WAS v8.0 > Install the application serving environment > Distributed operating systems > Centralized installation manager (CIM) > Use the centralized installation manager (CIM) to manage v6.1.x and 7.x > Download package descriptors and binary files for previous versions to the centralized installation manager (CIM) repository
Manually adding package files for previous versions to the centralized installation manager (CIM) repository
This topic explains the directory structure of the centralized installation manager (CIM) repository and outlines the steps to download CIM descriptor files for v7.0 fix packs.
To use the centralized installation manager (CIM) download function the dmgr must have access to the IBM websites. When the dmgr workstation does not have Internet access, first download the descriptors and files to a separate workstation that has Internet access. Then, manually transfer those files to the CIM repository before you can use CIM to install the respective maintenance on remote nodes.
Before you complete this task, consider the following issues:
- If we have indirect access to the Internet through another machine, then you can set up an FTP gateway and perform the download indirectly through the gateway instead of manually adding files to the repository.
Read the "Using CIM download function when the dmgr does not have direct Internet access" topic for more information.
- If your dmgr has direct Internet access, see the information on using the centralized installation manager repository instead of completing the steps in this topic.
- Steps 1 - 4 in this document apply when we have a mixed cell environment, which can consist of v6.1, 7.0 and 8.0 nodes in the same cell. The steps in this task enable you to obtain the centralized installation manager descriptors for v7.0 fix packs within this mixed cell environment. If you do not have a mixed cell environment or you do not intend to install fix packs for your v7.0 nodes in a mixed cell environment, you do not need to download these descriptors.
In a mixed cell environment, the dmgr must be at the highest version level in the environment. For example, a v7.0 dmgr cannot manage both v7.0 and 8.0 nodes. However, a v8.0 dmgr can manage both Version 7.0 and 8.0 nodes.
- When you use the Update Installer to install a fix pack on the dmgr, the process does not add the binary *.pak files to the CIM repository. You still need to copy those binary files to the appropriate directory as indicated in the following section.
When you installed v8.0, the product installed most of the descriptors for the centralized installation manager that are needed in a mixed cell environment. These previously installed descriptors enable you to install the interim fixes for both Version 6.1 and 7.0. However, the WAS v8 does not install the Version 6.1 and 7.0 fix pack descriptors for the centralized installation manager. These steps enable you to obtain those v6.1 and 7.0 descriptors when direct Internet access is not available.
We must first create the CIM repository on the host workstation. For more information, read the "Adding the current installation package during installation" topic.
Alternatively, you can use the IBM WebSphere Installation Factory to create the CIM repository and add one or more product packages to the repository. The Installation Factory is included in one of the WAS Network Deployment discs, which install separately. For more details about the Installation Factory, read the "Adding installation packages with the Installation Factory" topic.
If the CIM repository was previously created, find out the directory root path to the repository from the administrator who created it. You need that path information to manually copy files to subdirectories under that directory root path. Alternatively, you can obtain the repository directory root path by looking at the value of the CENTRALIZED_INSTALL_REPOSITORY_ROOT property in the install_root/properties/cimgr.props file for the dmgr profile.
The Update Installer and the maintenance files that are required by the CIM to remotely install maintenance are the same tool and files that are used to apply maintenance to the dmgr workstation. Complete the steps to download the Update Installer and maintenance files without using the CIM.
The repository consists of directories where the installation image for the Update Installer and maintenance files are located. The following information lists the directories and their content. Use a browser on a machine that has internet access to download the binaries for the various WebSphere maintenance files from the following URL: http://www.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/support/download.html
After you download the respective maintenance files to the file system of the machine, the information in this section enables you to determine the directory in the CIM repository to which transfer the files.
For example, for WAS Network Deployment Version 7.0.0 Fix Pack 1, copy the following .pak files to the WAS70FP1 directory.
- 7.0.0.0-WS-WAS-platform_architecture-FP0000001.pak
- 7.0.0.0-WS-WASSDK-platform_architecture-FP0000001.pak
For example, for WAS Network Deployment Version 6.1 Fix Pack 25, copy the following .pak files into the ND70FP25 directory:
- 6.1.0-WS-WAS-platform_architecture-FP0000025.pak
- 6.1.0-WS-WASSDK-platform_architecture-FP0000025.pak
- 6.1.0-WS-WASWebSvc-platform_architecture-FP0000025.pak
- 6.1.0-WS-WASEJB3-platform_architecture-FP0000025.pak
If you do not plan to install interim fixes or fix packs for a particular release, you do not need to populate the directory.
We can either download the descriptors from an IBM ftp site or import descriptors from a fix pack. Choose one of the following options to manually add the CIM descriptors for Version 6.1 and 7.0 fix packs to the CIM repository:
Procedure
- Download the descriptor from an IBM ftp site.
- In the admin console, click System administration > Centralized Installation Manager > Installation Packages . Click Add Packages. The Download Descriptors panel is displayed.
- Determine the location of the FTP site from which you download the descriptors. Expand Download Options to view the FTP URL used by the CIM. The URL format is
ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/websphere/appserv/support/tools/UpdateInstaller/7.0.x/_yyyymmdd 
.
If the dmgr workstation does not have Internet access, an error message is displayed indicating that the host name, public.dhe.ibm.com, is not known.
We can either download the descriptors from another workstation that has internet access or use descriptors from a previously downloaded fix pack (see Import descriptors from a previously downloaded fix pack).
- Use the URL from the previous step to download the available descriptors from a separate workstation that has internet access.
- Transfer the downloaded descriptors to the CIM_REPOSITORY_ROOT/descriptors directory on the dmgr workstation, where CIM_REPOSITORY_ROOT is the root directory of the CIM repository, such as /opt/IBM/WebSphere/cimrepos.
- Import descriptors from a previously downloaded fix pack.
- Extract the InstallPackageND70FPXX.xml file from the .pak file.
- Place the InstallPackageND70FPXX.xml file in the cimrepos/descriptors folder.
Results
The CIM repository now contains maintenance files to install later on the target workstations in the cell.
Use the centralized installation manager (CIM) to manage v6.1.x and 7.x
Use the v6.1.x and 7.x centralized installation manager (CIM) download function when the dmgr does not have direct Internet access
Add installation packages of previous versions to the centralized installation manager (CIM) repository using the Installation Factory
Download package descriptors and binary files for previous versions to the centralized installation manager (CIM) repository