Installing as an administrator or nonadministrator

You can install software with IBM® Installation Manager as an administrator or nonadministrator.
This topic includes:

Saving credentials when sharing the same instance of Installation Manager

Important: You must create a keyring that only you can access when saving credentials using the Save Password option for a shared instance of Installation Manager. If you do not specify your own keyring, other users can use your saved credentials. Create a keyring by using the -keyring and -password options with IBMIM.

Multiple users can use the same instance of Installation Manager in administrator mode. Some repositories might require credentials. When you use the Save Password option without specifying a keyring that only you can access, other users can use your credentials to access the repository.

If you do not save your credentials, you are prompted to enter your credentials each time you access the repository.

For more information about using credentials with Installation Manager, see the Installation Manager documentation.

Notes for installing on Windows platforms

Use the -accessRights argument to specify whether to install software in administrator or nonadministrator mode:

  • To install software as an administrator use the -accessRights admin argument and option
  • To install software as a nonadministrator use the -accessRights nonAdmin argument and option.
If you do not use the -accessRights argument in the command, the default value is set based on current user permissions. For example, when Installation Manager is installed with nonadministrator access rights, Installation Manager cannot install packages with administrator access rights. The packages are installed with nonadministrator rights.
On Windows 8, Windows 2012, and Windows 7, SP1, you must run the following commands in admin mode:
  • install.exe
  • installc.exe
  • uninstall.exe
  • uninstallc.exe
You cannot run these commands in nonadministrator mode. To run in nonadministrator mode, you must use these commands: userinst.exe, and userinstc.exe..
Important: In some cases, installing IBM software products on Windows 2012, Windows 2008, Windows 8, and Windows 7 requires the use of the Run as administrator option. For more information, see Running as administrator on Windows in the Installation Manager documentation.

The install.exe and userinst.exe commands install Installation Manager into different directories. Changes that you make to the administrator installation of Installation Manager do not affect the nonadministrator installation of Installation Manager. And changes that you make to the nonadministrator installation of Installation Manager do not affect the administrator installation of Installation Manager. Each instance of Installation Manager must have its own installation directory and agent data location.

Notes for installing on Linux and UNIX platforms

You must have execute permission on Installation Manager directories, package directories and parent directories. If you do not have execute permission, child directories or files cannot be accessed. Without this permission, unexpected behavior or failures can occur when using Installation Manager.

Installation Manager default settings and directory locations

Table 1 lists default settings and directory locations for Installation Manager on Windows, Linux and UNIX platforms.
Table 1. Installation Manager default settings and directory locations
Setting Administrator Nonadministrator
Windows: Display of Installation Manager in Windows menu and Add or Remove Programs Installation Manager Installation Manager
Windows: Microsoft registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\IBM\Installation Manager HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\IBM\Installation Manager
Default installation directory Windows: C:\Program Files\IBM\Installation Manager

Linux and UNIX: /opt/IBM/Installation Manager

IBM i: /QIBM/ProdData/Installation Manager

Windows 2012, Windows 2008, Windows 8, and Windows 7: C:\Users\users\IBM\Installation Manager

Linux and UNIX: /user_home_directory/IBM/Installation Manager
The eclipse\tools directory is a subdirectory of the installation directory. Windows: installation_directory\eclipse\tools

Linux, UNIX: installation_directory/eclipse/tools
Default registry file location Linux and UNIX: /etc/.ibm/registry/InstallationManager.dat Linux and UNIX: /user_home_directory/etc/.ibm/registry/InstallationManager.dat
Default agent data location

For more information about the agent data location, see Agent data location.

Important: Do not change the content, files, or directories in the Agent data location directory or subdirectories. Changes to these contents can prevent Installation Manager from working.

Windows 2012, Windows 2008, Windows 8, and Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\IBM\Installation Manager

Linux and UNIX: /var/ibm/Installation Manager

Windows 2012, Windows 2008, Windows 8, and Windows 7: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\IBM\Installation Manager

Linux and UNIX: /user_home_directory/var/ibm/Installation Manager
The Eclipse log is located in a subdirectory of the agent data directory. Windows: agent_data_directory\pluginState\.metadata\.log

Linux, UNIX: /agent_data_directory/pluginState/.metadata/.log
The uninstall directory is a subdirectory of the agent data directory. Windows: agent_data_directory\uninstall

Linux, UNIX: /agent_data_directory/uninstall

Install commands

Only one administrator instance of Installation Manager can be installed. For nonadminstrators, install only one instance of Installation Manager for each user.

Table 2. Commands for installing Installation Manager in administrator or nonadministrator modes
Installation Manager installation goal Windows commands Linux and UNIX commands
An administrator installs Installation Manager for all users. install.exe

or

installc.exe to install silently		 #install

or

#installc to install silently
A nonadministrator installs Installation Manager for all users.

Windows 2012, Windows 2008, Windows 8, and Windows 7:

install.exe

or

installc.exe to install silently
Note: You are prompted to enter an administrator user ID and password.
 $sudo install

or

$sudo installc to install silently
An administrator installs Installation Manager only for the current user. userinst.exe

or

userinstc.exe to install silently

 #userinst

or

#userinstc to install silently
A nonadministrator installs Installation Manager only for the current user. userinst.exe

or

userinstc.exe to install silently		 $userinst

or

$userinstc to install silently
Important: Windows does not support using the install.exe or userinst.exe commands for silent installation. Use either the installc.exe or userinstc.exe command for silent installation.

Uninstall commands

Table 3. Uninstalling Installation Manager in administrator or nonadministrator mode
Goal for uninstalling Installation Manager Windows commands Linux and UNIX commands
An administrator uninstalls Installation Manager for all users. uninstall.exe

or

uninstallc.exe to uninstall silently		 #uninstall

or

#uninstallc to uninstall silently
A nonadministrator uninstalls Installation Manager for all users.

Windows 2012, Windows 2008, and Windows 7:

uninstall.exe

or

uninstallc.exe to uninstall silently
Note: You are prompted to enter an administrator user ID and password.
 $sudo uninstall

or

$sudo uninstallc to uninstall silently
An administrator uninstalls Installation Manager for only the current user. userinst.exe

or

userinstc.exe to uninstall silently		 #uninstall

or

#uninstallc to uninstall silently
A nonadministrator uninstalls Installation Manager for only the current user. userinst.exe

or

userinstc.exe to uninstall silently		 $uninstall

or

$uninstallc to uninstall silently

For information about silent installation command arguments, see Installation Manager command-line arguments.

Parent topic: Installation Manager