Chapter 5 Installing in Silent Mode

Silent installation is a non-interactive method used for installing Sun Java^TM Enterprise System (Java ES) on multiple hosts that share similar configurations. This chapter provides instructions for using silent mode to install the Java ES software.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Prerequisites

• How Silent Installation Works

• Creating a State File

• Creating a Platform-Appropriate State File ID

• Running the Installer in Silent Mode

• Next Steps

Prerequisites

Before beginning the procedure in this chapter, you should have developed an installation sequence, surveyed your system for incompatibilities, and fulfilled any necessary prerequisites. Refer to Installation Prerequisites for more specific information.

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Note –

You must use Access Manager Legacy (6.x) installation type if you are installing Access Manager with Portal Server, Messaging Server, Calendar Server, Delegated Administrator, or Instant Messaging. Access Manager Realm (7.x) installation type can only be used if you are not installing any of these components.

• For graphical Configure Now: On the Access Manager: Administration (1 of 6) page, select Legacy (version 6.x style). On the Access Manager: Web Container for running Access Manager (4 of 6) page. set the Console Deployment URI to amconsole (the default value).

• For Configure Later: As root, run the amconfig script to configure Access Manager after installation. To select the Legacy (6.x) installation type, set the following parameters in your configuration script input file (amsamplesilent file):

  • AM_REALM=disabled

  • CONSOLE_DEPLOY_URI=/amconsole

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How Silent Installation Works

To run a silent installation, you first run a false installation session to create a state file that the actual silent installation process will access. During this false, interactive session, your responses to the installer are captured as a set of name-value pairs in a state file. No software is installed. (Each name-value pair represents a single prompt or field in the installation process.) Using the state file as input, you can then run the installer on many hosts. This process allows you to propagate one configuration across multiple hosts in your enterprise.

The main events in a silent installation are as follows:

1. Verify that your hosts meet the installation prerequisites as stated in Installation Prerequisites.

2. Create a state file by running the installer.

3. Make a copy of the state file and edit it for each host where you will do a silent installation.

4. Run the silent installation on each host.

Creating a State File

To create a state file, you must run the installer. A state file generated by the installer takes advantage of the installer’s real-time dependency checking and error reporting.

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Caution –

Do not create a state file manually. This method can cause problems at installation time, configuration time, or server startup time.

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Generating a State File

A state file is created by running the installer without installing the software. As you proceed through the pages of the installer, your answers are captured and a state file is generated. When you complete the installation, the state file is available in the location that you specified. You can generate the state file by running either the graphical interface installer or the text-based interface installer. The -no option is used so no software is installed.

To create a state file using the graphical interface:

./installer -no -saveState statefile_path

To create a state file using the text-based interface:

./installer -no -nodisplay -saveState statefile_path

Full syntax for the installer command can be found in Appendix B, Installation Commands. Refer to Appendix B, Installation Commands to see an example of a generated state file.

Editing the State File

After you have generated a state file, you must edit it to ensure that the local parameters are set correctly for the various destinations hosts. These parameters include host name, domain name, IP address, and other such settings. You might also need to change the state file key, if you plan to do an installation on a platform that is different from the one on which you created the state file.

This section addresses the following:

• State File Editing Guidelines

• Editing Local Parameters

• Creating a Platform-Appropriate State File ID

State File Editing Guidelines

When editing the state file, follow the guidelines in this section.

• Do not modify parameters, except to edit their values.

  • Do not remove a parameter, even if it does not have a value.

  • Do not add a parameter.

  • Do not change the order in which parameters appear.

• Notice original types and formats and maintain them as you enter new values. For example:

  • If the old value is a host name, enter a host name and not a fully qualified domain name.

  • If the old value starts with a leading slash, make sure that the new value starts with a leading slash.

• Replace any value that you delete. If the parameter is required, installation or configuration could fail if the parameter has been deleted.

• Retain the case of the original value.

Editing Local Parameters

The following table lists parameters that you might need to edit, depending on the components you wish to install. The parameters you must edit also depend on your host setup. For example, the host on which you generated the state file might be in the same domain as the host on which you are installing.

Table 5–1 State File Parameters to Edit

Component	Parameter Name
Common Server Settings	CMN_HOST_NAME CMN_DOMAIN_NAME CMN_IPADDRESS CMN_ADMIN_USER CMN_ADMIN_PASSWORD CMN_SYSTEM_USER CMN_SYSTEM_GROUP
Access Manager	IS_WS_HOST_NAME IS_WS_INSTANCE_DIR (if Web Server is the web container) CONSOLE_HOST IS_SERVER_HOST IS_DS_HOST IS_DS_HOSTNAME COOKIE_DOMAIN_LIST
Administration Server	ADMINSERV_DOMAIN ADMINSERV_CONFIG_DIR_HOST
Application Server	ASNA_ADMIN_HOST_NAME ASNA_ADMIN_HOST_NAME AS_WEB_SERVER_LOCATION
Directory Server	DS_SERVER_IDENTIFIER DS_ADM_DOMAIN CONFIG_DIR_HOST (if USE_EXISTING_CONFIG_DIR is set to 1) USER_DIR_HOST (if USE_EXISTING_USER_DIR is set to 1)
Portal Server	PS_LOAD_BALANCER_URL (format //hostname.domainname:port+deploy_uri) PS_DEPLOY_INSTANCE
Portal Server Secure Remote Access	SRA_SERVER_DOMAIN SRA_SERVER_HOST SRA_GW_HOSTNAME SRA_GW_DOMAIN SRA_GW_IPADDRESS SRA_NLP_HOSTNAME SRA_NLP_DOMAIN SRA_NLP_IPADDRESS SRA_RWP_HOSTNAME SRA_RWP_DOMAIN SRA_RWP_IPADDRESS
Web Server	WS_ADMIN_HOST
Web Proxy Server	WPS_PROXY_DOMAIN

For a description of each parameter, refer to the tables in Chapter 1, Configuration Information, in Sun Java Enterprise System 2005Q4 Installation Reference.

Creating a Platform-Appropriate State File ID

A state file can only be run on a host of the same platform type as the host where the state file was generated unless you edit the state file ID manually. There is a different type of state file ID for various Java ES platforms.

There are two way to create to a state file to run ion a platform other than the one on which it was created:

• Using the Installer

• Using Platform-Specific Distribution Files

To Generate a State File ID Using the Installer

This procedure generates a state file ID by running the installer on the platform on which you want to perform silent installation.

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Note –

The following command works only if you are generating an ID for the same platform on which you are running the command.

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Steps

1. If you are not logged in as root, become superuser.

2. Navigate to the directory where the installer is located:

   cd installer-directory

3. Run the installer with the -id option.

   ./installer -id

   The command generates an encrypted identifier.

4. Copy the identifier and paste the value into the state file, as the value for the STATE_BEGIN and STATE_DONE parameters.

   The following is an example of the state file identifier within a state file:

   [STATE_BEGIN Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System \ f31c7e86a64605bc5b9b629931a30b275a0eb447] . . . [STATE_DONE Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System \ f31c7e86a64605bc5b9b629931a30b275a0eb447]

To Generate a State File ID Using Platform-Specific Distribution Files

This procedure generates a state file ID by using the Java ES distribution files for a specific platform. The Java ES distribution DVD contains all platform-specific distributions. This procedure also works if you download a single platform-specific distribution.

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Note –

The procedure works even if you are generating an ID for a platform different from the one on which you are running the command.

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Steps

1. In the platform/.install directory, run this command:

   java -classpath . -D"wizard.idInfo" class

   where platform and class are listed in the following table:

   Platform	platform Variable	class Variable
   Solaris 8 SPARC	Solaris_sparc	EntsysInstall_SunOS_sparc_8
   Solaris 9 SPARC	Solaris_sparc	EntsysInstall_SunOS_sparc_9
   Solaris 10 SPARC	Solaris_sparc	EntsysInstall_SunOS_sparc_10
   Solaris 9 x86	Solaris_x86	EntsysInstall_SunOS_x86_9
   Solaris 10 x86	Solaris_x86	EntsysInstall_SunOS_x86_10
   Linux x86	Linux_x86	EntsysInstall_Linux_x86_generic

   The command generates an encrypted identifier.

2. Copy the identifier and paste the value into the state file, as the value for the STATE_BEGIN and STATE_DONE parameters.

   The following is an example of the state file identifier within a state file:

   [STATE_BEGIN Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System \ f31c7e86a64605bc5b9b629931a30b275a0eb447] . . . [STATE_DONE Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System \ f31c7e86a64605bc5b9b629931a30b275a0eb447]

Running the Installer in Silent Mode

Run the installer on a host that has the same operating system as the host on which you generated the state file. If you cannot do this, refer to Creating a Platform-Appropriate State File ID.

If you have problems during installation, refer to Chapter 9, Troubleshooting.

To Run the Installer in Silent Mode

Steps

1. Open a terminal window on the host where you want to install the Java ES components.

2. If you are not logged in as root, become superuser.

3. Navigate to the directory where the installation program is located.

   cd installer-directory

4. Start the installer with the following options:

   ./installer -nodisplay -noconsole -state statefile

   where

   -nodisplay	Suppress the graphical display.
   -noconsole	Start the installer in silent mode, suppressing the user interface.
   -state	Use the specified state file as input to a silent installation.
   statefile	Specify an absolute or relative pathname to a state file.

   Silent installation can be lengthy, depending on the number and type of components that you are installing. While the installer is running, you can monitor its progress by examining changes to the installation log.

To Monitor the Progress of a Silent Installation

Steps

1. In a terminal window, change to the log file directory:

   On Solaris OS:cd /var/sadm/install/logs

   On Linux: cd /var/opt/sun/install/logs

2. Locate the log files for the current installation.

   The shared components are installed first and the components products follow.

   The timestamp variable represents the time the log was created. The variable has the format MMddhhmm, where:

   MM	Specifies the month
   dd	Specifies the date
   hh	Specifies the hour
   mm	Specifies the minute

3. Use the tail command to watch messages as they are written to the logs. Use this format:

   tail -f logfile-name

   To exit the tail program, press Ctrl+C.

Next Steps

After you have completed the installer portion of your Java ES installation, proceed as follows:

• Verifying After Installation provides instructions for verifying that this phase of installation was successful.

• Chapter 6, Configuring Components After Installation provides final instructions on postinstallation configuration. Although you might have done extensive configuration during your installation, most components require some additional configuration.