Upgrading JAVA in RedHat Linux 64 bit platform

1.      Download the binary

wget http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/6u38-b05/jre-6u38-linux-x64.bin

2.      Run the binary via SHELL to install it.

chmod +x jre-6u38-linux-x64.bin

./jre-6u38-linux-x64.bin

This will create a directory of name 'jre1.6.0_38' Move this directory to /usr/java

3.      Verify the installation

cd /usr/java/jre1.6.0_38/

./java -version

java version "1.6.0_38"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_38-b05)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.13-b02, mixed mode)

4.      Configure the new upgraded java environment

/usr/sbin/alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/jre1.6.0_38/bin/java 1

'1' indicates the priority

/usr/sbin/alternatives --config java

There are 3 programs which provide 'java'.

Selection    Command

-----------------------------------------------

*+ 1           /usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.4.2-gcj/bin/java

2           /usr/java/jre1.6.0_38/bin/java

Enter to keep the current selection[+], or type selection number: 2

5.      Verify the environment

java -version

java version "1.6.0_38"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_38-b05)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.13-b02, mixed mode)