Install selected interim fixes to specific installation targets using the centralized installation manager (CIM) to update your product environment.
You must download the following items to the CIM repository before you can complete this task:
You do not need to install the Update Installer after you have downloaded it. The CIM automatically installs the Update Installer before installing any refresh packs, fix packs or interim fixes if the target does not have the Update Installer already installed.
The descriptors for an interim-fix package type are installed when you install WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Version 8.5. These specific descriptors are included to apply the following types of updates:
For details on how to locate the descriptor and associated files, read the "Downloading package descriptors and the associated binary files" topic.
By default, all of the workstations containing nodes that are defined in the cell are displayed as installation targets. You can only install interim fixes on targets that are part of the cell. During the installation process, the wizard prompts you to select an authentication method, either user name and password or Secure Shell (SSH) public/private key. If you choose to use the SSH public/private key authentication method, you must first create a pair of keys and install the public key on all the installation targets to successfully complete this task.
Before installing an interim fix to any targets, you must install the same interim fix to the deployment manager first, if the interim fix is applicable to the deployment manager node.
For WebSphere Application Server Version 7.x nodes, CIM can detect what interim fixes have been installed. If you select an interim fix that has been previously installed to a node, that node is not available for selection.
For WebSphere Application Server Version 6.x nodes, you can still select nodes that have the interim fix installed, but you are notified that the interim fix has been previously applied on the Installation history page.
The CIM relies heavily on remote node information maintained locally on the deployment manager node. This remote node information (namely the node-metadata.properties file) for each node is refreshed every time the node agent on the remote node starts and provides the centralized installation manager with up-to-date information regarding the WebSphere products and versions that are installed on the target nodes.
One example of how the node-metadata.properties information is being used by the CIM is in the filtering of nodes that might be selected for the installation of an interim fix.
Assume you have downloaded an interim fix for the Feature Pack for Web Services to the CIM repository to be installed on a remote node. CIM looks at the information contained within the interim fix and determines that the fix is only applicable for nodes that have the Feature Pack for Web Services Version 6.1.0.9 or higher installed. CIM then checks the node-metadata.properties of all the nodes within the cell to determine which of the remote nodes meet the requirement for this interim fix. This process allows the cell administrator to see which nodes are potential candidates for this update and then initiate the installation of the interim fix on one or all the candidate nodes. Because of the availability of the node-metadata.properties on the deployment manager node, you could use CIM to perform this filtering without accessing the target nodes. The node agent process that runs on each node ensures that the node-metadata.properties files of the nodes on the deployment manager are kept up-to-date.
For this reason, if you apply maintenance to the node or install new WebSphere products (such as the Feature Pack for Web Services) outside of CIM on the remote node, you must restart the node agent process after the installation to get the deployment manager copy of the node-metadata.properties of the node up to date.
After the profile is augmented or a new one is created and federated to the cell, the node agent must be started to make the updated or new node-metadata.properties file that contains the new product information available to the deployment manager node. Unless this is done, CIM, running on the deployment manager node, has no knowledge of the new product that has been installed on the remote host and cannot perform the filtering correctly.
Complete the following steps to install recommended interim fixes for WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Version 6.x or 7.x.
Your installation request is sent to the CIM for processing. The Update Installer is automatically installed to the selected targets if the Update Installer is not found on the targets.
To check the status of your request, click Installations in progress in the administrative console.
Click Installation history in the administrative console to review the log files for each of the installation requests that you submit.
From the Installation History panel the administrator can click View Details to display a panel with additional details on the results. Links to logs on the remote targets are included. However, those logs can be moved, replaced, or deleted by other users or administrator, if they are not viewed immediately after an installation operation.