The Rational Site
Preparation Tool allows you to specify configuration settings for Rational products.
Quick reference
Before using the Site Preparation
Tool, use this reference to quickly locate information about
the task you want to perform:
About site preparation, release areas and site
defaults files
The Site Preparation Tool allows an administrator
to easily preconfigure a product for large numbers of end users by defining
sets of configuration parameters known as site defaults. Doing so prevents
end users from entering long lists of configuration parameters. Administrators
can customize sets of site defaults for specific end-user groups, saving time
and future redundant data entry for themselves as well.
A release area
is a central location on your network, accessible by all hosts, from which
software is installed. Release areas contain sets of site default files defined
by the administrator with the Site Preparation Tool. Most administrators typically
create their first release area while running the Site Preparation Tool.
After
defining a set of site defaults with the tool, the administrator saves the
site defaults file with a meaningful name and description, to use later. This
is very important, as this information will be displayed in the Site Preparation
Tool and in the release area as a shortcut that you can double-click to initiate
installations.
You run the Site Preparation Tool either during installation,
or in stand-alone mode by running the Site Preparation Tool (siteprep.exe)
from the release area.
How to run the Site Preparation Tool
There
are two methods for running the Site Preparation Tool:
- Automatically: The tool starts when you run the Rational Setup
wizard (setup.exe).
- Manually: You can start the tool by navigating to your release area and
running siteprep.exe.
When the tool is started by running setup.exe,
you are presented with a list of site preparation screens for the product
that you are installing. For more information, see Using the Setup wizard to create a release area and site defaults file.
When
you manually start the tool, you must choose whether to modify an existing
site definition file, or create a new one. For more information, see Running the Site Preparation Tool in stand-alone mode.
Using the Setup wizard to create a release
area and site defaults file
This section explains how you can use
the Setup wizard to create a release area and populate it with site defaults
files. You can use this release area to install Rational products
on servers or client desktops.
The default site defaults file is
sitedefs.dat.
If users can run the setup.exe command with no arguments, the Setup wizard
uses the settings in
sitedefs.dat. You can create multiple
site defaults files that are specific to different products or teams and assign
them meaningful names, such as
developers.dat or
qualityengr.dat.
Users can install the product with the configurations you create by specifying
the site defaults file with the
setup.exe command; for
example,
setup.exe developers.dat
. Or you can prepare
shortcuts for these files, such as developers or
developers.lnk,
which users can run from their desktops.
When creating a site defaults
file, do not add a file name extension such as sitedefs.developers.dat.
The maximum length of the path for the release area of an Enterprise Deployment
installation is approximately 30-35 characters. This limit changes, depending
on the product being installed and the length of the paths of the files that
each product installs. You might also see different error messages when the
root path exceeds the maximum
To create a release area:
- Make the release area directory shareable. Even if the drive that contains
the directory is already shareable, making the directory itself shareable
makes it easier to find the product release area.
- In Windows Explorer, right-click the network release area and click Sharing.
- On the Sharing page of the properties window, click SHARE this
folder and provide a meaningful name, such as 7.0 Release Area.
The Site Preparation Tool creates a shortcut to the site defaults file only
if the release area is created under a network share. The shortcut opens in
the release area, for example, as sitedefs or developers without the file
extension .dat.
- Log in as a user with Administrator rights on the local computer.
- Insert Disc 1 of your software into the computer’s CD drive. If you have
downloaded the software, click Setup.exe after you
extract the files. The product launchpad starts. If autorun is disabled on
your computer, click Start > Run and enter
cd_drive: \Setup.exe
where cd_drive is the letter of the CD drive. The Setup wizard guides you through the software
installation and then click Next .
- On the Deployment Method page, select the Enterprise Deployment option
and then click Next.
- Depending on the product you have selected, you will see one
or more custom configuration pages in the wizard. Use the Help for your product
to obtain instructions for this section of the wizard. For information on
navigation and meanings of specific icons, see Navigation and Icons.
- On the Completion pages you must fill in the Description page and the
Create a Release Area page. The Launch Installation page is optional.
- On the Description page, enter a description for users. When you are finished,
click Next.
- On the Create a Release Area page, enter the release area location and
file name for the site defaults file (*.dat) that you are creating.
Note: Do not use double-byte characters.
If you want
to use the site defaults file to install software on your computer, click Next to
go to the Launch Installation page. Select Launch installation by
using these settings. Save the site defaults information to a file and proceed
with the installation on your computer. Click Done and
then click Next.
- If you want only to create a release area, click Done and
then click Next to create the site defaults file. Otherwise,
skip to Testing your site defaults file.
Running the Site Preparation Tool in stand-alone
mode
This section explains how you can run the Site Preparation
Tool in stand-alone mode (not from the Rational Setup
wizard) to create a new release area and populate it with site defaults files,
or to edit the site default attributes of an existing release area.
To
run the Site Preparation Tool in stand-alone mode:
- Make the release area directory shareable. Even if the drive that contains
the directory is already shareable, making the directory itself shareable
makes it easier to find the product release area.
- In Windows Explorer, right-click the network release area and click Sharing.
- On the Sharing page of the properties window, click SHARE this
folder and provide a meaningful name, such as 7.0 Release Area.
The Setup wizard creates a shortcut to the site defaults file only if the
release area is created under a network share. The shortcut opens in the release
area, for example, as sitedefs or developers without the file extension .dat.
- Log in as a user with Administrator rights on the local computer.
- Run siteprep.exe from an existing release area, or
from the product CD.
- Select the product you want to define site defaults for and click Select.
- Perform one of the following actions:
- Click New to create a new site definition file.
- Click Open to modify an existing site definition
file. Use the Open window to navigate to your site definition file, select
it, and click Open.
- Depending on the product you have selected, you will see one or more custom
configuration pages in the wizard. Use the Help for your product to obtain
instructions for this section of the wizard. Enter the required information
in each page of the wizard. For information on navigation and meanings of
specific icons, see Navigation and Icons
- On the Completion pages, enter a description of the site defaults file,
and enter a file name and release area location.
Note: Do not use double-byte
characters in file names or directory paths.
If you want to use
the site defaults file to install software on your computer, click Next to
go to the Launch Installation page. Select Launch installation by
using these settings. Save the site defaults information to a file and proceed
with the installation on your computer. Click Done and
then click Next
- If you want only to create a release area, click Done and
then click Next to create the site defaults file. Otherwise,
skip to Testing your site defaults file.
Note: It is also possible to run siteprep.exe directly
from the product CD, if needed in certain circumstances. However, creating
a release area is the preferred method for running site preparation.
Navigation
After the Site Preparation
Tool has started, the left pane lists site preparation screens for the product
you are configuring. You can navigate through these screens using your keyboard
arrow keys or by clicking on specific topics, or you can directly select a
screen by clicking on the screen titles in the left pane. The menu listing
is dynamic, changing according to the values you select for various options.
You can also use the Next and Back buttons
on each screen for navigation. You may cancel and close the Site Preparation
Tool at any time by clicking Cancel.
The right
pane lists Help topics for the site preparation screen you have currently
selected in the left pane.
Testing your site defaults file
When
you create a release area, you have the option to install the product on your
desktop.
To test the site defaults file:
- Begin the installation and navigate through the pages until you reach
the Site Default Configuration page. This page includes the release area description
that you entered previously. Specify whether to use the site defaults that
you set for your own computer. Either click Use the standard configuration (the
site defaults that you set) or I will create my own custom client
configuration.
- If you select I will create my own custom client configuration,
the Custom Setup page displays product features to select. When you click Next,
you can change any of the existing site default values. (Any changes to the
site default values apply only to this single installation.) After modifying
the values, click Done and then click Install to
begin the installation.
- If you select Use the standard configuration, the
features for the existing site default values are used for the installation.
To begin the installation, click Next and then click Install.
- If files required for the installation are in use while the Setup wizard
is running and shared components must be installed, the Setup wizard may need
to restart your computer. If so, a Restart Windows page opens. Select Restart or Don’t
Restart. If you select Don’t Restart, the
wizard reminds you that the installation cannot complete until Windows restarts.
The second part of the installation process starts after you log on.
- When the Setup Complete page opens, review the current information related
to new features and known issues in the release notes; you can make these
available by selecting the readme check box. In addition,
you can view the IBM developerWorks
Web pages. If you have run the Site Preparation Tool as part of the Setup
wizard, click Done to complete the installation. If
you have run the Site Preparation Tool in stand-alone mode, click Finish to
complete the installation.
Using the Site Preparation Tool to
create multiple site defaults files
In some cases, your site might
require multiple site defaults files. For example, if a database administrator’s
group and a client user group both use the same product but need to work with
different default settings in the product, you can create one site defaults
file for each group.
To create multiple site defaults for a release
area:
- Create the initial release area as described in Using the Setup wizard to create a release area and site defaults file.
Set up this area with the site-specific parameters needed by the first group
of users.
- Open the site defaults file created in Step 1 (sitedefs.dat,
for example) by running siteprep.exe (in your release area)
and clicking Open. The Site Preparation Tool displays
the values set in sitedefs.dat. Keep the values that
apply to both groups and change the values to meet the needs of the second
group.
- Click the Save As icon to save a new site defaults
file. You are prompted to enter a file name and folder for the new site defaults
file.
Note: The Site Preparation Tool creates a shortcut for each site
default file. Double-click the shortcut corresponding to the set of site defaults
you want to use in your installation. Keep in mind that when running the Site
Preparation Tool from the Rational Setup
wizard, the installer only searches for the default sitedefs.dat file.
If you want to install from a set of site defaults with a different name other
than sitedefs.dat, run site preparation in stand-alone
mode, or run siteprep.exe from the command line.