Technote (FAQ)
Question
What IBM Software products installed together can share a common environment?
Answer
Sharing an environment between products - overview:
When you use IBM Installation Manager to install a product, in some cases it is possible to install the product into a package group (installation location) that is used by one or more products that are already installed on your computer. For example, products might be able to share a package group is if they are Eclipse-based, use the same Eclipse version and the features that comprise the products do not conflict with each other.
If multiple products are installed into the same package group, then when you run one of the products the user interface and features contributed by the other products are visible; the products share a common environment. (Sometimes this type of sharing is known as shell sharing.)
Installation Manager determines for you if a product can be installed in the same package group as another product.
Comparing products that share a common environment with products that coexist on the same computer:
If you install two products into different package groups, then the products coexist on the same computer but they do not share a common environment. Therefore, if you start one of the products you will not see the user interface or features of the other product; you see the interface only for the product that you started. Also, any components that exist in both products are updated separately
Note that, in cases where it is possible for a product to share a package group with another product, it is not necessary to install them in the same package group; you can choose to install the products into separate package groups.
Comparing product extensions with products that share a common environment:
Product extensions provide additional functionality to another prerequisite product package. By design, a product extension must be installed into the same package group as its prerequisite product; you cannot install a product extension on its own.
General considerations on sharing common environment
Here are some details to consider when installing multiple products in the same package group:
Install the latest available updates for products that share an environment:
If you install a newer release of a product with in the same package group as a product that is at an earlier version, you might experience problems when working with the products. These problems can occur because components that are shared between the products might not be at version that is compatible with both versions of the installed products..
In general, you can avoid these problems by installing the latest available updates for all products that share a common environment. Refer to the lists below of product versions that are expected to share a common environment successfully.
Installation Manager might prevent updates to products in a shared environment:
If you update one product in package group that is shared by two or more products, then any features that are shared between products might be updated. For this reason, Installation Manager might not allow updates in some cases due to the dependency requirements of the products in the package group.
| Known problems or limitations with sharing common environments: |
|
Shared environment combinations that are expected to work successfully
The following tables are a guideline listing products that are grouped by the time of release and similar common component levels.
It is expected that any combination of products in the same group (as listed below) can be installed into the same package group and not cause detrimental effects on the other products in the group.
| Important |
|
| Products based on Eclipse 3.6.x |
| Guideline for product combinations expected to work when installed into the same package group. The products grouped at the time of release and similar common components based on Eclipse 3.6.x. Shared environment combination 1:
Shared environment combination 2:
Shared environment combination 3:
Shared environment combination 4:
Shared environment combination 5:
Shared environment combination 7:
|
| Products based on Eclipse 3.6.x on Java 7 |
Shared environment combination 1:
Shared environment combination 2:
|
| Products based on Eclipse 3.4.x |
| Guideline for product combinations expected to work when installed into the same package group. The products grouped at the time of release and similar common components based on Eclipse 3.4.x. Shared environment combination 1:
Shared environment combination 2:
Shared environment combination 3:
Shared environment combination 4:
Shared environment combination 5:
Shared environment combination 6:
Shared environment combination 7:
Shared environment combination 8:
Shared environment combination 9:
Shared environment combination 10:
Shared environment combination 11:
|
| Products based on Eclipse 3.3.x |
The products listed below are based on Eclipse 3.3.x and are expected to successfully share the same package group when installed into the same package.
Eclipse 3.3 based product extensions installed by the IIM and can share package groups as an Eclipse 3.3 based product
|
| Products based on Eclipse 3.2.x |
The products listed below are based on Eclipse 3.2.x and are expected to work when installed into the same package group.
Eclipse 3.2 based product extensions that are installed by the IM and can share the same package group as an Eclipse 3.2 based product
Eclipse 3.2 RCP based products that cannot shell share
|
Additional Rational information on what is supported
Change History
| Change History | |
| 12 Dec 2012 | added combination 7 for Eclipse 3.6 based releases |
| 26 Nov 2012 | added combination 2 for Eclipse 3.6 & Java 7 based releases |
| 5 Jul 2011 | added combination 4 for Eclipse 3.6 based releases and 10 for Eclipse 3.4 based support |
| 11 March 2011 | added combination 3 for Eclipse 3.6 based releases |
| 17 December 2010 | added combination 2 for Eclipse 3.6 based releases and combination 9 for Eclipse 3.4 based releases |
| 20 August 2010 | added combination 1 for Eclipse 3.6 based releases |
| 20 April 2010 | added/ update combinations 2,3,4,5 for Eclipse 3.4 based releases |
| 17 December 2009 | Provided more information on the limitations of shell sharing and provided some recommendations |
| 23 February 2009 | Added link to Eclipse support information |
| 12 March 2008 | Initial publication |
Related information
| Segment | Product | Component | Platform | Version | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Development | Rational Asset Manager | General information | Linux, Windows | 7.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.0.2, 7.0.0.3, 7.1, 7.1.0.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.1.1, 7.2, 7.2.0.1, 7.2.0.2, 7.5, 7.5.0.1, 7.5.0.2, 7.5.1 | |
| Software Development | Rational Business Developer Extension | General information | Linux, Windows | 7.0, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.0.4, 7.0.0.5, 7.0.0.6, 7.0.0.7 | |
| Software Development | Rational Functional Tester | Linux, Windows | 7.0, 8.1, 8.1.0.1, 8.1.0.2, 8.1.0.3, 8.1.1 | ||
| Software Development | Rational Manual Tester | Linux, Windows | 6.0, 7.0 | ||
| Software Development | Rational Modeling Extension for Microsoft .NET | Linux, Windows | 7.0, 7.0.0.10, 7.0.0.2, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.0.4, 7.0.0.5, 7.0.0.6, 7.0.0.7, 7.0.0.8, 7.0.0.9, 7.0.5, 7.0.5.1, 7.0.5.2, 7.0.5.3, 7.0.5.4, 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.2, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.5 | ||
| Software Development | Rational Performance Tester | Windows, Linux | 7.0, 8.1, 8.1.1 | ||
| Software Development | Rational Software Architect | Linux, Windows | 8.0, 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.0.3, 8.0.4 | All Editions | |
| Software Development | Rational Software Modeler | Windows, Linux | 6.0, 7.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.0.2, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.5.1, 7.0.5.2, 7.0.5.3, 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.2, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.5 | All Editions | |
| Software Development | Rational Systems Developer | Linux, Windows | 6.0, 7.0 | ||
| Software Development | Rational Web Developer for WebSphere Software | Windows, Linux | 6.0 | ||
| Software Development | WebSphere Studio Application Developer | ||||
| Software Development | WebSphere Studio Site Developer | ||||
| Application Servers | WebSphere Application Server | DWE - Design Studio | |||
| Software Development | Rational ClearCase | ||||
| Software Development | Rational ClearQuest | ||||
| Software Development | Rational Method Composer | ||||
| Software Development | Rational RequisitePro | Not Applicable | |||
| Data & Information Management | Data Studio | Not Applicable | |||
| Data & Information Management | Rational Data Architect | Not Applicable | |||
| Software Development | Rational Team Concert | Not Applicable | |||
| Data & Information Management | IBM InfoSphere Data Architect | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 7.5.1, 7.5.2 | |
| Data & Information Management | IBM Data Studio Developer | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 2.1 | |
| Data & Information Management | IBM Data Studio Administrator for DB2 for Linux- UNIX and Windows | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 2.1.0 | |
| Data & Information Management | InfoSphere Warehouse | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 9.7.0 | |
| Data & Information Management | Optim Development Studio | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 2.2 | |
| Data & Information Management | Optim Database Administrator for DB2 for Linux- UNIX and Windows | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 2.2 | |
| Data & Information Management | Optim Query Tuner for DB2 for Linux- UNIX and Windows | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 2.2 | |
| Software Development | Rational Software Architect for WebSphere Software | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.2, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.5 | All Editions |
| Software Development | Rational Software Architect RealTime Edition | Not Applicable | Linux, Solaris, Windows | 7.5.2, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.5 | All Editions |
| Software Development | Rational Software Architect Standard Edition | Not Applicable | Linux, Windows | 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.2, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.5 | All Editions |
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