Installing Documentum Administrator 6SP1 (Patch Release) on IBM Websphere 6.1.0.23

I’ve spent the majority of the last 2 days trying to get DA 6SP1 Patch Release to install properly on IBM Websphere 6.1.0.23. It had been a while since I’d last done the install, and I fell into the same traps as last time, forgetting where to set the class loader and so forth. After getting past these I was left with the application unhelpfully still showing a white screen and error messages that revealed (looking back) very little about the true nature of the problem. Having finally conquered the problem, I thought I would provide the steps necessary so that anyone else trying to get a WDK application working on Websphere as at least one more thing to try. Grab a copy of da.war from the EMC Powerlink Download site.

• Unpack da.war and add the following files to a directory
• Put dfc.properties into WEB-INF/classes (As described in the deployment guide)
• ibm-web-ext.xmi & ibm-web-ext.xmi goes into WEB-INF - https://solutions.emc.com/emcsolutionview.asp?id=esg91105
• Find a copy of xml.jar on the Websphere App Server in 'Websphere\AppServer\java\jre' and put in 'WEB-INF\lib' - https://solutions.emc.com/emcsolutionview.asp?id=esg93106
• Install the application using the IBM Administration Console.
• Change the order the classes are loaded in by expanding the Applications node and click the Enterprise Applications node. Select the application called da_war (or equivalent wdk app). Click the Manage Modules link. Click the da.war link. In the Class loader order drop-down list, select the option 'Classes loaded with application class loader first' - https://solutions.emc.com/emcsolutionview.asp?id=esg93177
• You can then save and start the application.

The xml.jar file is appropriate for D6SP1 only, previous D6 versions have a slightly different set of instructions (see linked support note). Any feedback, corrections, suggestions greatly appreciated.