More on WebSphere Application Server 8.5 - Getting to grips with IBM Packaging Utility

Hot on my earlier post - Silently installing WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment 8.5 - no GUIs here - this article explores how the IBM Packaging Utility can be installed and used on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The IBM Packaging Utility is a publicly available packaging tool that combines the repositories of different IBM software packages into a common central repository. You can use the utility to move software packages between repositories or delete software packages from central repositories. The utility is often used to copy software package repositories from various sources (for example, CDs, DVDs, Internet, and so on) onto internal servers. In addition, you can also copy the latest fix packs and fixes of software packages onto the internal servers so not everyone in the enterprise needs to download it. By pointing the IBM Installation Manager to the internal servers, you can perform the installation of software from a common source.

Source: Using the IBM Packaging Utility to create a common central repository for WebSphere Commerce assets

So I downloaded the Packaging Utility, following the following link: -

Installation Manager and Packaging Utility download links

which took me here: -

Packaging Utility, Version 1.6

and chose the x86-64 Linux version: -

pu.offering.disk.linux.x86_64

This came down as a ~600 MB file: -

-rw-r--r--@  1 david_hay  staff   593M  4 Oct 12:27 pu.offering.disk.linux.x86_64_1.6.0.20120831_1308.zip

Unpack the Packaging Utility

$ cd /tmp

$ unzip ~/pu.offering.disk.linux.x86_64_1.6.0.20120831_1308.zip 

PU uses IBM Installation Manager (IIM), which I'd previously installed ( see aforementioned post ) so I didn't need to re-install IIM.

Record the Response File

$ /opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse/IBMIM -record ~/install_PU6.rsp -skipInstall /tmp

which results in: -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--The "acceptLicense" attribute has been deprecated. Use "-acceptLicense" command line option to accept license agreements.-->
<agent-input acceptLicense='true'>
<server>
<repository location='/tmp/disk_linux.x86_64'/>
</server>
<profile id='IBM Packaging Utility' installLocation='/opt/IBM/PackagingUtility'>
<data key='eclipseLocation' value='/opt/IBM/PackagingUtility'/>
<data key='user.import.profile' value='false'/>
<data key='cic.selector.os' value='linux'/>
<data key='cic.selector.arch' value='x86_64'/>
<data key='cic.selector.ws' value='gtk'/>
<data key='cic.selector.nl' value='en'/>
</profile>
<install modify='false'>
<offering id='com.ibm.cic.packagingUtility' version='1.6.0.20120831_1308' profile='IBM Packaging Utility' features='packaging_utility,jre' installFixes='none'/>
</install>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.eclipseCache' value='/opt/IBM/IMShared'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.connectTimeout' value='30'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.readTimeout' value='45'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.downloadAutoRetryCount' value='0'/>
<preference name='offering.service.repositories.areUsed' value='true'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.ssl.nonsecureMode' value='false'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.http.disablePreemptiveAuthentication' value='false'/>
<preference name='http.ntlm.auth.kind' value='NTLM'/>
<preference name='http.ntlm.auth.enableIntegrated.win32' value='true'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.preserveDownloadedArtifacts' value='true'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.keepFetchedFiles' value='false'/>
<preference name='PassportAdvantageIsEnabled' value='false'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.core.preferences.searchForUpdates' value='false'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.agent.ui.displayInternalVersion' value='false'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.sharedUI.showErrorLog' value='true'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.sharedUI.showWarningLog' value='true'/>
<preference name='com.ibm.cic.common.sharedUI.showNoteLog' value='true'/>
</agent-input>

and then install the Packaging Utility: -

$ /opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse/IBMIM -input ~/install_PU6.rsp -log ~/install_PU6.log -silent -nosplash -acceptLicense

Installed com.ibm.cic.packagingUtility_1.6.0.20120831_1308 to the /opt/IBM/PackagingUtility directory.

( taking 11 seconds on my Mac, thanks to the SSD !! ).

Now to get to grips with the PU .....

Thankfully, the IBM Education Assistant has a good section on the PU here: -

Managing repositories with the IBM packaging utility

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