Can I install additional software on an IBM Smart Analytics System (formerly known as BCU) or IBM PureData System for Operational Analytics?

With this in mind, IBM does allow installation of additional or third party tools on the IBM Smart Analytics System as long they do not negatively impact performance or maintainability. If you choose to install additional or third party tools, you are wholly responsible for installation, maintenance, and PDPSI (Problem Determination Problem Source Identification) of the additional software. Also, the IBM Smart Analytics System Support team cannot provide any kind of configuration steps for the installation of additional software as the team has neither been exposed to nor tested products that are not listed on the IBM Smart Analytics System stack pages.

When considering the installation of a third party product, do the following:

• Read all documentation for the third party product.
• Schedule planning sessions to determine how and where the new product is to be installed and configured and maintained.
• Implement a phased roll-out strategy that tests the deployment on a development cluster. The strategy should include test criteria that must be passed prior to installing in QA and production environments.
• Be sure to keep scale in mind during planning, testing, and deployment, since production environments are typically larger than development and test environments.
• Test the system stability after installation. Any software installation can lead to unexpected results. Thorough testing will assist you to identify any impacts to your standard operations.

Software version conflicts

For example:

• Software version prerequisite and co-requisite conflicts (x depends on y, but y is not installed)
• Software version conflicts (x does not work with y, and y is installed)

You need to ensure that each product utilizes a unique port number by verifying that any new products do not attempt to use existing port assignments. Use lsof -i to determine what ports are currently in use on the servers. When configuring the new software, ensure that you use unique port numbers to avoid conflicts.

Configuration changes during installation

Some products at install time may modify existing configurations and settings with or without asking or notifying you.

Impact on high availability (HA) configurations

It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the third party software is compatible with the HA environment setup and does not in itself impact the HA environment.

Performance impacts

Some software, such as software that installs modules or that modifies existing system calls, can negatively impact performance. Examples include anti-virus software, firewalls, auditing tools, and low level security packages.

Some software may consume resources such as CPU, memory, and I/O capacity that are already allocated for specific services provided by the cluster.

Impact on system behavior

Installation of third party software can modify the expected behavior of the system.

Implications for console maintained systems

Additional products may negatively impact environments which utilize the IBM Smart Analytics System Control Console for system updates.

If you introduce unknown software, you should be aware that:

• The console will not detect or manage the additional software or third party utilities.
• The console will not stop or start the additional products.
• Additional software may affect the ability of the console to apply a fix pack.
• Any updates that the console performs might change or even break the additional products.

Any additional or third party tool which is not part of the recommended IBM Smart Analytics System or IBM PureData System for Operational Analytics stack may negatively impact the cluster. IBM cannot predict what impact other products might have on the current IBM Smart Analytics Systems environment.

If there is an issue with an unknown software component or an untested combination of software, IBM may request that you un-install the product or, in an extreme case, might deny you solution support. If the combination of software and hardware is outside the components listed on a stack page, the solution support teams will not be able to provide recommendations on configuration or problem determination. For all components that are not listed on the appropriate stack page, the IBM Smart Analytics System Support team will instruct you to engage the appropriate support team for any assistance you require.

IBM Smart Analytics System stack pages are available at the following link: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21429594

IBM PureData System for Operational Analytics stack pages are available at the following link: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/puredata-system-operational-analytics-validated-stack-pages

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