Review the sections that follow to ensure that your machine or machines meet the necessary WebFOCUS and ReportCaster requirements.
A full installation is required when you upgrade from WebFOCUS 7.x. To migrate from WebFOCUS 7.x and preserve your Managed Reporting repository, Dashboard views, and customizations, do not uninstall WebFOCUS 7.x.
If you decide to upgrade your current WebFOCUS installation, you must clear the cache in your application server after the upgrade process is complete. For example, if you are using Apache Tomcat, the cache can be cleared by manually deleting any subdirectories that correspond to the context roots that you deployed (for example, /ibi_apps), which are located in the following directory:
<catalina_home>\work\Catalina\localhost
Note: Before installing a service pack or running an upgrade installation, ensure that the WebFOCUS web applications have been stopped (or just bring down the application server). In addition, the Distribution Server must be stopped.
WebFOCUS 8 requires Java Virtual Machine (Java VM) Version 6 or higher on the system that is hosting the application server where the WebFOCUS Reporting Server and ReportCaster Distribution Server are installed. In addition, any supported portal server (for example, SAP Enterprise Portal Server, IBM WebSphere Portal Server, and so on) that is integrated with WebFOCUS Open Portal Services must be hosted on a system that is using Java VM Version 6 or higher.
Note: For information regarding WebFOCUS release support for the different Oracle JDK versions that WebFOCUS and ReportCaster web applications are installed, see WebFOCUS Support Statement for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) on the Customer Support Services site, https://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/wbf/wbf_tmo_047_j2se.html.
See the WebFOCUS 8 Tools Consolidation Statement for information on the applet tools and interfaces that are consolidated in WebFOCUS 8 and have been replaced with web-based Rich Internet Application facilities that will also eliminate the requirement to have a specific release of the Java VM present on each end-user machine.
The WebFOCUS installation program can install WebFOCUS and ReportCaster on Windows AMD or x64 64-bit machines.
Note: When installing on a 64-bit machine:
This table lists basic requirements for the machine or machines that run WebFOCUS and ReportCaster. Where necessary, these requirements are described in more detail later in this chapter. If WebFOCUS components are installed on different machines, requirements apply to all machines, except where noted.
Item |
Options or Requirements |
Notes |
---|---|---|
Operating System |
Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 and 2012 R2 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper - V Virtualization |
|
Application Server/Servlet Container (WebFOCUS Client Machine) |
Must meet both J2EE 5 web container and J2SE 6 specifications. This includes servlet API 2.5 specifications. |
In WebFOCUS 8, Apache Tomcat version 8.0.21 is provided and can be installed with WebFOCUS. For more information on Apache Tomcat™ and other supported application servers, see Web Server and Application Server Requirements. To run Apache Tomcat as a 64-bit service on Windows AMD 64-bit machines, Tomcat version 8.0.21 is required. It is provided with the WebFOCUS 8 installation. |
Web Server (WebFOCUS Client Machine) |
Must support aliasing. |
If you choose to use a web server, you have two ways to use it:
Apache Tomcat is provided and can be used as both a web server and application server. Microsoft IIS and other web servers can be used along with Tomcat or other application servers, if you require. For more information, see Web Server and Application Server Requirements. |
Microsoft .NET Framework |
Version 2.0 or higher. |
On Windows AMD 64-bit machines, the Microsoft .NET Framework is required for the Tomcat Connector plug-in to function correctly. It can be downloaded from the Microsoft website and must exist on the machine prior to the WebFOCUS installation. If the Tomcat Connector plug-in will not be configured, Microsoft .NET is not required. |
Java (32-bit) Java (64-bit) |
Java 6 or higher. |
Oracle Java 8 Update 45 (8u45) is provided and automatically installs with WebFOCUS 8. |
WebFOCUS Repository |
TCP/IP access to a Database Server. For JDBC drivers. |
A WebFOCUS repository is required to store reports, scheduling, and all WebFOCUS data. You can use any supported database. For more information, see WebFOCUS Repository Setup. |
User ID |
You must install as an administrator to the Windows machine. | |
Disk Space |
WebFOCUS Reporting Server: 1.5 GB WebFOCUS Client: 3 GB ReportCaster Distribution Center: 35MB |
Approximately, double this space should be available during the installation process. Additional space is needed for your application servers. |
Memory (RAM) |
4 GB or higher. |
Refer to any requirements for your application server. |
Processor Speed |
500 MHz or higher. |
Refer to any requirements for your application server. |
In this section: |
This section explains the desktop and accessibility compliance (Section 508) requirements for running WebFOCUS and ReportCaster.
WebFOCUS HTML report accessibility provides support for assistive technologies, such as screen readers, when the report request complies with the accessibility requirements documented in Technical Memo 4505: WebFOCUS HTML Report Accessibility Support. For more information on end-user configuration requirements for WebFOCUS HTML report accessibility support, see:
http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com
For information on specific accessibility requirements for WebFOCUS Business Intelligence (BI) Portal, InfoAssist, and ReportCaster, see the WebFOCUS Accessibility Guide.
The following table lists requirements for machines from which end users or administrators can access WebFOCUS reports and applications. Not all requirements apply to all users and in many situations, only a web browser is required.
Item |
Options or Requirements |
Notes |
---|---|---|
Web Browser |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 32-bit, Internet Explorer 10 32-bit, and Internet Explorer 11 32-bit are certified with WebFOCUS 8. Mozilla Firefox® 34. |
All features are supported on Internet Explorer®. You should use Internet Explorer for administration tools and development interfaces, such as InfoAssist. For more details on browser support, access the following support website: http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/wbf/wbf_tmo_027.html |
Adobe Acrobat Reader |
WebFOCUS 8 is certified with Adobe® Reader® X and Adobe Reader XI. |
Acrobat is needed to view PDF reports generated by WebFOCUS. |
Adobe Flash Player |
WebFOCUS 8 is certified with Adobe® Flash® Player 10 and higher. |
For more information on Adobe Flash Player requirements, see: |
WebFOCUS uses TCP/IP for communications between components. During the installation, you choose which ports are used. Ensure that communications are possible on those ports.
Component |
Number of Ports |
Default Ports |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|
WebFOCUS Reporting Server |
4 consecutive ports |
8120 (TCP) 8121 (HTTP) 8122 8123 |
When you install the WebFOCUS Reporting Server, you are prompted for the HTTP and TCP ports. The HTTP port is the first of three consecutive ports that the server uses. The TCP port is normally one less than the HTTP port. |
WebFOCUS Client |
Runs through web and application servers |
For most features, the WebFOCUS Client does not require its own dedicated port and runs through the web and application servers. For Tomcat, ports 8080, 8009, and 8005 are used by default. | |
ReportCaster Distribution Server |
1 port |
8200 |
When you install ReportCaster, you are prompted for this port. Additional ports may be needed when Workload Manager and/or Failover options are configured. |
Apache Tomcat is provided and can be installed with WebFOCUS, so you do not have to install and configure your own web server or application server for WebFOCUS. There are two supported Tomcat options that the WebFOCUS installation can configure for you:
Note: It is also possible to have Tomcat perform all processing and use IIS on a separate machine only to forward requests through a firewall to Tomcat. For that environment, you use a Tomcat stand-alone configuration for WebFOCUS and then configure IIS manually on a separate machine.
Using Apache Tomcat is not required. You can use any application server, servlet container, or servlet engine that meets the specifications described in JVM and J2SE Support Information. Other application servers that are commonly used for WebFOCUS are IBM WebSphere or Oracle WebLogic. For additional application server support, contact Information Builders Customer Support. For background information about web and application servers, see Application Server and Web Application Overview.
In this document, the term application server refers to J2EE-compliant application servers, servlet containers, or servlet engines. Technically, Tomcat is a servlet container, but the term application server is used for simplicity.
Note: Depending on the level of usage, you may need to increase your application server Java memory options, especially if you use InfoAssist. This is done for you if the WebFOCUS 8 installation configures Tomcat. For other application servers, see Java Memory Issues.
JVM 6 is the minimum JVM version required for the WebFOCUS and ReportCaster application servers, as well as the Distribution Server. If you use Apache Tomcat 8, Java 7 or higher is required on the WebFOCUS Client machine. The WebFOCUS Client installation can install JRE 8 for you. We recommend installing the JDK on a WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine.
Note: For all WebSphere releases, apply the IBM APAR patch to change the JSP compiler level to 6. For steps to apply the IBM APAR patch, go to How to Apply the IBM APAR.
A JRE contains a subset of JDK features and both the JRE and JDK are needed. When you install the JDK, a JRE is also installed by default. Accept default settings when you install the JDK.
If you use ReportCaster, it is recommended to install the provided JRE 8. The Distribution Server will automatically use that Java release.
Note:
The following communication requirements are necessary to schedule and distribute reports:
Note: The ReportCaster web components and the ReportCaster Distribution Server need a common time zone for proper operation. Therefore, if ReportCaster components run on different machines, all machines must be in the same time zone.
WebFOCUS |