/eclipse/configuration and restart Installation Manager.
    If you need to use any of these bypass methods, contact IBM® Support for assistance in developing a solution that does not involve bypassing the Installation Manager checking mechanisms.
  • [AIX Solaris HP-UX Linux Windows]For more information on using Installation Manager, read the IBM Installation Manager documentation.
    Read the release notes to learn more about the latest version of Installation Manager. To access the release notes, complete the following task:
    • [Windows]Click Start > Programs > IBM Installation Manager > Release Notes.
    • [Linux][AIX][HP-UX][Solaris]Go to the documentation subdirectory in the directory where Installation Manager is installed, and open the readme.html file.
  • If a fatal error occurs when you try to install the product, take the following steps:
    • Make a backup copy of your current product installation directory in case IBM support needs to review it later.
    • Use Installation Manager to uninstall everything that you have installed under the product installation location (package group). You might run into errors, but they can be safely ignored.
    • Delete everything that remains in the product installation directory.
    • Use Installation Manager to reinstall the product to the same location or to a new one.