This procedure describes how to use the Build Definition
wizard to create a build definition for the processing engine that
runs on another machine.
Before you begin
You can create installation packages for operating systems
other than the one on which Installation Factory is running:
- IBM® WebSphere® Installation Factory on these
operating systems can create installation packages for all supported
platforms.
- IBM WebSphere Installation Factory on Windows
operating systems can create installation packages for Windows and IBM i.
- IBM i users
must install the Installation Factory on a distributed platform. The
Installation Factory does not run on an IBM i platform.
If you are creating a build definition for the processing
engine that runs on another machine, see Creating build definitions and a CIP on processing engine machines.
About this task
To create a customized installation package (CIP), first
create a build definition file, which
IBM WebSphere Installation Factory uses to
generate the CIP. The build definition file describes exactly what
the Installation Factory includes in the CIP so that you can achieve
the installation customizations that you require. In some cases, you
might not be able to use the console on the target operating system
platform. You have the following options in such a case:
- Use the console in disconnected mode on a supported machine to
create a build definition file for the target operating system on
another machine.
Then copy the file to the target operating system
and use the command line interface to create the customized installation
package. This topic describes such a procedure.
- You can create installation packages for operating
systems other than the one on which Installation Factory is running:
- The Installation Factory on
these operating systems can create installation packages for all supported
platforms except IBM i.
- The Installation Factory on Windows® operating
systems can create installation packages for Windows and IBM i.
- IBM i users
must install the Installation Factory on a Windows platform.
The Installation Factory does not run on an IBM i platform.
- Create the build definition XML document using a validating XML
editor.
Copy one of the sample build definition documents from
the IF_root/samples/was directory
to get started.
After making your changes, validate the build
definition document with its XML schema (the Commom.xsd, BaseBuildDefinition.xsd,
and BuildDefinition.xsd files located in IF_root/eclipse/plugins/com.ibm.ws.install.factory.base_7.0.0.0/xsd)
using a validating XML parser or editor. Then use the command line
interface to start the processing engine and create the customized
installation package.
This procedure describes a configuration where the Build
Definition wizard is not on the same machine as the target system.
Although the Build Definition wizard cannot access the installation
image and the maintenance packages on the target operating system,
you can enter the information manually. Use directory paths and file
names that exist on the target operating system.
You can run
the Build Definition wizard on any supported operating system to create
the build definition file for any other supported system.
For
example, assume that you run the console on a RHEL 3 system that cannot
access a target AIX® system. The Build Definition wizard cannot
browse to file locations on the target system. However, you can type
the directory path of the AIX location for the Network Deployment
installation image and other elements of the CIP. The Build Definition
wizard cannot verify the installation image because the wizard cannot
access the directory on the AIX system. Verification occurs
later, when the processing engine that runs on the target operating
system builds the customized installation package. If the installation
image or the maintenance packages are not valid, the processing engine
logs the problem.
Use the following procedure to create and
install the customized installation package.
- Follow the steps in Getting started with the Installation
Factory document to download and set up the product.
- Mount or access the product installation images to be included
in the CIP on the target processing engine system.
You
need to know the location of the image on the remote system so that
you can create a build definition file on the local machine that points
to the image.
- Download maintenance packages to the target processing
engine system.
Locate download packages for WebSphere Application Server products on
the following Web site: Recommended fixes for WebSphere Application
Server
Write down the storage location of the downloaded
maintenance package so that you can provide the location to the Build
Definition wizard that is running on the local machine.
- Start IBM WebSphere Installation Factory console
with the ifgui command:
- Create a new build definition or edit an existing build
definition.
Click the button for a New customization
installation package to start two wizards in sequence. The two wizards
are the Product Selection wizard and the Build Definition wizard.
Click
the button to Open a build definition file. Opening an existing build
definition starts the Build Definition wizard only. If you must change
the product, start a new customization installation package.
- Select the check box for disconnected mode processing because
you are creating the build definition for another machine.
- Provide all required parameters to identify the product,
installation image, maintenance packages, the configuration archive
file, enterprise archive files, other files and directories, scripts,
the output location for the build definition file, and the output
location for the CIP. All of the locations must refer to locations
on the target processing engine system. See CIP Build Definition wizard panels for detailed information about
each step.
File
paths and file names must comply with the following guidelines:
- Contain 35 or fewer characters on Windows platforms
- Start and end with English-only alphabetic characters (A-Z, a-z)
or numbers (0-9) only
- Contain English-only alphabetic characters (A-Z, a-z), numbers
(0-9), periods (.) or underscores (_) only
- Not contain special characters (such as à é í ö û æ ñ ☐)
- Not contain spaces or these characters: ~ ` ! @ # $ % ^ &
( ) { } [ ] | \ / : ; , ? ' " < = > + *
Important: During the creation of a CIP, the
maintenance packages are not validated for product appropriateness.
When creating a CIP and bundling maintenance packages, therefore,
make sure that the maintenance packages are for the correct product.
If you are creating a WebSphere Application Server
CIP and want to bundle maintenance packages, for example, make sure
that the maintenance packages are for WebSphere Application
Server rather than for any other product. If you are creating a feature
pack CIP and want to bundle maintenance packages, make sure that the
maintenance packages are for the feature pack rather than for any
other product. Make sure that you are already at or above the application
server version required by any feature pack maintenance packages or
the CIP will not install correctly and you will be prompted to apply
further maintenance.
The Build Definition wizard cannot verify
the installation image, the maintenance packages, or any other files
or scripts that you enter in disconnected mode. Always enter directory
paths and file names in relation to the target operating system machine
and not the machine you are using to create the build definition.
- Review the CIP preview information panel.
You
can split, or span, a customized installation package image into multiple
smaller images if the installation image contained in the CIP is also
spannable. For example, if you are creating a CIP that contains WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0,
you can split the resulting CIP into several images because the application
server product image itself is spannable.
Specify the maximum
size for each part you want to create. Different installation images
might have different minimum sizes for spanned images. If you select
a size which is too small you are alerted with an error message that
indicates the minimum spanned size of that image. For example, if
you are creating a CIP that contains WebSphere Application
Server Network Deployment Version 7.0, you cannot split the image
into sizes smaller than 335 MB.
Click Finish to
save the build definition file on the Build Definition machine.
- Copy the build definition file from the Build Definition
machine to the target operating system platform.
- Use the ifcli command on the target
operating system platform to launch the processing engine that creates
the CIP on the target operating system.
Avoid trouble: If your CIP contains a spanned installation image,
then you must keep all of the spanned installation image directories
in the same parent directory and name them by disc number, or DISC
<disc_number>.
For example, if you are creating a CIP which contains a spanned installation
image, name the first disc image DISC1, the second disc DISC2, and
so on. Each directory must contain a valid installation image or the
CIP creation will fail.
gotcha
The amount of time required to generate
the CIP is dependent on the number of maintenance packages and the
number of features that you are including in the package.
The
processing engine logs a completion message in the IF_root/logs/log.txt file
when the processing engine is finished.
- Install the customized installation package using the InstallShield
for Multiplatforms (ISMP) Installation wizard that is included in
the CIP. Panels in the CIP Installation wizard vary according to the
product that you are installing.
To use the installation
wizard for WebSphere Application Server product CIPs,
run the install command in the cip_root/WAS directory.