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Non-root installation


Non-root users can install WAS ND in both silent and interactive mode for full product installations and removals, incremental feature installations, and silent profile creation. The term non-root implies an installer on an operating system such as AIX or Linux, but it also means a non-administrator group installer on a Windows system. Significant enhancements have been made to non-root installation in the current version of WAS ND.

For existing installations, the root or non-root installer who owns the currently installed files is the only user who can perform subsequent installation or removal operations on that installation, unless the owner reassigns ownership of the appropriate directories and files to another user. The root user is not under the same restriction, and can delete an installation owned by a non-root user.

The set of post-installation operations that are subject to this rule includes installing a feature (incremental installation), installing maintenance, uninstalling WAS ND, and installing a customized installation package (CIP) created with the IBM WebSphere Installation Factory on top of an existing installation in a slip installation.

The full installer programs and the Update Installer (UPDI) check to verify that the current installer is also the owner of the installed files.

 

Installation considerations

There are various considerations examine to install as a non-root user.

 

Verifying and setting permissions

New feature: A major enhancement to non-root support for the appserver is the ability to verify and set file permissions. Users can now verify adequate file permissions before installing the product, and can use a utility to change ownership to another user for the file system after installation for future operations on that product

Certain subsequent install operations (SIOs) on the appserver can now be attempted and performed by other users, whether root or non-root. SIOs include installing features, edition upgrades, fix packs, and slip installs of customized installation packages created with the IBM Installation Factory. New utilities allow us to determine whether the user has sufficient file permissions to perform a subsequent installation operation successfully before the operation begins, and to change owner and group file permissions on a targeted appserver installation.

(Windows) Restriction: The permissions features are not currently available on Windows operating systems.

 

Private GSKit installation

New feature: IBM HTTP Server and the Web server plug-ins installers now install a private copy of IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) which allows both root and non-root users to enable SSL support

In previous versions of WAS ND, IBM Global Security Kit (GSKit) was installed as a global installation by the IBM HTTP Server and Web server plug-ins installers and was shared among all registered applications. The only supported GSKit installation method was to run the native installation package as a root user. In the current version of WAS ND, a private copy of GSKit is installed as part of the IBM HTTP Server and Web server plug-ins installations which allows non-root users to perform complete installations that include SSL support.

The GSKit package is installed to the gsk7 directory within the installing product’s root directory.

The private copy of GSKit is maintained through GSKit update packages delivered in IBM HTTP Server and Web server plug-in fix packs.

Fix packs are applied using the Update Installer (UPDI).

[Solaris]

Because a global copy of the GSKit is no longer installed, if we are using zones on the Solaris operating system we can now use the private GSKit without a zone-writable /usr directory. In previous releases, GSKit had to be installed manually in the global zone before installing IBM HTTP Server or plug-in in a non-global zone.

 

Non-root limitations

There are some limitations and differences when installing as a non-root user as opposed to a root user.

 

Uninstallation considerations





Subtopics


Verifying and setting file permissions

 

Related


vpd.properties file
Operating system registry keys