Specify command line parameters for server installation with msiexec

We can specify either standard msiexec command line parameters preceded by a / character, or property=value pairs, or a combination of both.

About this task

The msiexec command can accept the following types of parameter on the command line:

Standard command line parameters, preceded by a / character

For more information about the msiexec command line parameters, see the MSDN Command-Line Options web page.

For an unattended installation, we must include the /q or /qn parameter in the command line. Without this parameter, the installation is interactive. Note: We must include the /i parameter and the file location of the IBM MQ installer package.

Property=value pair parameters entered on the command line

All the parameters that are available for use in a response file can also be used on the command line. For more information about these parameters, see Table 1 in Create and using a response file for server installation.

There are some extra property=value pair parameters, shown in the following table, that are only for use on the command line:

Property	Values	Meaning
USEINI	path \ file_name	Use the specified response file. See Create and using a response file for server installation
SAVEINI	path \ file_name	Generate a response file during installation. The file contains those parameters selected for this installation that a user might make during an interactive installation.
ONLYINI	1|yes| ""	1, yes or any value other than null. End the installation before updating the target system, but after generating a response file, if this is specified. "". Continue the installation and update the target system (the default).
TRANSFORMS	:InstanceId x.mst| path \ file_name | :InstanceId x.mst; path \ file_name	The :InstanceId x.mst value is only required for a subsequent installation of IBM MQ. The path \ file_name specifies what transform (.mst) files must be applied to the product. For example, 1033.mst specifies the supplied U.S. English transform file.
MSINEWINSTANCE	1	This property is only required for subsequent installations of IBM MQ

When using the property=value pair parameters note that:

• Property strings must be in uppercase.
• Value strings are not case-sensitive, except for feature names. We can enclose value strings in double quotation marks. If a value string includes a blank, enclose the blank value string in double quotation marks.
• For a property that can take more than one value, use the format:

  ADDLOCAL="Server,Client"
  

• For properties taking paths and file names, for example, PGMFOLDER, we must supply the paths as absolute paths and not relative paths; that is as C:\folder\file and not ".\folder\file".

When using property=value pair and command line parameters with the msiexec command, enter command line parameters first.

If a parameter is specified both on the command line and in a response file, the setting on the command line takes precedence.

Procedure

• For a single installation of IBM MQ, specify the msiexec command as shown in the following typical example. All parameters, separated by one or more spaces, must be typed on the same line as the msiexec call.

  msiexec
  /i "path\MSI\IBM MQ.msi"
  /l*v c:\install.log
  /q
  TRANSFORMS="1033.mst"
  AGREETOLICENSE="yes"
  ADDLOCAL="Server"
  

• If we are installing a second copy of IBM MQ, specify the msiexec command as shown in the following typical example. All parameters, separated by one or more spaces, must be typed on the same line as the msiexec call.

  msiexec
  /i "path\MSI\IBM MQ.msi"
  /l*v c:\install.log
  /q
  TRANSFORMS=":InstanceId2.mst;1033.mst"
  AGREETOLICENSE="yes"
  ADDLOCAL="Server"
  MSINEWINSTANCE=1
  

  where /l*v c:\install.log writes installation log to file c:\install.log.

Parent topic: Installing the server using msiexec