Java SE 6, 7, and 7.1 end of service in WebSphere Application Server V8.5

Java™ SE 6 has been removed from service. Java SE 8 is the recommended Java SDK because it provides the latest features and security updates. In version 8.5.5.14 and higher, the embedded Java SDK 6 is replaced with Java SE 8. You can install and use the optional Java SE 7 and 7.1, but no service can be provided after the end of the support dates, which might expose your environment to security risks. Java SE 7 and 7.1 are being removed from service in July 2022 for WebSphere Application Server v8.5 traditional. For Liberty, Java SE 7 and 7.1 were removed from service in September 2019.

WebSphere Application Server v8.5 traditional

Java SE 6 has been removed from service in WebSphere® Application Server v8.5. The embedded Java SDK 6 has been replaced with Java SDK 8.

Java SE 7 and 7.1 will be removed from service in WebSphere Application Server v8.5 in July 2022. It is recommended that you use the embedded Java SDK 8.

Important:

After updating to 8.5.5.14 or higher from an installation with embedded Java SDK 6, any existing profile that uses the embedded Java SDK 6 is replaced by the embedded Java SDK 8.
If you have been using 8.5.5.13 with the optional Java JDK 8, the embedded Java SDK 8 is installed when you update to version 8.5.5.14. It is recommended to use the embedded Java SDK 8 that is installed with 8.5.5.14 or higher.
On IBM i, Java SE 6 end of service is in December 2017. Installation of fix pack 8.5.5.13 and later fails if the user has any profile or server that uses Java SE 6. If no profile uses Java SE 6, then the Java SE 6 artifacts, which are used by the managesdk command, will be removed.
After you update to version 8.5.5.19 or higher for Linux on POWER8 Little Endian (LE) from an installation with embedded Java SDK 7.1, any existing profile that uses the embedded Java SDK 7.1 is replaced by the embedded Java SDK 8.

If you were using version 8.5.5.18 with the optional Java JDK 8 when you update to version 8.5.5.19, any existing profile that uses the optional Java JDK 8 is replaced by the embedded Java SDK 8.

In versions 8.5.5.11, 8.5.5.12, and 8.5.5.13, you can install either Java SE 6 or Java SE 8 as the version of Java SE contained in the /java and /java64 directories in WebSphere Application Server and used by default during server and node configuration. For existing installations that are being updated, your current Java level remains the same. For example, if you previously installed version 8.5.5.10 with Java SE 6, and you update to version 8.5.5.11, your Java version remains Java SE 6. For information about how to migrate to Java SE 8, see Migrating to Java Platform, Standard Edition 7 or 8.

You can install Java SE 8 by using the GUI, the command line or by using response files. To install Java SE 8 from the command line, you must specify the Java version by using the user.wasjava property.

To install Java SE 8, specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To install Java SE 8 for version 8.5.5.18 for Linux on POWER8 Little Endian (LE), specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To install Java SE 6, specify -properties user.wasjava=java6.

Attention:

Use of properties, user.wasjava=java8 or user.wasjava=java6 applies ONLY to new installations of the product and will not work for product upgrades through fix packs.
You can use the user.wasjava=java8 property only with new installations of the product for Linux on POWER8 Little Endian (LE). The user.wasjava=java8 property does not work for product upgrades through fix packs for Linux on POWER8 LE.

[8.5.5.14 or later] [Solaris] In version 8.5.5.14 and higher and as part of a new installation, you can only install 64-bit Java SE 7.0. If you are updating to version 8.5.5.14 from a previous version, the bit level of Java SE 7.0 remains the same prior to the update.

Switching existing profiles to use Java SDK 8

When you update your installation to version 8.5.5.14 or higher, any existing profile that uses embedded Java SDK 6 will automatically be switched to the new embedded Java SDK 8 during the fixpack update process.

In a swinging profile configuration, when the profile locations are not known or are unmounted from the file system during the fixpack update to version 8.5.5.14 or higher, these profiles are not automatically switched from embedded Java SDK 6 to the new embedded Java SDK 8. To migrate an existing profile from Java SE 6 to Java SE 8, you must run the setupProfileSDK.sh script manually. The setupProfileSDK.sh script is located in the was_install_root/bin/sdk directory. This script must be set with the path to the profileRegistry.xml file. The following example illustrates correct usage of the script:
```
./setupProfileSDK.sh <path_to_profileRegistry.xml>
```
```
setupProfileSDK.bat <path_to_profileRegistry.xml>
```
This script performs the required steps for migrating a profile to Java SE 8.

For any installation prior to version 8.5.5.14, you cannot remove Java SDK 6 from an installation. If you do not want Java SDK 6 to be present, you must install a new instance of WebSphere Application Server with Java SDK 8 and switch your profiles to use the embedded Java SDK 8.

You can switch any existing profile that uses embedded Java SDK 6 to use the optional Java SDK 8 extension. For more information on migrating to the optional Java SDK 8, see Migrating to Java Platform, Standard Edition 7 or 8.

Liberty

Support for using Java SE 6 with Liberty ended in September 2017.

Support for using Java SE 7 and 7.1 with Liberty ended in September 2019.

The Liberty kernel was recompiled for 19.0.0.9. Beginning with 19.0.0.9, the Liberty kernel no longer runs with Java SE 6, 7, or 7.1. If you continue to use Java SE 6, 7, or 7.1 on earlier fix packs after the end of support date, you might expose your environment to security risks.

Java SE 8 is the recommended Java SDK because it provides the latest features and security updates. For archive users, use the .zip file packages that are bundled with IBM Java SDK 8. For IBM Installation Manager users, use the IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 8 package and install it to the package group that contains Liberty.

For more information about the Java SE version to use for Liberty, see the Liberty documentation on IBM documentation or the Open Liberty website.

Supplements

Additional WebSphere Application Server offerings are impacted by the Java SE 6 end of service announcement.

Note: For all supplements, after updating to version 8.5.5.14 or later from an installation with embedded Java SDK 6, your embedded Java SDK 6 will be replaced by Java SDK 8.

Application Client

Starting in version 8.5.5.11, the default Java SDK is Java SE 8, and is only available in a 64-bit configuration. If you require a 32-bit version of Java, you can continue to use Java SE 6, but no service can be provided after the end of support in April 2018, which might expose your environment to security risks.

[8.5.5.16 or later] In version 8.5.5.16, you can use 32-bit Java SE 8 on the Windows 32-bit operating system only.

For command line or response file operations, you can use the user.wasjava property to install Java. Specifying the property is optional. If you do not specify the property, Java SE 8 is installed as the default.

To specify Java SE 8, specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To specify Java SE 6, specify -properties user.wasjava=java6.

Note: These properties are not required for installing and updating to version 8.5.5.14. If the user.wasjava property is specified in version 8.5.5.14 and later, it will be ignored and Java SE 8 is installed.

WebSphere Customization Toolbox

In version 8.5.5.11 and higher, when using Java SE 8 as the default SDK, the graphical user interface (GUI) for the WebSphere Customization Toolbox is supported only on AIX, HP-UX, Linux®, and Windows. The GUI is not supported on Solaris systems when using Java SE 8 as the default SDK. To use the WebSphere Customization Toolbox on Solaris when using Java SE 8, use the wctcmd -tool pct command. You can continue to use the GUI on all supported platforms that are supported by Java SE 6, but no service can be provided after the end of support in April 2018, which could expose your environment to security risks.

To specify Java SE 8, specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To specify Java SE 6, specify -properties user.wasjava=java6.

Note: Only the 64-bit version of Java SE 8 is available on HP-UX and Solaris. All other operating systems support the 32-bit version of Java SE 8.

IBM HTTP Server

To specify Java SE 8, specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To specify Java SE 6, specify -properties user.wasjava=java6.

Notes:

These properties are not required for installing and updating to version 8.5.5.14. If the user.wasjava property is specified in version 8.5.5.14 and later, it will be ignored and Java SE 8 is installed.
On Windows, only the 32-bit version of Java SE 8 is available.

Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server

To specify Java SE 8, specify -properties user.wasjava=java8.
To specify Java SE 6, specify -properties user.wasjava=java6.

Edge Components

Starting in version 8.5.5.11, the default Java SDK is Java SE 8. For more information about this change, see the Edge Components java upgrade technote.