Home
Administering Connections 6 CR6
Welcome to the HCL Connections 6 CR6 documentation. HCL Connections is social networking software designed for the workplace. Its features help you to establish dynamic networks that connect you to the people and information you need to achieve your business goals.
Installing
To install IBM® Connections, you need to follow a detailed series of procedures.
Pre-installation tasks
Complete the following tasks before installing IBM® Connections. If you are migrating from a prior release of IBM Connections, do not complete the tasks for creating databases or populating the Profiles database. The migration process handles those tasks automatically.
Installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server and IBM® HTTP Server
IBM® Connections requires an environment where the WebSphere® Application Server Deployment Manager and one node are installed and configured in advance. IBM HTTP Server and the Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server are also prerequisites. This software is provided with the IBM Connections package.
Installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server
To prepare for installing IBM® Connections, install IBM WebSphere® Application Server on the Deployment Manager and nodes, then configure them with the settings needed for Connections.

Administering Connections 6 CR6
Welcome to the HCL Connections 6 CR6 documentation. HCL Connections is social networking software designed for the workplace. Its features help you to establish dynamic networks that connect you to the people and information you need to achieve your business goals.
- What's new in HCL Connections 6
  Find out about features that are new or updated in this release of HCL Connections.
- Product overview
  Learn how to deploy, customize, and administer the IBM Connections social networking product.
- Planning
  Before installing HCL Connections™, study the system requirements, deployment options, and documentation conventions.
- Installing
  To install IBM® Connections, you need to follow a detailed series of procedures.
  - The installation process
    Review the steps that are required to install IBM® Connections.
  - Pre-installation tasks
    Complete the following tasks before installing IBM® Connections. If you are migrating from a prior release of IBM Connections, do not complete the tasks for creating databases or populating the Profiles database. The migration process handles those tasks automatically.
    - Verifying disk space and open file limits before installing IBM® Connections
      On all operating systems, ensure that you have 6 GB of temporary disk space. On AIX® and Linux™, set the Open File Descriptor limit to at least 40000 before installing IBM® Connections.
    - Preparing to configure the LDAP directory
      Determine which Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) attributes you want to use as the identifiers for IBM® Connections users.
    - Creating the Cognos® administrator account
      Create a new user, or select an existing user in the LDAP directory to serve as the administrator of the IBM® Cognos® BI Server component (you will add the administrator credentials to a configuration script when you deploy Cognos Business Intelligence).
    - Installing IBM® Installation Manager for IBM® Connections
      Installation Manager is required for installing IBM® Connections and its prerequisite software.
    - Installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server and IBM® HTTP Server
      IBM® Connections requires an environment where the WebSphere® Application Server Deployment Manager and one node are installed and configured in advance. IBM HTTP Server and the Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server are also prerequisites. This software is provided with the IBM Connections package.
      - Installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server
        To prepare for installing IBM® Connections, install IBM WebSphere® Application Server on the Deployment Manager and nodes, then configure them with the settings needed for Connections.
        Determining the number of IBM® WebSphere® Application Server nodes to install
        The IBM® Connections installation wizard creates server instances that require each node to have an application server. Have in place the hardware you need to install IBM WebSphere® Application Server on the Deployment Manager and the nodes you are setting up for an IBM Connections cluster.
        Installing and configuring the IBM® WebSphere® Application Server Deployment Manager and nodes
        WebSphere® Application Server Network Deployment is provided with IBM® Connections. Install IBM WebSphere Application Server on the Deployment Manager and nodes to prepare for IBM Connections installation.
        Enabling Java™ 8
        Update IBM® WebSphere® Application Server to use Java™ 8. Complete this update on every WebSphere Application Server in the deployment.
      - Defining IBM® HTTP Server
        Define IBM® HTTP Server to manage web connections. If you select to configure HTTP Server at the beginning of the Connections installation, you would perform this task at that point; otherwise you would perform this after installation completes.
    - Accessing Windows® network shares
      Configure a user account to access network shares in an IBM® Connections deployment on the Microsoft® Windows® operating system
    - Setting up federated repositories
      Use federated repositories with IBM® WebSphere® Application Server to manage and secure user and group identities.
    - Creating databases
      Create databases for the applications that you plan to install. You can use the database wizard or run the SQL scripts that are provided with IBM® Connections.
    - Populating the Profiles database
      Populate the Profiles database with data from the LDAP directory.
    - Before installing
      Verify that all necessary prerequisite conditions are complete before installing IBM® Connections.
  - Installing IBM® Connections
    Select the IBM® Connections applications that you plan to use and install them in a clustered deployment.
  - Post-installation tasks
    After installation, you need to perform further tasks to ensure an efficient deployment.
  - Uninstalling IBM® Connections
    Uninstall IBM® Connections.
- Migrating and updating
  Migrate IBM® Connections and its supporting software to the latest release and then update the installation with the latest interim fixes or Cumulative Refresh (CR).
- Administering
  Run administration and maintenance tasks to keep your environment up-to-date. For example, learn how to customize your deployment or how to use the wsadmin utility to edit configuration files. You can also schedule tasks, maintain application databases, moderate content, or manage users and their roles.
- Customizing
  Customize IBM® Connections to fit your environment.
- Security
  IBM® Connections provides a flexible security infrastructure that supports an open, easily shareable data model.
- Mobile
  See the IBM Connections Mobile documentation for Connections Cloud and Connections on-premises.
- Developing
  Get information about how to use the APIs provided with IBM® Connections and how to use Connections Customizer to modify the Connections pages that are returned to users.
- Troubleshooting and support
  To isolate and resolve problems with your IBM® products, you can use the troubleshooting and support information. This information contains instructions for using the problem-determination resources that are provided with your IBM products, including HCL Connections™.

Installing IBM® WebSphere® Application Server

To prepare for installing IBM® Connections, install IBM® WebSphere® Application Server on the Deployment Manager and nodes, then configure them with the settings needed for Connections.

Before you begin

Restriction: If you plan to install Connections Content Manager as part of this deployment, make sure that you do NOT configure WebSphere Application Server to use Java 8 now. Switching to Java 8 must be done after completing Connections installation and all other post-installation tasks.

Rate this topic

5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star

Comment on this topic.

By clicking this box, you acknowledge that you are NOT a U.S. Federal Government employee or agency, nor are you submitting information with respect to or on behalf of one. HCL provides software and services to U.S. Federal Government customers through its partners immixGroup, Inc. Contact this team at https://hcltechsw.com/resources/us-government-contact. Do not include any personal data in this Comment box. Note: To report a problem or question about the product software, do not use this form. Instead, go to the HCL Software Support site.