Plan for product installation on z/OS
IBM WebSphere Portal v8 is installed using IBM Installation Manager. This article outlines the issues that you should consider in planning the product installation.
Overview of IBM Installation Manager
IBM Installation Manager is a general-purpose software installation and update tool that runs on a range of computer systems. Installation Manager can be invoked through a GUI or a command-line interface. We can also create response files in XML and use them to direct the performance of Installation Manager tasks in silent mode.
Restrictions:
- The Installation Manager GUI is not available on z/OS ; all interaction with Installation Manager is done through the command line or response files.
- Installation Manager console mode, which is included in Installation Manager Version 1.4.3 and later, does not work with WebSphere Portal offerings.
For more information on using Installation Manager, read the IBM Installation Manager Information Center.
Packages and package groups
Each software product that can be installed with Installation Manager is referred to as a "package." An installed package has a product level and an installation location. A package group consists of all of the products that are installed at a single location.
To manage multiple copies of a software product—a test copy and a production copy for example—you install the product several times and into separate package groups, each with a distinct installation location. The different copies of the product can be maintained or upgraded separately.
Installation Manager modes
IBM Installation Manager can be installed in one of the following three modes:
- In administration mode, the Installation Manager is installed from a superuser ID and can be invoked by any superuser.
A file pointing to the Installation Manager is created in /etc/.ibm/registry; therefore, there can only be one admin-mode Installation Manager on a z/OS operating system.
- In non-administration mode (also called "user mode"), the Installation Manager can be invoked only by the user that installed it.
A file pointing to the Installation Manager is created in $HOME/etc/ibm/registry; therefore, there can only be one user-mode Installation Manager for a user.
- In group mode, the Installation Manager can be invoked by any user ID that is connected to the default group of the user that installed it.
A file pointing to the Installation Manager is created in appdata_location/etc/.ibm/registry. So there is no limit to the number of group-mode Installation Managers per system or user as long as each has its own appdata location.
How many Installation Managers do I need?
You only need to run Installation Manager on those systems on which you install or update product code. You normally need only one Installation Manager on a system because one Installation Manager can keep track of any number of product installations.
Get the Installation Manager installation kit
IBM Installation Manager comes in the form of an installation kit, which contains has a set of Installation Manager binaries and a repository for the Installation Manager product. On z/OS, the Installation Manager installation kit normally resides at /usr/lpp/InstallationManager/V1R5. A copy of the Installation Manager installation kit is provided in SMP/E format with the WebSphere Portal product.
The installation kit is only used for setup and maintenance of the Installation Manager .
Create an Installation Manager
When the installation kit is available on the z/OS system, we can create an Installation Manager. An Installation Manager consists of has a set of binaries that are copied from the installation kit and has a set of runtime data that describe the products that have been installed by this particular Installation Manager.
Before creating an Installation Manager, decide in which mode the Installation Manager will run as well as where the binaries and runtime data—called "agent data" or "appdata"—will reside. Then, you issue the Installation Manager installc, userinstc, or groupinstc command from the appropriate user ID to create the Installation Manager.
Access product repositories
All software materials that will be installed with IBM Installation Manager are stored in repositories. Each repository contains program objects and metadata for one or more packages that is, software products at a particular level. Repositories can also contain product maintenance, such as fix packs and interim fixes.
The initial product repository for administration is installed on the system with SMP/E. This SMP/E-installed repository will be updated over time to include regular product service in the form of fix packs.
We can also have Installation Manager download product fix packs and interim fixes from an IBM service website. Interim fixes are available only through the service website or from the IBM Support Center.
Whenever you install a new product, we can choose from any of the available product levels in any accessible repository.
Install the product
After creating an Installation Manager and have access to all necessary product repositories, we can use Installation Manager command-line commands or response files to perform the actual product installations. When you install a product, you provide the package name, optionally the product level to be installed, the product location, and any other optional properties.
For example, some products have optional features that we can select at installation time or a list of optional supported language packs from which we can select.
Each copy of a product must be installed at a separate installation location (file system path). Certain products might be intended to be installed together into a common location.
Choosing installation locations is a critical part of product planning. These installation locations will normally be distinct from the locations at which the products are mounted when actually in use.
Work with installed products
We can use Installation Manager commands to list installed products and product levels. We can also obtain this information for installed copies of WebSphere Portal products by issuing the versionInfo.sh command from the product file system.
After products are installed, we can unmount them from the locations at which they are known to Installation Manager and remount them at other production locations or we can copy them to other computer systems. If you copy the Installation Manager binaries and runtime data along with the product file system, we can apply maintenance to the installed products on any computer system that has access to the product and service repositories.
We can use Installation Manager commands or response files to install a new product level, roll back to a previous level, or modify the product by adding or removing optional features or language packs.
Parent: Install and configuring the WebSphere Portal environment on z/OS