vpd.properties file: WAS v5.1

vpd.properties file

The installer program for any WAS product uses the Install Shield for Multiplatforms (ISMP) program to install code. ISMP uses the vpd.properties file to track WebSphere products that it installs on all platforms but Solaris and HP-UX. The vpd.properties file lists program components that are currently installed. The file helps ISMP and the installer programs of WAS products to recognize previous installations of WAS products and to control options for new installations.

Situations that require you to edit the vpd.properties file
Certain situations require you to edit the vpd.properties file before reinstalling a WAS product. The uninstaller programs for WAS products edit the vpd.properties while uninstalling a product, to remove entries for the product and any of its features that might have entries in the file.
It is necessary to remove product entries in the vpd.properties file before you can reinstall the product. Some situations that occur require manually removing entries from the vpd.properties file before you can reinstall a product. These situations include...

Removing entries for the embedded messaging feature when the feature was left intact but the product was uninstalled
Bypassing the uninstaller program to uninstall a product manually
Manually uninstalling a product when the uninstaller program is not present or is not working

If the vpd.properties file has entries for a product you uninstalled, edit the file and remove the entries. If you do not edit the vpd.properties file to remove entries for a product or features of a product, you cannot reinstall the product into the same directory structure. If product entries in the vpd.properties file are present, the installer program reads the vpd.properties file, determines that the product is already installed, and displays the panel that prompts you to install additional features into the existing instance or to install a new instance. Unfortunately, the existing instance might not be a valid installation. The installer program does not verify the products that it finds listed in the vpd.properties file.

Location of the vpd.properties file

The location of the vpd.properties file varies per operating platform:

AIX platforms: root directory or usr/lib/objrepos directory
Linux platforms: root directory
Windows platforms: installation directory of the operating system, such as C:\WINNT for a Windows 2000 Server platform.

Example of the vpd.properties file
The following example shows the first ten entries for the vpd.properties file for V5.2 of the base product on a Windows platform. The example shows the entire first line but breaks the line for formatting purposes. The example truncates the rest of the lines in the file. The identifier for the first component is highlighted. The installation location of the first component is also highlighted
WSBACAA|5|0|0|0| |1=Admin Console|Admin Console| $L(com.ibm.ws.install.resourcebundle. WSResourceBundle,Features.admin.console.description)| | | | D:\WebSphere\AppServer50|0|2| WSBSRAA|5|0|0|0| |0|0|2|ref_759810| WSBASAA|5|0|0|0| |0|0|2|ref_58595|1| WSBADAA|5|0|0|0| |1|0|false| |true|3| WSBACAA|5|0|0|0| |1 WSBAC2AA|5|0|0|0| |1=adminConsoleRegKeyComponent|admin WSBSR4AA|5|0|0|0| |1=serverConfigWithoutSamplesCompone WSBMSAA|5|0|0|0| |1=mqSeriesServer|MQSeries Server|$L( WSBCO5AA|5|0|0|0| |1=IsmpLauncherComponent|Ismplaunche WSBASAA|5|0|0|0| |1=Admin Scripting|Admin Scripting|$L WSBAC1AA|5|0|0|0| |1=adminConsoleFilesComponent|adminC WSBCO4AA|5|0|0|0| |1=pbwServerConfigWithMQGood|pbwSamp WSBSMAA|5|0|0|0| |1=Samples|Samples|$L(com.ibm.ws.inst WSBSM2AA|5|0|0|0| |1=samplesRegKeyComponent|samplesReg

Example of the vpd.properties file after a coexistence or migration installation
The following example shows the first ten entries of the vpd.properties file when you install V5.1 of the base WAS product onto a Windows platform that already has V5.0.2 installed.
The example shows partial entries and breaks the lines for formatting purposes. Highlighting shows differences in the identifiers and the installation directories of the components. V5.1 identifiers have "51" at the end except for the application clients identifier.
The last two lines in the example show how entries identify a second instance of a component with a common identifier. Highlighting in these lines shows how to identify entries for a particular version
WSBJD8AA51|1|3| |1| |1=javaRegistryComponent|javaRegistryUpdate| | | | | D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBACAA|5|0|0|0| |1=Admin Console|Admin Console|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer50|0|2|... WSBSM2AA51|5|1|0|0| |1=samplesRegKeyComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1| WSBAC2AA|5|0|0|0| |1=adminConsoleRegKeyComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer50|0|0|1|... WSBSR4AA|5|0|0|0| |1=serverConfigWithoutSamplesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer50|0|0|1| WSBMSAA|5|0|0|0| |1=mqSeriesServer|MQSeries Server|... C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere MQ|0|1|... WSBAS2AA51|5|1|0|0| |1=adminScriptingRegKeyComponent|adminScriptingR WSBSR4AA51|5|1|0|0| |1=serverConfigWithoutSamplesComponent|config| | WSBCO5AA|5|0|0|0| |1=IsmpLauncherComponent|IsmplauncherComponent| | WSBAC1AA51|5|1|0|0| |1=adminConsoleFilesComponent|adminConsoleFiles| . . . WSBMQ4AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesPropFilesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\properties|0|0|1|... WSBMQ4AA|5|0|0|0| |1=mqSeriesPropFilesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer50\properties|0|0|1|...

Example of the vpd.properties file after uninstalling V5.1 but keeping the embedded messaging feature
The following example shows entries for the vpd.properties file after uninstalling the V5.1 base product but keeping the embedded messaging feature for use with coexisting WAS products. The example shows all entries for V5.1 that remain in the file after uninstalling V5.1.
The example shows partial entries and breaks the lines for formatting purposes. Highlighting identifies the V5.1 entries that still remain in the file. The last line shows an entire entry
WSBACAA|5|0|0|0| |1=Admin Console|Admin Console|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer50|0|2|... WSBAA51|5|1|0|0| |1=WAS|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51... WSBMQ4AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesPropFilesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\properties|0|0|1|... WSBMQAA|5|0|0|0| |2=MQSeries|MQSeries|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMS2AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesWindowsConfig|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMQ3AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesLibFilesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\lib|0|0|1|... WSBMS1AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesWindowsInstall|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMQ2AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesBinComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\bin|0|0|1|... WSBMQ1AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesSetupFileComponent| mqSeriesSetupFileComponent| | | | | D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\_uninst\mq|0|0|1| WSBMQAA|5|0|0|0| |2|0|false| |true|3|WSBMQ1AA|5|0|0|0| |2

Editing the vpd.properties file before reinstalling V5.1
If you uninstall V5.1 in a coexistence or migration environment, you can reinstall the product.
There are two options for reinstalling the product...

Install into a new directory.
Edit the vpd.properties file to remove the WSBAA51 entry.
Select another installation path during the installation.
Edit the vpd.properties file to remove all entries that identify V5.1 and reinstall into the same directory structure as the original V5.1 product.
Edit the vpd.properties file in a flat-file editor. Edit the file on the operating platform where the file resides to avoid problems with line-end characters. Use an editor that shows line breaks so that you can see each identifier at the beginning of a line.
With either option, you can select coexistence and assign non-conflicting ports, or select migration and migrate the configuration from the V5.0.x product to the V5.1 product. You can also select to neither coexist or migrate to run each product when the other is not running.
Perform the following procedure to remove all entries in the vpd.properties file and to reinstall into the original V5.1 installation root directory...

Back up the vpd.properties file before you edit it.
Search for and delete lines that start with an identifier that ends in "51". For example, delete the following entry from the file
WSBAA51|5|1|0|0| |1=WAS|IBM WAS D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|WSBAA51|5|1|0|0| |1|0|false|"_uninst" "uninst

Search for and delete all multiple instance entries that specify the original installation root. For example, delete the following entries from the file
WSBMQ4AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesPropFilesComponent| mqSeriesPropFilesComponent| | | | | D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\properties|0|0|1| WSBMQAA|5|0|0|0| |2|0|false| |true|3|WSBMQ4AA|5|0|0|0| |2 WSBMQAA|5|0|0|0| |2=MQSeries|MQSeries|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMS2AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesWindowsConfig|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMQ3AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesLibFilesComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\lib|0|0|1|... WSBMS1AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesWindowsInstall|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51|0|0|1|... WSBMQ2AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesBinComponent|... D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\bin|0|0|1|... WSBMQ1AA|5|0|0|0| |2=mqSeriesSetupFileComponent| mqSeriesSetupFileComponent| | | | | D:\WebSphere\AppServer51\_uninst\mq|0|0|1| WSBMQAA|5|0|0|0| |2|0|false| |true|3|WSBMQ1AA|5|0|0|0| |2

Rename the installation root directory to back it up. For example, change the name from D:\WebSphere\AppServer51 to D:\WebSphere\AppServer51Backup.
Reinstall the base WAS into the D:\WebSphere\AppServer51 directory.

Identifying entries in the vpd.properties file

Use the following table to help identify product entries. The first three characters of any identifier are unique to a product. Version 5.1 identifiers end with "51" as the last two characters except for the application clients, which is the same for all versions.
Identifers in the vpd.properties file for WebSphere products

Identifier Product
WSB... WAS (base product)
WSB...51 WAS, Version 5.1
WSBM... WAS embedded messaging feature
WSC... WAS application clients, all releases
WSE... WAS Enterprise, V5.x
WSN... WAS Network Deployment
WSN...51 WAS Network Deployment, Version 5.1
WSNM... WAS Network Deployment embedded messaging client feature
WSM... WebSphere MQ (the stand-alone product, not the embedded messaging feature)

See Also
Uninstalling the product

Identifier	Product
WSB...	WAS (base product)
WSB...51	WAS, Version 5.1
WSBM...	WAS embedded messaging feature
WSC...	WAS application clients, all releases
WSE...	WAS Enterprise, V5.x
WSN...	WAS Network Deployment
WSN...51	WAS Network Deployment, Version 5.1
WSNM...	WAS Network Deployment embedded messaging client feature
WSM...	WebSphere MQ (the stand-alone product, not the embedded messaging feature)