For IBM i platformsFor Distributed operating systems

Installing Liberty by extracting a Java archive file

You can quickly install Liberty by running a self-extracting Java archive (JAR) file.

Before you begin

Your system must meet the operating system and Java™ requirements for using Liberty. See WebSphere Application Server detailed system requirements.

For IBM i platformsFor the IBM® i platform, install the minimum supported Java level at one of the following locations:
  • /QOpenSys/QIBM/ProdData/JavaVM/jdk_version/32bit
  • /QOpenSys/QIBM/ProdData/JavaVM/jdk_version/64bit

About this task

The wlp-<edition>-all-<fix_pack>.jar files install the Liberty runtime environment for your edition and any Liberty features that apply.
Note: A removal notice was issued for the Liberty runtime, extended programming model, and extras JAR files. Although you can still install from these files, they are eligible to be removed in the future as described in Removal notices.

Procedure

  1. Download the JAR file for your edition.

    Each Liberty image is packaged as a JAR file called wlp-<edition>-all-<fix_pack>.jar. For a list of the available archives, see List of installation Java archive files.

  2. Extract the distribution image to your preferred directory by running the following command.
    java -jar wlp-<edition>-all-<fix_pack>.jar

    All application server files are stored in subdirectories of the wlp directory.

    For a list of the available extraction options, see Java archive file extraction options.

  3. Optional: Set the JAVA_HOME property for your environment.

    Liberty requires a Java runtime environment (JRE) or Java SDK in which to run. You can specify the Java SDK or JRE location by using the JAVA_HOME property in the server.env file, as described in Customizing the Liberty environment. When you set the JAVA_HOME property in the server.env file, Liberty uses the same Java runtime location regardless of the user profile that the Liberty server runs under. To download an IBM Java SDK, see IBM Java SDKs for WebSphere Liberty.

    For IBM i platformsOn the IBM i platform, setting the JAVA_HOME property as a system-level environment variable is not recommended. The IBM i platform is a shared environment, and changing system-level environment variables might affect other applications.

    For Distributed operating systemsOn Linux® or UNIX systems, you can instead set JAVA_HOME in the user .bashrc file, or append the JDK or JRE path to the PATH environment variable. On Windows systems, you can instead set JAVA_HOME as a system environment variable, or append the JDK or JRE path to the PATH system variable. For example, on Windows systems you can use the following commands to set the JAVA_HOME property, and to add the Java /bin directory to the path:
    set JAVA_HOME=C:\Progra~1\Java\JDK8
    set PATH=%JAVA_HOME%\bin;%PATH%
    Note: The Liberty runtime environment searches for the java command in this order: JAVA_HOME property, JRE_HOME property, and system PATH property.

    For more information about supported Java environments and where to get them, see Minimum supported Java levels.

  4. Optional: Upgrade your Liberty installation to a more advanced supported edition.
    For example, you can upgrade from WebSphere® Application Server Liberty Core to WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment. For more information, see Applying a license to Liberty installations.

What to do next

After you install Liberty, you can further customize your environment by installing additional assets; see Installing Liberty Repository assets.

For IBM i platformsOn the IBM i platform, after you extract the distribution image, you can configure all servers to run as jobs in the batch subsystem under the QEJBSVR user profile that is provided with the product. For more information, see Configuring the Liberty server to start as a job in the QWAS9 subsystem on IBM i .