Installing a client using the MQParms command

We can use the MQParms command to invoke installation or uninstallation of an IBM MQ client.

Before starting

The MQParms command can use parameters on a command line, or those specified in a parameter file. The parameter file is an ASCII text file that contains the parameter values that we want to set for the installation. The MQParms command takes the specified parameters and generates the corresponding msiexec command line.

This means that we can save all the parameters that we want to use with the msiexec command in a single file.

If we are running IBM MQ on Windows systems with User Account Control (UAC) enabled, we must invoke the installation with elevated privileges. If we are using the Command prompt or IBM MQ Explorer elevate privileges by using a right-click to start the program and selecting Run as administrator. If you try to run the MQParms program without using elevated privileges, the installation fails with an error of AMQ4353 in the installation log.

For silent operations, this must include the /q or /qn parameter, either on the command line, or in the [MSI] stanza of the parameter file. We must also set the AGREETOLICENSE parameter to "yes".

We can specify many more parameters in the parameter file that we use with the MQParms command than we can in the response file that we use directly with the msiexec command. Also, as well as parameters that the IBM MQ installation uses, we can specify parameters that can be used by the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard.

If we do not complete the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard directly after IBM MQ installations or if for any reason your machine is rebooted between completing IBM MQ installation and completing the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard, ensure that the wizard is run with Administrator privilege afterward, otherwise the installation is incomplete, and might fail. You might also see Open File - Security Warning dialog boxes that list International Business Machines Limited as the publisher. Click Run to allow the wizard to continue

An example of the file MQParms.ini is supplied with IBM MQ. This file contains default installation parameters.

There are two ways to create a parameter file for installation:

• Copy and edit the file MQParms.ini that is supplied with the product, using an ASCII file editor.
• Create your own parameter file using an ASCII file editor.

To invoke installation using the MQParms command:

Procedure

1. From a command line, change to the root folder of the IBM MQ installation media (that is, the location of the file MQParms.exe).
2. Enter the following command:

   MQParms [ parameter_file ] [ parameters ]
   

   where:

   parameter_file

   is the file that contains the required parameter values. If this file is not in the same folder as MQParms.exe, specify the full path and file name. If we do not specify a parameter file, the default is MQParms.ini. For further details, see MQParms parameter file - client installation.

   parameters

   are one or more command-line parameters, for a list of these, see the MSDN Command-Line Options web page.

Example

A typical example of an MQParms command is:

MQParms "c:\MyParamsFile.ini" /l*v c:\install.log

If you specify a parameter both on the command line and in the parameter file, the setting on the command line takes precedence.

If we do not specify /i, /x, /a, or /j, MQParms defaults to standard installation using the IBM MQ Windows Installer package, IBM IBM MQ.msi. That is, it generates the following part of the command line:

/i " current_folder \MSI\IBM MQ.msi"

• MQParms parameter file - client installation
  A parameter file is an ASCII text file that contains sections (stanzas) with parameters that can be used by the MQParms command. Typically, this is an initialization file such as MQParms.ini.

Parent topic: Installing a client using msiexec