Introduction

This chapter discusses the process of installing BEA WebLogic server. Installation of both 6.x and 7.x is covered. For version 6.x, the two methods of installing the BEA Weblogic server, command-line and GUI. At this writing, no non-GUI installations are possible with version 7.x.

Command Line vs. GUI

Because most WebLogic administration is done through a Web browser, administering a server installed on an NT platform is more or less identical to administering one on a Windows platform. The main exception occurs during the installation process.

Because the various versions of Windows are so dramatically different from the various versions of Unix, ^[1] you will not be surprised to learn that there are significant differences in the methods of installation. Generally speaking, installation on a Windows platform is much more graphical than installation on a Unix platform. However, exceptions do existthere is a fine GUI installation available for Unix versions that can run a Java console. Therefore, for purposes of precision I will speak of "GUI-based installations" and "Command-line Installations" rather than of "Unix" and "Windows" installations, although as a practical matter the two sets of terms are almost interchangable.

^[1] Note that I'm using the word "Unix" here in the broadest possible sense, encompassing HP-UX, AIX, Linux, Sun, and virtually every other operating system ending in "x."