Single-user versus multi-user installations

We can install MobileFirst Server in two different IBM Installation Manager modes.

Administrator installation

It is an administrator installation when IBM Installation Manager is installed through the install command. In this case, it requires administrator privileges to run, and it produces multi-user installations of products.

When we have chosen an administrator installation of MobileFirst Server, it is advisable to run the application server from a non-administrator user account. Running it from an administrator or root user account is dangerous in terms of security risks.

Because of this, during an administrator installation of MobileFirst Server, we can choose an operating system user or an operating system user group. Each of the users in this group can:

• Run the specified application server (if WAS Liberty, or Apache Tomcat).

• Modify the Application Center Derby database (if Apache Derby is chosen as the database management system).

In this case, the MobileFirst Server installer sets restrictive access permissions on the Liberty or Tomcat configuration files, so as to:

1. Allow the specified users to run the application server.

2. At the same time, protect the database or user passwords that these files contain.

Nonadministrator (single-user) installation

It is a nonadministrator (single-user) installation when IBM Installation Manager is installed through the userinst command. In this case, only the user who installed this copy of IBM Installation Manager can use it.

The following constraints regarding user accounts on UNIX apply:

• If the application server is owned by a non-root user, we can install MobileFirst Server in either of two ways:

  • Through a nonadministrator (single-user) installation of IBM Installation Manager, as the same non-root user.

  • Through an administrator installation of IBM Installation Manager, as root, and afterward change our owner of all files and directories added or modified during the installation to that user. The result is a single-user installation.

• If the application server is owned by root, we can install MobileFirst Server only through an administrator installation of IBM Installation Manager; a single-user installation of IBM Installation Manager does not work, because it lacks the necessary privileges.

MobileFirst Server does not support the group mode of IBM Installation Manager.

Parent topic: Running IBM Installation Manager