Installing, updating, rolling back, and uninstalling the Application Client for IBM WebSphere Application Server

IBM® Installation Manager is a common installer for many IBM software products that you use to install, update, roll back, and uninstall the Application Client for IBM WebSphere Application Server.

Before you begin

Before you start to use the installation tools, prepare for choosing and installing the variety of options and features provided by the Application Client. Read through all the steps in this article and read the related articles before installing the Application Client:

It is recommended that you have 350 MB of temporary disk space available before starting the installation.

Note: In version 8.5.5.11 and higher, the Application Client is available only in 64 bit configuration. You can continue to use the 32 bit version of the Application Client using Java SE 6 on versions lower than 8.5.5.11, but no service can be provided after the end of support in April 2018, which could expose your environment to security risks.

Restrictions:

Application Client for WebSphere® Application Server ships only with the 32-bit WebSphere Application Server.
Installation Manager console mode, which is included in Installation Manager Version 1.4.3 and later, does not work with WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 offerings on systems other than z/OS.

Tip: Although almost all of the instructions in this section of the documentation will work with earlier versions of IBM Installation Manager, the information here is optimized for users who have installed or upgraded to Installation Manager Version 1.5 or later.

About this task

The Application Client provides resources and clients to aid development of client applications for use with WebSphere Application Server. The Application Client is a source for the clients (as runtime frameworks) for client applications, either to run on the Application Client machine or to be distributed with client applications that are to run on other machines.

To assemble some types of client applications, you need to install the client that provides the framework for the client application. Instead of installing WebSphere Application Server, you can install the Application Client feature, which provides the same resources and clients to aid development of client applications.

Similarly, running some types of client applications for use with WebSphere Application Server requires that the associated client is deployed with the client application. For client applications that only need a small fraction of the Application Client, you can install the Application Client onto a convenient machine, such as the machine used to develop the client application, then package the client application with only the clients that it needs. For example, this means that a standalone client application is deployed on only the required fraction of the clients provided with the Application Client.

Note: For information on installing and removing fix packs for WebSphere Application Server offerings on distributed operating systems using the Installation Manager command line, read the following topics in this documentation:

Installing fix packs on distributed operating systems using the command line
Uninstalling fix packs from distributed operating systems using the command line

Procedure

Results

Notes on logging and tracing:

An easy way to view the logs is to open Installation Manager and go to File > View Log. An individual log file can be opened by selecting it in the table and then clicking the Open log file icon.

Logs are located in the logs directory of Installation Manager's application data location. For example:

Administrative installation:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\Installation Manager\logs

Non-administrative installation:

C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\IBM\Installation Manager\logs

Administrative installation:
```
/var/ibm/InstallationManager/logs
```

Non-administrative installation:

user_home/var/ibm/InstallationManager/logs

The main log files are time-stamped XML files in the logs directory, and they can be viewed using any standard web browser.
The log.properties file in the logs directory specifies the level of logging or tracing that Installation Manager uses. To turn on tracing, for example, create a log.properties file with the following content:
```
com.ibm.ws=DEBUG
com.ibm.cic.agent.core.Engine=DEBUG
global=DEBUG
```
Restart Installation Manager as necessary, and Installation Manager outputs traces.

Notes on troubleshooting:

By default, some HP-UX systems are configured to not use DNS to resolve host names. This could result in Installation Manager not being able to connect to an external repository.
You can ping the repository, but nslookup does not return anything.

Work with your system administrator to configure your machine to use DNS, or use the IP address of the repository.
In some cases, you might need to bypass existing checking mechanisms in Installation Manager.
- On some network file systems, disk space might not be reported correctly at times; and you might need to bypass disk-space checking and proceed with your installation.
  To disable disk-space checking, specify the following system property in the config.ini file in IM_install_root/eclipse/configuration and restart Installation Manager:
```
cic.override.disk.space=sizeunit  
```
  where size is a positive integer and unit is blank for bytes, k for kilo, m for megabytes, or g for gigabytes. For example:
```
cic.override.disk.space=120 (120 bytes)
cic.override.disk.space=130k (130 kilobytes)
cic.override.disk.space=140m (140 megabytes)
cic.override.disk.space=150g (150 gigabytes)
cic.override.disk.space=true
```
  Installation Manager will report a disk-space size of Long.MAX_VALUE. Instead of displaying a very large amount of available disk space, N/A is displayed.
- To bypass operating-system prerequisite checking, add disableOSPrereqChecking=true to the config.ini file in IM_install_root/eclipse/configuration and restart Installation Manager.
If you need to use any of these bypass methods, contact IBM Support for assistance in developing a solution that does not involve bypassing the Installation Manager checking mechanisms.
For more information on using Installation Manager, read the IBM Installation Manager documentation.
Read the release notes to learn more about the latest version of Installation Manager. To access the release notes, complete the following task:
- Click Start > Programs > IBM Installation Manager > Release Notes.
- Go to the documentation subdirectory in the directory where Installation Manager is installed, and open the readme.html file.