Question
How and when to export/backup your IBM Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server Installation Data on the IBM i?
This document applies to the IBM WebSphere Application Server v8.5.x and v9.0.x Traditional products on the IBM i OS.
Answer
It is critical to backup your IBM Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server data on the IBM i before and after any new installations performed by the Installation Manager, which include product and fix packages. Exporting your Installation Manager’s and WebSphere Application Server’s installation and profile data before and after an installation process protects your Installation Manager’s and WebSphere Application Server’s installation data and ensures you always have a good backup in case the installation data becomes corrupted or is unusable. It is also recommended a full system save be performed weekly (at a minimum) to protect your entire IM and WebSphere Application Server environments.
The Installation Manager’s and/or WebSphere Application Server’s installation data can become corrupted if an Installation Manager installation process ends unexpectedly preventing the Installation Manager rollback process from completing successfully. If this occurs, the installation package related to the installation process that failed will become unusable and any further installation or update attempts will fail.
For example, your 5250 green screen session is accidentally closed or Internet connectivity is lost when you are in the middle of an IBM WebSphere Application Server interactive fix pack install. This will cause your device session to end and the fix pack install process to end suddenly preventing the Installation Manager rollback process from completing. As a result, the installation data for the IBM WebSphere Application Server product package you were attempting to update is now corrupted and unusable. You would need to restore the Installation Manager’s and WebSphere Application Server’s installation data to a state before the original fix pack installation attempt failed in order to resolve the issue. If this is not possible, you might have to reinstall the entire product package (WebSphere Application Server). Hence, why it is so important to perform a backup of the installation data before and after any installation event.
If the Installation Manager’s and WebSphere Application Server’s installation data was saved/backed up/exported prior to it becoming corrupted, it can be restored from the save file/tape/export file to allow the Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server to function properly again. Please refer to the “How To Restore Your IBM Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server Installation Data on the IBM i?” IBM Software Technical Document for more information on the Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server installation data restore process.
The following steps save the Installation Manager’s and WebSphere Application Server’s installation and profile data to save files. The Installation Manager’s installation data paths being saved are /QIBM/InstallationManager, /QIBM/ProdData/InstallationManager, and /QIBM/UserData/InstallationManager and their directory subtrees. The WebSphere Application Server’s installation and profile data paths and libraries being saved is based on your installation’s custom configuration.
Steps to save and backup your IBM Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server installation and profile data:
NOTE: Make sure the QWASx subsystem is ended prior to beginning the save process.
1) Identify your WebSphere Application Server installation path and library.
STRQSH
/QIBM/WAS/bin/queryWASinstalls
The output of the command should look something like this:
—————————————————————————-
Websphere Edition: EXPRESS
Version: 8.5.5.12
Installation Location: /QIBM/ProdData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express
Installation Library: QWAS85A
Default Profile Location: /QIBM/UserData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express
—————————————————————————-
In the example above, the installation location is defined as “/QIBM/ProdData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express”. This would be the directory you would use in place of the <INSTALL_LOCATION> variable.
<INSTALL_LOCATION> = Installation Location
In the example above, the installation library is defined as “QWAS85A”. This would be the library you would use in place of the <INSTALL_LIBRARY> variable.
<INSTALL_LIBRARY> = Installation Library
i.e. QWAS85A
<PROD_LIBRARY> = The Installation Library minus the letter.
i.e. QWAS85
In the example above, the default profile location is defined as “/QIBM/UserData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express”. This would be the directory you would use in place of the <PROFILE_DATA> variable.
<PROFILE_DATA> = Default Profile Location
i.e. /QIBM/UserData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express
2) Create OR clear the save files to store your installation data.
CRTSAVF QGPL/WASIFSDTA
CRTSAVF QGPL/WASINSTLIB
CRTSAVF QGPL/WASPRDLIB
CRTSAVF QGPL/IM
If the above save files already exist, you can clear them first before saving the data.
CLRSAVF QGPL/WASIFSDTA
CLRSAVF QGPL/WASINSTLIB
CLRSAVF QGPL/WASPRDLIB
CLRSAVF QGPL/IM
3)Save the Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server installation data and private authorities to save files.
SAV DEV(‘/QSYS.LIB/QGPL.LIB/WASIFSDTA.FILE’) OBJ((‘<INSTALL_LOCATION>’) (‘<PROFILE_DATA>’)) PVTAUT(*YES)
i.e.
SAV DEV(‘/QSYS.LIB/QGPL.LIB/WASIFSDTA.FILE’) OBJ((‘/QIBM/ProdData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express’) (‘/QIBM/UserData/WebSphere/AppServer/V85/Express’)) PVTAUT(*YES)
SAVLIB LIB(<INSTALL_LIBRARY>) DEV(*SAVF) SAVF(QGPL/WASINSTLIB) PVTAUT(*YES)
i.e.
SAVLIB LIB(QWAS85A) DEV(*SAVF) SAVF(QGPL/WASINSTLIB) PVTAUT(*YES)
SAVLIB LIB(<PROD_LIBRARY>) DEV(*SAVF) SAVF(QGPL/WASPRDLIB) PVTAUT(*YES)
i.e.
SAVLIB LIB(QWAS85) DEV(*SAVF) SAVF(QGPL/WASPRDLIB) PVTAUT(*YES)
SAV DEV(‘/QSYS.LIB/QGPL.LIB/IM.FILE’) OBJ((‘/QIBM/UserData/InstallationManager’) (‘/QIBM/ProdData/InstallationManager’)(‘/QIBM/InstallationManager’)(‘/QIBM/UserData/IMShared’)) PVTAUT(*YES)
NOTE: Repeat steps 1-3 after the fix pack installation completes successfully to save/backup your updated Installation Manager and WebSphere Application Server installation data.
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