Using root or non-root when installing with the Update Installer

Always use the same user ID to apply maintenance with the Update Installer as you used to install the product initially.

Using root or non-root for maintenance installation

Always use the same user ID to apply maintenance with the Update Installer as you used to install the product initially.

In order to avoid problems, always use the same user ID for applying maintenance as you have for installing WebSphere Application Server, the Update Installer, and any fix packs. If you choose to use a different user then the maintenance action may or may not be successful depending on the ownership and permissions of the files to be updated. If the update action is successful, the file ownerships of the updated files will belong to the last user performing the update and affect the ability of the original user to perform further updates.

The technote Servers fail to start after applying fixes in version 6.1 describes how to restore file ownership to the original user and allow users to apply future updates.

If WebSphere Application Server is installed by root, if you try to use a non-root user ID to update WebSphere Application Server, the install will fail because it does not have authority to update the files owned by root. Similarly, if WebSphere Application Server is installed by a non-root user and a different non-root user applies maintenance, the install could fail if the second non-root user ID does not have write authority to those files owned by the first non-root user. In these cases, the user will get a warning message similar to the following:
The current operation must be performed by the same 
user who owns the existing files. Typically, the file owner is the user who performed the original installation. Switch to the right user, and then run the installer again.

To avoid problems, always use the same user ID to apply maintenance with the Update Installer as you used to install the product initially.

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Last updated: Sep 20, 2010 11:08:29 PM CDT
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