Preparing Windows systems for installation

Before you can install IBM® WebSphere® Application Server products on Windows systems, prepare the operating system with these steps.

1. Log on to a user ID that belongs to the administrator group.

   Log on as a member of the administrator group to successfully install the product. You cannot create Windows services from a user ID that does not belong to the administrator group. The creation of Windows services requires the user to have the advanced user rights Act as part of the operating system and Log on as a service.

   During the procedure, you can assign another ID or the one you are using to install as the user who will log on the Windows service. That user requires the advanced user right: Log on as a service.

   However, if you do not have this advanced user right or if the user ID that is to log on the Windows service does not have the advanced user right, Installation Manager assigns the advanced right to the user.

2. Verify that prerequisites and corequisites are at the required release levels.

   Although Installation Manager checks for prerequisite operating system patches, review the prerequisites on the Supported hardware and software website if you have not done so already.

   Refer to the documentation for non-IBM prerequisite and corequisite products to learn how to migrate to their supported versions.

   Note: IBM HTTP Server and the WebSphere Application Server Web Server Plugin require additional dependencies that are listed on Dependencies required by IBM HTTP Server on Windows. These dependencies should be installed before continuing.
3. Optional: Download and install a web browser.

   If your system does not have a default browser or the browser has been corrupted or installed incorrectly, then you might experience errors when trying to open various links in the installation panels.

4. Stop all Java™ processes related to WebSphere Application Server on the machine where you are installing the product.
5. Stop any web server process such as the IBM HTTP Server.
6. Stop all instances of the process_spawner.exe program.
   You can skip this step if the process_spawner.exe does not exist.

   Note: The process_spawner.exe is a required binary file for the WebSphere Application Server to function properly. The process_spawner.exe is not intended to be called directly and is a core functionality of the WebSphere Application Server on Windows.
7. Provide adequate disk space.

   The amount of disk space required varies with the number of features or products installed. If you are installing the product using Installation Manager, the installation summary panel indicates the approximate amount of disk space required based on the features and products you have selected.

   Installing all features and products requires approximately 2 GB of disk space. This estimate includes the following products, components, and features:

   • Main application server product installation
   • Profiles
   • Sample applications
   • IBM HTTP Server
   • Web Server Plug-ins
   • Application Client for WebSphere Application Server

   If you plan to migrate applications and the configuration from a previous version, verify that the application objects have enough disk space. As a rough guideline, plan for space equal to 110 percent of the size of the applications.