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 one can reinstall the product. Some situations that occur require manually removing entries from the vpd.properties file before one can reinstall a product. These situations include:

  • Bypassing the uninstaller program to uninstall a product manually

  • Uninstalling a product manually when the uninstaller program is not present or is not working

If the vpd.properties file has entries for a product that 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, one 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 product or to install the binaries a second time. Unfortunately, the existing binaries might not be valid at that point. 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: The root directory or the usr/lib/objrepos directory

  • Linux platforms: The root directory

  • Windows platforms: installation directory of the operating system, such as the C:\WINNT directory or the C:\windows directory.

 

Example of the vpd.properties file

The following example shows all of the entries for the vpd.properties file for v6.0 of the Network Deployment product on a Windows platform. The example shows entire lines but breaks each line for formatting purposes. The identifier for the first component is highlighted. The installation location of the first component is also highlighted. 

WSBAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=WebSphere Application Server|
     IBM WebSphere Application Server| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false|
     "_uninst" "uninstall.jar" "uninstall.dat" ""|true|3|
     WSBAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60NDOnlyComponent| | | | | |1=NDOnly.ismp.component|
     ND Only| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\properties\version\install\
     6.0.0.0\componentmaps|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60NDOnly|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60NDOnlyComponent| | | | | |1
WSBAA60JavadocsComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=Javadocs.ismp.component|
     Javadocs| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\properties\version\install\
     6.0.0.0\componentmaps|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60Javadocs|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60JavadocsComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60Javadocs|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=Javadocs|
     Javadocs|$L(com.ibm.ws.install.resourcebundle.WSResourceBundle,
     Features.javadoc.description)|IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60Javadocs|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60LicensingComponent| | | | | |1=LAP Component|
     LAP Component|This bean will work with the licensing files| | | |
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60LicensingComponent| | | | | |1
WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=CoreRuntime|
     Core Runtime|$L(com.ibm.ws.install.resourcebundle.WSResourceBundle,
     Features.coreruntime.description)|IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60SamplesComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=Samples.ismp.component|
     Samples| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\properties\version\install\
     6.0.0.0\componentmaps|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60Samples|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60SamplesComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60CoreRuntimeComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=CoreRuntime.ismp.component|
     Core Runtime| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\properties\version\install\
     6.0.0.0\componentmaps|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntimeComponent|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60NDOnly|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=NDOnly|
     Invisible ND Only Feature| |IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60NDOnly|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1
WSBAA60Samples|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1=Samples|
     Samples|$L(com.ibm.ws.install.resourcebundle.WSResourceBundle,
     Features.samples.description)|IBM| |6.0.0.0|
     C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer|0|0|1|
     WSBAA60CoreRuntime|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1|0|false| |true|3|
     WSBAA60Samples|6|0|0|0|6.0.0.0|1

 

Identifying entries in the vpd.properties file

Use

the following table to help identify product entries.

Table 1. Identifers in the vpd.properties file for WebSphere products
Identifier Product
WSB...60 All V6 products use this identifier to identify the core product files:

  • WebSphere Application Server - Express, V6

  • WebSphere Application Server, V6

  • WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, V6

WSP...60 Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server, V6
WSC... WebSphere Application Server Clients, V6

Web server plug-ins for WAS installs the following packages:

Operating system Registry keys
AIX, Linux, and Windows

  • WSPAA60

  • WSPAA60DefineglobalconstantsComponent

  • WSPAA60DefinelocalvariablesComponent

  • WSPAA60LicensingComponent

  • WSPAA60Webserverplugins

  • WSPAA60WebserverpluginsComponent

  • WSPAA60AddBytes

  • WSPAA60gskit

  • WSPAA60gskitComponent