Preparing for installation

Before you start installing the required components, you must ensure all the system requirements are met, know about the installation package, installation modes, and use the checklists as reference to prepare for the installation.

IBM Installation Manager

IBM® Installation Manager is required to install Global Mailbox on all supported platforms, except iSeries. The required version of Installation Manager is bundled with Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 or later.

The Installation Manager is a Java™ based multi-platform installation application and provides a consistent approach across various platforms. It does not rely on platform-specific installation technology or mechanism.

The Installation Manager uses Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox offering repositories to install or update Sterling B2B Integrator, its add-on features, and Global Mailbox. The repositories must be downloaded and available on the server where the installation is done. It determines the packages that must be installed and displays them including the products, fix packs, and interim fixes. It checks that the prerequisites and inter-dependencies are met before installing the selected product package and feature sets. The following modes of installation are supported for Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 or later and Global Mailbox:

Wizard mode: Wizard mode is the GUI mode of installation. You can use this mode to install Global Mailbox and to record response files to use for silent mode installation.

Silent mode: You can automate your deployment of Global Mailbox to clusters by using the silent mode. A response file specifies what options to install and the input required for the various prompts and fields. Silent installation is started from the command line or a batch file.

System requirements

By now, you know that several pieces of hardware and software must be installed to set up Global Mailbox. Before starting with the installation, ensure the hardware and software system requirements that are specified in Detailed hardware and software requirements for Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 and Global Mailbox, and Sterling File Gateway V2.2.6 are met for your planned topology.

Operating systems

Global Mailbox is supported on these operating systems:

Windows (V5.2.6.2 or later)
UNIX or Linux (V5.2.6.2 or later)
AIX (V5.2.6.3 or later)

However, Cassandra and ZooKeeper can be installed only on a Linux server. Ensure your operating system includes the required packages, fixes, and patches with correct maintenance levels.

For the Linux operating system, set the huponexit option to off. This setting ensures that the processes in your shell are not stopped or killed when you log off.

Only 64-bit AIX is supported. You must install these packages before installation:

sed
grep
findutils
gawk
coreutils

Note: After installing the packages, make sure they can be run from any directory, if not ensure to add them to PATH environment variable

For a list of AIX packages, see AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications.

You must download the GTK AIX Prerequisites for IIM .

Port assignments

Installation Manager sets several default ports, which are used by Cassandra, ZooKeeper, Sterling B2B Integrator, and Global Mailbox management nodes. Following is a list of default port assignments. If required, You can change these ports to accommodate security concerns or to compensate for ports that are already in use. Be sure to record the port numbers for any changes you make. You must update these port numbers from the defaults to your actual assignments as your proceed through installation.

Important: It is a mandatory requirement for Cassandra to have the same port numbers for each port type in all nodes across the cluster. If you plan to use custom port numbers, ensure the same port number is used for a specific port type in all nodes across the cluster.

Table 1. Global Mailbox port assignments
Component	Default port numbers
ZooKeeper follow port	2888
ZooKeeper election port	3888
ZooKeeper client port	2181
Cassandra inter-node communication port	7000
Cassandra inter-node communication SSL port	7001
Cassandra client port	9042
Cassandra RPC port	9160
Cassandra JMX port	7199
Sterling B2B Integrator host port	8080
Global Mailbox host port. Important: Global Mailbox port is calculated as Sterling B2B Integrator host port + 75.	8155
Aspera Enterprise Server ports on Linux Restriction: Aspera Enterprise Server applies to version 5.2.6 only.	TCP - 22 UDP - 33001
Aspera Enterprise Server ports on Windows Restriction: Aspera Enterprise Server applies to version 5.2.6 only.	TCP - 33001 UDP - 33001

Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 or later package

Ensure that you have downloaded installation files for WebSphere® MQ, and other components to the appropriate servers from relevant locations. Also ensure that you have set up load balancers and shared file systems.

You can download the Global Mailbox installable file from one of the following locations:

Physical media repository: The physical Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox repository.

IBM Fix Central and IBM Passport Advantage site: Licensed customers can download Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox product repositories from IBM Passport Advantage or IBM Fix Central.

JDK settings

Required versions of JDKs of IBM Windows, UNIX or Linux, and AIX are bundled with the Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 or later package, on a separate disk. You must download the JDK for your operating system, install it on all machines that you plan to use in the topology, and set the JAVA_HOME and PATH parameters. IBM JDK 8 is required for Global Mailbox V5.2.6.X nodes running Cassandra 3.9. For information on installing the IBM JDK, see the Knowledge Center for IBM JDK.

Important: Only the IBM JDK is supported for Global Mailbox.

For information on setting the Java variables, see Setting Java variables in Linux , Setting Java variables in Windows, and Setting Shell variables in AIX (V5.2.6.3 or later).