Preparing to install IBM Streams

Use the information in this topic to plan and prepare for your IBM® Streams installation. The plan that you create for your environment determines your tasks and choices throughout the installation process.

1. Set up the hardware that you need for all of the resources in your environment. An IBM Streams resource refers to an entity on which streams processing applications and IBM Streams services can be run, for example a host.

   Verify that your resources meets the hardware requirements for IBM Streams by using the following information: Hardware requirements for IBM Streams

2. Configure the operating systems on your IBM Streams resources. Dependencies and restrictions exist for some of the operating system choices. Verify that your target systems meet the operating system requirements by using the following information: Operating system requirements for IBM Streams
3. On every resource, ensure that the character encoding of your locale configuration is set to UTF-8.
4. On every resource where you want to use an IBM Streams interface, install an X Window System. An X Window System is required to use the IBM Streams Interactive GUI installation method, Domain Manager, Streams Console, and Streams Studio on Linux.
5. Determine whether your environment requires additional software. The required JAVA environment and default RPMs for IBM Streams are included in the installation package. Use the following information to determine whether you need additional software prerequisites:
   • Java requirements, options, and settings for IBM Streams
   • Required RPMs for IBM Streams
6. Download the IBM Streams installation files.

   For information about downloading IBM Streams Version 4.2.1, see the Download Document.

   The download package includes the following components:

   • Installation dependency checker tool
   • Required RPMs
   • JAVA for application development
7. After you download the installation package to your system, use the dependency checker to find and fix any issues with your resources and environment.

   TheIBM Streams installation package provides a script that verifies whether your environment meets the requirements for IBM Streams. Use the instructions at the following link to run the checking tool: IBM Streams dependency checker script

8. Fix any dependency issues and optimize the environment.
   The dependency checker provides results that you can use to prepare and fix your IBM Streams environment before installation. Use the information in the following sections to determine the correct updates and settings for your resources:

   • IBM Streams name resolution requirements for resources: All resources must satisfy the product network configuration requirements.
   • Options for setting up the domain controller service on IBM Streams resources: You can set up the domain controller service as a registered Linux system service or as an unregistered service.
   • Firewall configuration guidelines for IBM Streams: These guidelines apply to resources that are in the IBM Streams cluster as well as clients that are external to the cluster.
   • Guidelines for configuring Linux ulimit settings for IBM Streams: Use these guidelines to ensure that your ulimit settings are sufficient for IBM Streams.
   • Performance considerations and options for IBM Streams: There are several features and configuration options that might improve the performance of IBM Streams.