Install Guide - Demo Install (2.6)

Sun Microsystem's Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 (J2SE 5.0), a.k.a Java 1.5, remains the recommended JVM to build and run Sakai. Certain files, such as *.jsp and *.jws, require compilation so downloading and attempting to use only the runtime environment (JRE 5.0) will not suffice.  Mac OS X includes the full version of Java J2SE 5.0, pre-installed with the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the HotSpot virtual machine (VM), so Mac users should not need to install Java.  If you find Sun's version and naming conventions confusing, see Sun Java SE Naming and Versions for an outline of their practices.

Oracle's Sun Java J2SE 5.0 (a.k.a Java 1.5) has completed the EOL process and is no longer supported. If are still running Java 1.5 please note that security vulnerabilities exist in JDK/JRE 5.0 updates 1.5.0_17 and earlier. Sun recommends that you install JDK/JRE 5.0 Update 18+ (the final update is JDK/JRE 5.0 Update 22).

Sakai 2.6 can be run using Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 (Java SE 6), a.k.a Java 1.6, although to-date there is little production experience that warrants recommending 2.6 users to upgrade their JVM. Should you choose to run Sakai in a Java 6 JVM you must (at a minimum) add the following environment setting to your JAVA_OPTS:

-Dsun.lang.ClassLoader.allowArraySyntax=true

To confirm that Java is both installed on your system and is the correct version for Sakai, run java -version from the command line:

java -version

If Java is installed, basic version and build information will be displayed:

java version "1.5.0_18"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_18-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM (build 1.5.0_18-b02, mixed mode)

If Java is not installed or you are running the wrong version you can download the J2SE 5.0 JDK release from Sun's archive:

Install the SDK, typically in the /opt directory, i.e. /opt/java. Install the JRE in a different directory (usually the default directory, especially if running Windows) or you may experience run-time issues.

At this stage your installation of Sakai has not yet been configured to use your preferred database (it will use its own HSQLDB by default) but you should now be able to bring it up as a working web application by simply starting Tomcat, and it can be helpful at this point to know if any problems exist before you try to connect it to another database. Tomcat will take a minute or so to start up, depending on the speed of your machine, and it's a good idea to watch the Tomcat log as it comes up to catch any errors.

Start Tomcat by running the appropriate start batch/shell script file from the root Tomcat directory:

Java 5

Unix/Mac:

start-sakai.sh

Windows:

start-sakai.bat

Java 6

Unix/Mac:

start-sakai-java6.sh

Windows:

start-sakai-java6.bat

Once Tomcat has loaded the Sakai application (again, this can take a couple of minutes) point your browser to

http://localhost:8080/portal

This will bring you to the Sakai gateway site from which you can create new accounts and log in to the system. If the gateway page fails to load, check the Tomcat logs for any errors and stack traces. If the gateway page does come up, log in with the default admin account (the username and password are both 'admin'). If you can log in without errors Sakai is alive and well.

Stopping Sakai involves shutting down Tomcat by running the appropriate stop batch/shell script file from the root Tomcat directory:

Unix/Mac:

stop-sakai.sh

Windows:

stop-sakai.bat