# Installation Guide

# Preparing For Your Installation

The following topics provide useful information about installing WLOC:

- Installation Overview
- Planning Your WLOC Installation
- Selecting Directories for Your Installation

## Installation Overview

WLOC is an application administrator’s tool for deploying and managing multiple applications. It provides a policy-based framework for SLA governance of Java applications deployed across virtualized or non-virtualized platforms.

### Installation Modes

You can install WLOC in one of the following modes.

- Graphical Mode—GUI-based installation that displays windows that prompt for settings to use during installation.
- Silent Mode—A non-interactive install that requires the use of an XML file that contains settings to use during installation. Silent-mode installations are intended for administrators to perform the same installation on many machines.
- Console Mode—An interactive, text-based method for installing from the command line.

For more information, see Installing WLOC.

### Main Installation Steps

The following steps summarize the overall process for installing WLOC.

Table 2-1 Main Installation and Configuration Steps
Step | Description
--- | ---
Plan your WLOC installation | Before you install WLOC, you need to ensure that your environment meets the WLOC requirements. See Verifying That Your Environment Supports WLOC.
Install the WLOC software | Install the software, as described in Installing WLOC.
Configure WLOC Controller and Agent components | After you have installed the software, use the WLOC Configuration Wizard to create the Controller and Agent components. See the WLOC Configuration Guide, which provides details for configuring, using, and administering WLOC.

### Product Distribution Methods

You can obtain the WLOC software in one of the following ways:

- Download the software from the Oracle Web site at http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/wloc/index.html.
- Purchase the software on DVD from your local sales representative.

## Planning Your WLOC Installation

This section describes some aspects you should consider in planning your WLOC installation:

### Verifying That Your Environment Supports WLOC

Before planning any WLOC implementation, you must verify that your environment has a supported configuration of hardware and operating system on which you can run WLOC Controllers and Agents. See Supported Configurations for WLOC documentation.

### Check for the Latest Version of WLOC

Ensure that you have the latest version of the software by visiting the Oracle WebLogic Operations Control product page at http://www.oracle.com/appserver/weblogic/operations-control.html.

### WLOC Installation Components

The WLOC installation program installs two separate components. You may install all components or elect to install specific ones.

- WLOC Controller—The Controller is the centralized system that maintains all information about the applications and resources under governance, and serves as the authority for executing any deployment, and configuration and monitoring changes. The Controller also hosts the WLOC Administration Console.
- WLOC Agent—The Agent is the remote system through which the Controller communicates with the application instances and server resources for management and monitoring.

### Recommended Component Topology

You can use a variety of different topologies when you install WLOC. Here are some recommendations:

- Place all WLOC components and the processes that WLOC manages behind the same firewall.
- For convenience, you can install Agents on the same physical machine as the Controller; however, you may achieve better performance if you run the Agents and the Controller on different physical machines.

## Selecting Directories for Your Installation

During the installation process, you need to specify locations for the following directories:

### Choosing a BEA Home Directory

During installation, you are prompted for the location of an existing or new BEA Home directory. This directory serves as a repository for files that facilitate any future upgrades or installation of patches.

The BEA Home directory can be considered a central support directory for all BEA products installed on the same system. For example, if you use WLS and WLOC, you can maintain a single BEA Home directory for all products.

WARNING: | The use of spaces in the BEA Home directory (`BEA_HOME`) and the WLOC product directory name (`WLOC_HOME`) are not supported.

#### BEA Home Directory Structure

Table 2-2 shows the files and directories created in the BEA Home directory when WLOC is installed. Note that installation of other BEA products in this directory will add additional resources.

Table 2-2 BEA Home Directory Description
Component | Description
--- | ---
`jrockit_``XXX``` directory | On certain platforms, contains the BEA JRockit JDK that provides the Java run-time environment (JRE) for the WLOC configuration. In this directory name, `xxx` indicates the version of the JRockit JDK installed on your system.
`logs` directory | Contains a log file of installations/uninstallations in BEA Home.
modules directory | Common BEA modules that are used by the specific products (WLOC) installed in this BEA Home.
`utils` directory | Contains utilities that are used to support the installation of all Oracle products installed in this BEA Home directory.
`user_projects` directory | Created when WLOC Controller and/or Agent instances are configured by the user using the WLOC Configuration Wizard.
`wloc_10.3` directory | See Understanding the WLOC Product Directory Structure.
registry.xml and registry.dat files | Files that contain a persistent record of all Oracle products installed in BEA Home. This includes the version number, patch or service pack number, and install location of each product.
Note: | Do not modify these files. Doing so may cause operating problems for the currently installed Oracle products, or result in installation problems when future Oracle products or maintenance upgrades are installed.

### Choosing a Product Installation Directory

The product installation directory contains all the software components that you choose to install on your system, including the WLOC Controller and the WLOC Agent. You are prompted during your initial installation to choose a product installation directory.

A description of the WLOC directory structure is provided in Understanding the WLOC Product Directory Structure.