Installing Communications Suite in Silent Mode
If you run the installer in Silent mode, you are running a non-interactive session. The installation inputs are taken from a silent installation file (also known as a state file), from command line arguments, or defaults.
You can use silent mode to install multiple instances of the same software component/configuration without having to manually run an interactive installation for each instance.
To run a silent installation, follow these steps:
1. Run an interactive installation session. (See To Begin Installation.) A state file similar to /var/opt/CommsInstaller/logs/silent_CommsInstaller_20070501135358 is automatically created for every run of the installation.
You can create a silent state file without actually installing the software during the interactive session by using the --dry-run option, then modifying the state file. For example:
# commpkg install --acceptLicense --dry-run
2. Copy the state file to each host machine and edit the file as needed. See Silent Mode File Format.
3. Run the silent installation on each host. For example:
# commpkg install --acceptLicense --silent <Input File>
where Input File is the path and name of the silent state file. For example: /var/opt/CommsInstaller/logs/silent_CommsInstaller_20070501135358.
For details about the --silent option, see the silent installation usage in commpkg usage.
| Note Command-line arguments override the values and arguments in the state file. |
| About Upgrading Shared Components By default, shared components are not upgraded when you run a silent installation. The option to upgrade shared components in the silent state file is automatically disabled. That is, the option is set to UPGRADESC=No. This is true even if you explicitly asked to upgrade shared components when you ran the interactive installation that generated the silent state file. That is, you ran commpkg install --upgradeSC y. The reason to disable upgrading shared components in the silent state file is this: the other hosts on which you are propagating the installation might have different shared components installed, or different versions of the shared components. These versions might be required for other applications running on the different hosts. Therefore, it is safer not to upgrade the shared components by default. You can upgrade shared components when you run a silent installation by performing either of the following actions:
|
Silent Mode File Format
The silent mode file (also known as a state file) is formatted like a property file: blank lines begin with a number sign (#) and properties are key/value pairs separated by an equals (=) sign. The following table shows which parameters you can change and provides examples:
Silent Mode File Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| VERB | Indicates which function to perform.
You can add CLI arguments described in commpkg usage, however the —dry-run argument cannot be added to the install function in the state file. |
VERB=install |
| ALTDISTROPATH | Indicates an alternate distro path if —distro is not specified. | ALTDISTROPATH=SunOS5.10_i86pc_DBG.OBJ/release |
| PKGOVERWRITE | Overwrites the existing installation packages. | PKGOVERWRITE=YES |
| INSTALLROOT | Specifies installation root. | INSTALLROOT=/opt/sun/comms |
| ALTROOT | Specifies an alternate root. | ALTROOT=yes |
| EXCLUDEOS | Specifies to not upgrade operating system patches. | EXCLUDEOS=YES |
| COMPONENTS | Lists the components you want to install. | COMPONENTS=MS64 for 64-bit Messaging Server. COMPONENTS=MS64_L10N for localized 64-bit Messaging Server. COMPONENTS=MS for 32-bit Messaging Server. COMPONENTS=MS_L10N for localized 32-bit Messaging Server. COMPONENTS=CS for Calendar Server. |
| ACCEPTLICENSE | Indicates whether or not to accept license. This property must be specified either in the state file or as a command line argument. |
ACCEPTLICENSE=yes. |
| UPGRADESC | Indicates whether all shared components should or should not be upgraded without prompting. | UPGRADESC=no |
To display a complete list of the product names (such as MS, MS64, CS) to use with the COMPONENTS property, run the commpkg info --listPackages command. This command displays the mnemonics for each product.
