Download and install JavaSE 5.0 if you have not done so already. If you picked the Tomcat (JDK 1.4 bundle), use the JavaSE 1.4 version instead. Make sure you have defined the JAVA_HOME environment variable.

Unzip the bundle to your applications directory. For example: c:\apps in Windows or /usr/local/ in Linux or UNIX variants.

Go to the bin directory inside the application server directory and run it using the provided script. The name of the script will depend on the application server and you will have to use the version provided for your operating system. Names are usually pretty intuitive such as run.bat, startup.bat, jonas.bat...etc. When in a Unix environment, the batch file to start the server will end with the extension sh instead of bat and it is necessary to make the script executable by running chmod +x filename.sh. It is often neccessary to run the executable from the directory where it resides.

Once the application server has finished initialization (the first time it might take a few minutes) open your browser and go to htp://localhost:8080 (assuming local installation otherwise change localhost with the host name or IP).

The bundle comes with an embeded HSQL database loaded with sample data from the public website of Liferay. You can try Liferay as an anonymous user by navigating your local version the public website.

Login as an administrator using the following data: