Installing the server using the MQParms command

We can use the MQParms command to invoke installation or uninstallation of the IBM MQ server.

Before starting

The MQParms command can use parameters on a command line, or those specified in a parameter file. The parameter file is an ASCII text file that contains the parameter values that we want to set for the installation. The MQParms command takes the specified parameters and generates the corresponding msiexec command line.

This means that we can save all the parameters that we want to use with the msiexec command in a single file.

If we are running IBM MQ on Windows systems with User Account Control (UAC) enabled, we must invoke the installation with elevated privileges. If we are using the Command prompt or IBM MQ Explorer elevate privileges by using a right-click to start the program and selecting Run as administrator. If you try to run the MQParms program without using elevated privileges, the installation fails with an error of AMQ4353 in the installation log.

For silent operations, this must include the /q or /qn parameter, either on the command line, or in the [MSI] stanza of the parameter file. We must also set the AGREETOLICENSE parameter to "yes".

We can specify many more parameters in the parameter file that we use with the MQParms command than we can in the response file that we use directly with the msiexec command. Also, as well as parameters that the IBM MQ installation uses, we can specify parameters that can be used by the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard.

If we do not complete the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard directly after IBM MQ installations or if for any reason your machine is rebooted between completing IBM MQ installation and completing the Prepare IBM MQ Wizard, ensure that the wizard is run with Administrator privilege afterward, otherwise the installation is incomplete, and might fail. You might also see Open File - Security Warning dialog boxes that list International Business Machines Limited as the publisher. Click Run to allow the wizard to continue

An example of the file MQParms.ini is supplied with IBM MQ. This file contains default installation parameters.

There are two ways to create a parameter file for installation:

• Copy and edit the file MQParms.ini that is supplied with the product, using an ASCII file editor.
• Create your own parameter file using an ASCII file editor.

To invoke installation using the MQParms command:

Procedure

1. From a command line, change to the root folder of the IBM MQ Server install image (that is, the location of the file MQParms.exe).
2. Enter the following command:

   MQParms parameter_file parameters ]
   

   where:

   parameter_file

   is the file that contains the required parameter values. If this file is not in the same folder as MQParms.exe, specify the full path and file name. If we do not specify a parameter file, the default is MQParms.ini. For silent installation, the MQParms_silent.ini parameter file can be used. For further details, see MQParms parameter file - server installation.

   parameters

   are one or more command-line parameters, for a list of these, see the MSDN Command-Line Options web page.

Example

A typical example of an MQParms command is:

MQParms "c:\MyParamsFile.ini" /l*v c:\install.log

A typical example of an MQParms command when we are installing a second copy of IBM MQ is:

MQParms "c:\MyParamsFile.ini" /l*v c:\install.log TRANSFORMS=":InstanceId2.mst;1033.mst" MSINEWINSTANCE=1

Alternatively, TRANSFORMS and MSINEWINSTANCE can be specified in the MSI stanza of the parameter file.

If you specify a parameter both on the command line and in the parameter file, the setting on the command line takes precedence.

If you specify a parameter file, you might want to run the encryption utility before we use the MQParms command (see Encrypting a parameter file ).

If we do not specify /i, /x, /a, or /j, MQParms defaults to standard installation using the IBM MQ Windows Installer package, IBM MQ.msi. That is, it generates the following part of the command line:

/i " current_folder \MSI\IBM MQ.msi"

If we do not specify a WIZPARMFILE parameter, MQParms defaults to the current parameter file. That is, it generates the following part of the command:

WIZPARMFILE=" current_folder \ current_parameter_file "

• MQParms parameter file - server installation
  A parameter file is an ASCII text file that contains sections (stanzas) with parameters that can be used by the MQParms command. Typically, this is an initialization file such as MQParms.ini.
• Encrypting a parameter file
  If the DOMAINNAME, USERNAME, and PASSWORD values in the [Services] stanza of a parameter file are not already encrypted, we can encrypt them by running the setmqipw utility.

Parent topic: Installing the server using msiexec