Installing Liferay DXP

This document has been updated and ported to Liferay Learn and is no longer maintained here.

Now that you’ve prepared for installing Liferay DXP, you can install and deploy it! This involves uncompressing the archive (the 7-Zip or gzip bundle file), possibly copying a JDBC driver to your application server, and starting the application server. Lastly, Liferay DXP provides a setup wizard to configure portal essentials.

Note: Since bundles are the easiest way to complete an installation, the installation steps here assume you’re installing a Liferay DXP bundle. If you plan to install Liferay DXP manually, please refer to the Installing Liferay DXP on [Application Server] article for the application server you’re installing on.

Extracting a Liferay DXP Bundle

Extract your Liferay DXP bundle to the appropriate location on your server. This folder is the Liferay Home.

Installing the JDBC Driver

If you’re using a supported open source database or if you’re setting up Liferay DXP to use the embedded HSQL database for demo purposes, you can skip this step. Otherwise, copy your database’s JDBC driver .jar file to the folder your application server documentation specifies. On Tomcat, for example, the driver belongs in the [Tomcat]/lib/ext folder.

Running Liferay DXP for the First Time

Start your application server using the start script bundled with your application server. For example, the Tomcat bundle provides the startup.sh script in $CATALINA_HOME/bin.

Note: Liferay DXP writes log files to folder [Liferay Home]/logs.

Important: Liferay DXP requires that the application server JVM use the GMT time zone and UTF-8 file encoding. They’re preset in your Liferay DXP bundle.

The first time Liferay DXP starts, it creates all of its database tables. On completing startup, it launches a web browser that displays the Basic Configuration page (the setup wizard). If for some reason your browser doesn’t load the Basic Configuration page automatically, open your browser and navigate to your app server’s address and port (for example, http://localhost:8080).

Using the Setup Wizard

The Basic Configuration page provides a convenient way to configure these things:

• Portal name and default locale
• Administrator user
• Database

Figure 1: Supply the information for your portal and your portal's default administrator user on the Basic Configuration page.

Portal

Supply this basic portal information:

Portal Name: name the installation you’re powering with Liferay DXP.

Default Language: choose your portal’s default locale and click the Change button. This immediately localizes your portal content, including the Basic Configuration page.

Time Zone: select your Liferay DXP instance’s default time zone.

Administrator User

For the administrator, supply the following information:

First Name: the default administrator user’s first name

Last Name: the default administrator user’s last name

Email: the default administrator user’s email address

Note: the administrator user’s email domain is used as the Liferay DXP instance’s default domain (i.e., the company.default.web.id portal property).

Database

This section lets you connect to Liferay DXP’s built-in data source.

Important: If you haven’t created a database for Liferay DXP, create one now following database preparation instructions in the preceding article.

HSQL is selected as the default database, but it’s primarily for demonstration or trial purposes.

Click the Change link if you want to use Liferay DXP’s built-in data source and configure it to use the database you created earlier.

The database configuration section also has an Add Sample Data checkbox for adding sample data to your database. This data includes Users, Sites, and Organizations for demo purposes. If you’re installing Liferay DXP on your own machine to explore features, the sample data may be useful. If, however, you’re installing Liferay DXP on a real server, start with a clean system by leaving this checkbox unselected.

Warning: HSQL should not be used in production Liferay DXP instances. Configure Liferay DXP to use a different database; specify that database via the Basic Configuration page here or using portal properties. See Database Preparation for details.

Once you’ve filled out the Basic Configuration form, click Finish Configuration. The setup wizard creates a [LIFERAY_HOME]/portal-setup-wizard.properties file which stores the settings that you entered. When you begin customizing your portal’s configuration, however, use a portal-ext.properties file. The Portal properties reference documentation lists the default properties and describes all the properties you can set for Liferay DXP.

Tip: The wizard is a helpful tool, especially if you’re setting up Liferay DXP for the first time. If you’re a veteran and you already have your various properties set up, you can disable the setup wizard. If you disable the setup wizard, you must configure everything manually from a portal properties file (e.g., [LIFERAY_HOME]/portal-ext.properties). To disable the setup wizard, set setup.wizard.enabled=false in your portal properties file. Note that property values in portal-setup-wizard.properties (the file the setup wizards creates in Liferay Home) override property values in portal-ext.properties.

On finishing basic configuration, Liferay DXP prompts you to restart your server. When you restart your application server, Liferay DXP initializes the database you specified.

Now that Liferay DXP is up and running, you can continue configuring it as desired. Here are some suggestions:

1. Configure your mail session, if you haven’t already configured it.

2. Install the Marketplace plugin, if it isn’t already installed. If your machine has restricted access to the public network or if you restricted the Liferay DXP database user’s permissions after initializing the database (not recommended), you can still set up Marketplace by following the Marketplace setup instructions.

3. Read the Configuring Liferay DXP articles for guidance in configuring Liferay DXP’s default time zone, locales, logging, search engine, document repository, and more.

You’re on your way to providing your organization with terrific experiences on Liferay DXP.