Installing IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server Beta 3

Prerequisites
Installation
First Steps
Migrating case data from earlier releases

Prerequisites

IBM Installation Manager v1.5.2 or later is required and must be configured with the IBM Support Assistant repository.

Acquiring IBM Installation Manager
If you do not have the required IBM Installation Manager version, then a copy which is pre-configured with the IBM Support Assistant repository can be downloaded with the button below.

For installation directions for IBM Installation Manager, see the Information Center

*Note: When installing Installation Manager on Linux systems, IBM recommends that users read the Technote on dependancies for 32-bit versions of OS system libraries, etc.

**Note:There are two methods for installing Installation Manager ( as administrator or non-administrator). IBM recommends installing IBM Installation Manager as non-administrator for the purposes of installing IBM Support Assistant.

Installation

Steps outlined here apply to users who do not have IBM Installation Manager installed or wish to have IBM Installation Manager automatically update the repository for installing IBM Support Assistant.

1. Download the IBM Support Assistant package, if you have not already done so.
2. Extract the Installation Manager package for IBM Support Assistant.
3. Start the installation for IBM Installation Manager (IBM recommends installing in nonadministrator mode. Note that if you install in administrator mode, then ISA must always be started with the same administrator credentials)
4. Provide your IBM ID and password and click OK
5. All packages are selected by default for IBM Support Assistant Beta 3- Version 5.0.0.0 installation and the IBM Support Assistant Tool offerings. De-select any offering you wish to not install and click Next.
6. Read and accept license terms and click Next.
7. You will then be prompted to answer survey questions, then click Next.
8. Accept the default path for the shared resource directory or change the shared resource path if desired, then click Next.
9. Accept default install path or change the installation path if desired, then click Next.
10. Select the optional EAR Deployment' sub-feature option if you would like to install IBM Support Assistant into an existing WebSphere Application Server (you may need to expand the IBM Support Assistant Beta 3 offering to see the sub-feature). See Technote for more details. Click Next.
11. Verify that you have enough physical disk space for installation and click Next.
12. Select Install.
13. After installation completes, click Finish and close IBM Installation Manager.

Steps outlined here, apply to users who have IBM Installation Manager installed and do not wish to download the pre-configured IBM Installation Manager for IBM Support Assistant. The repository must be updated manually in this case.

1. Start IBM Installation Manager.
2. Select 'Preferences...' from the File menu, then select the Repositories section.
3. Select the 'Add Repository...' button
4. Enter the URL:' https://www.ibm.com/software/repositorymanager/com.ibm.isa.offerings.v5 ' and select OK to save.
5. Provide your IBM ID and password and click OK
6. Click OK to close the preferences.
7. Select Install from the IBM Installation Manager panel.
8. Select the IBM Support Assistant Beta 3- Version 5.0.0.0 installation option and any IBM Support Assistant Tool offerings you would like to install and click Next.
9. Read and accept license terms and click Next.
10. You will then be prompted to answer survey questions, then click Next.
11. Accept the default path for the shared resource directory or change the shared resource path if desired, then click Next.
12. Accept default install path or change the installation path if desired, then click Next.
13. Select the optional EAR Deployment' sub-feature option if you would like to install IBM Support Assistant into an existing WebSphere Application Server (you may need to expand the IBM Support Assistant Beta 3 offering to see the sub-feature). See Technote for more details. Click Next.
14. Verify that you have enough physical disk space for installation and click Next.
15. Select Install.
16. After installation completes, click Finish and close IBM Installation Manager.

First steps

Once IBM Support Assistant is installed, you are ready to start the application. Directions for starting and stopping IBM Support Assistant, along with other helpful information can be found in the ReleaseNotes.txt file at the root of the installation directory or click here to view the on-line version.

Migrating case data from earlier releases

Users who have previously installed IBM Support Assistant 5.0 TechPreview, Beta 1 or Beta 2 may wish to copy their existing cases to the <install_location>/ISA5/isa/cases folder.

*Note that if you copy over all the cases you will overwrite the example case '0000' provided in Beta 3 for education and training purposes. If the example case is deleted, overwritten or modified and you would like to restore it, you can simply unzip the 0000_example_case.zip file found in the <ISA_install>/ISA5/isa/cases directory. You may need to refresh your browser to pick up the 0000 example case from the file system.

System Requirements

Operating System	Software	Hardware
Linux	Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Version 5 Server with Update 6 (x86-64) Package dependencies: X11 is required to generate images by some problem determination tools. *	Disk: Minimal 850MB (additional space may be required for optional tool add-ons, logs, case artifacts and optional EAR file for enterprise deployments) ** Memory: Minimum 512MB physical memory (1GB or more recommended, depending on artifacts analyzed by diagnostic tools) ***
Windows	Windows 2008 Server with SP2 Windows 2008 Server x64 with SP2 Windows 7 with SP1 (x86-32 and x86-64)	Disk: Minimal 850MB (additional space may be required for optional tool add-ons, logs, case artifacts and optional EAR file for enterprise deployments) ** Memory: Minimum 512MB physical memory (1GB or more recommended, depending on artifacts analyzed by diagnostic tools) ***

* In a headless configuration, an X11 virtual frame buffer can be used. The relevant RedHat RPM is xorg-x11-server-Xvfb (see the ReleaseNotes.txt file in the IBM Support Assistant 5 install directory for more information)

** Diagnostic files added to IBM Support Assistant 5 will require additional disk space. This may be significant if large files (such as dump files) will be managed by IBM Support Assistant and should be considered during initial planning

*** Analysis of large files (such as dump files) can require a significant amount of memory depending on the size of the file

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